School-Safe Mini Muffins 5 Ways are nut-free and egg-free making them perfect for school snacks and lunches. Or step up snacking at work with a healthy option.
That’s a whole lotta muffins! Right? I had to really test these School-Safe Mini Muffins 5 Ways before publishing this post. I wanted my kids asking for the various flavours, each unique, and a healthy-ish snack that could rock their preschool backpacks.
Obviously, the double chocolate is a winner with the kids. BUT, the real winner with mom is the nutritious oatmeal and chia base muffin mix.
Oatmeal is high in fibre (meaning these little muffins go a long way) and iron so they’re getting some energy reserves before they hit playtime.
I used 5 flavours that I thought my own kids would like: Double Chocolate, Apple Cinnamon, Raspberry Lemon, Strawberry White Chocolate, and Graham Cracker Lime. The flavour combinations are endless. Blackberry Lime, Mocha for us adults, and even more seasonal flavours like Cranberry Orange would be a hit with the kids.
The base muffin mixture is easy to whip up and these muffins can be frozen from either the batter stage or after being baked. So, there’s no reason not to double down on this recipe and keep school snacks fresh daily.
Other school-safe healthy snacks we love:
- Homemade Fruit Leather – all the good stuff with no added preservatives or additives. These never last long over here.
- Kid-friendly No- Bake Oatmeal Bites – flavours kids love and freeze well too!
- Mini Blueberry Muffins – kid-pleasing blueberry mini muffins that are high in iron and nutrition.
Family meals I’m crushing on lately:
- Roasted Mustard and Thyme Chicken with Carrots – I added cauliflower to this dish and used boneless skinless chicken so it was easier for my preschoolers to eat.
- Everyday Yellow Dal – my new favourite vegetarian meal. I served savoury cucumber yogurt with this for my kids to dollop on top with great success.
- Keema Aloo (Ground Beef with Vegetables) – I added cooked lentils and some shredded spinach at the end to this dish, skipped the potatoes, and served with naan bread. SO good.
School-Safe Mini Muffins 5 Ways are nut-free and egg-free making them perfect for school snacks and lunches. Or step up snacking at work with a healthy option.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oatmeal
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, coconut sugar, or honey
- 1/2 cup melted butter or vegetable oil, such as coconut or canola
- 1 cup whole milk or milk alternative
- 2 tbsp chia seeds*
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup raspberries (fresh)
- 2 tbsp cocoa
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped strawberries
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
- 1 tbsp freeze dried strawberry powder, optional**
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 small apple, chopped into 1/4" inch cubes use Granny Smith, Pink Lady or another good apple for baking
- 1 tsp cinnamon
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Preheat oven to 400° F.
Grease or place mini muffin cups*** into baking tray. In a small measuring cup mix together chia seeds and 2/3 cup of water. Set aside.
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In a large bowl whisk together flour, oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
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In a medium bowl whisk together sugar, butter/oil, milk, chia seeds and water mixture, and vanilla extract. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix with only a few light strokes with a wooden spoon.
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Add desired flavours and mix with a few more strokes. I separated the batter**** into different bowls here (eyeballed) and added different flavours to each.
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Add batter to muffin tin, filling about 2/3 way full. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 3-5 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack to fully cool.
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Muffins can be frozen from batter stage. Bake for 5 additional minutes when ready to bake.
Muffins will last in the freezer for 3-4 months from baked or batter stage.
* the 2 tbsp of chia seeds and 2/3 cup water can be replaced with 2 large eggs or 1/2 cup apple sauce.
** the freeze dried strawberry powder is what gives the muffins a more intense strawberry flavour and pink colour.
*** a great option for schools that have gone litter free is this Mini Muffin Pan with Silicone Inserts.
**** the recipe was developed with the flavours to be used per batch. I'd recommend doubling the batter and using all the flavours as is or cutting the flavours in half if using the batter as listed.
Enjoy! xo
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