These light and fluffy breakfast muffins are loaded with fresh baby spinach for a natural green color. They are naturally sweetened and allergy-friendly including gluten-free, nut-free and 100% vegan (no dairy and no eggs). My kids are super into them because they taste amazing. They have the perfect texture and are pretty much fail-proof to make. We have made two batches in the past two days and they vanished quickly. I knew with all three kids gobbling them up that I had to add them to the blog so everyone can get in on the green muffin action.
Check out this video showing how easy they are to make:
These green muffins are a healthy and festive way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Instead of food dyes, to make them green I simply blended the spinach with the wet ingredients before adding to the dry ingredients. You could also use this method if making pancakes on St. Patrick's Day morning. Perhaps next year I'll add Dye-Free Green Pancakes to the blog! My kids have been all about everything green this week and I have been capitalizing on it with my St. Patrick's Day Snack Board, Healthy Shamrock Shake, Key Lime Pie Pudding Parfaits and Green Tahini Sauce.
I've never been skeptical of putting greens into smoothies, but I was slightly skeptical about putting spinach in my morning muffins. Would it take on a vibrant green color? Would I taste the spinach? Would the texture be gritty? The good news is after testing them out I discovered they are SUPER green, do NOT taste like spinach at all and have zero grittiness. They literally are perfect if I dare say!
If you have picky eaters and are trying to get more nutrients into them, these muffins are the way to go! They are kid-friendly for all ages. They are truly loved by my 5 year old, 3 year old and 20 month old. They especially love the addition of the chocolate chips sprinkled on top of some of the muffins (their idea of course). I added hemp seeds to some for me for an added protein and healthy fat boost.
I love how quick and utterly simple this recipe is to make. Simply blend the wet ingredients with the spinach and add that to the dry ingredients. Then bake for a total of 20 minutes. The entire process takes less than 30 minutes.
Before I get to the recipe, I have to mention one critical element to the success of this recipe: my new BPA-free silicon baking cups. To say I am obsessed is an understatement. This post is not sponsored by the company. I just genuinely love these baking cups and they have been life changing. With them, you do not need to grease the muffin pan and cleanup is a total breeze. They are dishwasher friendly and come out of the dishwasher completely clean without even a pre-wash. Most importantly, they make the perfect muffins. No sticking, burning or sogginess. Just absolute muffin-perfection. The muffins pop right out of the baking cups with ease leaving almost no crumb behind. Plus, they are great for the environment and you will never run out. I'm muffin-ready always with these secret weapons. My kids also think they are super cute. They would be adorable for cupcakes too.
(They always go for the chocolate ones as evidenced below!)
To get the perfect dome-like muffin rise, I share my little baking secret in the recipe directions below. It couldn't be easier and doesn't add any time to the overall process. I do this will all my muffin recipes and it works like a charm.
This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, refined sugar-free, soy-free, egg-free and dairy-free. I hope you love these green muffins as much as we do. If you give this recipe a try, please let me know! Leave a comment below, rate it, and tag a photo @eatingbyelaine and #eatingbyelaine on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook so I can see your creations!
Dye-Free Green Muffins (vegan + gluten-free + nut-free + refined sugar-free)
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
These plant-based and gluten-free muffins are a great way to pack in tons of nutrients. They are sweet, light, fluffy and absolutely delicious. They never last long in our house and my kids love helping me make these. The more spinach you use the greener they will turn out! They are great for breakfast on the go or school lunches since they travel well. You can leave them plain or top them with chocolate chips or hemp seeds as shown.
Ingredients
- 2.5 cup gluten-free rolled old fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- 1 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup plain, unsweetened non-dairy milk
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 6 tablespoons avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3-4 large handfuls fresh baby spinach or baby kale (up to 5 ounces)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a muffin tin with silicon baking cups or grease the muffin tin.
- In a high speed blender, add the oats and grind into a fine flour. Set aside into a medium sized mixing bowl with a pour spout. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (arrowroot powder, flaxseed, baking soda and salt). Blend until well combined.
