These Sweet Vegan Spinach Banana Muffins are soft, moist, naturally green, and packed with delicious banana flavor-with a handful of chocolate chips in every bite.
Made with simple ingredients, no eggs, no dairy, and no oats, these easy green smoothie muffins are ready in just 30 minutes and make a wholesome breakfast or snack.
Got a few spotty, ripe bananas? Try my 2 banana muffins or my banana chocolate chip muffins next.
Please note that the photos and ingredients of this recipe were updated recently.
I first started playing around with these muffins when I had a few very ripe bananas and fresh spinach in my kitchen and wanted to turn them into something sweeter than my usual savory spinach muffins.
Since I already loved my spinach banana smoothie and eggless banana and spinach pancakes, I wondered if the same combination could work in a soft, fluffy muffin-and after a few batches, I finally got the texture I was looking for.
I love how the spinach gives these muffins their beautiful green color without making them taste like spinach, while the ripe banana and chocolate chips make them taste like a proper treat.
They're now one of my favorite ways to use up ripe bananas when I want an easy vegan breakfast or snack.
If you love banana muffins as much as I do, don't miss my raspberry banana muffins, date banana muffins, and lentil banana muffins.
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🥬Ingredients & Substitutions
- Spinach: I used baby spinach, but regular fresh spinach works just as well.
- Ripe bananas: The riper, the better! Choose bananas with plenty of brown spots for the best sweetness, flavor, and moisture.
- Flour: For a heartier texture, I used whole wheat flour, but all-purpose or spelt flour can also be used.
- Plant-based milk: I used almond milk, which adds moisture and helps bind everything together. Soy milk, oat milk, or any other plant-based milk will work.
- Vegetable oil: I used sunflower oil, but you can swap it for any neutral vegetable oil such as canola, grapeseed, or melted coconut oil.
- Sugar: I used cane sugar, but granulated white or brown sugar can be used as alternatives.
- Vanilla extract: Adds a warm, sweet flavor.
- Baking soda + vinegar: Acts as a leavening agent, helping the muffins rise. You can use white or apple cider vinegar.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and enhances flavor.
- Dairy-free chocolate chips: You can substitute with carob chips or chopped dark chocolate.
As always, you can find the full recipe with a list of ingredients with measurements in a printable recipe card at the end of this post.
🥣How To Make Sweet Spinach Banana Muffins
Mix dry ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 12-muffin pan with silicone or paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
Blend wet ingredients: In a blender, blend the mashed bananas, fresh spinach, almond milk, oil, vanilla extract, and vinegar until smooth.
Combine: Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined - do not overmix. Gently fold in the dairy-free chocolate chips.
Bake: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 22-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool: Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
📋Variations
- Add nuts: Fold in chopped walnuts or pecans for a little crunch.
- Add a little spice: A pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg works beautifully with the banana.
- Make them fruitier: Add a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries for a delicious spinach-banana-blueberry combination.
- Oil-free muffins: Use unsweetened applesauce or mashed banana instead of oil for a lower-fat option.
💡Marinela's Tips
- Use ripe bananas: Choose bananas with plenty of brown spots for the best natural sweetness, flavor, and moisture.
- Blend the spinach well: Blend the spinach and bananas until completely smooth. This gives the muffins an even green color and prevents leafy bits in the batter.
- Don't overmix the batter: Once you add the dry ingredients, gently fold everything together until just combined. Overmixing can make the muffins dense or tough.
- Check for doneness: Insert a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, they're ready to come out of the oven.
- Measure the flour and banana correctly: For consistent results, fluff the flour before measuring and level it off with a knife. Most importantly, use 1 cup of blended banana as specified in the recipe-too much or too little banana can change the moisture and texture of the muffins.
❓Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate them for up to 5 days or freeze them for up to 3 months.
Yes, you can make these muffins gluten-free by using a 1:1 ratio of gluten-free flour blend.
Absolutely. You can leave them out for a less sweet muffin or replace them with chopped walnuts, pecans, or your favorite dairy-free chocolate.
I don't recommend blending all ingredients because it can result in dense muffins. Blending the flour will develop gluten, which affects the texture. It's best to blend the wet ingredients separately and then gently mix them with the dry ingredients.
Not really! The ripe banana and chocolate chips are the main flavors, while the spinach adds color and a very subtle flavor. Blending the spinach until completely smooth also helps it blend seamlessly into the muffins.
Yes, but fresh spinach works best for this recipe. If using frozen spinach, thaw it completely and squeeze out as much excess water as possible before blending, since extra moisture can affect the texture.
📖 Recipe
Sweet Spinach Banana Muffins (Vegan)
Equipment
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 standard 12-cup muffin pan lined with silicone or paper liners OR grease lightly each muffin cup with oil
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 + ½ cups whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cane sugar or white/brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed bananas
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- ⅓ cup almond milk or any plant milk
- ¼ cup sunflower oil ot any neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a 12-muffin pan with silicone or paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.1 + ½ cups whole wheat flour, ¼ cup cane sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a blender, blend the mashed bananas, fresh spinach, almond milk, oil, vanilla extract, and vinegar until smooth.1 cup mashed bananas, 2 cups fresh baby spinach, ⅓ cup almond milk, ¼ cup sunflower oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Pour the blended mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined- do not overmix. Gently fold in the dairy-free chocolate chips.½ cup dairy-free chocolate chips
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 22-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Measure the banana carefully: Use exactly 1 cup of blended banana. Too much banana can make the muffins overly moist or gummy.
- Blend until smooth: Blend the spinach and banana mixture thoroughly so there are no leafy pieces in the finished muffins.
- Use ripe bananas: Brown-spotted bananas provide the best sweetness, flavor, and moisture.
- Measure the flour correctly: Fluff the flour, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it with a knife rather than scooping directly from the bag.
- Don't overmix: Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. A few small streaks of flour are fine.
- Store completely cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. For longer storage, refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen muffins at room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
🧁More Vegan Muffin Recipes
- Dairy-free blackberry muffins
- Eggless cranberry orange muffins
- Blackberry banana muffins
- Vegan lemon and poppy seed muffins
- Carrot and pineapple muffins
- Buckwheat flour muffins
- Banana oat blueberry muffins
If you try these sweet spinach banana muffins, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don't forget to tag a photo @go_eatgreen on Instagram.
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