Spinach Muffins are a delicious way to sneak more green veggies into your life, and they come together quickly in a blender! You’d never guess you’re eating spinach just by tasting them.
Why You’ll Love Them
They are easy to make. Just toss the ingredients into a blender, and blend until the batter looks smooth. You can pour it from the blender pitcher directly into a greased muffin pan, so there is no extra bowl to clean!
They taste amazing. These muffins are lightly sweetened with honey, so they have a sweet flavor without tasting like spinach. You can add in a few mini chocolate chips to make them a more appealing snack, if you like!
They are allergy friendly. Instead of using flour, these muffins are made with whole grain oats, which are naturally gluten-free. (Make sure you buy certified gluten-free oats, if you need this recipe to be gluten-free, though, to avoid any cross-contamination during processing.) This recipe is also dairy-free and oil-free.
They are easy to customize. If you want to use a different nut butter, like almond butter or even sunflower seed butter, feel free! You can also make these vegan using the substitution tips below.
They are great for kids. When you call these “hulk muffins” or “Ninja Turtle Muffins” these green colored muffins become a fun treat, especially for toddlers. My son always felt like he got “turtle power” every time he ate one, so the color green never was off-putting.
Safety Note: If you are using these muffins for baby-led weaning, and your child is under 1 year old, you might want to use maple syrup as the sweetener, since honey is not recommended for children under 1 year old.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Using fresh baby spinach will give you the best neutral flavor, as frozen spinach is often cooked prior to freezing and tastes more concentrated. (If you need to use frozen, use less than this recipe calls for.)
You can boost the natural sweetness of these muffins by using a ripe banana, with lots of brown spots on its skin. If you don’t have bananas on hand, you can use unsweetened applesauce, instead.
How to Make Sweet Spinach Muffins
1. Blend.
In a high-speed blender, combine the eggs, peanut butter, banana, spinach, rolled oats, honey, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Blend until the mixture is very smooth, with no large pieces of spinach remaining.
Stop and scrape down the sides of the blender, as needed, to keep everything blending smoothly.
2. Bake.
Grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with coconut oil or olive oil, or line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, and add any toppings you like, such as chocolate chips.
Bake the muffins in an oven preheated to 350ºF for 20 to 25 minutes. (Mini muffins should be done in 20 minutes; larger muffins will need 25 minutes.)
3. Enjoy!
Once the muffins feel firm to the touch in the center, remove them from the oven and let them cool in the pan. If you didn’t line the pan, run a knife around the edges of each muffin to help loosen them from the pan, then lift them out.
Serve these spinach banana muffins at room temperature once they are cool, or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also store them in the freezer for up to 3 months, if you’d like to store them longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
The key to fluffy muffins is using plenty of eggs and fresh baking powder. If your baking powder is old, it might be time for a replacement. If you need to use baking soda instead, use a 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda for every egg in this recipe. (So 3/4 teaspoon total.)
Ground flaxseed mixed with water tends to work best with traditional flour, since the gluten also acts as a binder. For this recipe, you might want to try using a powdered egg replacement, like the one made by Bob’s Red Mill, instead.
Yes, after several months of testing this recipe has a much more fluffy texture than the original, with more protein for growing kids. You can find the original recipe here, which is made with vanilla extract and less eggs, if you prefer it.
You can use maple syrup instead of honey, for a slightly less-sweet muffin, or try using a 1/2 cup of coconut sugar, instead. (The coconut sugar will turn them slightly more brown, FYI.)
If you prefer to use a gluten-free flour instead of oats, you’ll get the most consistent results by using a scale to weigh the flour. (This recipe calls for 78 grams of oats, so you’d use the same weight in oat flour for the most similar results.)
Looking for more kid-friendly snacks? Try Frozen Banana Bites, chewy homemade Granola Bars, or Banana Snack Cake, for a treat with no added sugar.
Spinach Muffins for Picky Eaters
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- 3 large eggs (see notes for vegan option)
- ¼ cup almond butter or peanut butter
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1-2 cups fresh baby spinach
- ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats (certified gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips (optional topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a mini muffin tin with cooking spray or olive oil.
- In a high-speed blender, add the banana, eggs, nut butter, honey, spinach, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, in that order. (Liquids on the bottom help facilitate blending better.) Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.
- Pour the green batter into the greased mini muffin pan, filling the 24 slots. (Alternatively, you can bake these in a standard muffin pan to make 12 muffins.) Sprinkle a few mini chocolate chips on top, if you'd like to.
- Bake the mini muffins at 350ºF for 12 to 14 minutes, until the muffin tops feel firm to the touch. If you're baking 12 standard muffins, they will need to bake for closer to 25 minutes at 350ºF.
- Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cool before removing them from the muffin tin. Once the muffins are cool, run a knife around the sides of each muffin to help get them out.
- Muffins can be stored at room temperature for 24 hours, but I recommend storing them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week for the best shelf life.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this spinach muffin recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
Is there a substitute for the bananas? My little guy hates them!
Maybe applesauce?
I just made them with applesauce instead of banana (1/2 c applesauce) and my extremely picky kids are eating the whole batch as we speak 😆 i also made them into regular sized muffins (ifilled up the muffin liners 3/4 of the way and made 9 full sized muffins) and used flax egg instead of egg along with 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.
thank you so much for the fabulous recipe Megan!!
They weren’t too gummy?
My 11-month-old loves these! I used half tahini and half peanut butter, and swapped out the honey for some maple syrup. Delicious 🙂
I’ve made these twice today (vegan version)! My kids love them, thank you! What do you think about using dates instead of the maple syrup?
I think that’s worth a shot! Check out my date paste post on how to substitute if you need ideas: https://detoxinista.com/make-date-paste-healthy-sugar-substitute/
It worked with the date paste! They even said they liked them more 🙂
Three tactics: remove the food for a time and “rebrand” it at a later date. Squash became Indian Plant after a study of the foods nartive Americans introduced to the Pilgrims.
Reshape the food. Mushrooms chopped in squares are unrecognizable and undetectable.
Market the food in a different way and don’t offer it. Shrimp became something for adults that I didn’t put on my daughters plate. She wanted to know why she didn’t get any. I told her they were something grownups like, and she might not like them. What 5 year old doesn’t want to be more grown up? Shrimp were quite wonderful as adult food.
I allowed her to choose a vegetable of the week that we would prepare together, and that helped too.
My daughter is 31 now and introduces her friends to all kinds of things they’ve never eaten before and now like also.
If your child has read GREEN EGGS AND HAM, green muffins should be highly desirable. Try green rice with spinach and cheese also.
Love this, thank you for sharing!!
Oats are not gluten-free
Some people who are gluten-free can’t have oats, but others can. (Me, for example.) They wouldn’t label oats with a “certified gluten-free” label otherwise.
There’s also gluten free oats…
Oats ARE naturally gluten free but some people are still sensitive to them if gluten intolerant. Oats sold under the label “gluten free” simply guarantee that they have been prepared in an environment where they won’t be contaminated by gluten products.
Do these freeze?
Oats are not gluten free go to Dr Wallach. Calm listen to his videos go to dr. Glidden look for his video 12 bad foods the people that say that oats are gluten free or lying to us
Dr. Wallach is incorrect that gluten is in oats. They do contain a similar protein, called avenin, and due to processing they can be contaminated with gluten in certain facilities. So that might be what he meant in his video.
This statement is from the University of Chicago Medicine: “A large body of scientific evidence accumulated over more than 15 years has proven that oats are completely safe for the vast majority of celiac patients. Oats are not related to gluten-containing grains such as wheat, barley and rye. They don’t contain gluten, but rather proteins called avenins that are non-toxic and tolerated by most celiacs (perhaps less than 1% of celiac patients show a reaction to a large amount of oats in their diets). Oats can be in a celiac’s diet provided they are selected from sources that guarantee a lack of contamination by wheat, rye or barley. Some who add oats to their diet may experience GI symptoms. This may actually be a result of the increased fiber that oats provide instead of a reaction to the oats themselves. “
Hey Megan! Love your blog and your cookbook! I use a similar recipe from Super Healthy Kids and substitute certain ingredients to make it vegan! I will also use applesauce instead of oil to make it oil-free! https://www.superhealthykids.com/sweet-spinach-muffins/is what I have used in the past. I tell my son they are Hulk Muffins! Your recipe tastes great! I will definitely make it again!! I wonder if adding a little bit of baking powder along with the baking soda would make it rise more. Might be worth a shot! I like the apple cider vinegar idea. Thanks for all you do!
I’m ballsy and made the muffins-vegan version-in a regular size muffin tin. I cant justify buying a mini one right now. I baked them for 25 min. They were kind of gummy, but I really liked them. I will try again with the egg (we aren’t vegan). And if you ever test this to be made in a full size muffin tin, I would be grateful forever 😉
So mine taste good, but are very dense. I have a Vitamix, did I process too long? I used the recipe as it and did not change it. Maybe I should have added baking powder in addition to the soda. I’m stumped.