- Rinse out the blender and add all the wet ingredients plus spinach to the blender (milk, maple syrup, avocado oil (or melted coconut oil), vanilla, vinegar and baby spinach). Blend until smooth and no spinach bits remain. Feel free to add as much spinach as you want. I find you really don't taste it. You can add an entire 5 ounce clamshell container if you want.
- Pour the wet ingredients from the blender into the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl. Whisk until well combined and no oat chunks remain. Do not over-mix. Using the mixing bowl's pour spout, carefully pour the batter into the baking cups filling them ⅞ths full. Top with mini vegan chocolate chips and/or hemp seeds if you like.
- Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees without opening the oven door. Bake at 375 degrees for another 10 minutes. This method will help make your muffins rise high and cook perfectly on the inside too without burning the outside of the muffins.
- Remove muffin tin from oven and allow to cool slightly before transferring to a cooling rack. Once the muffins are cool enough to handle, gently remove them from the silicon baking cups. Allow to cool further on the cooling rack for a couple minutes then enjoy warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Equipment
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Notes
Variations:
Sometimes we add ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon. Entirely optional but a fun spin on these.
You could also put hemp seeds or chocolate chips in the batter instead of just on top.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Breakfast or Snack
- Method: Blender and Oven
Keywords: Healthy Green Muffins
This post is sponsored by Barlean's. As always, all opinions are my own.
This recipe concept is inspired by Super Healty Kids' Sweet Spinach Muffins, Weelicious' Spinach Cake Muffins and Life is but a Dish's Easy Spinach Breakfast Muffins.
Rona says
We love these, my 6yo always request these green muffins. We have made them numerous times. Today however I had no oil or ground flax. I increased the arrowroot to three tablespoons, increased the milk to 3/4 cup and chucked in a banana to replace the oil. It was delicious!
Elaine Gordon says
Wow that’s awesome to hear! I’m so glad you have been enjoying these! We love them over here too! And thx for sharing your substitutions. Always helpful to the community to hear about swaps that work out.
Nanci Malone says
Delish! I look forward to sharing this easy, tasty-treat with my 1yo grandson. This will be added to Mom's Favorite list for future enjoyment. Thank you! 🙂
Elaine Gordon says
Thanks, Nanci! That makes me so happy to hear! I hope your grandson loves them too! I'm honored they made the Mom Fav list! 🙂 Take care!
Chelsea says
These are great! Always a fan of ways to sneak in veggies that my little doesn’t notice. A perfect snack for my daughter to bring to school.
Elaine Gordon says
Aw thank you so much, Chelsea! So happy you all enjoyed there! I love that they are portable too - perfect for packing for school lunches! And, yes, so sneaky! 😉
Kiara B says
These were absolutely delicious. I ate them all in less than 24 hours!!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Kiara! I'm so happy you enjoyed this one! Thank you for the five star rating! Best, Elaine
Shelley says
Can these be frozen? I have them in the oven now! Can’t wait to try them ?
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Shelley! I'm so sorry for the delay... I was on a family vacation. I hope I'm not too late... yes they can be frozen! I hope you enjoyed them!
Best, Elaine
Jodie says
I am making these now and the batter is so thick you definitely can’t pour it, they also seem like they remaining thick and not rising in the oven. I did recipe just as you said.
Elaine Gordon says
Hi, Jodie - I'm so sorry to hear this. Did you use store bought oat flour? If you made your own did you grind it all the way into a flour? Please let me know what kind of blender you were using... that can make a difference. Also, it is important to pour the batter right away into the muffin liners as the oats will absorb the liquid and thicken as it sits. Perhaps that was it. Hard to say without being there. Please let me know a little more info and I can try and help so that you have a more successful outcome next time! Best Regards, Elaine
Meggie says
Super simple and super yummy! I added vegan chocolate chips! Me and my 2 littles love them!
Elaine Gordon says
Thank you so much, Meggie! I so appreciate you letting me know and I'm so happy you enjoyed them with your little loves! Adorable! Thank you for the five star rating too! Best, Elaine
Lily Richards says
Delicious!
I added an extra handful of spinach and tried all the variations. I love the color of the muffins.
Elaine Gordon says
Awesome! So happy to hear! Perfect place to add extra greens for sure... the more the better! 🙂