Mini spinach banana muffins are 100% whole grain and a kid favorite. They make a perfect school lunch and the extras freeze beautifully.
Oh how my kiddos love these spinach banana mini muffins!
They always want at least 4 and usually 5 of these pretty little green muffins. Did I mention that they are under 4 and under 2 years old?
Hungry bellies.
No wonder I feel like I make these ALL the time.
But when it’s quality ingredients and a good source of fruits and vegetables and whole grains, it’s hard to fight it. (And I've got a note in the recipe card about how to make these with honey so they are naturally sweetened too.)
Plus these mini banana and spinach muffins are so pretty and they smell absolutely amazing when they are baking.
Please do sneak one for yourself because they are scrumptious!
These make a lovely finger food for toddlers, too. (I avoided giving my kids anything with sugar or sweeteners in it before they turned 1, but you could give these to a baby otherwise.)
They also freeze beautifully, so I always have some on hand to pack for school lunches.
Which is why I wrote the recipe to make so many! I figure while I'm at it...
I like to pair a few of these muffins with a bowl of yogurt mixed with fruit, a side of fruit - usually raisins or grapes - and their milk. I know they are feasting well.
These banana spinach muffins even work great on their own as an afternoon snack. Shoot, you could call them breakfast since it's a little like a green version of banana bread muffins!
OK, let's get baking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make mini spinach banana muffins. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Flour: I use white wheat flour to make these whole grain, but you can also use whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour or a combination of those two.
- Sugar: You can reduce this to ⅓ cup or use a full ½ cup depending on how sweet you want them. I've also made a naturally sweetened version of these using honey in place of the sugar. You can replace the sugar with ⅓ cup of honey and then use just 2 tablespoons of oil, to balance the amount of liquids. Everything else is the same!
- Yogurt: You can use plain yogurt or plain Greek yogurt. A nonfat yogurt or a 2% or 5% yogurt are all fine.
- Bananas: Your bananas should be very ripe and soft for this recipe.
- Spinach: Be sure to use fresh raw spinach for this recipe NOT cooked or frozen spinach.
Last thing, let's talk about storing these muffins.
Store these muffins at room temperature, in a bag or covered container, for 1-2 days. After that, I like to put them in the refrigerator. (I do this with any baked good that uses banana because I find it can start to turn if it sits out too long.) They’ll keep in the fridge for another 3 days at least.
Yes, these muffins freeze beautifully! Place them in a freezer-safe ziptop bag (that’s labeled!) and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or pop a couple in the microwave, straight from the freezer, and heat for about 15-20 seconds to defrost and warm through.
Bake up some of these mini-muffins and try them on your family today. I think they'll be a new favorite!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Spinach Banana Mini Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (see notes)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- scant ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup canola oil
- ½ cup plain yogurt (or Greek yogurt)
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 medium ripe bananas
- 2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the oil, yogurt, lemon zest and vanilla.
- Mash the banana and add to wet mixture.
- Blend the spinach leaves in a food processor until very finely chopped. Add to the wet mixture and mix to combine everything well.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until just combined. Don’t over mix.
- Spray a large mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
- Spoon the batter into each cup, filling them nearly all the way to the top.
- Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the muffin tin and let the muffins cool. Store in the fridge or freeze for later use. (See notes below.)
Janelle
Yum yum yum!! I made these last night and my hubby, two year old, and one year old devoured them! Bless you Kathryn for creatively making a veggie muffin. I chuckled as my picky two year old reached for his THIRD muffin 😂
I thought I’d let you know I used 1 cup oat flour and 1 cup almond flour (to make them gf) and it worked great.
Kathryn
Oh yay, I'm so happy to hear that you all loved these muffins! They are my daughter's favorite! Thanks so much for sharing 😊
Stephanie
So going to make these for my twins and toddler! Question: what do you means when you say packed spinach? Is there a weight in ounces you recommend for the amount of spinach?
Thanks!
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Stephanie! Great question... so I just mean don't loosely scoop out a cup at a time from the bag since spinach leaves can be kinda fluffy. More like, grab a big handful, cram it into the measuring cup and count that as one packed cup (and then get 2 cups worth total that way for this recipe). I hope that helps and I hope they love these! (I'm currently waiting for some ripe bananas to make another batch myself. My now 8-year-old still adores these!)
Laura
Hi, I have made these before and they turned out great. I am looking for the note about using honey instead of sugar. It used to be there but it seems to have disappeared. Can you pls remind me of the amount of honey/oil. Thank you.
Kathryn Doherty
Hi Laura! I'm so glad you love these muffins too! Sorry about that note disappearing. It got dropped when I updated recipe cards. I've found it and added it back in to the recipe card on this post, but here's the info too: You can replace the sugar with a full 1/3 cup of honey and then use just 2 tablespoons of oil, to balance the amount of liquids. -- Hope that helps and thanks for the heads up!
Caoimhe
How long would you reheat these after being in freezer and can I reheat from frozen. Tia.
Kathryn Doherty
You can definitely reheat from the freezer. (I do it all the time when I've forgotten to defrost or my daughter suddenly wants them for lunch.) I usually do 3 mini muffins at a time for her for about 30-40 seconds in the microwave. (Though microwave times can vary.) It can help to flip them upside down for even reheating. If you've put them in the fridge overnight to defrost, you'll probably just need about 15 seconds in the microwave to rewarm them. Hope that helps!
LJ
Hi - these look great! Have you tried making these with gluten free flour? Any tips? Thanks
Kathryn Doherty
I have not tried making these with gluten-free flour. I would think a 1:1 GF mix would work fine though. Would love to hear if you try it!
Sd
Hello,
Can we use regular spinach instead of baby spinach?
And can blanched spinach be used of one is not using baby spinach?
Thanks!
Kathryn Doherty
Yes, you can use regular spinach instead of baby spinach. However, it needs to be raw and not blanched or at all cooked, which changes the flavor and volume and taste. Hope that helps!
Sd
Thanks so much for your reply!
Will try it out and let you know.
Your recipes are amazing..
Kathryn Doherty
Aww, thank you so much! 😊