Extra Moist Mini Cinnamon Strawberry Muffins
Keep kids happy with these nutritious Mini strawberry muffins as a meal or snack this summer! Our recipe creation is made possible by our partnership with Megaphone Influence/The Women Bloggers, LLC to share the goodness of Nestle Gerber Cereal. All content is my own. (FTC required disclosure– ugh, FTC. )
Summer is now officially here. That means my kids are looking to me to produce more a constant supply of snacks and food to eat all day long. But I’m still just as busy even with the kids at home.
So having easy tasty snacks for my constantly hungry munchkins is crucial to making my summer go smoothly. That’s one reason why I love these mini cinnamon strawberry muffins.
Being a new mom for the 4th time I don’t have a lot of time to cater to my kid’s “I’m hungry” every few seconds all summer long. Because once I get one child set, then the next one is looking for something to munch on.
Time to bake up something tasty that they all can enjoy in between meals so I can still spend time with our new Little Rosie, get SOME cleaning accomplished and hopefully keep my sanity through the summer.
But in all honesty, I just want to be able to use the bathroom in peace without someone knocking on the door saying they are hungry and what can they eat!
Secrets to Easy Mini Strawberry Muffins
My first secret ingredient includes using freeze dried strawberry bits. This way I don’t have to worry about not having fresh berries on hand.
Honestly, my kids eat them too fast to keep them in stock. And while I can plan ahead and have strawberries available for special desserts, it’s a whole new story when it comes to an easy breakfast or tasty snack for the middle of the day.
I don’t always have fresh fruit. So I always keep freeze dried fruits on hand.
Another secret ingredient is one that may really surprise you. Gerber Baby Cereal. Yes! Gerber Baby Cereal. The same ones you can easily find at Walmart. And if you have a little baby at home you probably already have a pantry full of the stuff!
Gerber baby cereal is a great food substitute in recipes and is not just baby food!
The great thing is what while little rose LOVES the Gerber baby cereals she goes in spurts. Some weeks all she will eat is the Gerber baby cereal. And then the next week all she wants are the fruits and veggies baby food. So now I can still use the Gerber baby food even when she is in her fruits and veggies only mood.
Plus, Gerber Baby food is iron-fortified and includes Vitablocks® blend of six B Vitamins, Vitamins E and C, iron, zinc, and calcium. Gerber takes pride in only using high-quality ingredients that meet rigorous Nestlé® standards. So it is a great choice to include in your favorite baking recipes!
Make your recipe even easier by using the Gerber ‘Lil Bits Oatmeal for more fun flavor!
Mini Cinnamon Strawberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 Cups Flour
- 3/4 Cup Gerber Oatmeal Baby cereal
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Beaten Egg
- 3/4 Cup Milk
- 2 four oz jar/pack Gerber baby food - applesauce, strawberry applesauce (or 8 oz applesauce)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 2/3 cup freeze dried strawberries crushed
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients
- Mix wet ingredients separately.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients together, mixing just until wet.
- Fold in Freeze Dried Strawberries
- Fill the cups of the mini muffin pan two-thirds to three-quarters full
- Bake 375 for 10-15 minutes (Mini sized) OR
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes (regular size)
This recipe makes 40 of these perfectly bite sized Strawberry muffins.
These delicious mini strawberry muffins are really easy to whip together for easy finger food snacks for your kids.
Combine the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Combine the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.
Another secret ingredient is the Gerber Applesauce type baby food. It makes the muffins extra moist and lets you cut down on the amount of oil used.
Plus it adds a great flavor too! So you can use any fruit based Gerber baby food actually. But my family tends to really love the apple based flavors.
Or you can use just regular applesauce if you don’t have any Gerber baby food around.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
Mix until moist.
Fold in crushed freeze dried Strawberries.
Fill the cups of your mini muffin tin 2/3-3/4 full.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool on a wrack.
If you want to use fresh strawberries instead, chop up you strawberries and add them. To make the recipe still turn out simply reduce the amount of Milk by 1/4 cup. (Freeze dried fruit requires additional liquid).
Once the mini muffins are cool to the touch, you can turn them loose on your kids. Or I should say turn your kids loose on the strawberry muffins!
And let me tell you, these will probably go fast!
The kids love that they are small bite sized.
The absolutely perfect kid-friendly finger food for summer day snacks.
Plus you can feel great knowing they are filling up on an enriching food packed with nutrients and a few secret ingredients.
Pair them with yogurt, fresh fruit, or juice for a complete meal if you’d rather serve it up as a fresh breakfast or a luxurious lunch.
