Green Muffins Recipe — Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day
I am too excited about this muffin recipe to wait until St. Patrick’s Day! I’ve had great luck in the past using pureed spinach to turn pancakes green, so I knew I could make a green muffin. Not only do I think these turned out fantastic, even Mr. Picky loved them, too. Although I did tell him a little lie and said I used green food coloring and he just lit up, eyes wide, “Really?! You did?! Really, Mom?! Like the unhealthy kind?!” Honestly, I’m a little disappointed that my son actually thinks I would use food coloring in a muffin. And just as disappointed that he would be excited to eat that same muffin. I had to lie again. Actually, buddy, it’s a natural green food coloring which gets its color from spinach. Bummed out face. I know for a minute there he thought I suddenly turned into an exciting mom, one who would take risks and dare to use carcinogens! “Oh. They’re still good, I guess.”
And they are good! These muffins are lightly sweet, moist, simple and BRIGHT GREEN because they are loaded with spinach! St. Patrick’s Day is a HUGE opportunity to get green foods into your kids because they are expecting them. You’re showing your spirit. On any other day, green muffins are you just trying to sneak leafy greens into your kids who are not fooled. But the closer we get to March 17th, green muffins are part of the fun!
This is a very basic muffin recipe. The spinach is undetectable and the banana is very subtle. But if you hate banana, you might be able to sub 1/2 cup of applesauce. I think adding walnuts or chocolate chips would be great, too. One of my daughters suggested cream cheese frosting, although then these become cupcakes which is fine, too. These tasted best the day they were made and the next day, too. They lasted just fine a few days on the countertop in a sealed container, but I would freeze what you don’t think you’ll eat within a couple days. Let me know if you make these and if you get lucky!
Green Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour white whole wheat flour or spelt flour (or use 2 cups of King Arthur Multi-purpose Gluten-free Flour + 1 teaspoon xanthan gum)
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup pure maple syrup Grade A or Grade B
- ¾ cup dairy or non-dairy milk such as almond milk
- ¼ cup unrefined coconut oil melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 5- or 6-ounce bag of fresh baby spinach leaves
- 2 medium ripe bananas mashed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with unbleached parchment liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a blender add egg, maple syrup, milk, oil, vanilla and spinach. Process until pureed.
- Add spinach mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the mashed banana.
- Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin, filling cups about ¾ full. I like to do this with a large ice cream scooper. Bake about 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Store at room temperature up to 3 days. These freeze nicely!
212 Comments
omg these are sooo good! I used AP flour and blended the banana w the wet ingredients. really soft, fluffy muffins.
Great! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Loved the recipe and the healthy ingredients! Not sure if it’s my liners (I only had plain white) but they were kind of hard to peel without breaking the muffins. Any suggestions? Also, I would love to make mini muffins version. What would be adjustments to time? Thank you!
Glad you liked the muffins! Not sure what to say about the liners. Bummer. I always use unbleached parchment liners or silicone liners and I have never had that issue. You can absolutely make mini muffins, but I have found that there are different sizes for mini muffin pans. It would be hard for me to say exactly what the bake time is but start checking at the 10 minute mark. I am guessing they’ll take 15-18 minutes.
I made them again and they came out perfect! I’m so glad I found this recipe! Unfortunately my daughter is 5 and she is refusing to try them because they are green 🙁 Can I leave out the spinach or would need to add anything instead?
Kids!! Next time, make them on St Patrick’s Day when it’s “acceptable” to make green food LOL. Honestly, I don’t know how they would trun out without the spinach, but if you remove that moisture, they might be done a smidge early. That’s my guess.
Hi, would it be possible to use a sugar alternative such as Monkfruit sugar?
Thank you
I don’t know, honestly. I’ve only tested this recipe with liquid sweeteners.
Also, these are really easy to do in the Thermomix. FIrst add the oil and melt at 50 degrees, then add wet ingredients and blitz at speed 9 for about 20 seconds, then add dry ingredients and mix reverse speed 4 until all mixed in, finally add the mushed bananas and fold by hand. yum.
