These healthy blender spinach muffins are gluten-free, packed with nutrients, and contains no added sugar. They are light and moist and are perfect for babies and kids of all ages! These are sure to become your next favorite grab-and-go breakfast or snack!
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What makes these spinach muffins special
Whoever came up with this ingenious idea of blender muffins, this exhausted mama bows to you. Throw all the ingredients into a blender, give it a whirl, bake, and done! Finito! Mind blown.
I can get that done even if my toddler only takes a 10-minute nap. But hey! I’ll take anything at this point. They get extra extra EXTRA points for making cleanup a breeze.
Now the problem I’m facing is that there are just too many ingredients and flavor combinations I want to try, and you betcha, this list-maker has started one just for blender muffins.
I hope to bring these ideas to light and share with you all kinds of delicious blender muffin concoctions in the near future (updated: like these blueberry blender muffins and pineapple coconut muffins!). Because we can all use them in our crazy busy lives, no?
Today I’m sharing with you these spinach sweet potato muffins. Whenever I develop recipes, I always keep in mind the nutritional needs and eating skills of babies and toddlers in mind. But these are not just for the little one(s)!
If you’ve tried any of my recipes, you might be nodding your head up and down at this – While you might’ve made it thinking it would all be for your little one, before you know it, a lot has made its way into your belly.
And that delights me because creating wholesome baby and toddler-friendly meals that the ENTIRE family can enjoy truly is my passion!
Ingredients
Baking Tips
- IF you’re looking for a bread-y type of muffins, this is not it. These muffins are super light and moist and the texture resembles that of a firm set custard/flan. It’s seriously the PERFECT texture for babies (6 months +) Having said that, my toddler goes crazy over these green muffins – “cholok saek (green in Korean) muppin” is what he calls them.
- Be sure to squeeze out as much liquid from the sweet potato as possible. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mushy muffins.
- As soon as the batter looks smooth and combined, stop blending. you don’t want to overmix it!
- You MUST let these cool completely before removing them from the muffin pan. They WILL stick if you try to remove them before they have cooled.
- I highly recommend using a silicone muffin pan! It makes it SO much easier to remove the muffins from the pan and makes cleanup EASY. If using paper liners, be sure to spray with oil. Otherwise these will stick!
- These muffins are more savory than sweet. You won’t taste the spinach but the yogurt flavor is quite pronounced. You can always spread on top some fruit purees, mashed banana, etc. But do serve it plain at first.
- Which yogurt to use? I like to use whole fat plain Greek yogurt or Lifeway Kefir cups. Do NOT use regular yogurt (the muffins will turn out too wet). Yes, the probiotics in these two will be killed from the heat so it’s best to consume raw to get those benefits. Interesting to note: there’s research showing that different strains, including lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, are able to produce beneficial effects in their heat-inactivated form. More is needed, though. However, yogurt does act great texture and flavor to baked goods, and it will be a great way to amp up the protein and fat content.
- Don’t do dairy? You can substitute with plant-based Greek-style alternatives. Try to find those without any added sugar.
- Don’t do eggs? Use flax eggs! I tested it out, and it totally worked. I highly recommend adding chopped walnuts and grated sweet potatoes as it not only boosts nutrition but adds a great textural contrast. You can also add carrots instead. For babies, be sure to finely ground them.
- I like to use my coffee grinder to grind my nuts and seeds.
- Enjoy as is or with nut butter, mashed fruits, more yogurt, etc.
Storage Tips
Most definitely keep in the fridge. The muffins will become firmer too. These will stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When freezing baked goods, I like to use the flash freeze method.
Other Baby-Friendly Muffins
Other Baby-friendly muffins suggestions:
- Carrot Cake Blender Muffins
- Healthy beetroot muffins for babies and toddlers
- Pumpkin bean muffins
- Apple cinnamon muffins
- Southwestern oat muffins
Do you want to minimize picky eating and set a solid foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits?
Check out this 3 month mastering self-feeding program! It’s the closest thing to me being in your kitchen
Recipe
Spinach Sweet Potato Blender Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 ripe medium banana, overripe if you want them to be sweeter
- 6 ounces (or 3/4 cup) plain Greek yogurt, or plant-based alternative
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 2 large handfuls of spinach, see note
- 1 large egg or flax egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, aluminum-free
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts (finely ground for babies)
- 1/2 cup raw grated sweet potatoes (can use carrots, if you wish), see note
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- In the food processor/blender add the oats first and then the rest of the ingredients (minus the walnuts and sweet potatoes) into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely (WAIT at least 10 minutes) before taking them out of the pan. This is very important! Otherwise, they WILL stick
- Once cooled, store in the refrigerator. If your muffins are on the wetter side (most likely due to the extra moisture from the vegetables. Remember, be sure to squeeze out as much liquid out), they will firm up a bit more in the fridge.
