This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for more details.
These spinach muffins are an easy and delicious way to incorporate greens into your family’s diet. They’re fluffy, moist, and suitable for babies and kids of all ages!
Hello Green Monster Muffins!
My kids love it when I call them hulk muffins, monster muffins, or dinosaur muffins (it’s the little things). They are soft and easy for little ones to eat, just like these spinach cakes!
Made with simple ingredients, these bright green spinach muffins are naturally sweetened with banana and contain healthy doses of protein, fiber, and fat.
Enjoy for a quick and easy breakfast, snack, or pack for school lunch box.
Looking for more veggie-packed bites? Try these sweet potato muffins next—they’re just as tasty and kid-approved! For a cozy fruit-filled twist, try these banana apple muffins next.
And if you want even more variety, I’ve gathered all my healthy muffins for toddlers and kids in one place so you can always have a nutritious, kid-approved option ready to bake.
Healthy Baby and Toddler Muffins ALL in one place!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
I am highlighting just the ones that need further explanation. The complete list is in the recipe card below.
- Fresh baby spinach – Mild in flavor, it’s perfect for muffins and green smoothies. I don’t recommend using frozen spinach. Not only will the muffins not be this vibrant in color, but they will also turn out too soft.
- Banana – be sure to use very ripe banana with many brown spots
- Greek yogurt – use plain and preferably whole fat for best results. If dairy-free, you can use any Greek-style plant-based alternative.
- Eggs – use room temperature for best results
- White whole wheat flour – It’s the same nutritionally as whole wheat flour but is lighter in texture and a little sweeter in flavor. It’s a great way to incorporate whole grains into your child’s diet.
Substitutions
- No white whole wheat flour? You can use All purpose flour or a combination of 1 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. I don’t recommend substituting entirely with whole wheat flour as the muffins will turn out more dense
- Gluten-free? Use a 1:1 gluten free flour or oat flour. Almond flour will not work.
- Don’t like bananas? Try using unsweetened applesauce. The general rule is 1/2 cup applesauce to replace 1 medium banana. let me know if you try it!
How to Make Spinach Muffins
Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.
Step 2: Add all the wet ingredients into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients.
Step 4: Stir until just combined. At this point you can stir in the optional sweet potatoes or carrots.
Step 5: Divide batter evenly into the muffin cups.
Step 6: Bake until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooking rack to cool completely.
Recipe Tips
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup rather than scooping the flour out of the container or bag with your measuring cup. Using the latter method, you could end up with a lot more than what you need.
- Take eggs and yogurt out of the refrigerator at least 15 minutes prior to baking. This will help the muffins rise more.
- Use over ripe bananas – Your muffins will turn out sweeter and moister.
- After combining the dry and wet ingredients, do NOT over-mix the muffin batter. Mix lightly with a spatula until just combined. Otherwise, you will end up with dense muffins.
Vegan Spinach Muffins
You can use flax eggs. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal (ground flaxseed) and 6 tablespoons of warm water. Allow the mixture to sit for 8-10 minutes until thickened like gel-like consistency.
As for the yogurt and milk, any plant-based Greek style yogurt and milk (e.g. unsweetened almond milk) will work.
Equipment
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.
Note that if using a tin muffin pan, the outside of the muffins will turn brown like you see in the cooking video above. Doesn’t make any difference texturally or flavor wise but something to be aware of.
You can also turn into mini muffins by using a mini muffin pan.
Spinach Muffins for Babies and Toddlers
These tender spinach muffins are not very sweet. So if you desire a pretty sweet muffin, add the optional honey, maple syrup, or date syrup (a great no added sugar option). Chocolate chips are a tasty addition, too, for older kids.
But do try serving them plain at first. My kids love these without any added sugar. You can always drizzle the suggested sweeteners or spread some fruit purées on top.
Enjoy as is or with nut butter, mashed fruits, more yogurt, etc.
Storage Suggestions
Store the muffins in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Enjoy cold, at room temperature, or microwave briefly.
Or freeze for up to 3 months.
Here’s the best way to store and freeze muffins!
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating below and let me know how you liked the recipe! Your feedback means so much to me!
Moist Spinach Muffins
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (245g) or rolled oats (200g)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
Wet ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt (170g)
- 1/3 cup milk of choice
- 2 medium very ripe bananas (240g weighed weighed without peel)
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional (for added nutrition and texture): 1/2 cup raw grated sweet potatoes or carrots, see note and/or 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
- Optional for additional sweetness: (3-4 tablespoons maple syrup, honey, or date syrup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Add all the wet ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Combine the dry and wet ingredients. Be careful not to over mix. Use a spatula (instead of a whisk) to gently stir together until all the flour is wet. The less you stir the mixture, the lighter and fluffier your muffins will be. At this point you can stir in the optional sweet potatoes/carrots and/or nuts.
- Divide batter evenly into a greased, lined or silicone 12-cup muffin pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for at least 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup rather than scooping the flour out of the container or bag with your measuring cup. Using the latter method, you could end up with a lot more than what you need.
- Take eggs, milk, and yogurt out of the refrigerator at least 15 minutes prior to baking. This will help the muffins rise more.
- Be sure to squeeze out as much liquid from the sweet potato/carrots as possible, if using.
- These muffins are not very sweet. So if you desire a pretty sweet muffin, add the optional honey, maple syrup, or date syrup. Chocolate chips are a tasty addition, too, for older kids.
- Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Enjoy cold, at room temperature, or microwave briefly. Can also freeze for up to 3 months.
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 🙂
Any suggestions for a substitute for the applesauce, as we have an allergy to apples and pears. Thanks
Try banana!
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!
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
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.
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.
What would be plant based alternative for Greek yoghurt? My baby is allergic to dairy.
Any plant-based Greek yogurt will work
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!!
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!
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!