Thanks for sharing the tips on making these in a Thermomix. 🙂
Have been making these regularly for lunchboxes for years! kids love them. Normally I put 1.5 cups wholemeal flour and 0.5 cups white flour for flufiness. Today I forgot to add the bananas, I only noticed as the muffins were already in the paper cups ready to go in the oven. So I mushed a banana and added a bit to the centre of each raw muffin and pushed it in a bit. It was delicious!
Oh wow! Good to know that works too 🙂
Wow, these turned out great, and I made a GLUTEN-FREE version with 1/2 cup-4-cup GF flour (my own recipe) and the other 1/2 was oat flour. Worked out wonderfully! The texture was moist, but unlike some other GF recipes, these also held their shape very well, while
doming nicely at the top. My whole family enjoyed, even my sometimes-picky husband!
Nice! Using half oat flour and half GF flour blend is a great way to sub for gluten free. Thanks for trying it and reporting back.
[…] advantage of the holiday and made so much green food for a week in anticipation of the holiday. Green muffins, green pancakes, green breakfast cookies, green smoothies, green risotto, you name […]
[…] make split pea soup and Irish soda bread. Other green food you could try: green pancakes, green muffins, green matcha chia pudding, “leprechaun juice” smoothie, vegan mint chip smoothie, green […]
I followed the recipe as written using Spelt flour which was a recommended alternative in the ingredient list. Unfortunately this must have changed the hydration of the dough and no matter how long I baked the muffins for they remained gelatinous and raw on the insides. After doubling the baking time with still no success I gave up and threw them out. Ugh.
So sorry these didn’t turn out for you, Alyse. In my experience, a raw interior has to do with the leavening agents being expired or mis-measured or swapped (baking soda for baking powder or vice versa.) I have made these muffins countless times with spelt flour and they have always turned out perfectly.
Hi! I used to make these all the time (for Halloween) and my kids (and I) love them. But now I’m vegan and I’m wondering if I can sub a flax egg???
Thanks 🙁
I meant – lol
That’s so great to hear! I think a flax egg will work here. You can take 1 Tbs. ground flax meal and mix with 3 Tbs. warm water. Allow to sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes before adding to the batter.
This is a wonderful recipe, thank you for providing it!
Regarding freezing the muffins, how would I go about that exactly? Once the muffins are cooled, just place them in a freezer zip top bag? When ready to be consumed, how long does it take to defrost? Is it recommended that the muffins be defrosted on a countertop or in the refrigerator? Thanks for any insight! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it! To freeze muffins, I like to wrap each one individually with plastic wrap (after they have completely cooled) and place them in a resealable bag or container. When ready consume, remove the plastic wrap and defrost at room temperature or in a microwave/toaster oven. Muffins usually take about an hour to defrost at room temp or 30 seconds if you are warming them in the microwave.
Is it possible to sub almond flour for this recipe?
Unfortunately, you can’t sub nut flours for wheat flours. I would look for an almond flour muffin recipe and blending fresh spinach with the wet ingredients.
Hi Pamela! How much so a h would you add to the banana muffins in KM? Happy Passover!
Sorry! I realized there was a typo. How much spinach could I add to the KM banana muffin recipe? I would like to make something nut based. Thank you!
Hi Jasmine. I haven’t made the banana muffins from KM with spinach, but I think a nice handful of spinach should be enough to make the batter green. You can blend all of the ingredients with the spinach in a blender or food processor. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
These are soooo good I make them all the time and such a great way to give my son some spinach! My bananas are not ripe enough so I want to try subbing applesauce. Would it be an equal exchange? About a cup and a half of applesauce folded in at the end? Thank you for another homerun recipie!!
That’s so great to hear! You can try using 1/2 cup of applesauce for the 2 bananas called for in the recipe. Enjoy!
do you have the nutrition info for this recipe?
Sorry, I don’t.
So…. talk to me about what the importance or significance is with the ALUMINUM FREE baking powder??
I use aluminum-free baking powder because I don’t want to consume additional aluminum in my diet and baked goods won’t get a metallic taste.