Would you ever think to use Gerber baby cereal in regular recipes for your family? They make great ingredient substitutes! You just have to try these Cinnamon Strawberry Muffins!
You can pick up one of the four varieties of the Gerber baby cereal at Walmart in the baby food section. Don’t go away yet, we have a cool $50 giveaway for you down below!
Check out these other amazing recipes that use left-over Gerber Baby Cereal as an ingredient! You will just love them!
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
- Sweet Potato Banana Pancakes
- Banana Flavored Teething Biscuits
- No Bake Protein Bites
- Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles
- pancake muffins
- chocolate oatmeal waffles
- strawberry cheesecake bites.
- Frozen Berry Yogurt Mini Tarts
- Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal Crepes
Want to find more great recipes? Search the hashtag #CookingWithGerber and you can find all kinds of yummy creations using Gerber Cereal! Also, check out this fantastic Gerber Recipe eBook.
Want to give some of these recipes a try? Enter our $50 prepaid credit card below!
- Giveaway is open to the USA only
- Closes June 28, 2016
- Entries are valid if directions on entry form are followed.
I would make applesauce pound cake. My little granddaughter would love it.
I love to use the oatmeal and bananas to make my banana nut bread!
Love how your kids helped in the process 🙂 Mini muffins are fun fun 🙂
Honestly, love all the ideas I have seen using Gerber! Beyond muffins, which is my favorite way, I’d like to incorporate Gerber into pancakes! YUM!
Can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
Muffins are a great idea, so are pancakes.
I love making banana muffins with the Oatmeal and banana flavor. Thanks so much.
I would make some oatmeal raisin cookies or maybe some banana muffins.
I would use Gerber Oatmeal and Banana cereal in a waffle recipe. 🙂
I would definitely use Gerber Oatmeal to make pancakes and cookies. I think this would be a delightful treat.
I would add Gerber’s oatmeal or veggies to my smooth for a great nutrition boost.
thank you
I have never used Gerber baby food in recipes before. What a great idea! I would love to try to use in my pancakes! I cannot wait to try your muffins! They really look good!
I know a lot of skaters who eat baby food after an intense practice.
I think I would like to try it out in a fruit smoothie. I think it would thicken it some and help provide some additional nutrients.
I would love to try and use the gerber cereal in my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe!
I would like to try some of the cereal in my date nut bread.
I would make my Banana Oat muffins with the baby cereal and I would put the oatmeal cereal in my waffle mix!
Mmm, I love chocolate chip oatmeal so I would love that really soon! My family would enjoy making this with me. I love your blog and I love the way you write. Thanks for sharing!
Well, I don’t have kids. I never dreamed of using Gerber Baby Food in recipes but since I love to cook, you have given me some inspiration to make cooking easier. I will note, I am one of those people who seem to end up with “abandoned” critters/babies. I have found the baby food to come in handy when coaxing baby rabbits, sick kitties or whatever else may show up on my doorstep to eat. So, I guess my recipe would be some of the creamed green stuff (usually spinach), with a little honey and milk, administered with a syringe.
There’s a copycat recipe for White Castle hamburgers that requires the meat baby food in the recipes.
I would use it to make meatballs.
I would definitely would like to make the strawberry yogurt popsicles
I would definitely use Gerber Oatmeal to make cookies. That would be yummy!
I actually like to use this stuff as a thickener for smoothies, believe if or not.
I haven’t baked with Gerber yet. I never even thought of it, but what a great idea! I will definitely be thinking of ways and stealing some great recipes from others!
My baby girl loves Gerber bananas so I would make banana muffins.
I have made carrot cake with gerber baby food. it was really good
I have never tried Gerber products, but I would like to try Gerber Oatmeal to make cookies. I would add in dates, yummy!
I would like to add the Gerber cereal as an ingredient to my zucchini bread.
I HAVE USED GERBER BABY FOOD IN MANY OF MY RECIPIES! LET’S SEE A PEA SOUP WITH MINT, SQUASH SOUFFLE, MINI FRUIT PIES AND SMOOTHIES!
I’ve never thought of using Gerber products for baking-these muffins look great!
I would use Gerber Oatmeal to make oatmeal cookies
I don’t use Gerber baby food to make anything BUT I do eat the banana baby food 🙂
I’ve just always liked the way it tastes so I eat it like I would yogurt for a snack.
It’s a bit weird, but hey, I think it tastes good.
thanks!
I never would have even thought of using baby oatmeal in recipes! Now I must experiment
I would like to try some of the cereal on top of my apple crisp.
I’ve never used Gerber baby food in a recipe before. Your muffins look delicious and I would probably try it in something very similar with Strawberries.
