Healthy Green Monster Muffins
Healthy Green Monster Muffins- made with a secret green ingredient, these muffins are dairy-free, oil-free, gluten-free and refined sugar-free!
It feels so good to have finally let the cat out of the bag! Honestly I didn’t realize how much pregnancy would effect my productivity with the blog. Throughout my first trimester literally nothing sounded appetizing (especially vegetables) and all I felt like doing was sitting on the couch. It feels so crazy to say that considering I’m someone who usually eats a ton of greens and is always on the move.
Even though I wanted nothing to do with things like spinach, I knew it was important for me to try and consume some sort of greens for the health of the pregnancy. So I decided to stuff them inside of a blueberry muffin! Kind of a like a green monster smoothie but in muffin form.
Healthy Green Monster Muffin Ingredients and Substitutions
- Bananas– ripe bananas are the key to a moist and fluffy muffin! Yes, you can taste the banana but it blends really well with the other flavors.
- Almond Butter– I know it’s pricey but almond butter is my favorite nut butter to use in this recipe. It has a perfect subtle flavor that makes them taste delicious. However you can use any kind of nut butter such as cashew butter or substitute with a neutral flavored oil instead.
- Eggs– while I personally have not had good results with substitutions here, I’ve had readers say they have with flax eggs. Just know the texture will be very different from what you see in the photos.
- Pure Maple Syrup– this is the main sweetener in the recipe but can easily be replaced with honey or agave. I don’t recommend substituting with dry sweeteners (like cane sugar) as the liquid sweetener provides moisture.
- Baby Spinach– if you’re skeptical about tasting the spinach, I promise you can’t! It turns the muffins a little green, adds folate, iron and protein, but other than that it’s undetectable.
- Rolled Oats– whole grain oats make up the base of the muffins providing a nice amount of protein and fiber. You do have to use a high speed blender to break them down for a smooth texture like you see in the photos. If you don’t have one, you can sub equal amounts oat flour and prepare them in a bowl (whisking the wet ingredients separately then adding to the dry).
- Baking powder, baking soda, and salt– both baking powder and soda are necessary for the proper amount of rise with this recipe. Salt is added to balance the sweetness.
- Blueberries– fresh blueberries are my favorite because they get nice and juicy when cooked but frozen will also work. Just keep in mind frozen blueberries tend to change the color of the muffin. You could also sub chocolate chips or another kind of fruit, if you like.
How to Make Healthy Green Monster Muffins
My favorite thing about flourless muffins is how easy they are to make!
- Layer the wet ingredients (bananas to syrup) in a blender then add the dry ingredients on top.
- Blend until smooth then stir in the blueberries by hand.
- Pour into a greased or lined muffin tin.
- Bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes, until light golden brown.
Whether you have children and want to sneak some greens into them or are looking for a healthy snack for yourself, these Green Monster Muffins are sure to please. I hope you enjoy them!
Looking for more muffins? Check these out!
- Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Healthy Flourless Morning Glory Muffins
- Healthy Flourless Pumpkin Muffins
- Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
- Healthy Apple Almond Butter Muffins
- Healthy Flourless Zucchini Muffins
- Flourless Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Healthy Flourless Gingerbread Muffins
Healthy Green Monster Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ripe medium-size bananas
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 pastured eggs
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 cups raw baby spinach
- 2¼ cup rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and then grease or line a muffin tin for 12 muffins.
- Starting with the wet ingredients first, place everything except the blueberries into a blender or a food processor and blend for about 30 seconds, or until smooth.
- Using a spoon, gently stir the blueberries into the batter. Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each about 3/4th of the way full. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until light golden brown.
- Allow to to cool for at least 10-15 minutes before shoving in your mouth.
These look so good! I will definitely be giving them a try. Can’t wait to give Camryn a green muffin. haha
You packed so much goodness into these muffins! I mean, you gotta get those greens in somehow, right? Delicious, Sarah!
I haven’t found gluten free rolled oats! I have coeliac disease and was told to avoid oats. I’ve heard that there are low gluten oats but have not been able to find them
Bob’s Red Mill has certified gluten-free oats! They are tested in a lab to be certain they are GF. You can find them here: https://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-organic-old-fashioned-rolled-oats.html
I’m glad you took it easy in your first trimester and listened to your body; you’ve been setting up shop to grow a human! Anyway, these muffins look delicious, & easy too. ;)
Super easy to make! I got 16 muffins out of them. Camryn ate 2 for breakfast warmed up with butter on them. haha Not too sweet! Just right.
Yay! Glad you and Cam enjoyed them! :)
Made these last week. So easy. So good. Making a second batch now. Breakfast for the week sorted!♀️
So happy you like them! Thank you for the review! :)
Just dropped by to tell you we’ve been loving your blender muffins, especially the healthy green monsters! I don’t know what is so special about these, but they are insanely good. I subbed raw cashew butter for the almond butter (it’s what I had) and they have such a creamy taste and texture. We’ve made 4 batches of your blender muffins while in quarantine; about the make the 5th!
Thanks for the review, Carrie! I’m about to make them myself today now that my bananas are ripe. So glad you’ve been enjoying them!
LOVE THIS RECIPE!!!! I have made the muffins many, many times!! They are soooo moist, fluffy and delicious!! Usually I put blueberries after I put the batter in the muffin pan. I love good amount of blueberries in my muffin so put like 10 – 12 of them in one muffin. Soooo GOOOOD!! Especially when you reheat it in the microwave. Excuse me now I have to take out the muffin from the freezer and eat it. (Yes, they are always in my freezer)
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I thought the photos in this recipe were so attractive and was eager to try these. Unfortunately, my muffins turned out very…”healthy-looking” and nothing like the photos at all. The photos look like flour-based muffins and I’d like to know (for my second attempt) – how do I get my muffins to look like the photos?
Hi Shannon! Did you use a Vitamix (or a high speed blender)? If your blender isn’t powerful enough to break down the oats then they will have a somewhat chunky texture.
I made these the other day and my 14 month old devoured them!! I only had Organic Girl spinach, kale, bok choy on hand, so I used that instead of spinach. I LOVE how healthy they are but don’t compromise on taste. Just a question – can these be made as mini muffins? I’m curious if you had an idea of what I would need to adjust the baking time too? I’ll definitely be making these again!!
I’m so glad they were a hit! My guess is you may need to reduce the baking time a bit…maybe check them at 15-18 minutes? Usually you can smell when they are done :)