These simple Spinach Cake Muffins have the perfect amount of sweetness and an appealing bright green color but no intense spinach flavor. Kids (and adults) love them! They’re versatile and make the perfect quick breakfast, after school snack or post dinner treat!

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Spinach Cake Muffins: A Parent’s Secret Weapon

I get inspired (and such a thrill) when Weelicious moms send me their ideas for new recipes. Several years ago now, a mom sent me a recipe she had seen on a blog that was for Spinach Cake Muffins. The recipe called for spinach and applesauce combined with a boxed cake mix.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for incorporating vegetables as often as possible, but there was something about the thought of spinach mixed into a sweet muffin that came across as unappealing to me. However, this mom was incredibly passionate about figuring out how to make these muffins a bit more healthy (and without the boxed cake mix). Her enthusiasm won me over, and wanting to see if there would be any value to trying a recipe like this, I started playing around with it.

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After a bunch of trial and error, I was kinda shocked at how delicious the muffins turned out. They had just the perfect amount of sweetness and an appealing bright green color, but no intense spinach flavor. I got really into making them and produced a sweet little gem of a muffin that my kids absolutely loved. Now, years later, this is one of my most popular recipes to date!

Gemma joined me in making a batch and got so into it that I caught her eating spinach leaves directly out of the measuring cup! Who says kids don’t like their greens?! I always find when you give little ones a chance to be a part of creating something in the kitchen, it can transform food for them in a way that’s just as much fun to make as it is to eat!

Why I Love This Recipe

  1. Hidden Nutrients, Happy Tummies: Let’s face it, getting kids to eat their greens can be a challenge. But with Spinach Cake Muffins, you’re introducing a way to incorporate spinach into their diet while treating them to a delicious baked delight. It’s a win-win for moms and little ones alike!
  2. Balanced Treats: While indulgence has its place, these muffins offer a healthier alternative by using applesauce for some natural sweetness and less sugar than traditional muffins. The goodness of spinach, along with the benefits of fiber and essential nutrients, ensures you’re serving up treats that you can feel good about giving.
  3. Versatile Snacking: Spinach Cake Muffins aren’t just for breakfast – they’re perfect for school lunches, midday snacks, or an after-dinner treat. Plus, they freeze well, making them an excellent option for busy days.
  4. Involve the Kids: Turn baking into a family activity by letting the kids help with measuring ingredients, stirring the batter, and filling the muffin cups. It’s a wonderful way to create cherished memories together and may get them to dive into a vegetable they would be otherwise hesitant to try!
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Ingredients for Spinach Cake Muffins

  • Unsweetened applesauce
  • Large egg
  • Vanilla extract
  • Fresh spinach
  • Sugar
  • Vegetable or canola oil
  • All purpose flour
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Kosher salt
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How to Make Spinach Cake Muffins

  1. Prep Oven and Muffin Tin: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease mini or regular muffin tin. You can also use muffins liners.
  2. Make Spinach Purée: Place the apple sauce, egg, vanilla extract, spinach, sugar and oil in a food processor and puree. Pour the spinach puree in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Combine dry ingredients: Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and combine.
  4. Combine wet and dry ingredients: Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
  5. Fill muffin tins: Scoop batter into a greased mini or regular muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way.
  6. Bake and serve: Bake for 12 minutes for mini muffins and 18-20 minutes for regular sized muffins.
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More “Hidden” Veggie Recipes Kids Love

Spinach Cake Muffins are your secret weapon for serving up a delightful treat that’s packed with goodness. From their hidden veggie power to the joy they bring, these muffins are a true treasure for parents looking to create nourishing and delicious moments for their families.

Thank you to the Weelicious mom who inspired this Spinach Cake Muffin recipe (you know who you are) and to everyone else, please keep the ideas coming! They energize me, spark great ideas and no matter how out there they may be, can produce an awesome and delicious result.

Photos by Ivan Solis

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Spinach Cake Muffins

These simple Spinach Cake Muffins have the perfect amount of sweetness and an appealing bright green color but no intense spinach flavor! Kids (and adults) love them!
4.41 from 32 votes
Servings: 12 muffins
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients  

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Place the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and puree.
  • Place the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and combine.
  • Pour the spinach puree in a large mixing bowl.
  • Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet until combined.
  • Scoop batter into a greased mini or regular muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3 of the way.
  • Bake for 12 minutes for mini muffins and 18-20 minutes for regular sized muffins.

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Nutrition

Calories: 50kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 100mg | Sugar: 3g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. Awesome recipe… I did add another 4 oz of applesauce to help with the dryness – turned out perfect thank you.. well liked by all…

  2. I made these for my boys today (ages 5 and 7) and they’re a hit! I used honey instead of sugar (1/4 cup), and melted butter instead of oil. They’re delicious, and the kiddos love the bright green color!

