If you find the idea of spinach muffins unappealing, guess again! These green monster muffins are so sweet and all natural. It’s a great way to sneak some spinach into your diet!
*Please note* this post has been updated as of July, 2019. The post and recipe remains the same, but the photos have been updated, along with a video at the bottom of the recipe card to show you how easy these are to make!
Meet the newest member of my green monster family – green monster muffins! Actually, they’re not new in any sense, since I’ve been making them since Oscar started eating solid food, BUT they are new to LIMO. I got the original recipe from a friend a few years back, courtesy of a blog called the Green Forks; it looks like the site is no longer up and running, but luckily I’ve made and tweaked the recipe enough over the years that I don’t actually need the site anymore!
These muffins were actually the inspiration behind my green monster baked donuts too! It’s an easy, fun way to get a TON of spinach into kids, without them even knowing it. Muwahah!
If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ll know that I love to bake without refined sugars (as much as possible), and bananas are one of my favourite ways to pack a ton of natural sweetness into something; these banana muffins are only sweetened with banana!
Are green monster muffins sugar free?
Since we’re packing a whopping 6 ounces of spinach into these bad boys, you will definitely want to add some additional sweetener along with the bananas; my preference is honey, but if your babe is under 1 or you’d prefer a different sweetener, you can swap the honey for agave or maple syrup.
How do you make green monster muffins?
The muffins are super easy to make! The spinach and bananas are combined in a blender or food processor, along with the other wet ingredients, and then mixed into the dry. I use a combo of whole wheat flour and white flour to ensure the muffins aren’t too dense and heavy; I’ve never been able to get my hands on white whole wheat flour, but if you have some I think you could use it, instead of the mix.
Isn’t this green colour just brilliant!? I love it! The kids don’t mind it either – they’re still too young to be scared of anything green. I am being 100% honest when I say the first day I made these, Wally would not stop asking for them. I think it’s pretty much all he ate that day, and I was ok with it (yay spinach)! It certainly made for an interesting diaper the following day….sorry…
Since it’s March 2nd, I figure it’s perfect timing to start rolling out all of the green recipes in my arsenal – I’ve got a few more up my sleeve! If you need a healthy St. Patrick’s Day inspired treat for your kids, or for yourself, you’ve gotta try these monster muffins!
If you love these, muffins, you’ll love the other green monster recipes on the blog!
- Green monster donuts
- Green monster crackers
I HAVE to also share these other reader favourites:
PS – don’t forget to check out the video at the bottom of the recipe!
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Green Monster Muffins
- Total Time: 33 minutes
- Yield: 15 muffins 1x
Description
Sneak some spinach into your family’s diet in the form of a vibrantly green, fluffy muffin sweetened with natural sugars and full of healthy ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup almond milk*
- 5 oz fresh spinach
- 1/4 cup avocado oil*
- 2 ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line two 12-cup muffin tins with liners (you’ll make about 15) and preheat the oven to 350 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together.
- To a blender or food processor, add the almond milk, spinach (pack it down to fit), oil, bananas and honey and mix on high until the spinach is completely pureed. Add the vanilla extract and mix for a few more seconds.
- Pour the blender contents into the dry ingredients, and stir together just until combined. Fill the muffin tins about 2/3 – 3/4 full and bake for 16-18 minutes*, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Muffins stay fresh at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-4 days; they will last longer in the fridge and can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Use any type of milk in place of almond milk (dairy, coconut, etc)
- Melted coconut oil, grapeseed oil, or vegetable oil also work
- For mini muffins, bake for 10-11 minutes.
Original recipe from The Green Forks (link no longer working).
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
Next up – Green Monster Donuts!
Cute name and the pic is absolutely ADORABLE! Love how much goodness is packed into these muffins! And the colour is so vibrant. I’ll have to add these to the menu; they’d be perfect for weekday breakfasts (with a little piece of cheese – love that combo). Pinned! Hope you have a great weekend, Katherine! XO
Thanks friend!! I had so much fun photographing these muffins!! So bright and cheery 🙂 I REALLY like the idea of eating one of these with a piece of cheese – you genius, you! Have a great weekend yourself!!
I love how healthy these are and a great way to sneak the greens into the kiddies diets! They look so yummy Katherine! That color doesn’t scare me 🙂
Such a great way to be sneaky!! My boys still don’t associate green with vegetables, haha thank you Kelly!! XO
Dude, I would devour these in a heart beat! Not only would I love these muffins, I would make the recipe again, omitting the flours and powders, and whirl it into a shake! I 100% want to make these, pinning!
Haha! It would make a GREAT shake, Christina!! Maybe add a little PB and chia seeds to it, too? Yum! Thanks gal!
I LOVE these! I’ve been looking for more ways to pack spinach into my diet too, and these would be perfect! (Will I ever get to the point where I don’t have to trick myself into eating leafy greens?) I hope your snow has melted by now–if not, stay warm! And have a great weekend 🙂
Hooray – that’s awesome! Spinach is SO good for you – I love being able to jam it into my kids (and myself) without them knowing. The snow is faaaaar from melted, but I will be sure to keep warm! Thanks pal! Have a good weekend too!
Yum Katherine, this is such a great way to pack spinach into your diet. Really great breakfast or snack idea and the name of this recipe is the absolute cutest 🙂
YES, you get so much spinach in this recipe! I love it! So sneaky, haha. Thank you Ashika!! XOXO
I can use some of these! What a great way to sneak in some nutrition! They are perfect for an on-the-go breakfast or any time I have a snack attack.