Notes
- Be sure to squeeze out as much water out of the vegetables as possible! Otherwise, the muffins will be very wet.
- Make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh. Here's how you can check.
- I HIGHLY recommend using a silicon muffin pan. If using other pans or liners, be sure to grease! Otherwise the muffins will stick.
- You MUST let these cool completely before removing them from the muffin pan. They WILL stick if you try to remove them before they have cooled.
- Which yogurt to use? I like to use whole fat plain Greek yogurt or Lifeway Kefir cups. Yes, the probiotics in these two will be killed from the heat so it's best to consume raw to get those benefits. Interesting to note: there's research showing that different strains, including lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, are able to produce beneficial effects in their heat-inactivated form. More is needed, though. However, yogurt does act great texture and flavor to baked goods, and it will be a great way to amp up the protein and fat content.
- Don't do dairy? You can substitute with plant-based alternatives, like coconut and cashew yogurt. Try to find those without any added sugar.
- Don't do eggs? Use flax eggs! I tested it out, and it totally worked.
- I highly recommend adding chopped walnuts and grated sweet potatoes as it not only boosts nutrition but adds a great textural contrast. You can also add carrots instead. For babies, be sure to finely ground them. I like to use my coffee grinder to grind my nuts and seeds.
- Enjoy as is or with nut butter, mashed fruits, more yogurt, etc.
- How to store? Most definitly keep in the fridge. The muffins will become firmer too. These will stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. When freezing baked goods, I like to use the flash freeze method.
- To see a cooking demo, head on over to my Instagram page and search for "baking" in the story highlights!
Do you have a recommendation what to use to substitute for banana? My baby unfortunately has banana allergy.
I haven’t tried so I hesitate in suggesting but you could try adding more applesauce. You can run into the problem of making the mixture too wet though so, in that case, I would try adding more flour and/or egg. Sorry that I can’t give you a definitive answer!
Hi. I don’t have any greek yogurt. Can I use regular yogurt like Activia or another substitute?
Thanks
Sherry
Many readers have told me that regular yogurt worked just fine. Plain, unsweetened will be best!
I have a 9 month old who LOVES these! He can seriously pack them away, haha! I love being able to have a stash of these in the freezer that I can pull out whenever he needs a quick bite – and it’s so nice to know that they’re full of stuff that’s good for him. I did do the carrot substitution, since he loves to eat sweet potatoes on their own, but is not a fan of carrots – I figured it was a way to get more of a variety of vegetables in his belly. Worked perfectly – will definitely be making these all the time!
Aww!! So so happy to hear this! Thanks for sharing ;). I’m also in the process of developing a carrot blender muffin so stay tuned!!
What would be plant based alternative for Greek yoghurt? My baby is allergic to dairy.
Any plant-based Greek yogurt will work
Any substitute for rolled oats? My baby and I are both allergic
I know some have tried with regular flour and spelt flour and said they turned out fine. Might not be as moist though.
My baby LOVES these. I was wondering if the batter can be stored in freezer to bake on a later day. I usually have leftover & do not want to waste! My baby has been loving them since 11 months!
Hi mama! I’m SO glad to hear this! I honestly haven’t tried so am interested to hear how they turn out, if you decide to try. I personally would bake it first and freeze using the flash freeze method I talk about in my post – how to store leftovers.
My 20 month old loves these! But mine don’t puff up as much. Any tips? I do leave out the walnuts for allergy reasons. Should I substitute so the muffins are firmer?
So glad to hear! They do deflate a bit once they come out of the oven. That’s normal but shouldn’t shrink too much. You can add some seeds for extra boost of healthy fat
Hi,
Can I grind flax seeds and add them instead of walnuts?
You are doing great with the tips and substitutes making our life easier!
Thank you
you bet!
Any suggestions for a substitute for the applesauce, as we have an allergy to apples and pears. Thanks
Try banana!
So you said see notes about carrots but there isn’t one?
Hi the note was for sweet potatoes or carrots and basically you want to squeeze out as much liquid as possible before adding 🙂
My 16 month old just ate 4 of these in one sitting. Thank you! All of your recipes are a hit!
SOO happy to hear! Thanks for being here and for trying out my recipes!
Could you use a sweet potato purée or would that make the mixture too wet?
I wouldn’t!