Those mini muffins look so good! Yum!/
I freeze the jarred foods in popsicle molds as teething pops. Thanks for the chance.
I honestly havn’t used 🙁 I’m entering for my baby nephew! thanks <3!!!!!!
I would like to make oatmeal cookies with Gerber cereal.
I love to use the oatmeal and bananas to make my banana nut bread
i would like to make blueberry muffins with it
I have never used Gerber cereal to make anything, but I would like to try making muffins with it.
I would use Gerber baby food in my apple crisp recipe! I would use the oatmeal as a topping!
i have never thought about using baby food for adult cooking… but i guess it’s something to consider
I Would Make Banana Bread Or Chocolate Chip Muffins With Gerber Cereal.
I saw a recipe for pancakes make with Gerber that looked delicious. I pinned it and plan to give it a try. I think all the kids would like it.
I freeze jars of Gerber baby food to entice my dog to do his physical therapy. He loves the carrots or chicken best. By freezing the baby food he gets a lick of the yummy flavor but doesn’t get too much. We use it on the treadmill, through the weave poles, and especially the neck stretches.
My daughter would use the oatmeal and banana cereal in some banana bread. She’s been wanting to try to make banana bread and this would give her the perfect chance. Thank you!
I’ve actually heard of using gerbers to make mashed potatoes! I think that’s something I will have to try and it looks good. My favorite ways would be to use it with regular dinners like mashed potatoes, or desserts like cakes or cookies. – Emily Ann Benzing
I honestly had no idea that you could use it so many ways! I knew of muffins and thats it! haha so its nice to see everyones ideas
the only way I’ve use baby food other than just baby food is mixed in with oatmeal
we use them to make different flavored pancakes. they aren’t too sweet and just perfect
One of our fav breakfast foods is waffles and would incorporate into the recipe
I like to use the applesauces and yougurts to bake muffins.
I have heard of using baby food like carrots and mixing w/ water putting in a blender and then freezing in ice cube trays. Make great frozen dog treats.
I like to pour it on my toasted bread when we are out of jelly
I favorite use Gerber baby food is I make pancakes.
cant wait to try the recipe. I make something similiar with apple sauce!
I would like to try the squash baby food incorporated into my zucchini bread, i think it would be super moist and delicious.
I’ve never tried using baby food in a recipe before! I really like the idea of strawberry mnffins though, yum!
I had no idea you could use it for all this! I’d like to try it in cookies or pancakes maybe.
I would use this to make oatmeal raisin cookies. My favorite!
I would use the leftover cereal to make banana nut muffins.
I would like to use them in all my baking recipes, especially muffins.
I would add these to the cookies Dad likes, I’m always looking for ways to sneak a little extra nutrition in for him.
I would use the baby food in waffle or pancakes to increase the nutrition, give moisture and texture.
I would enjoy the strawberry muffins as breakfast and as a snack! They look and sound so yummy!
Strawberry cheesecake bites, such a great idea!
I have not used it in anything before but I would like to try it in banana bread!
I use Gerber in my smoothies, puddings, my grandma taught me that little secret, Gerber gives your recipes that extra flavor
I’ve never tried cooking or baking with Gerber before so it’s all new to me. I would like to try the Cinnamon Strawberry Muffins!
I would use the Lil’ Bits Oatmeal Banana Strawberry in some banana bread.
I haven’t used Gerber baby food in many years for children or grandchildren, but I have used it recently for an unusual use that pet owners may be interested in.
Those ‘pet pill’ pockets sold in pet stores are expensive. I coated our dogs pain medicine with Gerber Turkey baby food & he gobbled it down. I also gave him a little extra as a treat since he had to take the medicine with food in his stomach.
I would use it to make cookies.
I would try the muffin recipe above … looks delicious
I would try a carrot cake with Gerber carrots and add some shredded ones also.
The recipe for the chocolate oatmeal waffles sounds yummy!
I like to use the baby food in waffles.
I use the Gerber cereals in a few things I make. My family uses them for smoothies, cookies, muffins, and meatballs. Our family’s favorite use for the cereal is to make waffles or pancakes with it. Our favorite is the whole wheat with blueberry to put in our pancakes to make them so delicious!
I would use gerber oatmeal cereal for my oatmeal cookies
I am drying to try using Gerber in a muffin recipe!! My kiddos and I love muffins and we enjoy trying out new flavors 🙂
I will love to use Gerber to make oatmeal raisin cookies.
I love using baby food as an ingredient to make frozen yogurt popsicles!
I used some apple baby food for a quick smoothie. I added bananas, cinnamon, apple baby food and coconut water. Very nice…
I think it would be good to add when making waffles or pancakes!