These spinach muffins are absolutely delicious. Even my picky husband liked them! I am looking forward to trying your other recipes
I want to make these asap! I love your toddler recipes, my ittle one enjoys everything I cook from your blog!:) I have a question: Do you think they could also work with spinach powder instead of fresh leaves?I still have some powder around and would like to get rid of it…
I didn’t have spinach soI used 2 cups of finely grated carrots, and added some raisins and a little coconut. I loved them! It’s the first gf recipe I had all the ingredients for, except for the spinach. Lol
Hi there, I’m just making these and put them in for 15 mins, then another min until they browned slightly at the sides. I left them for a little more than 30 mins in the tin and then took them out with a knife but they were raw inside 🙁 The only difference to the recipe was that I used banana puree and used the full 8oz. Is this where I may have gone wrong? I’ve popped them in again for 10 mins uncovered and just putting them in again covered with tin foil for another 7, then I’m going to give up, I think! They sound so nice and my 2 year old is looking forward to her “green muffins”.
I really wanted to love these but find them a bit…spinachy. Do you think using maple syrup in place of the honey might help? I could decrease the amount of spinach but don’t want to decrease the health benefits! TIA and love your recipes!!
Hmmm… honey is sweeter than maple syrup, so using maple syrup would make them less-sweet most likely. You can start smaller with the spinach, though! Your taste buds will adjust and then you can gradually add more to each batch. 🙂
These are amazing! My 4 and 1.5 year olds ate almost 30 of these in a few hours. Looks like I’ll be making another batch tomorrow!
I absolutely want to make these TODAY, but only have frozen spinach. What kind of deal breaker is that?
I would probably thaw and drain it so the frozen spinach doesn’t add to much moisture. And I’d use less of the frozen spinach, since it shrinks so much compared to fresh!
Great recipe!! My family, and 2 yr old included, loved these…we called them “oscar the grouch muffins”. Thank you!!
Can I substitute almond flour for this recipe?
These muffins are wonderful! They are so easy to make! I’ve added a table spoon of lemon zest and the flavor was enhanced.
This recipe makes enough batter for nine delicious, full-sized muffins. I’ve made three batches this week and cooking them for 25 minutes has worked great! They do collapse a bit while cooling, but are still very tasty.
Thank you!! My picky eater LOVED these!!!! And so did the rest of the family 🙂 I was skeptical, but I made the vegan version, and the entire batch was gone in no time, hooray!
OMG!!!! These are amazing!! My very picky 2.5 yr old can’t get enough of these “baby dinosaur muffins”…lol! That’s what I’m calling them & said that baby dinosaurs eat them so they can be big & strong! I love trying your recipes, I’ve never been disappointed!!
Thank you!
Can these be frozen? And if so, for how long would you recommend?
Has anyone used frozen spinach ?
Thank you for the great recipes!
These are absolutely delicious! I was a bit skeptical just looking at the ingredients – however they taste like yummy crunch banana bread. And I love that it can be made without eggs as I am sensitive to them. Thanks so much!!!
Do you have to use honey in this muffin recipe?
Probably not, but my kids wouldn’t eat them if they aren’t a little sweet.
Amy – I used applesauce instead of honey an it turned out great. It did have to cook a bit longer though.
I baked these in normal sized muffin tins for 20 minutes and they turned out perfectly!
Love this recipe! So easy to make and delicious! My 18 month old loves it too!
I made the vegan version of these but I was out of oatmeal, I subbed cornmeal and also used a regular sized cupcake pan(Makes 9). My banana was completely black and I used a baby kale/spinach/chard mix. My result is Super sweet delicious corn cakes! Not gummy at all on the inside (once they are cooled completely) a great versatile recipe!
These are delicious ! I used the mini baking cups which worked great! First time I made them I used an egg then today I -wanted to make them but didn’t have an egg so made the chia egg the way you suggested with the apple cider & maple syrup – super good too. Thank-you!!!
My batter is not green like the photo. It is brown and muffins are brown also. I was hoping for a green look for St. Pat’s Day. I followed instructions to a tee.
How strange! Did you definitely use fresh spinach and made no ingredient swaps? My batter is always bright green, so I’m not sure what would cause it to turn brown.
Ive found that when you use frozen spinach they turn out more brown
I ran out of oats. Can I substitute it with wheat flour?
Probably, but I’ve never tried it that way. Let us know if it works for you! (Maybe you’ll need slightly less of it compared to the oats?)
My kids, ages 4, 6 & 8 gobbled these up! I only added a spoonful of honey as I didn’t want them to be very sweet. I actually forgot to add the oats but they still tasted great! They were just really thin muffins. I will definitely make them again!