  3. We make these all the time at home and my daughter wants to bring them to school as a birthday treat. The problem is there are children with both egg and banana allergies in her class. What could be substituted for egg in this recipe?

  4. I was hoping to see a comment just like this one, since I have a mix of baby food but no apple sauce!

  5. You could try using a flax egg! 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water.

  6. Hi. My 14 month old has dairy, egg and nut allergies. Any substitution you can recommend for the egg in this recipe? Thank you!

  7. So Delicious! I sub’d the sugar for a little less than a 1/4 cup of maple syrup, packed in an extra 1/2 cup of spinach (next time i’ll try an extra full cup), and a medium very ripe banana. My very picky eater helped me make them and loved his “hulk smash” muffins. TY!

  8. My daughter and I love these muffins so much. I am going to suggest making them in her classes cooking lesson today 😀
    These are six year old children, and they use ingredients from the kitchen garden. Fresh eggs from the chickens, spinach, apples… will be great seeing them collect them and add to the ingredients 🙂 plus they taste pretty awesome..

  9. A little dry and not sweet enough for my toddlers. But I was surprised that the spinach wasn’t overwhelming. So will try and tweak to fit my children’s muffin preferences!

  10. Hello,

    Tried making these last night but I thought it was missing moisture. They came out pretty well but the inside seemed pretty dry and I guess not enough sweet to impress my toddler.

  11. Yes! Freeze on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, then transfer to a ziploc bag and keep frozen for up to 3 months!

  12. I just made these and while the texture turned out quite I found the muffins to be very bland and lacked flavor. Was especially surprised because there is 1/3 cup of sugar and applesauce in the recipe. They were not sweet at all. What could I do to intensify the flavor?

  13. while i was making this, i was wondering how come there are no liquids. i added a tiny bit of orange juice. the muffins came out a little dry. i added more juice to the leftover batter. the muffins came out much better. yours didn’t come out dry?

  14. Hi! I really love these muffins but today I made some adjustments because I can never leave a recipe alone 😉 So just thought I’d share my substitutions. I was out of fresh spinach, I wanted to try sugar free, gluten free and add some extra low carb fiber!! Also I used a vitamix. Here it is-
    1 cup frozen spinach for fresh
    3 dates soaked in 1/4c warm water plus 2 tbsp raw honey for the sugar
    1c gluten free all purpose flour
    1/2c organic golden ground flaxmeal

    They turned out great! My LO loves these spread with cream cheese!!
    Thanks!

  15. Hmmm you could try using dates! Take a few medjool dates, soak them in warm water for 10 minutes, then blend in the food processor or blender to make a puree. Use the same amount as the applesauce called for, although the dates might be sweeter than the applesauce.

  16. Is there a substitution for the unsweetened applesauce? My toddler cannot have applesauce and I struggle to find healthy recipes that are not sweetened naturally with applesauce or bananas (another thing he cannot have :-(. Thanks!!

  17. I was looking for a muffin recipe for my leftover spinach pulp from my juicer. Would that work with this recipe??

  18. I made these today as mini donuts by using a mini donut mold, cut the cooking time to 5 minutes. They came out great and my 3yr old twin girls loved them! I felt like they left less mess than muffins usually cause.

  19. I made these once before and I thought they were excellent but they turned out too green for my picky toddler. Made them again tonight and added 2 Tbs. of coaco powder and one more Tbs. of sugar to combat any bitterness. Guess who loves them! The picky toddler! And I added 2 extra cups of spinach. Yum!

  20. Tried these with kale (bc I didn’t have spinach), whole wheat flour, and coconut oil.. Needed to add extra apple sauce and oil, but they turned out great! My daughter loves them and so do I!

  21. Can I make these without sugar? Or what can I substitute for sugar? I don’t give my 1 year old anything with sugar in it.

  22. My kids call them Grinch muffins and I make them at least once a month… I also put 4 to 6 cups of fresh spinach and increase apple sauce, use coconut sugar and coconut oil… Love them…thank you for your great recipes

  23. YUM, YUM, YUM!!! So incredibly delicious. Both my husband and four-year old gobbled up two batches of these muffins in less than a week! I made this recipe without any substitutions/modifications and they came out perfectly 🙂

  24. How do you get fresh spinach to purée? Should it be steamed when it goes in the food processor?

  25. My son is allergic to dairy-egg-nuts but loves muffins. Could I sub the egg with butternut squash purée?.

  26. Catherine,
    Could you suggest a healthy icing for these muffins? May sound crazy but my 3 year old has a birthday soon and I’d like to provide these muffins aka “cupcakes” for their morning snack….help!

  27. I increased the spinach to six cups (fresh), and they were still excellent. I added a little orange and greek yogurt.

