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!
Hi! Have you tried them with another vegetable like beets? My daughter loved the spinach ones!
Everyone in my house loves these muffins, but I have a hard time baking them. They seem to come out with empty centers, almost like they rose with a bubble under them. Then they deflate once out of the oven and are completely flat like disks. Please let me know what I am doing wrong? I follow the recipe to the letter, but do use a silicone muffin pan. Thank you!
15 mini muffins out of the first batch were consumed by my three-year-old twins and husband in 15 minutes. They asked for more. LOL. What a great recipe!
Hello, i made the spinach muffins today but they didn’t come out and i followed the recipe except that i forgot to add the salt. And reasons why might of my muffins come out raw?
How long do these last in the fridge?
This looks delicious, thank you for sharing!
Can you use peanut butter instead of the almond butter?
Mine came out really watery. Any thoughts?
The baked muffin was watery, or just the batter? Mine is usually pourable into the muffin pan, so hopefully they turned out okay for you!
I love these, my kids love them, and they’re my go to when I have a banana and/or spinach about to go bad. Great recipe!
I would love to try this for my soon-to-be 1 year old. But I only have instant oats. Can I use those instead?
I think that should work, but let me know if you try it!
This recipe looks yummy. I want to make it for my kids. I don’t have mini muffin tin. I only have the 12-cup muffin tin. What do you think should the temperature and bake time be for a 12-cup muffin tin? Many thanks.
These turned out really well and were delicious, but unfortunately, my 2 year old daughter hated them. She tried them twice and did not like them at all, so I will be eating these instead!
These were easy to make and taste like a banana oat muffin. They are a little more dense than i thought, bit good! I will eat them after lunch for a guilt free treat. I will be making them again.
Hi!
Do you have any recipe of red velvet muffin?? With beets??
I need to introduce vegetables to my twins!! 😱
I love you turtle muffins!!! Great combination!!! Just great!!!
Did anyone else’s come out a brownish green? Mine came out soooo not pretty green
Super obsessed with these! I’ve made them a few times now, and because I’m EXTRA lazy and don’t want to clean a muffin tin, I’ve just been throwing all the batter into an 8×8 pan and cutting them into 9 bars. Cooks perfectly after 20 min. I’ve also added flax seeds, brewers yeast, and chocolate chips to turn them into my own little green “lactation blondies” 😉 Thank you for this awesome recipe!
My go-to muffin recipe when baking with the kids. We call them ‘Shrek Muffins’. Everyone can help make them, cleanup is super easy, and I feel good about serving them. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
I am planning on making these tomorrow. Do you taste the spinach? Can I add blueberries to this recipe? Thank you
I can’t taste the spinach myself. I haven’t tried adding blueberries– it might work? Let me know if you experiment with it!
The absolute best! My 15 month old has been very picky with vegetables lately but she LOVES this recipe!! I feel good knowing I can at least count on her getting some spinach in if she happens to refuse everything else I offer. Also I always make with 2 packed cups of spinach and she still loves them. Thank you!
Can i use maple syrup instead of honey? if so how much would i use?
Mahalo
I just did a 1 to 1 swap and it turned out great.
My toddler and I both love these muffins! I was a little concerned when they came out of the oven and my kitchen reeked of cooked spinach. My daughter adores anything muffin-shaped so she didn’t hesitate to dig into hers. She practically inhaled two of them and begged for more so I knew I needed to try one for myself. They were so fluffy and perfectly sweet. There wasn’t an overpowering spinach flavor at all, and I even put the full 2 cups of spinach in my mix. We were pretty tempted to eat the whole tray of them right then!
I loved that they were so easy and quick to make and there was very little to clean up afterwards. Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Followed the recipe to the T and it’s a huge hit with my picky two year old! Thank you!!
Just wondering, how many mini muffins per serving for a 24month year old?
My 4yo has spd and will not eat any veggis. We made these together and it was a success! Thankyou
We did replace the egg with 1/4 of apple sauce instead.
These muffins are great for adults too. We enjoy them with a bowl of soup. I make a regular size muffin rather than minis.
Stewed vegetables with tomatoes etc was called Spider-Man Food.
Baked beans was Cowboy Stew
My whole family is in love with these muffins! This recipe has been a life saver considering I can never get my kids to eat their vegetables. I was hoping to make a double or triple batch and freeze some to save for later… would this effect the recipe at all? Thanks!
My 8 month old loves these. I used half the amount of maple syrup and a chia egg. Thanks so much for the recipe
This is one of my favorites to give my daughter who is 19 months old!! Great way to sneak some greens into her diet! I have made this recipe sooo many times!! Thank you!
