These Spinach Muffins with Banana are a super healthy toddler breakfast or snack. (Or yummy for any age, really!) Each bite is packed with nutrients from greens and fruit—and the interior is so moist that even babies can enjoy these easy blender muffins!
Oh, these spinach muffins are one of our very favorite toddler muffins. And they’re one of the most popular recipes on my entire site! I know I’ve written about how we actually don’t need to pack kale and spinach into every bite our kids eat, but I love making nutritious versions of foods our kids already like. Like muffins.
I also know that the color green can be a huge red flag to many kids, so I like to try to use the color to my advantage in fun foods—like these spinach muffins, which are fun (because, muffins!) and they taste like a favorite banana bread muffin.
You can call these Hulk Muffins, Monster Muffins, Green Smoothie Muffins, or any fun name you come up with!
Made with nutritious ingredients, these muffins for kids are naturally sweet from banana and have a dose of Vitamin A and C from spinach or kale. They also have fiber from whole grains and protein, so they’re a nice meal component that will provide long lasting energy for your busy kids.
They’re great for toddler breakfast paired with a toddler smoothie or milk, as a snack, or packed in a kids lunch box. They’re similar to my Spinach Banana Pancakes—super nutritious and super yummy!
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
To make these spinach muffins you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go.
- Ripe banana: Bananas with brown spots will add lots of sweet flavor to this recipe.
- Spinach: You can use fresh baby spinach or fresh regular spinach. Or you can freeze spinach and use that, too.
- Milk: You can use whole milk, low-fat, or any nondairy milk that you prefer to bake with.
- Honey: Swap in maple syrup if desired (and for kids under age 1).
- Eggs: I use large eggs in my cooking and baking, so that’s the size that I use here. (See below for the egg-free option.)
- Rolled oats: I like to add oatmeal to the recipe for additional nutrition. It blends into the mixture nicely, too. (You can also use oat flour.)
- Baking soda: Be sure to use fresh, active baking soda in this recipe to ensure that the muffins bake through completely and they rise nicely. (Baking soda works best in this recipe, not baking powder.)
- Whole-wheat flour: I like to use whole-wheat flour here since it adds whole grains and works well with the moisture content in the rest of the spinach muffin batter.
- Mini chocolate chips: These are optional to add on the top or to mix into the batter to add extra sweetness. Or try a few blueberries or raisins.
Ingredient Swaps
Egg-free: Omit the eggs. Increase banana to 1.5 cups.
Gluten-free: Try King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend instead of the regular flour.
Dairy-free: Opt for your favorite unsweetened nondairy milk.
To make with frozen spinach, thaw the spinach, squeeze very dry, and measure out ¼ cup.
Banana-free: If you can’t do banana, do apple butter, a thick applesauce, or sweet potato baby food puree instead.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a look at the simple process involved in making this spinach muffin recipe for kids so you know what to expect. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the full recipe, including the amounts and the timing.
Step 1. Place all ingredients into a blender except the flour and chocolate chips, if using. Blend very smooth.
Step 2. Add the flour and pulse to combine to create a thick, but uniform spinach muffin batter.
Step 3. Pour batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if using.
Step 4. Bake until firm to the touch and lightly browned around the edges. Let cool fully on a wire rack.
Frequently Asked Questions
In order to get the spinach smooth and incorporated into the batter—which is really the key to getting the kids to eat these, because a muffin with chunks of spinach would be no good!—you need a blender. It’s basically the same principal as making a green smoothie!
You can try this with a food processor, though be sure to run it on high for 30-60 seconds to get the spinach as blended up as possible.
These muffins are incredibly moist and they don’t dry out very easily, so they are a perfect early finger food for babies. Cut them up into small cubes so baby can easily pick up bite-size pieces. You may want to warm them slightly to make them even moister and/or top with applesauce or apple butter.
Use maple syrup or omit the sweetener and use 2 tablespoons additional milk to make these for a baby or to serve as a baby-led weaning recipe.
The key to making spinach muffins is to blend the spinach into the wet ingredients very smoothly to make a uniform mixture. Then you can mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
These muffins for kids (which I happily eat myself, too!) are delicious warm out of the oven or chilled, so see what you and the kids like. The ripe banana adds natural sweetness to these spinach banana muffins, And though there’s a load of fresh spinach in these, they taste like a treat.
They aren’t super sweet like most bakery muffins are, but they are always a big hit with my kids…especially with a few mini chocolate chips on top.
Pair with a Yogurt Drink, Homemade Fruit Cup, or even some Vanilla Yogurt. You can also serve topped with peanut butter, butter, or a little jam.
How to Store
You can store the spinach muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days and eat cold or slightly warmed. Or store in a zip top bag with as much air removed as possible in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
Best Tips for Success
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best natural sweetness.
- To make for a baby, as an early finger food, or as a baby muffin, omit the honey and use an additional 2 tablespoons milk. Omit the chocolate chips.
- Dairy-free: Use unsweetened nondairy milk and a neutral oil instead of butter.
- Gluten-free: Try King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs and use 1½ cups sliced banana.
- To make as mini muffins, use a 24-cup mini muffin pan and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- To make these with kale, I prefer using kale that’s been frozen since it tastes less green. Simply wash, dry, and store it in a zip-top bag in the freezer. Crush gently in the bag and measure with a measuring spoon. (I use it in smoothies this way, too!) Baby spinach usually has a milder flavor when used fresh.
- You can stir ⅓ cup chocolate chips into the batter before baking, or sprinkle some on top depending on your preference. You can also just omit them.
- If you have more spinach to use, try Spinach Pasta Sauce or Spinach Grilled Cheese.
Related recipes
Please comment and rate the recipe below if you make it—I’d love to know what you and your kids think!