  28. This is my all time favorite muffin recipe….and I have tried A LOT! I have made these over and over again. Today I was out of applesauce so I threw an apple in the Vitamix, exchanged the flour for almond flour and omitted the sugar for 1/2 c. mini choc. chips. Just when I thought you couldn’t mess with perfection, they still came out great!!!! I love both of your cookbooks. Thank you for your recipes.

  29. FANTASTIC!! I’d eat the whole batch if I didn’t have my 4 year old begging me for them. So I guess I’ll share…

  30. These taste delicious – very cake-like! And were a hit with our play date today. Kids and adults alike ate many of them. Will definitely make them again!

  31. These are great! My boys couldn’t stop reaching for them. The only problem is the batter is too thick and muffins come out dry. I used to add a little milk, but it made the outside of the muffins crusty and inside soggy. I will try extra applesauce and oil next time.

  32. My friend just brought some over for our play date and they are YUMMY! My 1 and a half year old LOVED them! I calculated the calories (I needed the calorie count for LoseIt) and it comes out to just 54 calories per mini muffin! Thought I’d share the info in case anyone else wanted to know. 🙂

  33. These were great! I didn’t have applesauce on hand so I used apple carrot babyfood and they tasted great!

  34. Tasty! Passed the picky 5 yr-old test (but sadly, not the picky 2 yr-old… but I think she just loves saying “no!” to anything these days). Kids & mommies in our playgroup loved them. I don’t have a proper food processor or blender, so I chopped the spinach using an attachment for my immersion blender. It worked fairly well, but I couldn’t quite get a puree and the muffins were slightly “leafy”. I’ll have to find a way to get those leaves smaller next time.

  35. this recipe sounds great! Can’t wait to try it. However, I don’t have fresh spinach at hand, can you substitute frozen ones, and how much?

    Thanks!

  36. I’m wondering if anyone cooked these in a bread loaf pan rather than muffins? Would it turn out ok?

  37. My 2yr old, husband & I all love them. Since I always have spinach in the house it’s a perfect treat for us all. I use an extra half cup of applesauce since they’ve been a little dry otherwise. Great recipe…keep’em coming! 🙂

  38. We love these! I like to puree some strawberries in them too! I wonder if blueberries would be good too.

  39. My 5-year old son, who will hardly try ANYTHING, loved these! I took them to his preschool for class snack and every child who ate one (only 1 or 2 holdouts) asked for another one. Love ’em!

  40. Yes! Muffins freeze beautifully! Place them in the freezer on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until they’re frozen solid. Then transfer to a zip top bag or other freezer container, and freeze for up to 4 months! Defrost in the fridge overnight.

  41. hello!,I really like your writing very a lot! percentage we communicate extra about your article on AOL? I need a specialist in this house to unravel my problem. Maybe that’s you! Looking ahead to peer you.

  42. I used 1/3 c. evaporated cane juice, and I’ve tried honey as well. I also sub out the canola for coconut oil, and use Whole Wheat White Flour instead of AP. Completely clean, and delicious. My kids and my Cub Scouts love them!! Thanks Katherine!

  43. Success! Children ate them and were none the wiser. I thought they were good, but mine were a lot greener – I must have packed the hell out of that cup of spinach! I actually had to add more applesauce because the batter was so thick. Now to start decreasing the sugar and increasing the whole wheat flour to make them as healthy as possible without the kids noticing. 🙂

  44. These were a HUGE hit with my toddler. I substituted 1 banana for the applesauce and mixed in 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour with 1 c AP flour. He loves them and I’ll be making them again soon I’m sure. Might add some chia seeds next time for a little protein boost.

  45. These were a huge hit with my 3 year old! He pretty much eats anything but he’s not a fan of spinach so this was a great way to get him to eat some. I’ll definitely be making this recipe over and over. Can’t wait until my baby girl is old enough to try too 🙂

  46. My daughter isn’t a huge meat eater, so I try to get protein in her as much as I can, does anyone have a suggestion for adding protein to these?

  47. I do not currently calculate nutritional information, but there are a lot of great free resources out there for doing so. like My Fitness Pal and Spark People!

  48. Yes! Freeze on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to get them good and frozen, and then transfer to a ziploc bag or other freezer container! Thaw at room temperature and rewarm in the oven or toaster oven if you like to eat them hot!

  49. Love these! My 16 mos old daughter has epbeen devouring them sis she was 11 months old:-) have you ever tried to freeze them? We have spinach that I need to use up and was going to Dow. Double batch, but seems pointless to do if they don’t freeze well!

  50. I have to say I have made this a dozen times– this batch is called “Spinach Ogre muffins” for a school halloween party. The changes I’ve made to the original recipe are add 1 banana (more for adults who are scared of green items, it gives them a flavor they understand) and I use flaxmeal instead of an egg (because I needed a triple batch and only had one egg). Now they are vegan (I grease with oil no butter now) and I have to have a few dozen in the freezer to catch up to demand!

