Homemade Little Bites-Style Mini Muffins — Chocolate Chip & Funfetti

 

If you have kids, you probably know exactly how quickly those little packages of mini muffins disappear. 😂

As a mom of three, I completely understand the convenience of grabbing a package of Little Bites and throwing it into a lunchbox, backpack, or snack bag.

The problem?

They can get EXPENSIVE — especially considering how few tiny muffins you actually get in each package!

So for back-to-school season, I decided to make my own homemade version.

And I am happy to report that they are officially KID APPROVED.

These aren’t necessarily meant to be a low-calorie or “diet” version of mini muffins. I wanted them to taste like actual mini muffins my kids would WANT to eat.

The difference for me is that when I make them at home, I know exactly what ingredients are going into them, I can customize the flavors, and I can make an entire batch for lunches and snacks.

One batch makes approximately 32 mini muffins, and I love splitting the batter to make two flavors at once:

 

Chocolate Chip + Funfetti!

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Mini Muffins

These are perfect for busy back-to-school mornings because they’re:

• Kid approved
• Easy to make
• Freezer friendly
• Perfect for lunchboxes
• Great for after-school snacks
• Made with simple pantry ingredients
• Easy to customize
• Less expensive than constantly buying individual packages
• Made in one basic batter
• Easy to turn into TWO flavors from one batch

And one of my favorite parts is that you can make the batter completely your own.

Use butter, avocado oil, or a combination of both.

Use milk or swap it for a vanilla protein shake.

Make the entire batch one flavor or split it like I do.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

• All-purpose flour
• Sugar

• OR

  • Granulated sugar + brown sugar
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients

• Nonfat Greek yogurt 
  Sour cream can also be used.
• Avocado oil

OR

• Melted and cooled butter

OR

• A combination of avocado oil and melted butter 

• large egg, room temperature
• Milk of choice, room temperature

You can also use a vanilla protein shake in place of the milk if you’d like to add a little extra protein.

Extracts

If making one flavor:

• Vanilla, almond, or cake batter extract

If splitting the batter into two flavors like I do:

Chocolate Chip Batter:

• Vanilla extract OR almond extract

Funfetti Batter:

• Cake batter extract

Mix-Ins

For Chocolate Chip:

• Approximately mini chocolate chips

I have also chopped up Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars into tiny pieces, and that works perfectly.

For Funfetti:

• Colored sprinkles

Equipment You’ll Need

• Mixing bowls
• Whisk
• Rubber spatula
• Mini muffin pan

I love using a silicone mini muffin pan because the muffins release so easily.

If you’re using a traditional mini muffin pan, spray it well with cooking spray.

You can also use mini muffin liners, but I still recommend lightly spraying the liners.

• Small cookie scoop or spoon
• Cooling rack

How to Make Homemade Little Bites Mini Muffins

Step 1: Preheat Your Oven

Preheat your oven to 375°F.

Prepare your mini muffin pan.

If you’re using silicone, you may not need much cooking spray.

For a traditional metal pan, lightly spray each cavity with cooking spray.

Step 2: Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

• Flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Cinnamon

Set aside.

Step 3: Combine the Wet Ingredients

In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together:

• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• Avocado oil, melted butter, or a combination of both
• Sugar

Whisk until everything is nicely incorporated.

Add the room-temperature egg and whisk again.

If you’re making the entire batch ONE flavor, you can add your extract at this point.

If you’re splitting the batter into Chocolate Chip and Funfetti, wait to add the extracts.

Step 4: Add the Milk

Pour in your room-temperature milk or vanilla protein shake and whisk until combined.

Room-temperature ingredients help everything blend together more evenly.

Step 5: Add Dry Ingredients to Wet Ingredients

Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Using a spatula, gently fold everything together just until combined.

Do not overmix!

A few tiny lumps are completely fine.

Overmixing muffin batter can create tougher muffins instead of the soft, tender texture we’re looking for.

Want Two Flavors? Split the Batter!

This is my favorite part.

Divide the batter evenly between two bowls.

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

To one bowl, add:

• Vanilla or almond extract
• Approximately ⅓ cup mini chocolate chips or finely chopped milk chocolate

Gently fold together.

Funfetti Mini Muffins

To the second bowl, add:

• Cake batter extract
• Approximately 2–3 tablespoons sprinkles

Gently fold.

Be especially careful with the sprinkles.

You don’t want to overmix and cause all of the colors to bleed throughout the batter.

Fill Your Mini Muffin Pan

Using a small cookie scoop or spoon, divide the batter between the mini muffin cavities.

Fill each cavity approximately ¾ of the way full.

You should get around 32 mini muffins, depending on the exact size of your muffin pan and how generously you fill them.

Bake

Bake at 375°F for approximately 10–12 minutes.

Check them around the 10-minute mark.

Insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin.

If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, they’re ready.

Don’t Wait for Them to Get Dark Brown!

These mini muffins may still look relatively pale on top when they’re finished.

That’s okay!

You do NOT want to overbake them.

Overbaking is one of the fastest ways to turn cute, soft mini muffins into dry ones.

Cool

Allow the muffins to cool inside the pan for a few minutes.

Carefully remove them and transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Then try not to let the kids eat the entire batch before you can put any away. 😂

Approximate Nutrition

Because this recipe has several ingredient options, the exact nutrition will depend on:

• Avocado oil vs. butter
• Type of milk
• Chocolate used
• Amount of sprinkles
• Sugar combination
• Whether you use milk or a protein shake

For an estimated calculation, I used:

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 6 tablespoons avocado oil
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup 2% milk
• Batter divided evenly into two flavors
• ⅓ cup milk chocolate chips in the Chocolate Chip half
• Approximately 2 tablespoons sprinkles in the Funfetti half
• Approximately 32 muffins total — 16 of each flavor

Chocolate Chip Mini Muffin

Approximately:

80 calories
1.5g protein
10g carbohydrates
4g fat

Funfetti Mini Muffin

Approximately:

65–70 calories
1–1.5g protein
9g carbohydrates
3g fat

These numbers are estimates and will change slightly depending on your specific ingredient brands and how many mini muffins your batch yields.

Want to Add More Protein?

One really easy swap is replacing the ½ cup milk with ½ cup vanilla protein shake.

You could also use a higher-protein Greek yogurt.

I wouldn’t recommend adding a large amount of protein powder directly to the dry ingredients without adjusting the rest of the recipe because protein powder can quickly change the texture and make muffins dry.

Using the protein shake is an easy way to bump up the protein while keeping the recipe kid-friendly.

Make Them Ahead for Back to School

These are PERFECT for making ahead.

Once completely cooled, store the muffins in an airtight container.

For longer storage, freeze them.

I like freezing mini muffins in portions so they’re easy to grab when packing lunches.

Pull out however many you need and allow them to thaw overnight or pop them into a lunchbox frozen and let them thaw throughout the morning.

Chef Allie’s Tips

Use Room-Temperature Ingredients

Your yogurt, egg, and milk will combine much more smoothly when they’re not ice cold.

Don’t Overmix

This is probably my biggest muffin tip.

Once the dry ingredients meet the wet ingredients, gently fold just until everything comes together.

Don’t Overbake

Mini muffins bake QUICKLY.

Start checking them around 10 minutes.

Use a Small Cookie Scoop

It makes filling those tiny muffin cavities so much easier and keeps the muffins relatively even in size.

Split the Batch

Why choose one flavor when you can make two?

Splitting one basic batter into Chocolate Chip and Funfetti gives the kids some variety without requiring you to make two completely different recipes.

 

 

 

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