My Mr. Picky loved these, his problem isn’t spinach, it’s cooked bananas! My older son loves banana bread/muffins, but the younger doesn’t like cooked bananas, go figure! I also always add flaxseed to my muffins, so at least I felt like Mr. Picky was getting a load of vitamins and fiber!
Great idea! Apple sauce is a great alternative to the mashed bananas for a more subtle flavor.
Could I cut the maple syrup down to a half of a cup?
You can. Since the maple syrup helps provide moisture, I would check the muffins a few minutes early so they don’t dry out.
Hi, what can I use if i don’t have maple syrup? would i need to increase the amount of oil or milk? Thanks
Honey or date syrup can be subbed one for one in place of the maple syrup.
Hi Pamela,
Is there a good substitute for the xanthan gum when using gf flour?
Thanks!
I haven’t tested these subs in this recipe, but guar gum and psyllium husk powder are often suggested as substitutes for xanthan gum.
Can I use oat flour?
Probably! I would measure 2 cups and take out 2 Tablespoons since oat flour is more water soluble
It’s worth a try! I think it should work fine.
Is there any reason not to purée the bananas in the blender with all the other wet ingredients? Thanks!
You could! It will make the texture very smooth. Go for it!
Can you add blueberries inside or put a streusel on top of the muffin? I’m trying to make a muffin that looks a bit more “icky.”
You mean less icky?? LOL You can put chocolate chips on top or sprinkle the tops with plain blanched almond flour which will look streusel-like?
Just made these with my 5 year old daughter and they were a hit with the whole family! Perfect snack filled with goodness.
Yay! Feel free to make them NOT on St. Patrick’s Day now that they passed the test! 🙂
Is there a good substitute for coconut oil? Olive oil? Applesauce? We can’t use coconut anything due to an allergy. Thank you!
Try olive oil! I’m sure they will turn out amazing!
Just tried for the first time Wow, delicious!! Any idea on a calorie count? (For Mom, not child ) thanks!
Glad you like them! Sorry, I haven’t calculated calorie count. My blogger friends all refer their readers to My Fitness Pal for calculating calories and macros. I hope that helps!
So, I wanted to make these for my son’s class as a treat for St. Patrick’s Day. I made a batch first to test them out to see if 3rd graders would eat them. I thought they were excellent and decided they would be perfect. (We really aren’t allowed to bring in homemade treats because of allergies but I can’t stand bringing in anything processed so I just make sure I make things that everyone can eat). My own kids loved them and my son’s class, with a few exceptions, loved them too. Camden could not wait to tell everyone that the muffins had spinach in them. I also made a little skewer of grapes and honeydew. These muffins were simple, tasty and so easy to make. The color was amazing. We have some new St. Patrick Day traditions thanks to you.
You’re a good mama. Just say no to processed food! I don’t think these muffins are all that difficult to make and I’m sure you would agree. Thank you for spreading the health!
Just a little note here….I made these for my mom to take on the airplane with her this week and the daughter of the person she was visiting loved them. I passed on the recipe and she can’t wait to make them for her family.
Thank you for sharing my recipes with so many people. I wish I could hire you as my agent!
Can you let me know the nutritional Value for these? Thank you!
Hi. How many cups spinach? I have a big box..
If you have a 1 pound box, you can eyeball 1/3 of the box, or measure out 6 cups lightly packed.
Hello from Australia. We made these for St Patricks Day last year and sent them to my daughter’s primary school. The mothers all asked for the recipe, as the kids had talked about the bright green muffins when they went home! Some kids had NEVER eaten spinach before!!!!! This year my 3 year old is making them together with his classmates at Preschool as an activity for St Patricks Day, they are so easy as you just put everything in a blender, and have low sugar so the Preschool liked the idea! Great recipe and photos!
Thank you for the lovely email. I so enjoyed reading it and what a gift you are to your son’s school!
