Dye-Free Green Muffins (vegan + gluten-free + nut-free + refined sugar-free)

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! 

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