Fall Baking

Recipes · Plant-Based · Family Friendly

Pumpkin-Chip Chickpea Muffins for Minis

A plant-based toddler snack that eats like a treat — chickpea-flour muffins with pumpkin, banana, pepitas and hemp hearts, baked into little gingerbread people you can make together.

We made these on a whim with what was in the pantry, and they've become our new favorite autumn snack. Chickpea flour does the heavy lifting — real plant protein and fiber inside something viewed as just a treat. And the gingerbread mold turns them into little people, which is adorable.

The best part is how much of it the littles can do themselves: mashing the banana, pouring the dry into the wet, stirring in the chocolate chips and seeds. A pinch of oats on top, a quick bake, and they're ready for munching!

Toddler-friendly pumpkin-chip chickpea muffin batter with chocolate chips in a mixing bowl

The Little Hands Method 🤍

One bowl for mashing, one for the dry mix. Let them mash, pour, and stir — then you spoon and bake. Messy, joyful, and completely toddler-led. My youngest played happily with empty silicone bowls and utensils in his high chair, for fewer messes.

Pumpkin-Chip Chickpea Muffins

Makes about 24 mini muffins (or 12 larger) · ~30 minutes

Chickpea-flour muffins with pumpkin, banana, pepitas and hemp hearts — egg-free, dairy-free, and sweetened mostly with fruit. Soft, springy, and packed with plant protein.

Ingredients

1/3 cuporganic pumpkin purée
1medium organic banana
2 tbsporganic ground flax
3/4 cuporganic unsweetened soy milk (or any organic plant milk)
2 tsporganic vanilla extract
2 tbsporganic maple syrup
1 cuporganic chickpea flour
1/4 cuporganic bread flour
1 tbspbaking powder
1 tsporganic cinnamon
pinchpink salt
1/4 cuporganic mini chocolate chips
1/2 cuporganic pepitas (pumpkin seeds), chopped
2 tbsporganic hemp hearts
—organic avocado oil spray, for greasing
optionalorganic rolled oats, to scatter on top

Method

  1. Mash the base

    Let your littles mash the banana with a potato masher in a large bowl, then stir in the pumpkin and flax.

  2. Whisk dry ingredients

    In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients — hold the chocolate chips, pepitas, and hemp hearts.

  3. Bring it together

    Alternate adding the dry mix and the soy milk, maple, and vanilla into the pumpkin base. Use a stand mixer, or let the littles help pour the dry into the wet.

  4. Fold in the mix-ins

    Stir in the mini chocolate chips, chopped pepitas, and hemp hearts.

  5. Fill the molds

    Spray your molds or cups with avocado oil and spoon the mix in until each is about 3/4 full. Scatter a few oats on top if you like.

  6. Bake & cool

    Bake at 350–375°F until set and springy — about 12–16 minutes for minis, or 20–25 for larger muffins. Cool well before serving to little ones.

Notes

Nutrition (per serving — 2 minis)~130 calories, ~5g plant protein, ~2.5g fiber, ~5g healthy fats, ~2g added sugar. Per single mini: ~65 calories, ~2.5g protein.
Protein powerChickpea flour, pepitas and hemp hearts do the work; the pepitas and hemp are what push each serving to ~5g.
Good for growing bodiesOmega-3s from flax and hemp, beta-carotene from pumpkin, and iron, zinc & magnesium from the pepitas.
Gluten-free friendlySwap the bread flour for a 1:1 gluten-free blend; the chickpea base stays put.
Oven noteMinis bake fast, so start checking at 12-ish minutes so the edges stay soft.
Serving littlesSoft and easy, but serve in small pieces and stay close while they nibble.
StorageCool completely before sealing, then keep up to 2 days at room temperature or up to a week in the fridge; freeze and warm as needed. In a warm or humid kitchen, lean on the fridge.
Organic where possibleI reach for organic on the produce and flours especially — do what works for your family and don't stress the rest.
Pumpkin-chip chickpea muffins baked in a gingerbread-man silicone mold, topped with oats

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