Sweet Spinach Muffins with Banana
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced ripe banana (about 2 small or 1 medium/large)
- 2 cups lightly packed baby spinach
- 3/4 cup milk (dairy or unsweetened plain nondairy)
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoons melted and cooled butter (OR neutral oil OR plain yogurt)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- Mini chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a standard-size muffin tin well with nonstick spray.
- Place all ingredients into a blender except the flour and chocolate chips, if using.
- Blend until very smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. You want the greens to be very finely blended in so the batter is green, as if you were making a smoothie.
- Pulse in the flour just to combine, or stir it in gently.
- Pour batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ cup full. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if using.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes or until firm to the touch and lightly browned around the edges. (You can also check to see if a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.)
- Remove from the oven and use a paring knife, if needed, to transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Serve slightly warm, at room temp, or chilled.
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Video
Notes
- You can store the muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days and eat cold or slightly warmed. Or store in a zip-top bag with as much air removed as possible in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature.
- Use very ripe bananas with brown spots for the best natural sweetness.
- To make for a baby, omit the honey and use an additional 2 tablespoons milk. Omit the chocolate chips.
- Dairy-free: Use unsweetened nondairy milk and a neutral oil instead of butter.
- Gluten-free: Try King Arthur’s gluten free flour blend.
- Egg-free: Omit the eggs and use 1½ cups sliced banana.
- To make with frozen spinach, thaw spinach, squeeze very dry, and measure out ¼ cup. Proceed with the recipe.
- To make as mini muffins, use a 24-cup mini muffin pan and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out cleanly.
- To make these with kale, I prefer using kale that’s been frozen since it tastes less green. Simply wash, dry, and store it in a zip top bag in the freezer. Crush gently in the bag and measure with a measuring spoon. (I use it in smoothies this way too!) Baby spinach usually has a milder flavor when used fresh.
- You can stir ⅓ cup chocolate chips into the batter before baking, or sprinkle some on top depending on your preference. You can also omit them.
- These are not crazy sweet without the chocolate chips (though my kids like them just fine!), so if you think your kids will prefer a sweeter muffin, add ¼ cup granulated sugar to the batter.
Nutrition
This post was first published March 2018.
I was wondering if plain Greek yogurt would work in lieu of the butter or does it have to be just plain yogurt? We typically only have Greek yogurt in the fridge but am wondering if it would maybe be too thick? Can’t wait to try these for my son!
I think that should be fine since the amount you need is so small. (I’m making a batch of them myself right now!)
Do the oats get prepared beforehand or do they go in dry?
They go in raw!
Made this with my child today. It’s a great, not to sweet recipe. I added perhaps more kale than called for. I also used very ripe bananas that I had frozen for recipes like this. My daughter and I love the muffins. This is going into regular rotation
I’m so glad to hear that you both enjoyed them!
Great recipe! Very yummy. I made mini muffins and it required only 10 mins in the bottom rack of the oven so it was even faster.
Love that! Thanks for sharing the timing on the minis!
I’m sorry to hear that!
Hi there! I would love to make these and I’m curious if you tried them with Almond flour or not? Thanks!
Hi! I haven’t tried these with almond flour and don’t bake with it enough to guess how it might work. Let me know if you try it though!
Hi, I just used almond flour in these and they turned out great! My 18 month old loves them. I also doubled the batch and put half in the freezer.
Awesome, thanks so much for sharing and I’m glad that they worked well!
Hello! My one year old is allergic to eggs. I am familiar with egg substitutes however not sure if they work with this. Any suggestions?
Hi! I haven’t tried this recipe with an egg alternative but give me a few days and I’ll see if I can figure something out. The batter is really moist so I don’t think I can suggest something without trying it first!
Hi again! We just tried these with chia seeds instead of eggs and they were great. I added a variation with the specifics at the end of the recipe for you!
These muffins were really easy to make (I loved putting all the ingredients in the blender) and came out with a nice texture. They are sweet, but not too sweet. My 2 and 4 year olds, who will not touch greens, gobbled them up on the first try.
I’m so glad to hear that, thank you for sharing how they went over!
Hi there! Thank you for all of these great recipes! I would love to be able to incorporate blueberries into this recipe. Would you suggest following the recipe and baking the muffins for a short time, then adding the blueberries so that they do not sink to the bottom of the muffin? Thanks!
Hi! I would think you could sprinkle a few on top of each muffin, like you would the chocolate chips, and that might work. Or yes, adding them after maybe 5-8 minutes. If you pull them out of the oven to do this, you may want to add a few minutes to the total baking time. I’d love to hear how this works out if you do it!
My 18 month old who never eats anything new just demolished 4 of these! I would call that a win! Thank you!
Hooray! I’m so happy to hear that!
The muffins didn’t raise and i suspect is because the ‘cup measurement’ that I have used it’s not accurate. Could you share your recipes in grams instead of cups?
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that you had trouble. Do you want the leavening agent in grams or everything? I can work on converting this recipe for you but at the moment I don’t have the bandwidth to do all of my recipes. I’m happy to help as I can though!
How would I reheat these from frozen? Thanks!
Place a muffin onto a heat-safe plate and microwave in 15 second increments until thawed and warmed. You could also put a few in the fridge in an airtight container to thaw overnight, then heat slightly (if you want—they’re okay cold too) to serve.
Just made these, turned out great!
Hooray! Thanks for letting me know!
Can I substitute applesauce for the yogurt/butter?
I haven’t tested it but I am pretty confident that will work well!
I would love to make these for my 9 month old’s breakfasts however she cannot have honey. Do you have any suggestions to use in place of the honey it calls for?
You could omit it and just make sure that you use very ripe bananas for natural sweetness!
I’m making these with maple syrup as we speak, so I can let you know how they turn out with that substitution for honey.
Fingers crossed!