  51. A girlfriend introduced me to these and this site, WOW so excited even ordered a planetbox Rover set today! (been looking everywhere for something like this). Can’t wait to try way too many of the recipes!

  52. Loved these! I was searching for a recipe for leftover spinach when I noticed this one. My kids enjoyed the muffins, I froze the leftovers, perfect addition to my daughter’s lunchbox (Planetbox of course)!

  53. I think a cream cheese frosting would be so yummy (and packed with protein)! I like to use whipped cream cheese, mix 1 cup with about 2-3 teaspoons of honey (or more depending on your tastes).

  54. What kind of “frosting” would you recommend to go with this? If I could make it look like a cupcake I think my toddler might just go for it…did I mention I had a picky eater? (presentation is everything with this kid! Anything to make him excited to eat his food will help)

  55. Just whipped up a batch of these muffins using greek yogurt in place of apple sauce, which I didn’t have in the house .. and 1c. oat flour + 1/2 c. white flour. I am eager to see how these gems turn out 😉

  56. Just whipped these up using greek yogurt instead of apple sauce (woops no apple sauce in the house!) and 2/3 oat bran flour (1c. oat bran, 1/2 c. white) … curious to see how they come out!

  57. Has anyone made this with regular sized muffin pans? And with cupcake liners rather than greasing pan?

  58. Catherine, I finally bought my 9 cup Cuisinart (thanks for the size recommendation!) and this is the recipe I’ve had most in mind and is the first I’ve made with my new machine. After tasting the first batch (made with my 3yo’s help) I made two more. My daughter isn’t a picky eater, she’s a non-eater, but she’ll eat these. Thanks so much!

    P.S. I read the comments and tried 1/2 tsp nutmeg in one batch and they are pretty good.. I think I prefer the recipe as given though.

  59. Tried these to get more veg into my toddler. For me the spinach taste is strong so the combination of spinach and vanilla is quite strange. I substituted 2 tbsp honey for the sugar and didn’t add the salt, to be healthier. My experiement is here: bit.ly/Oupumz

  60. I’m intrigued by this recipe, plus I’ve got spinach in the fridge waiting for me to figure out what to do with it.
    No applesauce, though, do you think I could substitute mashed banana?

  61. You strated a revolution with a sweet spinach muffin! I use whole wheat flour we call atta, and I use whey or milk as needed to dilute the batter when too thick because I make it in the microwave: about 3-4 min for six muffins.. I have even used mango pulp instead of applesauce, with mango pieces on top which looks very pretty! I find that I like the taste better when I cook spinach before pureeing though, and the spinach here is very dirty so it is safer.

  62. I made these last night with my 4 year old. We couldn’t believe how yummy they were. I used coconut oil and they turned out perfect. Next time I will try using part whole wheat flour.

  63. Wow these are delish! I made these tonight for my 15 month old. I had one and couldn’t believe how tasty they are. I split the flour b/w white and whole wheat. Very good!

  64. I made them last night and there is only one left! They were a huge hit and to make them even healthier I used honey in the place of sugar and they were moist and delicious!

  65. Catherine, I just checked your site out this weekend and am in love! Weelicious dinners are on the menu every night this week! I just made these and my picky 1 1/2 year old gobbled two! I have the crockpot mex lasagna in right now and keep sneaking bites:). Thanks so much!

  66. Thanks for the recipe. My son (almost 3) helped make them. He won’t eat salad or spinach, but saw it go in. He calls them “salad muffins” and ate 2 right out of the oven. Hopefully this is the start of getting him to like his greens. Maybe we’ll try some kale chips on him next.

  67. wow! these are so yummy, and the normally suspicious-of-anything-green 5 yr old gobbled them up! For an extra treat and nutritional boost, we “frosted” some of them with a whipped cream cheese and homemade blueberry-pluot jelly mix (he wanted purple frosting on his green muffins). definitely on the list of lunch box treats.

  68. I didn’t have any applesauce, so I used a random assortment of babyfood purées I had in the cupboard. Worked great and you can’t taste the mango/banana/blueberry babyfood.

  69. We are working on getting nutritional information for the all the recipes. In the meantime, there are some great resources out there for calculating it. SparkPeople.com and MyFitnessPal are two!

  70. Yes! Baking temperature will stay the same, but increase baking time by about 3-5 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean. 🙂

  71. I really love this recipe and so does my toddler. The vanilla is important because it’s what is flavoring the muffin, you can’t taste the spinach at all. I do half white flour and half wheat. Really cute idea for St. Patty’s Day.

  72. Just made these for the first time . . . they taste AMAZING! Now, to try them out on The Toddler . . .

  73. 1 cup = 8 liquid ounces. So ignore the ounce size of your bag for this recipe! You should be using 1 PACKED cup of spinach. So pack those greens into your measuring cup to get the correct amount!