I just made these without the honey and they came out too wet… Too much spinach?
I have made this recipe a number of times and it’s a huge hit with my 2.5 and 4 year old, every time!
I use natural peanut butter and a regular sized muffin pan. I bake them for approximately 30min, until the knife comes out clean/without batter on it.
We call them green Dinosaur muffins -my boys are big Dinosaur 🦕 fans and feel like this is a treat. They don’t know whats inside them and so they think its just a special green muffin.
They taste good. I enjoy them too. I bake them weekly.
Thank you so much for this recipe Megan Gilmore… my youngest hates veggies and just loves eating these!
I just made these today for my 3.5 year old and my 10 month old. I used maple syrup instead of honey so the little one could safely have them and they turned out great! The boys both devoured them. I also added flaxseed meal and that worked fine. Thanks for a recipe that is full of so much goodness and is so easy to complete. I love that everything can be done in a blender. I will definitely have this be a part of my family’s repertoire. I’ve been having trouble getting the little one interested in anything green and this worked like a charm.
I made these muffins for my family last night and they were a hit all around! I’m hoping to make a double batch and freeze half. Would that effect the outcome of the recipe? Thank you!
My son is a “selective” eater, but when these are offered, it is a guarantee that he will eat them.
Thank you!
I just wanted to say I’ve been making these almost weekly for my kids since you posted them and I add a few teaspoons for hemp seeds just to up the protein a little and they still come out great and get gobbled up!!
Wow! I made these for my toddler, but have been eating them myself since they got out of the oven. The subs I used were: steel cut oats,flaxseed, and agave. The cooking time was perfect, and they are so yummy!!
This works perfectly with a brownie tin! The cool time is exactly the same, and they were so delicious. My husband, friends, and 2 year old LOVED THEM!
Seriously the best recipe EVER!! No flour needed which I’m a big fan of! My 2 year old loves these and these were a staple when she first started eating food. You have the food nutrients in one delicious muffin! I hope you have other recipes like this!
I made them today for my grandson and used tahini instead of the almond butter and used Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer along with the vinegar .
Delicious 😋
Been making this recipe since my son turned 1. He absolutely loves these muffins!! It’s his favorite breakfast to have 🙂
This sounded good in theory but my picky eaters did not like them…may have been the spinach freshness (not sure) and the color. I have to keep trying…
LOVE THESE. One of my favorite recipes that I will be putting into rotation!
Hi there! These are wonderful and my kids LOVE them! And now I need to find a replacement for the peanut/almond butter to make it school safe. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Maybe you could try sunflower seed butter, instead?
We have nicknamed these Martian Muffins—little green muffins for little green people. My 1 year old granddaughter looked at them very suspiciously the first time I gave them to her. Then she watched as the rest of us couldn’t stop eating them and now she loves them! Thanks for a great recipe for the entire family!
My kids and I love these so much. I make them several times a month!
Tara
https://thefashionhousemom.com/
Success! Quick to make and my kids love them. Thanks for the recipe!
My absolute favorite! These are so good.I make them in a regular muffin pan and fill them half was so they’re like muffin tops. They are delicious and such a great way to incorporate greens into a toddlers diet. It’s because one of my staples. Thank you! ❤️
Love this recipe and so does my son! Do you think you could add cocoa powder to ir for chocolate muffins??
I have made these many times with preschoolers and the call them leprechaun muffins. Everyone loves them. For a change we added 1/8 cacao to the recipe and they were perfect for our chocolate lovers!
Made these in a regular muffin tin but didn’t fill them but half way or a little more, they rose just fine in the middle. Used frozen Kale we had from the garden and had cashew butter. They were sweet enough for everyone. It was a 50/50 split on texture. They were really soft but stiffened up after two days. Might try a batch with crushed nuts for added crunch but was so happy to find a way to use our Kale . Think this is a great recipe to use for minty green St Patrick’s Day muffins. My pickiest kid loved these!
Made these as is only substituting maple syrup for honey and tightly packed 2 + cups of spinach. Love how it all goes into blender and poured into muffin tins (I used 6 large and 12 mini pans) and it was perfect with minimal clean up. Large muffins were denser than minis but not gummy at all. There is only one problem: they are so light and delicious that I could literally eat the entire batch by tmrw, I kid you not! My new favorite muffin recipe for sure, thanks for sharing!
p.s. I do not have a Vitamix so perhaps a less powerful blender makes them less gummy?