Totally sneaky! I love it!! It’s the only way I can get spinach into my boys 🙂 Thank you Thao! I bet you’d love them!
I love eating things that are green. I don’t know why but it makes me feel great about myself. I also prefer cooking without refined sugar and bananas are a great substitute. It looks lake Oscar Loves them 🙂
Haha I’m with you – I always feel better when I’m eating green too. Bananas are my FAVE way to sweeten. We go through a ton of them!! Thank you!
These are awesome Katherine! Love all the spinach packed into these, and those photos of your son are so cute! Isn’t it great when they want seconds of healthy food!?!
I LOVE how much spinach is packed into these too, Leanne! Thank you! Wally just went bananas over these muffins, haha.
I love how healthy these are! And just perfect for the season!
They are full of healthy spinach! Thank you!! Green is all the rage this time of year 😉
My kids love green smoothies so I don’t know why I never thought to do green muffins? These are just brilliant and I love that color!
It’s not a colour you’d normally think of when you think of muffins 😉 If your kids like green smoothies they’d definitely like these! Thanks Marcie!
That is such a cute picture of your little one devouring the muffin. The green is certainly brilliant and I have never made spinach-sweet anything. So, this is a recipe that I’m sure gonna try. so healthy:)
Hah he LOVED the muffins!! It was a great surprise! You definitely need to try them! Thanks friend!
dang, the amount of spinach in here is impressive (; definitely thought these were matcha at first, but i think that just means i’ve been consuming too much tea lol.
Right!? I was hesitant to pack that much spinach in at first but you can’t even taste it!! And that’s ok – I have been craving matcha everything lately. I think it’s all of the St. Patrick’s green around us!
I am always scared to mix vegetables in my baking..But this cute adorable picture of Wally enjoying these is proof enough that these muffins are so good! Besides the texture looks amazing too!
Haha! I thought that picture would be pretty good proof – he definitely loved them!! I was more than happy to give him more and more 🙂 I hope you get a chance to try them!
these are a family- wide win!! Great recipe, Katherine
So happy to hear that, Gina! Thanks!
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Charming name and the picture is definitely LOVABLE! Love just how much goodness is loaded into these muffins!
Thank you so much!! I love how much spinach you can pack into these as well. 🙂
What a great way to get in some extra spinach, and that pretty green is so perfect for the spring! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
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Thanks Amanda! I love sneaking spinach into everything, haha!
I love these!!! I am always trying to find more ways to tempt my children to eat healthy, and these seem like a perfect way to do so! Definitely going to make these soon, thanks for sharing!
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YES – it’s a great way to sneak in spinach! I hope you love the recipe!
I love sneaking veggies in baked goods! These muffins look both delicious and fun! Who doesn’t like a green muffin that doesn’t have food dye in it!? I can’t wait to try these!
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YES exactly! I try to minimize food dye as much possible. Thanks Elaine!!
This is genius and oh so sneaky! I love recieps that have secret veggies hiding out in it!
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Thanks Cathleen – I also love sneaking in those veggies!
i am very intrigued by these. i haven’t had much experience with veggies in my desserts, but sure do love the idea! I’ll have to check it out 🙂
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You can’t even taste it, I promise! My kids actually love these muffins. Hope you give them a try!
This is such a great and fun idea! I love green smoothies, and I love spinach… why not try them as muffins? Brilliant!
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Thanks Denise! If you love spinach you would LOVE these. Although, you can’t even taste the spinach!!
What a great way to get kids to eat their green vegetables. A big batch of these would also make great breakfasts and after-school treats.
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YES they’re awesome for after-school treats or a mid-morning snack. The kids love them!
I love the vibrant green color and I love that it’s not artificial even more!! My toddler is going to LOVE these for snack this week!
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Yay! I hope you give it a try. My kids love them – and I love that they don’t even know there’s spinach in it!
I’m not gonna lie – if you served me these and I didn’t know what was in them, I’d be a little skeptical haha! But the amount of spinach in here is impressive, and I’m totally adding this to my list!
Haha I can’t blame you Leslie. I would be too if I had never made them – but I promise it’s mostly banana flavored and they’re really good!! 🙂
Okay, I am definitely going to make these for my little one. I’ll be sure to come back and let you know what he thinks!
Yay! I’m so glad. Please do let me know. Thanks Nicole!
These truly are the easiest muffins to make! They were healthy and delicious and my kids loved the green color!
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YAY thanks Deseree! I’m so glad you guys got to try them!!
I can’t wait to make these and then try the green monster donuts you have created. They both look and sound fantastic!
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Amazing, so good. My toddlers gobble them right up. We only used 1/3-1/2 cup of honey and it was still sweet enough!
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Hooray! So glad to hear it. My kids love them too!!
I love these fun green monster muffins!!! The best way to sneak in some greens!
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This is the fourth time I’ve made these. It’s such a quick and easy recipe and my toddler is in love with them! I put the whole batch in the freezer after I make them and heat one up for a few seconds in the microwave when I need a quick morning snack for her. I also appreciate that the recipe helps prevent food waste too because I wait to make them until we have spinach and bananas that are a little older and need to be used.
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Thank you SO much for the comment Ashley – it always puts a smile on my face to read comments like yours! My kiddos love the muffins too, my 6 year old has been eating them for 5 years 😉
How many cups of packed spinach is in 6 ounces? Thank you!
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6 oz spinach is about 4-5 cups!
Oh MY, it looks great! Can’t wait to cook em this Sunday!
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Could I use frozen spinach for this recipe? I can’t wait to try it for my toddler!
The frozen spinach will have too much liquid! I would definitely stick with fresh!