  74. Hey! I made this but I have a really dumb quesiton. I have a 6 oz bag of baby spinach. How much of it do I use to get 1 cup of spinach for this recipe? I made the recipe using the whole bag (thinking I had less than what I needed bec I was thinking that a 6 oz bag is less than 8 oz = 1 cup, then realizing that that’s not how to convert it) but seeing how green they turned out, I’m sure I messed that up even though my kids still liked them, but I want to make it right next time, so pls help…

  75. Made these last night since I had lots of leftover spinach from our farm share that I didn’t want to waste! Loved them!

  76. I just made the batter with white whole wheat flour, and honey instead of sugar. I have to wait to bake them until the kids are up from their naps, but the batter’s delicious. 😉 Next time I am going to use a ripe banana in place of the sugar/honey, since then there will be no added sugar. I think they’d be great with walnuts too.

  77. I do not currently calculate nutrition content, but it is something I am working on! For now, there are some great resources out there like My Fitness Pal and Spark People to help you calculate it at home!

  78. My son is addicted to these. I have probably made 6 batches since St. Patrick’s Day. Tonight after dinner he asked me to make more since he had eaten the last of them for breakfast.

    Not overly sweet, but definitely like them and feel like healthy alternative to some of the easy snack items we might use. I have been slowly replacing some of the All Purpose with Whole Wheat Flour. I am up to 1 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup all purpose. Today all I had was All Purpose, and actually think I prefer the flavor of the whole wheat ones I have been making. Thank you so much!!

  79. My kids don’t eat anything, especially veggies or anything green…but I gave these a try. I did it on St. Paddy’s day to have a reason for the green. My kids LOVED them! My son asked me to add blueberries the second time (I blended a cup of frozen ones in because he doesn’t like to bite into them) and they were great! He thought the color was cool too, like a blue-green and they had a little more sweetness to them. They each ate 4 mini muffins in minutes! I usually fail in the kitchen but this was a success! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂

  80. They are in the oven now, I hope they freeze well. Spinach is one of my daughters favorite foods, I usually make mini omelets and put spinach into her breakfast that way, but this will be an exciting change for her! Cant wait till they are done so we can try them out!

  81. I think chopped apricots would be lovely in these, soak them if they are too tough. Raisins, also soaked, would be good too!

  82. I plan on making these tomorrow. My son loves muffins and I am going to try these to get more veggies into him. But what he loves most about muffins is finding fruit in them such as raisins, blueberries, cranberries etc. What fruit would taste good in these muffins? Thanks!

  83. These are so cute, little green puffs… I think they are delicious and i know my little girl will love them. I made your cottage cheese pancakes for her for breakfast today and they were so moist and sweet. She also loves the baby quiche… Great recipes!! Love them!!!

  84. We made these “Yoda” muffins too but made them brown & green swirl. Double recipe in food processor then make 2 bowls of dry mix (1 whole recipe of dry, then 1 recipe of dry but substitute 1/2 c cocoa for a 1/2 c flour). Split blended mixture between dry bowls and add a bit more applesauce or milk to choc mixture to loosen it up. Scoop green mix into bottom of muffin tins, top each with brown mix. Then use a toothpick or butter knife to make swirls. Bake as directed. Brown and green swirlies!

  85. I don’t like the taste of Xylitol so I never have it on hand. I often use honey as a sugar substitute, but for this recipe you would have to increase the amount of dry ingredients. I would say start with 1/3 Cup Honey and add 1/3-1/2 Cup Flour and see how that works!

  86. What do you think of Xylitol??? I don’t have any sugar in the house. Just xylitol, stevia, and honey.

  87. I just made these and they turned out great. Though mine made 30 mini muffins. I did use muffin liners.
    I put it in the recipe builder on Weight Watchers and it only came out to 1 point/muffin (remember, I was able to make 30 instead of 24). Of course, I made these for my baby … luckily I have more spinach. They are so tasty warm.
    Thank you for the recipe. I can’t wait to have my child try a muffin for the first time!

  88. I made these and they are very spinach-y so not sure how I feel about them. LO seemed to like them all right (he is 15 mo). I substituted half the applesauce for some leftover avocado-banana puree, sucanat for regular sugar, and whole grain flour for regular flour. I’m trying to keep my cooking “clean” as much as possible and the substitutions didn’t really affect the texture or taste. I think spices are a good idea – I’ll try that next time.

  89. OK here’s what i did and they were fantastic. We called them “alien” muffins.

    I changed it up a bit:
    2 cups of Spinach
    3/4 cup sour cream
    3/4 apple sause
    3/4 cup sugar
    and dried cranberries and walnuts.
    and the same dry ingredients
    They were super green and moist and YUMMY!