I like to use the gerber sweet potatoes to make muffins and sweet potato bread
I use the vegetables in meatloaf
I love to use the oatmeal and bananas to make banana muffins.
To be totally honest I never thought of using Gerber as an ingredient for baking until I read your blog. I will use this product the next time I make muffins.
Id love to make banana waffles with this! there are so many great ideas so I might try even more
I would mix it up in some carrot cake or banana bread depending on what I had
Use the oatmeal to make oatmeal cookies
I would combine it with my apple crisp topping
My favorite way to use Gerber Baby food would be in a bread recipe.
I love using it in peach cobbler.
I have used baby food to make cookies and they were really good.
I have added the Gerber Oatmeal to my smoothie for a nutrition boost.
thank you
I like to use the puree in breads, muffins, and oatmeal. It gives the baby a good experience and still easy to swallow.
i have actually never used gerber products for baking, but that’s actually a brilliant idea! would love to try it out!
I would love to try the Strawberry Banana Smoothie recipe here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gacbwxjwle0klay/Gerber%20Cereal%20Recipe%20Program.pptx?dl=0
Sounds so yummy!!
Baby cereal can be used with marshmallows to make snacks like rice crispy treats!
We don’t have baby food around much anymore, but I’m tempted to buy some just to try these yummy muffins!
Making fruit-flavored applesauce.
Use in cakes, it gives me flavor and the cake is moist
i would like to use baby food juice in a smoothie. they’re quite sweet.
You have inspired me to try the dry cereal on top of Apple Brown Betty! The crunchier the better for my family, and this way I can sneak in a little extra nutrition without them even knowing it. 🙂
I use Gerber cereal in my oatmeal raisin cookies.
I would make banana nut muffin and apple banana cookies.
I’ve never used Gerber cereal in any creative way before, but I am loving the ideas I’m seeing in the post and comments!
I would use it to try to make bread or some cookies
I haven’t used Gerber baby food in a recipe, but it is something I would consider trying when I bake banana bread
I’ve never used baby food in my cooking before. I would most likely use it in fruit drinks that I make in my blender or in baked breads.
I would love to make Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake and Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal Crepes. They sound delicious! kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com Thank you.
I would use it in my oatmeal cookie recipe or in my smoothies! 🙂
I like putting the oatmeal in cookies and the mashed bananas in muffins!
I Would Make Banana Bread or cookies.
I like Gerber to make my breads with like banana nut bread or zucchini.
I make a coffee cake banana bread and I could add oatmeal to the yummy topping.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake sounds amazing!
I would use it in addition to my bread crumb on cauliflower!
My mom makes the best plum bread using plum baby food!
This is such a great recipe, they sound delicious! I have only made banana muffins with Gerber oatmeal cereal before, but they are a favorite of all my kids! I bet they would love these too. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
I use the baby apricots and bananas for Hawaiian chicken.
I bake yeast bread occasionally and I sometimes use cooked cereal to add flavor and texture, so i would try it in my next batch.
Banana baby Food would go good in a banana strawberry smoothie. I also love this idea of the muffins. Great idea! 🙂
I’d use it in oatmeal cookies.
Thanks for the contest.
I make freeze pops for my kids and nieces and nephews. They are delicious and great for the summer heat.
I’d mix the fruit into my oatmeal on my smoothies.
I love to make popsicles with it. The popsicles are more healthy and different with the add ins.
I use it to make pancakes! Mix it with a banana and an egg! My son loves them!
I think I would use the banana to make banana nut muffins. I just love muffins.
I imagine this would make some interesting pancakes.
https://www.gerber.com/products/cereal
I was just trying to find a bread or muffin recipe today for strawberries. Do you think I’d need to make any change to the amount of oatmeal if I don’t use baby oatmeal? Maybe I’ll put it in the blender, and may as well add a little cocoa while I’m at it 🙂
I make a fresh batch of muffins each week and use baby food in several of my recipes to help sweeten and keeps things moist. It also helps to cut down on the fat content. One of my favs is plum baby food in a plum bread/muffin I make around the holidays. Yumm!
Using some of the vegetables and cereal in recipes such as meat loaf is a good way to sneak some of these important foods into the diet of those who otherwise do not eat enough of them.
I like to use Gerber cereal to make smoothies for my kiddos.
Delicious ideas! I like the idea of making them into frozen pops for the summer!
I’d probably use it to make something simple like cookies.
I think I would try it in a cookie or coffee cake recipe
I like to use it to thicken up smoothies and to mix into pancakes.
I have never used baby food in recipes before, but it sounds good for banana bread.
This would be great to add into banana bread.
