Sweet Spinach Muffins
by Jodi Danen, RD
These super green Sweet Spinach Muffins are the perfect way to add some veggies to your (or your kids’) diet. They’re lightly sweetened with honey and packed with fresh spinach, bananas and whole grains.
Getting kids to eat their vegetables can be exhausting. Getting kids to eat the spinach muffins is easy. They are also easy to make, you will have 14 sweet spinach muffins ready in 30 minutes. We like to call them “Hulk Muffins” and that theme always made my son want to gobble these up.
Maybe their leprechaun muffins for St. Patrick’s Day, monster muffins for Halloween or Grinch muffins for Christmas. Or Ninja Turtle themed, dinosaur muffins, or for the Green Bay Packers. Whatever your kids are obsessed with, go with that.
We love sneaking in veggies when we can, and since my kids loved these Mini Zucchini Bread Muffins, I couldn’t wait to make these Sweet Spinach Muffins.
Ingredients for these Spinach Muffins
- Spinach – I used fresh spinach for this recipe, but you could also use frozen in you prefer. Just make sure to thaw and drain it well (make sure to squeeze out as much water as possible)
- Unsweetened Applesauce – Look for applesauce without added sugars to keep this recipe from going into sugar overload.
- Ripe bananas – The riper the better! Ripening makes bananas sweeter so they’re a great way to sweeten up this recipe without a lot of added sugar.
- Baking Essentials – Eggs, oil, honey (or maple syrup, see below), vanilla extract, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
This recipe is super easy – you basically blend everything up in a blender, pour into your muffin tin and bake. And I’m all about the easy clean-up.
Related: Try our Hidden Veggie Cheeseburgers!
Baby-Led Weaning Spinach Muffins
If you’re making these muffins for babies, you’ll want to swap out honey since babies under 1 shouldn’t consume honey. Instead, you can use maple syrup, agave nectar or additional applesauce.
To Make Vegan Spinach Muffins
This recipe is easy to make vegan or egg free as well. Swap the honey for maple syrup or agave nectar and the eggs for flax eggs.
How to Make a Flax Egg
To replace the two eggs in this recipe with (vegan) flax eggs:
- Add 2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed and 5 Tbsp. water in small dish.
- Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken, then add to the blender.
Storing Muffins
These muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze in a ziplock bag for up to 3 months.
Related: Try our ultimate breakfast grazing board to feed a crowd!
Sweet Spinach Muffins FAQs
Q: What are the main ingredients in sweet spinach muffins?
A: The main ingredients are fresh spinach, unsweetened applesauce, ripe bananas, eggs, oil, honey, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Q: How do you make the spinach muffins sweet?
A: The muffins are lightly sweetened with honey and ripe bananas, which get sweeter as they ripen.
Q: How can you make the spinach muffins vegan?
A: To make the muffins vegan, swap the eggs for flax eggs and use maple syrup or agave nectar instead of honey.
Q: How long does it take to make sweet spinach muffins?
A: These spinach muffins take 30 minutes total – 10 minutes prep time and 20 minutes bake time.
Q: How can you get kids to eat spinach muffins?
A: Giving the muffins fun names like “Hulk Muffins” or themes based on what they’re interested in can help kids enjoy these spinach muffins.
Q: How long do baked sweet spinach muffins last?
A: The muffins will keep for up to 5 days refrigerated or can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Sweet Spinach Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fresh spinach
- 6 ounces unsweetened applesauce
- 3 overripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- Add spinach, applesauce, bananas, eggs, oil, honey and vanilla to blender. Blend until pureed. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend until just combined. Mixture will be thick, use a spatula to scrap the sides of blender as needed.
- Pour evenly into muffin cups. Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Run a knife around the edges and remove from pan to let cool completely.
I’ve made these a few times. For the first batches I followed the recipe exactly and they were a huge hit for my boys.
The third batch I made I didn’t have applesauce so I substituted pumpkin puree. I also added a bit of flax meal and chia seeds and some dark chocolate chips on top in case my boys weren’t as into the pumpkin substitution. They were also a huge hit!!
Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing Leah! I love those additions, I will definitely have to try that too – YUM!
Why cant i get these right? They end up gooey and collapse. I have baked to time suggested and have added up to 10 additional minutes in subsequent trys.
Hi! Can I use olive or coconut oil instead of vegetable? Our 18 mo old has a soy allergy, so can’t have the vegetable oil. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! Olive oil or extra virgin olive oil can be used in place of vegetable oil in any recipe in a 1:1 ratio. Let us know how you and your family like them!
Hello 🙂 I would love making these muffins, but I’m a little confused with the amount of spinach needed. How many cups would you estimate it takes for this recipe?
10 oz seems quite a lot if I make the conversion on the internet (I’m canadian so not really used to onces.)
I would estimate around 1 1/2 to 2 cups?
Thanks for your reply. I can’t wait to make these 🙂
Carolyne
Hi Carolyne! Thank you for reaching out! We used one 10 oz bag from the grocery store, in cups, that would be closer to 1 1/4 cups. Let us know how they turn out! And please let me know if you have any other questions!
These are so good!! I made them for my toddler but I know they will be a staple piece for the whole family! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
You are more than welcome! I’m glad you and your family enjoy them as much as we do 🙂