  90. Made this recipe today, did not have applesauce so i made a pumpkin puree and used that instead, and added some spice and lemon essence and it came out beautifully also used whole wheat instead of all purpose flour thanks for the recipes. 🙂

  91. I am also looking for ways to incorporate veg’s (espec the green ones!) into my daughter’s diet. I have found many recipes that incorporate spinach in some sneaky way, but it seems like the actual amount of vegetable per serving winds up being so miniscule! So here, one cup of packed spinach is split up among 24 mini muffins. How much fiber and iron does this impart to each muffin?

    On the upside, it might make “green food” less taboo and as such, serve as a gateway food for the real stuff?

  92. eating mine right now! If you expect something really sweet like boxed cake.. you might be disappointed. I just got mine out of the oven. I think my kids will love the color of them =) I think they do have a great flavor. I will be making these again!

  93. Made these last night! They were amazing! I mixed some powdered sugar and water to make a light glaze to drizzle over them. Yum!

  94. I agree with the people that say these need some extra spices. I made them as written here. They’re good, but they are missing something. My daughter will love them. Maybe I’ll try with orange zest..

    PS-bacon would be AMAZING in these, but then they wouldn’t be as healthy.

  95. I made these last night with the Red Mill GF AP flour, they turned out a bit dry (like dry corn muffins). Will keep experimenting, as I haven’t had much GF baking experience yet.

    My little one is not a fan of sweet baked goods yet, am going to experience how to make this savory.

  96. Made these Again today – added a grated carrot and some cinnamon and nutmeg, SO GOOD! I’m going to keep experimenting adding veggies, what a great way to add veg to our meals.
    On a side note, I use less flour as I don’t puree the spinach mix, just a very fine chop.

  97. I just made these with a half a box of frozen spinach. I used a 1/4 cup sugar and added some frozen strawberries. I thawed them with the spinach! They turned out great! My four year old said she wants them for breakfast tomorrow! But she wants to have a third mini one now!

  98. I just made these and they are awesome!My 2year old hates veggies and I struggle daily to get him to eat any veggie.He helped me make them and I told him they were spinach but I failed to remind him that spinach is a vegetable.OOps!I did use frozen boxed spinach but it turned out well enough for my picky eater:)

  99. evie, same for me. Batter was super gummy. I added another 4 oz apple sauce. They still came out like bricks…bricks with no flavor. Not sure where I messed them up either, but they’re not working for me or my kids : (

  100. I already made these 4 times….I love them, my kids, and anybody who tries them…I added more applesauce and more spinach and substituted 1/2 rye flour…came out deep green and delicious again…thank you so very much…I am not a good cook or baker but your receipts make me want to cook.

  101. I froze some of mine, and just let them thaw on the counter actually, under a tea towel. Worked beautifully.

  102. Catherine – do you think these would freeze well? Put them in the freezer after they’ve cooled and warm them in the toaster oven?

  103. Too bad. I wanted to like these because my baby needs to eat more veggies. Not sure what I did wrong. They had no flavor at all. I made the applesauce myself by cutting up two red apples, heating them on the stove until soft then puréed them. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that? Maybe it was the baby spinach?

  104. I am trying these right now. The batter was so gummy! I was having a hard time getting the batter off the spoon and into the muffin tin. Nice bright color. I used baby spinach since I had it on hand. Let’s see how it tastes!

  105. To go along with this recipe, I use to be able to serve my daughter baby spinach and apple smoothies. She doesn’t like bananas so I tried a raw drink recipe in the blender which is a handful of baby spinach, 1-2 apple (and/or pear), apple juice, ice and a little lemon juice to taste. And, yes, the drink is green. It could also be used as a “Green Eggs and Ham” theme, St. Patty’s drink or I have served it at a Halloween party as a mystery drink.

  106. I think I put too much spinach b/c mine turned out much greener than the picture. You said a ‘packed’ cup of spinach but then in your video it doesn’t look like a ‘packed’ cup – just a loose cup of spinach leaves. Can you be more specific on the amount of spinach needed so that these come out looking more like the yellow cake in your picture?

  107. I just made these while my 3 year old was napping. Have to say- what’s not to love. I licked the batter bowl and thought “this tastes like cake batter.” Final result was great, moist and yummy. You don’t even know there is spinach in them. Cannot wait for my son’s reaction.

  108. I used a whole box (10 oz)of frozen spinach, undrained, and this recipe worked beautifully! I also had to substitute one banana for the egg due to allergy kids. I didn’t puree the wet ingredients due to time constraints and they taste great, but definitely look like they are spinach muffins (the spinach is very obvious)! My 3 yr old boys don’t care and gobble them up anyway but if I were to make these again for a playdate snack I would definitely puree to mask it.

  109. Really? You can’t use frozen spinach? I was ready set to make them, then thought I’d check what the proportion would be if it where frozen spinach, and caught your comment.

    It it too much liquid?

