Power Packed Fruit and Veggie Muffin Recipe for Picky Eaters

Our delicious fruit and veggie muffins recipe is one of our most popular dishes on the site! Sweet Spinach Muffins are another popular kid-favorite “hidden veggie” muffin.

These are the perfect back-up plan for those days when your picky eater refuses to eat anything! Fruits, vegetables (including broccoli, zucchini, and carrots), and whole grains are packed into each muffin, ensuring that your little one gets enough of nutrients.

Solution for Picky Eaters

We get a letter from a parent almost every day concerning their picky eater. It may be quite frustrating as a parent to encourage your child to eat anything, let alone healthy food!

While I am a great believer in educating your children to love nutritious food, especially fruits and vegetables, there are times when you need a back-up plan. These fruit and veggie muffins are today’s back-up plan. They’re jam-packed with fruits and veggies, as well as protein and nutritious grains.

The way a product is presented or ‘packed’ can often impact whether or not your child wants to eat it. I told my daughters these muffins were princess cupcakes when I baked them. After that, the rest is history. They devoured one straight from the oven because they were eager to experience a princess cupcake.

How Do Fruit and Veggie Muffins Taste?

You might assume that with so much fruit and vegetables in these muffins, they couldn’t possibly taste good! Even when I was preparing the batter, I was doubtful, and the batter does appear to be a touch strange. These muffins, on the other hand, are out of this world wonderful! They have a buttery sweetness to them and are really juicy.

My children assist me in making them and are aware of the ingredients, but they are unconcerned because they taste so nice. Fruits and vegetables are frequently disliked by children due to their texture rather than their flavour. The fruits and vegetables in these muffins are all finely diced, so the texture isn’t an issue!

I always make full size muffins as well as small muffins whenever I prepare these. My older children like large muffins, but mini muffins are the perfect size for my younger children. These freeze beautifully and can be reheated in the microwave in 30 seconds.

How to Make Fruit and Veggie Muffins

On our website, this is one of the most popular recipes. Thousands have prepared these muffins and raved about how much their children enjoy them. Many individuals have complained that their muffins aren’t cooked all the way through. I’ve tested and retested these muffins, and here are my best advice for ensuring a successful outcome:

1. Make sure you use all of the fruits and vegetables listed in this recipe. I’m sure there are plenty of other fruits and veggies that would be excellent in this dish, but I haven’t tried them yet and can’t say how they’ll turn out. The amount of moisture in the fruits and veggies will influence how well the muffin cooks.
2. If you’re preparing regular-sized muffins, skip the muffin liners and bake them straight in the muffin tray. When you bake with a liner, it takes a lot longer to bake, and even then, the bottom can become a little damp.
3. Fill your muffin tins only 3/4 of the way.
4. Make sure the broccoli and zucchini are cooked before serving. The zucchini you use should be on the smaller side, as larger zucchini contain a lot more water, which this recipe does not account for.

When you combine all of the ingredients, it will resemble baby food or pesto…… Don’t be afraid. If you don’t want carrot shreds in your muffins, puree the carrots with the rest of the ingredients.

Carrots are a favourite of mine, so I didn’t feel compelled to purée them. Plus, shredded carrots in a muffin look so gorgeous. I grated them finely and added them after everything else had been mixed.

Lots of Nutrition in One Muffin

These fruit and veggie muffins have everything you need to make a complete supper! Broccoli, zucchini, and carrots are examples of vegetables. Banana and apple are two fruits that you can eat. Whole wheat flour is used in this recipe. Greek yoghurt is a good source of protein. Plus, there’s a tonne of vitamins and minerals! And don’t forget about the fibre – these muffins are jam-packed with it! This is the recipe you’ll want to create for your kids if they need a boost!

Ingredients
- 1 cup flour, whole wheat
- 1 cup flour, all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 2 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup broccoli, florets
- 1 small zucchini
- 1 1/2 medium carrot
- 1/2 medium apple
- 1 medium banana
- 2 tablespoon apple juice
- 1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 1/4 cup yogurt, plain

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Soften butter.
4. In a mixer or another bowl, mix the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
5. In a food processor, combine steamed broccoli, zucchini, apple, banana, apple juice, and applesauce.  Pulse until thoroughly mixed.
6. Shred carrots.  If you don’t want the shreds in your muffin, combine your carrots with the rest of the fruits and veggies in the food processor.
7. Combine the fruit and veggie puree, carrots (unless you already added them with the puree), and yogurt, into the wet ingredient mixture (sugar/butter/eggs) and beat until mixed.
8. Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.
9. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.
10. Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan.  Fill each spot about 3/4 of the way full.
11. For mini muffins: Bake in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins
12. For regular size muffins: Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.
13. Bake until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean or they bounce back when you touch them with your finger.

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