I like slipping it into pancakes. I’m sure they’re not healthy by time we add syrup but the extra nutrients help a little.e
I like to freeze it and blend in a smoothie.
Gerber is great to make smoothies and strawberry banana bread. yum!
I honestly have never used Gerber baby food for baking or cooking. But after seeing the recipe ideas on this blog, I would like to try to incorporate them into muffin, cake and pancake recipes.
I like to use their cereal to make oatmeal cookies.
I would like to try the Gerber Cereal in banana chocolate chip muffins.
I love to use Gerber baby food in all sorts of baking, especially breads.
I use the fruit baby food in smoothies, I mix the fruit with the cereal and bake into teething biscuits and lastly the fruit purée are great substitute for half the oil butter in baked goods.
I like to make Pears & Cinnamon no bake cookies with oats. And I use the Gerber Grain & Fruit Cereal flavor Oatmeal & Banana Cereal to make muffins and I add chocolate chips to it.
i’m going to try to add some of their cereal into my next cookie recipe! 🙂
I use their carrots when I make carrot cake- I’ve had so many compliments on it.
I love the muffin idea! I also put some gerber with oatmeal!
I have never used Gerber baby food in a recipe but it’s an interesting idea, maybe added to oatmeal for flavor.
We have made these muffins before and my kids loves them!! They also freeze well!
both muffins and pancakes sounds good
It’s really good in pancakes.
I think I’d add it to entrees (like lasagna) to sneak some veggies in
Adding a little to pancakes
When my children were little, we always put the bananas in their cereal, and also put it in pancake batter.
I would use gerber applesauce instead of oil to bake a cake. Yummy
I think adding banana in some of my banana bread would be amazing!
I would add some to our morning fruitie smoothies.
I love having gerber baby food in the pantry for an easy to grab snack for my baby as we are running out the door. I think I will try your muffin idea and freeze them for another on the go food. So smart!
what a great way to use their products!
I have not used Gerbers before, but I love the idea of using it in muffins!
I would try to make some muffins.
my kids would absolutely love these strawberry muffins, I could see doing banana also
I would us the left over fruit baby food as a syrup on ice cream
I use it for food when mountain climbing since it digests so easily!
I would use it to make some banana muffins which everyone would enjoy.
I would probably use Gerber foods for making sauces or purees. It’s not usually an idea I’d consider, but if I needed something in a pinch, I may use this hack.
I love to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with my extra baby cereal at the end of the month!
we love eating mini muffins for breakfast, so that is what I use it for
Some of them go well in pasta sauce for additional nutrition.
I’ll try this exactly the way you described. I had no idea. Thanks
My favorite way to use Gerber is in a cake. It is good for the whole family.
I haven’t yet used Gerber oatmeal for anything other than feeding my baby, but it’s an interesting idea to use it in baked goods like muffins and cookies
IT would be great to use the banana flavor to make pancakes with it. My girls can’t get enough pancakes.
wow
My daughter loves to mix it with lowfat yogurt or apple sauce for her daughter
I’d like to try making the oatmeal cookies with Gerber Oatmeal.
I would make oatmeal and raisin cookies. My kids just love them and there good for them.
I would make some muffins or a loaf bread.
Take the strawberries and mix them with the bananas and you have something special.
I’ve never used it in cooking but I bet it would be good to use things like sweet potatoes or applesauce or pudding in things like muffins or breads. I don’t have any children but when my siblings were growing up I would get baby food at the store sometimes. I like the Dutch Apple Dessert and the Hawaiian Delight, but I haven’t had it in years.
I love putting broccoli puree/chopped into mac n cheese.
I would like to use Gerber Oatmeal in a homemade banana bread.
I would try to make waffles or pancakes with the oatmeal baby food
Thank you for the chance to win!
I have used Gerber bananas in my version of a Hummingbird Cake. I think it’s delish!
I would like to use them in muffins.
I have never used Gerber cereal to make anything, but I would like to try making muffins or apple crisps with it! Thanks for the chance!
I sually just mix it with fresh fruit for my little one!
I like to use Gerber Baby Food in my pancakes and muffins.
I think the muffins sound great. I think that another idea would be to put strained carrots in some sauces, such as spaghetti, to get extra nutrients in the sauce.
We would add Gerber Oatmeal Cereal to our homemade pancake / waffle recipe !
I like to add the Herbert vegetables or fruits to my recipes depending on what I’m cooking. It’s great to thicken up recipes.
I use it to spice up my baked goods , especially my banana bread! So delicious!
Hmm well I’ve never used baby food in recipes before, but I’d be interested in using it for some blueberry muffins~
I like mixing it into fruit purees.
I like to use it to add flavor to baked items.