  110. Catherine – Agave substitute? Would you decrease the oil because of the liquid agave being added?

  111. These were GREAT! I subbed 1/2 cup of almond meal for 1/2 cup of flour and threw in 1 tblsp brown sugar – between myself, my husband and 2 year old, we ate them all up within 24 hours (I made 7 large muffins) – my 2 year old loved the green color of them and now requests everything in different colors (green tacos, red bread, etc!). They tasted much better fresh out of the oven than they did the next day, but I would definitely make these again – they were moist and flavorful. Any tips on how to adapt these to be savory and cheesy? Thanks for this recipe!

  112. Question about mini muffin pans…
    What do you use to grease yours? I love/hate making mini muffins because the vegetable oil non-stick spray is SO SO hard to wash out of those tiny muffin cups after making mini muffins (but we love the carrot apple coconut ones!). I’m hoping there’s an alternative. Thanks!

  113. I made these for my 1 1/2 year old daughter and she loves them. I make a variety of your muffins and send them to daycare for her morning snack with fruit. thanks for the recipe.

  114. Excellent!! I didn’t puree my mixture, just chopped the spinach really finely. Added 1/4 less flour because of this and they turned out Very well!! Also only added 1/4cup sugar but still were plenty sweet and delicious. Thank you 🙂

  115. These were a hit with my kids. I have a question though. They did seem a little dry to me, and the batter was soooo thick. If I loosened the batter by adding milk would that make them more moist? Thanks!

  116. I didn’t have any applesauce… but then thought to make fresh applesauce. Why not? I chopped an apple and a half and stewed the pieces for 10 min or so and then pureed the chunks (nothing added but a wee bit of water to moisten the saucepan). I let the sauce cool and then proceeded. The batter was very thick, but the results were excellent and my daughter and niece ate a surprising number of them throughout the day. DEE-LISH! Thank you!

  117. I just figured this up into My Fitness Pal, I was able to get 35 mini muffins from the batch, and they are 38 calories each 🙂

  118. Is there a reason why yours do not look very green? I used a packed 1 cup of spinach and mine are beautifully vibrant green! Just curious if its bad lighting or what? Thanks!

  119. I was intrigued by the concept of spinach muffins and thought I would give these a shot. While I loved the color and taste, I really didn’t like how they looked! The batter seemed a bit too thick to me and the muffins were more like scuffins (in between scone and muffin) in texture. I made regular size muffins and got 10 slightly smaller than normal muffins. My boys (4, 3, 19 months) loved them though especially since I called them “Grinch” muffins!

  120. I just made this and unfortunately was not crazy excited about them. I followed the recipe exactly. They came out quite heavy though. The spinach taste is definitely there as well. I’m going to test them out on my little guy tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

  121. Just made these, followed recipe to a T…except I baked them a little longer (I used the bigger muffin tin pan). Now they are a bit dry. I think if I only baked them for an extra 3 min instead of 6, they would’ve been better.

  122. Just made these and they turned out great! I think they tasted like vanilla cupcakes without the frosting. I added a little pumpkin pie spice just because I love it 🙂

  123. Made these yesterday with the help of my 19 mo daughter. She loves veggies anyway and kept stealing the spinach! She normally isn’t a big sweets fan so these were perfect. She ate 2 in the first helping! Love them – thanks for sharing the recipe! She also loves kale – may try that as a substitution sometime.

  124. Made these this morning. They tasted great! Batter was a bit gummy – will add more applesauce next time.

  125. I added apples and pumpkin pie spice- the plain version was very good- i just like a tiny bit sweeter 🙂

  126. Just made these today with half whole wheat flour and honey granules rather than sugar and they’re still very good. Not too sweet but I like them. I love that they’re so green too!

  127. I made them last night and they came out great…so good my dog helped himself to them so I had to make another batch…I put little more applesause and they were even better…my 3 little ones loved them…thank you so much for this recipe…my son who doesn’t want to eat veggies will eat anything in the forms of a muffin so this is great..:)

  128. Made these today and they were great – I must have used more spinach since mine turned out bright green. Used olive oil since I didn’t have any vegetable or canola oil. My 2yo was singing from happiness when he was eating them. Thanks so much for another great recipe Catherine!!

  129. I assume if we did substitute agave you’d need to decrease another liquid, perhaps the oil by 1 TBL. Let me know if you try it out. I avoid sugar in recipes as much as possible these days. 🙂

  130. Making these with my girls today and just realized I don’t have sugar. Will agave or honey work?

  131. Made these this morning and they were great! I’m always trying to ear more veggies and this was an easy way to start the day. My one year old asked for more! Also wondering if you can freeze them.

  132. Hi Catherine, thanks for sharing..I must admit I’m not a kitchen person, but since I have my baby, I want to give the best for him, this include cooking for him..your recipes have been easy to follow and I’m slowly getting the fun cooking, trying new recipes..I’m not based in US myself, so I need to google some of the ingredients, also measurement and temperature, but they are all worth it! 🙂 thanks so much..now, do you think this spinach muffin will freeze well? 🙂

  133. So do you guys think I could add some more green food powder? Like the kind for putting in smoothies and things? When would I add it? with the spinach?
    Thanks!