Made these tonight. I skipped the sweetener and spices; used 4 packs of Great Grains Maple and Brown Sugar Oatmeal…because thats what I had on hand. It is a mix of quinoa, flax seeds and oatmeal. I also added 1/4 tsp of baking powder. The batter is really tasty. They are in the oven now. The mix made 9 medium size muffins. I tested a 1/2 muffin..is pretty good.
Very good! Only thing is that it took a lot longer to cook through and it was divided into 12 muffins. Also, maybe it’s my blender but needed to add another 1/4 of water. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made these and they were so good I ended up eating all 9 by myself! lolI ended up adding 1/4 c more water because they were so thick… and some chia seeds too. Very YUMMY!!
This looks delicious! Can I make them as cookies? I’m on a trip right now and I don’t have a muffin tin. What changes would I have to make? No water?
Thanks for these awesome and easy recipes! Every one I’ve tried has been delicious 😋
Made these this morning for my 5 year old and 18 month old. 18 month old loved these and she’s a picky eater! I used instant oatmeal instead of rolled oats because instant was the one I had… came out just fine, but wondering why the recipe recommends rolled instead of instant? Is this because they’re less processed? The muffins this morning came out really smooth, so if I used rolled oats, this may give it more texture? In any case, looking forward to more flourless, sugarless, nutrient rich goodies on you blog! Thank you Megan!
Thank you for this terrific recipe! I made the vegan version, in regular muffin size, and they are so delicious! So easy, and uses ingredients I always have on hand!👍
I made them without the nut butter by mistake but they were really good! Made them this morning and there are only two left. I’ll try it with almond butter next time. My banana was really ripe so it was pretty sweet. May try lowering the honey next time.
I made these today for my so. We are vegan and he’s under a year old so I substituted the honey for applesauce, and used a flax egg. They took longer to bake – more like 25 minutes, but they turned out great and are going to be perfect snacks for me to send with him to childcare. I think this is a great recipe.
I love these, and so many of your recipes! I was wondering if these can be made without a nut butter? I need to make the recipe for a family that can’t eat any nuts or the substitutes. Thx for the great recipes!
You could probably use a mild flavored oil in its place, like coconut oil.
These are so good, my kids love them. My only problem was that they stuck really bad to the muffin tin. Would these work in silicone muffin pans? Or do you think I just need to grease better? Thank you!
Yes, they work well in a silicone muffin pan!
Thanks so much. They worked in the silicone, but they don’t rise at all. Is that normal? They are all totally flat, like disks. Still good though. Maybe I needed to cook them longer in the silicone? Any info you can give me would be great, as my kids love them!
Do you think switching the spinach for kale would make any detrimental difference?
Kale has a stronger flavor, so I’d use less and wouldn’t expect the flavor to be “hidden” as well as spinach.
My son gobbled these right up! I did use less honey to sweeten (maybe 2-3T) but he didn’t mind. They are stashed in the freezer for easy snacks! Thank you!!
Added a little bit of apple sauce! So goooooood 🙂
How would you modify the cooking time if I wanted to make it in a loaf?
I haven’t tested this as a loaf yet, but I would probably start with about 50 minutes of cooking time at 350ºF or even 325ºF. Oats can give baked goods a slightly “gummy” middle, so I would expect that might happen in the middle of a big loaf. Let me know if you try it!
I cannot have banana is there a sub?
Perhaps applesauce?
Can I substitute steel cut oats as I don’t have any of the other kind. it’s not going to be for any kids just me…
I’m looking forward to trying these!! I live near Toronto, Ontario in Canada. Anyone have any idea where I might buy mini muffin tins that are Not non-stick? I looked on the Walmart site and they only seem to have non-stick ones. Same with Canadian Tire, although they have silicon ones.
I don’t know how safe silicon bake-ware is. Does anyone have any ideas?
My 15month old loved these! I added some ground flax, 2 dates and cut the honey in half. He is literally shoving them in his mouth right now!
I’m so happy to hear that! Glad they are a hit.
Hi, how would I sub the fresh spinach for a jar of baby food?
Hmm… I’ve never tried that before! Maybe start with 2 tablespoons, and add up to 1/4 cup? I’m not sure if they add any other flavoring to baby food, so I’d start small to make sure it doesn’t affect the flavor.
so 2 tbl of purées equals the fresh spinach it calls for? Thanks !!!!
I couldn’t say for sure, but that’s what I’d start with. Fresh spinach adds almost no flavor to these muffins, but I’m not sure how the baby food would be, so that’s why I’d start small so that it doesn’t change the taste too much.
My 1.5 year old loved these! I use kale instead of spinach and he eats them up! Thank you so much for the great recipe. 🙂