I think these are amazing… But for those who are intereste very very sweet. Next time I’d do far less syrup.
these were so good and my kids loved them. i have done all different variations of “normal” flours/wheat germ and sugar/maple/applesauce sweeteners and it always turns out great. very easy to adapt.
Also, i just blend the banana into the blender and then pour into bowl and the texture is always perfect.
thanks so much. my kids are OBSESSED with this muffin….. 1 year and 2.5 years old
i am sorry i tried to leave 5 stars but it wouldnt allow it! i didnt mean to leave two stars 🙁
No worries, but thank you! I love all your adaptations of this recipe. Such a healthy breakfast/snack for your littles!
I just made another batch today…..my kids are now 2 ans 3.5 and still obsessed….by far their favorite muffin. this batch has 1/2 wheat and 1.2 regular flour and for sweets i did 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 maple. they love it every time.
Nice work, mama!
These were so good and a hit at the office today! Thank you and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
So great to hear! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I´ve done these for today´s S Patrick day, I used 50gr spinach and about 60gr cellery leaves, not really because I wanted to try something new but because I didn´t have more spinach and my garden is full of cellery :). I also substituted coconut oil for a bit less than 1/4 c butter, 2 tsp baking powder for 1/2 baking soda (1 tsp soda altogether) , and milk for plain yogurt plus 1 tbsp lemon juice to make the soda work. The result was delicious, the bananas, cellery and spinach turned out to combine great in a mildly sweet muffin, and they elevated pretty well despite the soda replacement. Great recipe for today thanks
I forgot, I also substituted 3/4c. maple syrup for about 1/3c honey 🙂
Wow! This is an incredible adaptation of the recipe. Love it!
Can you use frozen spinach? Only asking because I have some.
Maybe! If you try it, I would defrost it and squeeze it dry. I’m just not sure how much to use and if the color will be as vibrant green as it is with fresh spinach. Probably not, but maybe that’s not a big deal.
Ok thanks 🙂
I know these are old comments, but my kids and I have made these many times and we often use frozen spinach. They turn out great, just not as green! Making a batch (with fresh spinach) for my son’s kindergarten class for St Patrick’s Day tomorrow.
So great to learn! Thanks for sharing.
Any ideas for substitution if I only have one banana?
You can try adding 1/4 cup applesauce plus some additional sweetener, maybe another 2 Tbs. dry or wet sweetener.
I plan on making these for tomorrow (THANK YOU!). Think I could substitute either 1 cup of applesauce or another banana for the egg? Thanks!
Why don’t you try a flax egg? 1 Tbs. ground flax meal mixed with 3 Tbs. warm water. Allow to sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes before adding to the batter. Otherwise, 1 cup of applesauce sounds like too much to use in place of 1 egg. Another banana might work though.
I made a double batch of these with 1.5 times the leavening agents. I had some doubts on the product as they were very wet on the inside, even with a longer baking time. However, my daughter’s preschool class was thrilled with the result, including my wonderful daughter who normally won’t touch anything green with a ten foot pole. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Glad it worked out. But they were wet on the inside because you doubled the recipe but only multiplied the leavening agents by 1 1/2. Next time if you make a double batch, double all the ingredients! 🙂
Can I double this recipe?
For sure!
Is there a substitute for unrefined coconut oil? It’s such a small amount and rather than buy a whole bottle just to try these….thanks!
Sure! You can use olive oil or melted butter.
would whole wheat flour that is not pastry flour still work?
Whole wheat flour is a bit coarser and heavier than whole wheat pastry. I would use half whole wheat and half white, otherwise they may come out a little dense and heavy. Even 2/3 whole wheat and 1/3 white.
Thanks! They are great! Do you know how many calories are in each?
Not sure! You would have to plug the recipe into a calorie counter.
Have you tried these with any other flour? I’d like to try with garbanzo bean flour
Hmmm….garbanzo bean flour is not my favorite for sweet recipes. It has a very bean-y flavor. You can do a GF flour blend with rice, oat, sorghum if you’re interested or a GF flour blend like King Arthur. You have to add xanthan gum though.
Would you be able to recommend a healthy icing to go with these?
