Peanut Butter Fingers

Sharing a recipe for spinach banana muffins, made with wholesome ingredients, lots of spinach and still somehow 100 percent kid approved! 

I’ve always loved muffins but I don’t think I fully appreciated muffins until I became a mom. All of the sudden muffins were no longer just sweet and comforting little fluffy cake-like treats. They were now so much more: A delicious little shortcut to easy breakfasts. A quick grab-and-go afternoon snack. A simple thing to include in a lunchbox that aways gets a thumbs up.

Once my first son became old enough to eat muffin, I began experimenting in the kitchen more and more, as I was always on a mission to make muffins he would eat (aka they had to taste good!) but I also wanted the muffins to be wholesome and made with nutrient-dense ingredients. He was a teeny guy and a finnicky eater, so each bite mattered.

Spinach Banana Muffins

Over the years I’ve made more batches of homemade muffins than I can possibly count. There are a handful of recipes I make on repeat (these whole wheat pumpkin muffins are the muffins I’ve made more than any other and we love these banana gingerbread muffins during the holiday season) but we recently had a new muffin recipe become a repeat recipe offender in our house: Spinach banana muffins!

These spinach-packed banana muffins have quickly become a recipe I make again the minute the last muffin is consumed because every single person in our family loves them. We love them cut in half and topped with a bit of butter but they’re equally as good on their own if you want to keep things simple! I also personally love one crumbled up on top of a bowl of Greek yogurt and love the added texture and flavor the muffin brings to my breakfast bowl.

Does Banana And Spinach Go Together

Here’s the thing: I know when you read “spinach” and “banana” together in the same sentence they don’t initially seem like flavors that would go well, as spinach is typically used in more savory dishes and bananas are super sweet. But as you know if you’ve ever made a smoothie and thrown a handful of spinach into the blender, banana is an overbearing lil’ fruit and does a fantastic job of making the flavor of spinach all but disappear. That’s certainly what happens with these muffins which is only all the more impressive because these muffins use a LOT of spinach. We’re not talking just a leaf or two but giant, overflowing handfuls of the good stuff!

How To Make Banana Spinach Muffins

If your interest in this recipe is piqued, I have fantastic news for you. This recipe is an EASY one. Like kind of ridiculously easy. If you have a high-powered blender you’re in luck because that’s basically all you need to whip up the sweet and slightly chewy muffin batter that will morph into these banana spinach muffins.

To make this muffin recipe you’ll need the following:

Ingredients

• Fresh spinach — and a LOT of it! This recipe doesn’t skimp on the good stuff!
• Olive oil — almost any kind of oil or butter will work (melted coconut oil is great, too!)
• Whole milk (you could try a nut milk if you’d like to make these dairy free but please know I have not tested them with anything other than dairy milk)
• Room temperature egg — Just one!
• Maple syrup — not much but just enough for a little added sweetness
• Whole wheat flour
• Old fashioned oats (not instant oats or quick cook oats or oat flour)
• Ripe bananas — we’re talking realllly ripe! No green on the peel allowed!
• Vanilla extract
• Cinnamon
• Hemp seeds (protein! healthy fats! fiber!)
• Flax seeds (protein! healthy fats! fiber!)
• Baking powder, baking soda and salt
• Optional: You can add mini chocolate chips to the batter after it’s blended as well if you’d like!

Instructions

To make these spinach banana muffins, simply follow the instructions detailed below.

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin (you’ll need two!) with 18 muffin liners and set aside. (Important note: You may wish to spray your muffin liners with non-stick cooking spray. I’ve found that baked goods that don’t use quite as much oil and incorporate spinach into the recipe can occasionally stick and this helps a lot!)

Step 2

Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender until muffin batter is thick but relatively smooth. You don’t want to completely pulverize it, but no large chunks should remain.

Step 3

Pour muffin batter into muffin cups and bake for approximately 18-20 minutes, or until tops of banana muffins are firm on top.

Step 4

Allow spinach muffins to cool before digging in.

Spinach Banana Muffins

Spinach Banana Muffins

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• Author: Julie
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 23 minutes
• Yield: 18 muffins 1x
• Category: breakfast
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: American

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Ingredients

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• 2 very large handfuls fresh spinach (approximately 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 very ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins (you’ll need two!) with 18 muffin liners and set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients in a high-powered blender until batter is thick but relatively smooth. You don’t want to completely pulverize it, but no large chunks should remain.
3. Pour batter into muffin cups and bake for approximately 16-20 minutes, or until tops of muffins are firm on top.
4. Allow muffins to cool before digging in.

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Notes

Important note: You may wish to spray your muffin liners with non-stick cooking spray. I’ve found that baked goods that don’t use quite as much oil and incorporate spinach into the recipe can occasionally stick and this helps a lot!

If you wash your spinach before including it in this recipe, make sure it is completely dry before adding it to the blender. Most packaged spinach comes pre-washed so I don’t worry about washing!

I’ve swapped the whole wheat flour for einkorn whole wheat flour successfully but do use a BIT more flour when I use einkorn. I haven’t measured but think of it as 1 heaping cup versus one level cup if you’re going to use einkorn flour.

For any fans of chia seeds, I’ve added 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to this recipe as well before blending. We loved them!

Recipe adapted from Seeded Table‘s Green Muffins. 

Can I Freeze Spinach Banana Muffins

Absolutely! I am a BIG fan of making double batches of muffins and freezing one batch, as we fly through muffins at a rapid pace in our house! The most important step to take before freezing muffins is to make sure they are completely cooled before freezing. You can then individually wrap each muffin in plastic wrap or foil but I usually skip this step and put them all together in a freezer-safe gallon bag. I use the straw trick to suck the air out of the bag and then seal the bag and place it in the freezer. I’ve sometimes found the tops of muffins can get a little soggy when they thaw at room temperature but they taste amazing if you take the time to place muffins on a cookie sheet and reheat them in a warm oven for 10 minutes or so. It’s a personal preference thing so do whatever works best for you!!

More Kid Friendly Muffin Recipes

Just in case your kids are muffin maniacs like mine, here are a few more muffin recipes we love in our house that all get a thumbs up from our three boys:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins: The muffins I’ve made more than any other muffins. Especially wonderful during the fall but we make them year-round!

Banana Gingerbread Muffins: A family favorite during the holiday season.

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Muffins: If you’ve never tried pureed sweet potato in your muffins, you have to give this muffin recipe a try!

Best Ever Morning Glory Muffins: The recipe a local bakery shared with us for their famous morning glory muffins.

Banana Oatmeal Blender Muffins for Baby: Soft and gummy enough for little mouths!