Applesauce barley infant cereal mini muffins

Don't toss an opened container of baby food cereal - use it to make these mini muffins that are a soft and delicious toddler finger food. 

Posts may contain affiliate links. If you purchase an item from these links, a small percentage goes to support the work of this blog. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When my kids stopped liking to be spoon-fed and didn't want to eat as many baby foods anymore, I found myself left with some opened container of barley and multi-grain baby cereals. I knew I didn't want to throw them away and waste them, so I played around until I was able to make a mini muffin that they enjoyed.

Now keep in mind, these aren't bakery muffins - they aren't super pretty, they are a little bumpy, and they don't rise a ton, but they are a great way to use up your baby cereal and to give your toddlers a finger food to feed themselves. 

I used barley cereal in this recipe and have also made them with multigrain cereal. I have not tried making them with rice or oatmeal infant cereals. 

This recipe uses cinnamon to compliment the applesauce in the muffins. I like to introduce spices early to get little ones used to different flavors.

You can use a little less than a teaspoon if you prefer. You can also play around with the spices and use some others in place of some or all of the cinnamon. Nutmeg, a little ginger, a little all spice, cardamom, etc. would work well in these muffins. Or use a blend like pumpkin or apple pie spices.

Serve these muffins for a snack or as part of a breakfast or lunch. They pack up well for an on-the-go snack as well. 

Depending on the age and skill levels of the child, you may still need to break these into small pieces for them to pick up and eat. This is only able to be determined by you and your child's pediatrician.

Yield: about 22 mini muffins

Author: Amy (Savory Moments)

Applesauce Barley Infant Cereal Mini Muffins

Don't toss an opened container of baby food cereal - use it to make these mini muffins that are a soft and delicious toddler finger food.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup barley infant cereal (or other infant cereal you have on hand)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two mini muffin trays.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar using an electric mixer or wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and applesauce.
3. Whisk together the flour through cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
4. Spoon the mixture into the mini muffin tins filling about 2/3 of the way.
5. Bake for approximately 13-15 minutes, until the edges turn golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in the muffin tins.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for about 3-4 days.

Recommended Products:

Mini Muffin Baking Pans

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @savory_moments on instagram and hashtag it savorymoments

I hope you give these applesauce barley infant cereal mini muffins a try if you have some leftover baby cereal. Let me know in the comments below. 

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! 

This post was originally posted in 2017 and has been updated in 2022 with a recipe card, new text, and more to improve reader experience.

Check out some other baby and toddler recipes: 

Banana Spinach Oat Blender Muffins

Slow Cooker Cinnamon Carrot Applesauce

Toddler Pumpkin & Banana Egg Pancakes 

Homemade Baby Food Purees

Toddler Turkey, Carrot, & Apple Meatballs