Some people like lightly sweetened whipped coconut cream as an icing. Or I posted a healthified faux cream cheese icing with this recipe:https://pamelasalzman.com/whole-wheat-carrot-cake-with-dairy-free-frosting-recipe/ 🙂
Hi there! This recipe sounds great, I can’t wait to try it. I am wondering if honey would work instead of maple syrup??
Thanks!
Yes, absolutely. Same amount 🙂
Could you substitute spinach for kale?
I think someone tried that but I don’t remember. Spinach blends really well into the liquid mix, kale not as well. But it’s worth a try!
Could I sub AP flour or GF AP flour? If so, what would the conversion be? Thanks!
yes, absolutely. AP flour is 1 to 1. For GF flour you need to find a GF flour BLEND that is a 1 to 1, like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur.
These muffins are great! My 6yr old and 4yr old twins love them – I’ve made 2 batches in 2 days to keep in the freezer as the demand is high. I used a flax egg and added chia seeds the second time. Anytime all 3 really enjoy something, I know I’ve found a winner – thank you!
How great! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
These are fantastic! Such a hit with everyone, especially my little ones that are often anti-greens. They have actually asked me to make these over and over…Thanks for such a great recipe!!
Great news!
These muffins are addictive! In a good way, of course. Big hit with my husband and 13 yr old son.
Great!
Made today and cooked in donut pans. Finished in exactly 20 min and made about two dozen. Excellent recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Donuts! Best idea I’ve heard all day. Thanks for the great idea!
What can I say–I’m a sucker for a healthy donut! Glad I could inspire you back! On a side note, I followed the recipe exactly, except I used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup self-rising flour, both unbleached white bc that’s what I had.
How cool. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing. I made these for St. Paddy’s and they turned out great. I also used 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 all-purpose flour and almond milk.
I always love hearing adaptations. Thanks for sharing!
These were wonderful! My son has problems with dyes so we are always looking for fun recipes without dye. This made 18 muffins and my kids each ate 4 (during the course of the day). They are not spinach eaters so I was so happy to get some spinach in their diets! Thank you for the great recipe! It was perfect for st Pattys day…or any day! A new fav! Btw, I used 1/2 white ww and 1/2 all purpose flour and they came out great!
That’s amazing! By the way, even people who don’t have problems with dyes shouldn’t eat dyes. Yuck, yuck, yuck! You’re a good mama. 🙂
I just made another batch of these for my sons birthday party tomorrow (at his request). I want to frost them. Do you have any amazing frosting recipes up your sleeve? I thought about trying the cashew cream recipe from your site, but I’m almost out of cashews…
I love the cashew cream frosting, but that’s really the only one I have that’s kind of healthy. Otherwise I would just do a cream cheese frosting with a little honey or Grade A maple syrup and a drop of vanilla. 🙂
Thank you! I ended up making a whipped cream with 2T of maple syrup and a dash of vanilla. I sprinkled a little Maggie’s naturals green sprinkles on at the last minute. The kids loved them, but I didn’t think they were quite right… I will experiment with your cashew cream or cream cheese frosting before the next birthday.
I’m sure they were still good with the whipped cream, but I know what you mean. 🙂
These were great. Even my picky husband ate them! Thanks for sharing!
Phew! So glad to hear that!
For those interested I have calculated the nutrition values.
My recipe used 1/3 cups of agave syrup instead of 3/4 cup of maple syrup, I used almond milk and I used 2.5 bananas. I got 16 muffins.
132 calories, 3 g of protein, 4 g of total fat, 22 g of Carbohydrates, 3 g of fiber, 3 g of sugars, 136 mg of sodium, 3 g of saturated fat and 23 g of Cholesterol.
Hope this helps.
My kids loved these muffins Thank You!!
Cheers
So lovely of you to do that and share with everyone. Thank you!
mine were more of a pea green but still pretty tasty.
I can’t wait to try these! Do you think they would do ok with 100% whole wheat flour? Thank you so much for a sneaky recipe, my 4 yr old won’t eat veggies… 🙂
I think they would work just fine, but they would be a touch heavier (whole wheat pastry results in a lighter crumb.) Good luck!
