These blender Spinach Banana Muffins are an easy, healthy, freezer-friendly breakfast recipe full of fruit and veggies! They are gluten-free, dairy-free and have no refined sugar!
This post was originally posted on August 1st, 2016 but has been refreshed with new photos and a video!
You all know I have a thing for hiding vegetables in baked goods. Usually, my veggie of choice is zucchini, but today I’m mixing things up a bit! This recipe for Spinach Banana Muffins is healthy, delicious and easy! My kids love them because they’re green! We even call them “Hulk muffins,” which my son thinks is the coolest things ever. Because what kid wouldn’t want to eat a muffin named after a super cool super hero?
I love making these for my family because they’re a breakfast I feel great about serving them! These Spinach Banana Muffins are gluten-free, refined-sugar free, dairy-free and vegan-friendly! They taste like a green smoothie but in muffin form!
Parenting tangent:
I used to stress about feeding my kids veggies. I so desperately wanted them to beg me for giant plates of stir-fry and get excited over skewers full of colorful grilled vegetable-goodness. This is why my husband is so wonderful (well, one of the many reasons). He helps me see reality…that even though our kids don’t go gaga over a bowl full of roasted Brussels sprouts, the hard work has paid off and they really are great eaters.
They just know that lunch and dinner always include one fruit and one veggie. I ask them “what veggie do you want” (as opposed to, “do you want a vegetable?”) and they get to choose. It’s usually carrots or cucumbers (and always raw), but I am perfectly fine with that.
My goal is to teach my kids at a young age that healthy eating is important. I think they get the drift, and sometimes they even ask for a snack of carrots and hummus just because that’s what they’re craving! There is the occasion, when we’re out or at a friends’ house, when I give them a break from eating veggies, and they totally notice! A real conversation between my kids one night on vacation:
Gabe: “MOM! There is only pizza on my plate! No veggies?!”
Me: You’re right Gabe, you can have only pizza for dinner tonight. But I would be happy to get you some veggies if you’d like!
Gabe: No! I want to only eat pizza! BETHANY! We get to only eat pizza and no veggies!
LOL LOL! I love my kids! And I love that less-than nutritious eating is considered a special treat and not the norm for them! Plus, on days when I know we’re having a “pizza only” type of dinner, I can feed them Spinach Banana Muffins for breakfast! They get a healthy serving of fruits and veggies without even noticing! Zero stress! Total deliciousness! Complete win!
How to make Spinach Banana Muffins
The best way to make these Spinach Banana Muffins is to use a high-powered blender, like the Vitamix! Using a Vitamix to thoroughly blend the ingredients in these Spinach Banana Muffins results in a final product that has zero traces of spinach, well except for the awesome green color!
- Blend dry ingredients then set aside. To make these muffins…start by putting the oats into your clean, dry Vitamix and turn them into oat flour! Add the rest of the ingredients, blend and set aside.
- Blend wet ingredients. When blending anything in the Vitamix, always add the liquid first! In this recipe, start by adding the liquid ingredients, banana and spinach and blend until smooth before adding the dry mixture!
- Freeze. After baking, let the muffins cool and then freeze in an airtight container. To reheat, simply warm in the microwave for 30-60 seconds per muffin!
More delicious recipes
- Check out our favorite BEST banana bread recipe!
- These paleo zucchini banana muffins are one of my favorite breakfast recipes!
- This Paleo Banana Bread is amazing!
- Paleo Blueberry Banana muffins are a reader favorite.
- This peanut butter banana baked oatmeal is SO good!
- These are literally the best banana muffins you will ever make or eat! Seriously the best.
- This banana cake is to die for.
- Spinach banana muffins are healthy and delicious!
- These double chocolate zucchini muffins are so good!
Spinach Muffins: Substitutions
These are extremely forgiving muffins and there are many acceptable substitutions (although I always recommend making the recipe exactly as written to achieve the best results)! Even at high altitude (I bake at 4800 ft. above sea level) they rise beautifully and have a wonderful texture! Some notes about substitutions:
- Ground Flaxseed: You may substitute equal amounts of almond meal or old-fashioned oats (ground into flour) for the flaxseed.
- Coconut Sugar: You may use any granulated sugar of your choice! I do not use sweeteners, but if you wanted to experiment with stevia (or a similar product) I recommend using a variety that is meant to be a 1:1 substitute for granulated sugar.
- Almond milk: you may use any non-dairy milk to keep the recipe dairy free. Or you may use regular milk!
- Coconut Oil: You may substitute vegan butter (like Earth Balance), regular butter, or ghee!
- Eggs: For vegan version substitute the 2 eggs with 2 TBS ground chia seeds and 5 TBS water.
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Spinach Banana Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup coconut sugar or your favorite granulated sugar
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 cups packed spinach leaves
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 extra-ripe large bananas
- 2 eggs**
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease or line a muffin tin.
- Put 2 cups of old-fashioned oats in your blender (Vitamix) and blend until the oats achieve the texture of flour. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the oat flour (ground flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar). Set aside.
- Add almond milk to the blender followed by 2 cups of spinach. Blend together until completely smooth and homogenous.
- Add bananas and coconut oil and blend until smooth.
- Add vanilla and eggs and blend until just combined
- Pour wet ingredients to dry mixture and stir to combine (making sure there are no lumps)!
- Fill each well in your muffin tin with ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and the top springs back when touched.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
These Spinach Banana Muffins are another healthy-eating staple in my house. Sometimes I get crazy and add chocolate chips (or cinnamon chips)! Serve them slathered with a healthy amount of almond butter and you have yourself the perfect breakfast!
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Reena
Wow these are good. I made them for my one year old so I wanted to avoid sugar. Instead I put 6 dates. I also accidentally blended the oats with the other ingredients.
The muffins came out awesome. This is a legit recipe. Thanks!
Katie O
I absolutely love this recipe and how flexible it is. I have been making these muffins for the past 2+ years and every time they come out great and my picky eater gobbles them up. This recipe also jump started my attempts at baking vegan – which I never thought would be possible (in that other people would want to eat them). THANK YOU! Every time someone asks about a healthy muffin option I share this recipe.
In case it helps others, I usually make mini muffins (12-14 mins), and have used baby spinach, kale, a split with chopped Brussel sprouts (that was by accident/not looking in fridge first) and I switch between using coconut oil and olive oil. Mostly I use fresh/browning bananas, but I have tried frozen and usually add half of a fresh one to the two frozen since I am usually late in getting them to the freezer and they are pretty darn squishy by then. I always use chia “eggs”. Love them!
Jan Maret Willman
Can I sub steel cut oats, and how to convert it into a pan cake instead of muffins.
Qzan
The çöme otu delicious. I didn’t have flex seed so I replaced it with sesame seeds. I also replaced cinnamon with another cup of vanilla extract. It came out delicious, my kids and husband love them. Thank you for sharing this.
Brittany
Can protein powder be added and not alter the outcome?
Jodie
Delicious and healthy recipe, even my picky eater daughter loves them. Thank you for sharing.
Britt
This is an incredible recipe! The banana sweetens the muffins beautifully- I didn’t add the sugar and I don’t feel like it needs it. I made these for my 1 year olds birthday “cupcakes.” He loved them! My husband and I ended up snacking on them also. 🙂 Please make more recipes like this!
Erin
These are so delicious and my kids love them. Thank you!!!
Joss
Hi! I’m wondering if I can use frozen spinach for this recipe? I have fresh too but trying to declutter the freezer! Thank you!!