Sweet Cauliflower Muffins For Baby-led Weaning (dairy-free)

Sweet cauliflower muffins for baby-led weaning are my latest recipe.

The best part is that these muffins for baby are dairy-free.

I was looking for a way to include cauliflower in my baby and toddler’s diet without them rejecting it. My kids don’t really like the texture of cauliflower that much.

After standing in my kitchen for 10 minutes wondering what else to cook with cauliflower, I finally got an idea.

Why not blend up some cauliflower and include it in muffins? That’s how this recipe was born.

The first time I made it, I didn’t purée the cauliflower completely. I just cooked and mashed it with a fork.

That was enough for my baby to eat it. My toddler was a different story.

He refused to even touch it because he could see the cauliflower inside the muffin (as you see in the pictures).

So the next time I made this recipe, I puréed the cauliflower and used oat flour instead of white flour. 

My toddler loved it. Gobbled it right up without any hesitation. 

If your kids aren’t as picky as mine, then you don’t have to purée the cauliflower. Just cook it and lightly mash it with a fork to break it up.

Keep reading to find out how I made this recipe.

You will also love my cauliflower pizza recipe for babies and toddlers

Why I Love Cauliflower Muffins for Baby-led Weaning 

I love making cauliflower muffins for baby-led weaning because it’s easy to make.

My kids will eat almost anything if I bake it into a muffin. Even vegetables like cauliflower which I know they don’t like as much.

These muffins for baby are also dairy-free. I don’t use any milk for making these at all.

Why Cauliflower Are Good for Babies and Toddlers

Cauliflower contains many vitamins and minerals babies need to grow. They are high in vitamin C, K, B6, Folate, and many others (source)

They’re also high in choline which helps develop a baby’s brain (source) 

Another important benefit of cauliflower is the amount of fiber it contains. Fiber helps babies move their bowels so they can stay regular.

Love Cauliflower? Then check out my other cauliflower recipes for baby

What to serve with sweet cauliflower muffins for baby 

Serve with fruits

Fruits go well with everything.

When I make these muffins for my baby and toddler, I like to add tart fruits like strawberries. It creates a nice contrast between the sweetness of the muffins. 

Serve with a protein 

To create a more balanced meal, you can serve this muffin with a protein. I like to add some shredded chicken on the side for my baby. You could also add plant proteins like beans, peas, etc. 

Important Recipe Notes on Cauliflower Muffins for Baby (please read)

You can make your muffins with all-purpose flour 

There are two ways to make sweet cauliflower muffins for baby.

The first way is to use flour (whole wheat or white flour) as the dry ingredients.

If you’re using flour, then I suggest you add a sweet fruit to make this muffin more sweet. My preferred fruit for this recipe is apples or bananas. For this recipe, I used 1 chopped apple.

They have just the right amount of sweetness for this baby-led weaning cauliflower muffins.

You can make the cauliflower muffins for baby with rolled oats

If you want another alternative to flour, then you can use rolled oats.

Rolled oats will give your muffin a richer texture.

If you choose to use oats as the dry ingredients, then you must blend your oats into powdered form before starting the recipe.

You can add fruits as well for sweetness or use peanut butter. 

I prefer using peanut butter with oats because the muffins come out so fluffy and delicious.

You can add some maple syrup for sweetness 

Another way to make the cauliflower muffins sweet for your baby is to add maple syrup.

If you’re going to do this, don’t use more than ¼ cup of real maple syrup. Anything more than this will make it too sweet.

How to properly serve Cauliflower Muffins For Baby-led Weaning 

6-9 Months old

Give your baby half of the muffin at a time. Serving babies half a cauliflower muffin will allow them to easily grab it and bring it to their mouths. 

10-11 months old

When your baby is between 10-11 months old, you can serve them chunks of cauliflower muffins. 

They will be practicing their pincer grasp at this age so serving chunks of food will provide them good practice.

12 months and older

Kids 12 months and older can be given a whole cauliflower muffin for them to eat. They will be capable of biting off and chewing the muffins on their own.

Tips for Picky Eaters

Don’t pressure

Give your baby or toddler a chance to say no. It’s okay if they don’t like what we serve them. Keep trying. 

It takes at least 30 exposures for a baby to begin liking a food, so don’t give up.

Make it into a game

Sometimes I create games around the food I serve to get my kids interested in eating. 

A game we’ve played in the past is called “Here comes the airplane… open the garage”. This encourages them to open their mouth as I bring the food in like an airplane.

Sometimes my kids will try new foods this way.

Recipe Variations For Baby Cauliflower Muffins

There are so many variations you could make with this cauliflower recipe.

Sweet Fruity Cauliflower Muffins

If you want your BLW cauliflower muffins to be sweeter, you can add fruits to it. I’ve used apples and bananas in the past to achieve this.

Sweet Flourless Cauliflower Muffins

If you want to make a flourless cauliflower muffin for baby, then use rolled oats. 

You must blend the rolled oats into powdered form to be able to make a flour replacement.

Ingredient For Sweet Cauliflower Muffins For Baby

Cauliflower 

Make sure to cook or steam them first. To make them mix better with the batter you can purée them in a blender. 

You can also mash them with a fork after cooking.

Try to avoid using the cauliflower stems because those are hard to mash. I only used the florets for this recipe.

You might be able to get away with using the stems if you plan to purée the cauliflower with a blender. 

Flour or oats 

I’ve made this recipe before with flour and the second time with rolled oats. I much prefer rolled oats because it makes the muffins more savory. 

Rolled oats mix much better with the peanut butter as well.

If using rolled oats, make sure to blend them into a powder form before proceeding with the recipe.

If you choose to use flour, then I suggest using a fruit like banana or grated apples in place of the peanut butter to make a sweeter cauliflower muffin.

Nut Butter 

Peanut butter gives a richer flavor to the cauliflower muffins for babies. 

You can use other forms of nut butter if you’re not a fan of peanut butter.

Note that using peanut butter only applies if you’re using rolled oats instead of flour.

Eggs

The eggs are essential to help the cauliflower muffin mixture bind well together.

Cooking Directions For Cauliflower Muffins For Baby

• Set the oven to 375 degrees F, and Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray or baker’s joy.
• Combine all the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (combine the cauliflower, oil, peanut butter, and eggs)
• Combine the dry ingredients in another bowl (flour or oats, baking soda, baking powder)
• Mix wet and dry ingredients together
• Pour into the muffin pan. Don’t overload each well.
• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl

In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients

Combine the wet and dry ingredients

Combine ingredients thoroughly

Fill the muffin tin and bake

Storage Tips For Sweet Cauliflower Muffins for Baby

How to refrigerate 

To refrigerate baby-led weaning cauliflower muffins, place them in a ziplock bag and squeeze out as much air as you can before placing them in the fridge.

They should last for up to 5 days.

Can you make these cauliflower muffins for baby ahead?

You can make the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients ahead of time. 

Store each separately in an airtight container in the fridge.

Just make sure you don’t combine them until you’re ready to make the cauliflower muffins for baby. 

Reheating 

To reheat these BLW cauliflower muffins, pop them in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Heat them until the center is hot. This should take about 25 minutes. 

Can you freeze these Baby-led weaning Cauliflower Muffins?

I’ve never tried to freeze cauliflower muffins for baby so I’m not sure it’s possible. 

This is because cauliflower is a wet vegetable that soaks up a lot of water even after being baked.

So if you freeze them, it’ll create ice crystals within the cauliflower and the muffins may change texture and taste when reheated.

Did you make this baby-led weaning lunch recipe? 

Let me know in the comments how it turned out!