I used half whole wheat flour and half all-purpose flour. Yummy recipe! Thanks!
That’ll work! You’re welcome!
These are delicious!! I can’t wait to put them in my son’s lunch box tomorrow! Do you like to use light amber or medium amber maple syrup in your recipes?
Great! I actually use both, but I use a light amber if I want less maple flavor to come through in the recipe. 🙂
Has anyone tried this using baby kale instead of spinach??
My whole family loved these! It made more than 12 (18 and they overflowed a bit) – which I love as they will last longer! I can’t wait to make them again – thank you!
Love to hear this!
LOVE this recipe…so much so that I made it TWICE in one week. The first time, I followed the recipie. The second time we used beet purée instead of spinach (because my son wanted red muffins). Turned out great!!! Love giving my kiddos healthy muffins without a ton of unnecessary sugar.
Beet puree! You’re a genius! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Do you know the calorie count??
No, sorry I don’t. But there are lots of sites where you can plug in the ingredients to get that info.
do you know the name of any sites where you can do that?
Sure! Try myfitnesspal.com or thecaloriecounter.com
I whirled the banana with the blender mixture (didn’t read it well bc on my tiny phone screen!) and I was worried bc the batter was quite runny at first then looked foamy but tired out fine in the end! Hooray!
Hooray!! Love these muffins 🙂
if I don’t have coconut oil (which I don’t), what would be a ‘regular’ substitute? Also I just have regularly old white flour- an issue?
You can use a mild olive oil or even melted butter. Sure you can use white flour, it’s just not as nutritious ;).
How do you make the green mixture. I tried going to the green pancake recipe but it wasn’t found
Are you looking for the green muffin recipe? That’s just above the comment section on this page. The green colored is achieved by blending spinach into the wet mix. The pancake recipe is different and that can be found here: https://pamelasalzman.com/st-pattys-day-pancakes-recipe/
Do you think I can swap out the coconut oil with another kind of oil? We have a coconut allergy. Thanks!
I bet you can sub olive oil just fine and probably melted butter would work, too. Let me know who they turn out!
Thank you so much for replying!
Of course!
Can’t wait to try these! Any idea what the cooking time would be if I made these in a mini muffin tin?
There are two mini-mufin sizes: small and really small. Since I don’t know which one you have, I would start testing the muffins at the 10 minute mark. So cute!
I think I have the really small ones. I did 12 minutes and they were good. Next time I will do 10, they could have been a little more moist. Thanks!
Perfect!
These look great! Would you replace both bananas with only 1/2 cup of applesauce? I’d rather not use any banana but I didn’t know if that meant I needed 1/2 cup or a full cup.
Hi Lauren, it looks like from some of the comments below that 1/2 cup applesauce was successfully substituted for the 2 bananas. Personally, I think ripe bananas are sweeter than applesauce, so I might be inclined to up the sweetener a little.
Good point, thank you! I didn’t think about upping the sweetener. I plan on making these for my son’s daycare friends for St. Patty’s day – I’m so excited! Thanks again!
hulk cupcakes!! great idea 🙂
Hulk cupcakes — love it! 🙂
I’m thinking TMNT cupcakes too!
My kids are loving these! And they’re getting a kick out of the fact that they are actually made with spinach! I lightly sprinkled them with mini dark chic chips so they look like little spiked green balls. We’re calling them Halloween muffins… Thank you!
You are one clever mama! Love that! 🙂
Great idea!!! These are delicious!! Will be making them as monster muffins or something like that for Halloween!!
Love that idea!!
Just made these…didn’t need to wait until St. Patty’s Day! I had both fresh spinach and bananas I needed to use up, and these sounded delicious! We LOVE them! I used 1 c. sprouted whole wheat flour, 1/2 c. farro flour, & 1/2 c. oat flour (from oat groats) to total my 2 c. flour…. mainly because I had various flours that I had made which I needed to use up, but didn’t want to go with all of 1 kind in case all oat or faro flour would cause this to bomb, lol. I added chopped walnuts to them too…oh, and I even forgot to put in the vanilla extract, but they are delicious without it! I used my Vitamix to do all of my wet ingredients, mash my bananas & chop the walnuts… so fast and easy! The batter is delicious too…enjoyed “licking” the bowl :).