  134. Yoda cupcakes?! My son has just discovered Yoda, so that will make the more fun 🙂 We’re about to whip up a batch together now.

  135. made these today, I used organic pastry flour and they came out sooooo good:) I told my son they were yoda cupcakes, they had a nice green color, next time I will try with whole wheat pastry flour:) CATHERINE: how could this recipe be turned into pancakes???

  136. I’m so bummed they didn’t work for you. How did they turn out for you? Were they sweet enough? I wonder what you could have done wrong. I want to solve this for you!

  137. I’m very disappointed. I just made these and they weren’t the best. We ended up throwing them away. I’m surprised because all the other comments are so positive. Maybe I did something wrong.

  138. I loved them. My boys aren’t so sure yet. I didn’t have sugar so I ended up using agave and it worked well.

  139. I made these today with white wheat flour and they were amazing. My 2 year old son loved them and would have eaten all of them had I allowed it! Another amazing recipe from weelicious! My son loves all the pancakes, waffles and muffins so more of these types of recipes is always welcome.

  140. I have all the ingredients and will be making these first thing tomorrow. I am always looking for ways to get more veggies in my family’s diet. Thanks for sharing!

  141. I just made it and my kids LOVED it! They loved the green color and kept asking for more. Thanks for sharing another great recipe.

  142. I made these today! My son isn’t a big sweets guy and wasn’t that excited about them, but I really loved them and I’ll probably make them again. They’re a gorgeous color, and would be great for brunch with my friends sometime. I don’t have a mini muffin pan, so I used a regular one. This recipe made eight regular sized muffins. I’d love to see a non-sweet, cheesy version of these. My son would definitely go for that. Anyway… thanks Catherine for another fun, easy recipe!

  143. They taste like a regular vanilla cupcake/muffin. I used Catherine’s buttercream frosting and they were too good! I have made 4 variations of these, but none with any spices. I bet that either nutmeg or cinnamon would be good.

  144. Would any spices be good in this – like nutmeg or cinnamon? Or how about a frosting of some sort? Trying to get a feel for what they will taste like as I definitely want to try!

  145. Catherine, I am so happy you enjoyed this idea so much and I appreciate you turning it into something wonderful. I do make these regularly and I use coconut oil (melted) and I have found that if you add a bit of shredded coconut and a touch of milk or a bit more applesauce (to help with what ever the coconut may absorb) they are awesome and my 22 month old chows them down. I have now started adding raw spinach to so many recipes because it doesn’t have a strong flavor, the possibilities are endless.

  146. I’m super excited to try this recipe! I know my daughter is going to gobble them up and I will gladly let her knowing she is getting some veggies! I’m so bummed I don’t have enough spinach to make them right now! Off to the store we go!

  147. I’m definitely going to try this today but I only keep whole wheat flour on hand so we will see how that goes. 😉

  148. I made these this a.m. w/my 22 mo old daughter (I think this was our first cooking/baking experience and boy was it all I had in me to not micro-manage the whole thing… I kept repeating “the dustbuster was made for a reason”) and I’m happy to report they are delicious!

  149. I CANNOT WAIT to try this recipe.

    Like… I’m truly antsy that I can’t make these tonight since we have dinner plans already! 🙂

  150. I didn’t try them using wheat flour. I would try doing it with white wheat flour or half wheat and half white so they remain light.

  151. I agree with sharing your secrets. My son will only eat mashed potatoes if they have kale in them, (inspired by Catherine’s puree) he turns his nose up at regular mashed potatoes. He also loves kale pesto although the two recipes I have tried have lemon in it and I don’t like that flavor but my son does. We eat the Indian Lentils twice a month and I load that with kale. How do you prepare it?

  152. Yum! Can’t wait to try this. I always find myself buying too much spinach because this family prefers kale (yeah, I’m the mom at the grocery store telling my kids to stop sneaking the kale until AFTER we’ve bought and washed it)

    Do you have a “boxed cake” recipe so we can have it on hand then add spinach and applesauce or just canned pumpkin?

  153. The coconut oil is a bit thicker, but since there isn’t a lot of oil in these muffins I say give it a whirl!

  154. I have a tonne of frozen spinach and was searching for recipes that incorporated spinach so I thought I’d give it a whirl even though recipe called for fresh spinach. I cooked spinach until fully defrosted then cooled it off with cold water then drained as much water out as possible before adding to the rest of the ingredients. Worked great!

  155. Sadly you have to use fresh spinach 🙁 It’s worth it to buy the fresh and make them, though 🙂

  156. Hi,
    I only have frozen spinach on hand.. will this work, if I squeeze all the H2o out really well?

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