I love all of your adaptations! I especially like the addition of a little crunch. These are perfect all year for sure!
I made these tonight, taking advantage of my rare opportunity to serve “green” food. I thought they were beyond amazing! My kids were actually excited to try them after dinner as well. Well, my daughter loved them and can’t believe she will be allowed to have a ” cupcake ” for breakfast tomorrow. However, my son was repulsed by the bits of banana in it. I’m wondering what would happen if I puréed the banana as well so there are no detectable bits. What do you think?
No repulsive bits of banana allowed! You can absolutely puree them with the spinach if you want. Good luck with Round 2! 🙂
Does anyone know if this would work with frozen spinach (obviously I’d have to squeeze it out really well) and how many cups of it I would need? I have a crazy picky toddler and would love to make these once he’s in bed for a surprise breakfast tomorrow!
Even though I haven’t made these with frozen spinach, I am going to guess you can use the equivalent weight of frozen, defrosted spinach and blend with the liquids. I don’t know what the cup equivalent is, but if you had a 10-ounce bag of frozen spinach, I would use half. I would love to know if you try it and it works!
I did use defrosted 10 ounces frozen spinach and they were delicious! No spinach taste and I also cut the maple syrup down to about a 1/3 c and did the switch of 1/2c applesauce for the bananas, only because we were out of bananas at the time. Making another batch now per my 4 yo request for her class snack! Thanks!
Very exciting to hear!!
Happy St,. Patty’s Day! These green muffins were such a hit at my house! Everyone loved them and so did the group of walkers going to Valley school! Fun to share and delicious to eat! I had to promise to make them again today!
Thank you!!
Terrific! Thanks for sharing, Louisa!
Yum, my kids and I just made these. We made them in mini muffin tins and added a chocolate chip to the top of them. They keep asking for more!
That’s great!!
Has anyone successfully used Kale in this recipe? I want to make these but checked the fridge and have no spinach on hand!
I the flavor of 5-6 ounces of kale would be apparent whereas the spinach is undetectable, but that’s just my guess.
I actually used the kale and it wasn’t noticeable. If my husband ate and liked them, trust me, it is undetectable! So just in case anyone needs to use a substitute in a pinch, kale is good too! Everyone has been begging for more! Great recipe to store away for St. Patricks Day and as hulk muffins! 🙂
Thank you so much, Rachelle! I’m so grateful you gave them a try with the kale and then reported back your success! This opens up more possibilities for these muffins — yay!!
I just realized that as I am saving this recipe I never used almond milk! I honestly didn’t miss it. I bet it would have made the batter really liquidy. This also made 12 very full muffins. I bet the apple sauce had something to do with how it turned out (which was yummy).
SO interesting! Good to know! Thanks, Mindy!
I made these tonight and my husband and I both really liked them. I used 1/4 cup agave nectar and 1/2 cup maple syrup. I also tried what you suggested and subbed one banana for 1/2 cup apple sauce. The muffins were moist with good texture. I like that they are sweet without being too sweet. So this is a great base recipe. Thank you for sharing!
We made these tonight and they were great! Our weren’t as vibrant green. But saw in the comments that I might have blended it longer than you. Next time I will do less. I think nuts would be great in them as well. My six year old said thumbs up! We packed them up to share with his teachers tomorrow. Thank you!
Yay!
Made these today! So good! I changed the recipe up just a bit, but still had delicious results! Thank you so much for this great healthy recipe!
Thanks for letting me know, Heather! I appreciate the comment!
Hi Pamela. A friend showed me these muffins and I’m in love. Simple and clean, just like I cook. Pinning and trying! And yes, I lie to my kids in the same way too. And I share your sadness and I know the feeling of “not a cool mom” with spinach obsession LOL. I’m gonna lie to my boys!!!
Oh, go for it! LOL!
Hi, I tried making these today and they didn’t turn out so well. I used white spelt flour and honey, but everything else exactly as written. The batter was very runny? The muffins ended up sunken and still undercooked inside (despite extended cooking time and bring overdone on the outside). Any suggestions? They still taste delicious, they just don’t look great 🙁
That’s disappointing! Since I wasn’t in the kitchen with you when you made them, it’s hard to say what went wrong. But it sounds like a leavening issue perhaps? Is it possible the baking powder and baking soda were mixed up? Or one of them left out altogether? I have made these several times as have many of my friends and family and I haven’t heard any results like yours, so I think the recipe is ok. Thoughts?
I made these tonight for our family and they were a huge hit. Thanks for a wonderful, festive, and healthy muffin! (I made a double batch to have enough to freeze for St. Patrick’s Day but couldn’t wait until then to make them.)
Great idea! Thanks, Carrie 🙂
I just made these without any modifications. They are yummy! If you close your eyes, to me they taste like banana muffins, but that is great because I love banana muffins. Mine are definitely green, but not quite a vibrant as yours, but still unquestionably green! Thanks.
That’s great, Bridget! Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about the color issue, and I have a feeling (just a feeling, no scientific evidence) that the longer the spinach is pureed, the less vibrant the color because it will start to oxidize. So perhaps blend for as little time as possible to keep it bright green!
HA! Love your comments about your conversation with your son. Sounds exactly like what would happen with my 6 year old. So many times I feel bad because we are so boring…no fun cereals, no fun juice, no colors! So this will be fun to try! Thank you!
Yep, same boring house here! Let me know what you think of the muffins!
Can you suggest a good egg substitute? I have a student who has an egg allergy, and would hate to leave her out. Thank you!
Yes! For one egg substitute 1 Tablespoon of GROUND flaxseed mixed with 3 Tablespoons of warm water. Allow the mixture to sit on the countertop for 15 minutes before adding to the muffin batter. Should be perfect!
This made me laugh oh loud when I read your comment about [not] being a cool mom that takes risks with carcinogens. My husband and I are so persnickety when it comes to food ingredients. I will also try the recipe with agave and I’ll let you know how it turns out. I have never commented on a recipe before, but you sound like a woman after my own heart. Thank you for sharing.
Welcome, Mindy! So glad you found me. Natural food purists unite!
Do you have suggestions for a coconut oil substitute or egg substitute? When I normally substitute egg, I find everything falls apart.
Sure! For the coconut oil you can sub olive oil or melted butter. For the egg substitute, sub 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tablespoons warm water. Allow to sit on the countertop for 15 minutes before adding to batter.
Would it be too much to use coconut milk and the coconut oil? Or should I use almond milk instead? Thanks!
Hmmm, coconut milk (the kind out of the can) has so much more fat than regular milk. ALthough the recipe calls for such a small amount, that it would probably be fine. I think the flavor should be fine too. ALmond milk will definitely work!
LOVE THIS! Cant wiat to try it! YUMM!!! Love Pegs
Hi Pam- If I wanted to use almond flour or coconut flour instead, how would I change the recipe? Thank you so much!
Hi Stef! I haven’t tested this with almond flour yet, but when I do I am going to take my basic almond flour muffin recipe here: https://pamelasalzman.com/cranberry-orange-almond-flour-muffin-recipe/ (obviously take out the cranberries and orange zest — although that would be so cute for Christmas!) and I would use half the spinach since that recipe only makes 9 muffins. I think it will work! Let me know if you try it before I do. Thanks!
I don’t always have maple syrup on hand but I do keep Agave. Would that work, as well? Looking forward to getting some greens into my own picky guy!
I only tested this recipe with maple syrup, but I am confident that you can use agave and regular cane sugar as well. A wet sweetener gets blended with the other wet ingredients and a dry sweetener gets mixed in with the dry (i.e. flour). Enjoy!