No food dye needed for these vibrant Green Blender Muffins! The fun color of these gluten-free, paleo, and nut-free muffins comes from spinach, but all you'll taste is incredible mint chocolate flavor reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream!
Getting kids to eat vegetables is not always fun, but you can have fun tricking them into eating veggies with these Green Blender Muffins!
Made with nutritious ingredients like zucchini, eggs, coconut flour, and spinach, these green blender muffins are gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, and dairy-free. The vibrant green color comes from spinach instead of artificial food dyes, making these muffins healthy and friendly to a lot of the most common special diets. More on that below. For now, I'd like to emphasize that these green blender muffins are so crazy delicious that nobody will guess that they're healthy. They seriously taste like the best mint chocolate chip ice cream you've ever had, but in a muffin!
How do these Green Blender Muffins support mood and brain function?
These green blender muffins are healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free, and super flavorful, but what about them makes them "good mood food"?
- No artificial colors/food dyes: artificial FD&C food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity in children, especially when combined with the preservative sodium benzoate (source). Unfortunately, this combination and artificial colors, in general, are common ingredients in food marketed to kids. My goal is to share recipes that nourish the brain, so you won't find artificial colors in any of my recipes. Instead, spinach adds tons of nutrients and a fun green color to these blender muffins!
- Lower in sugar than most muffins: a key component of dietary recommendations for mental health is minimizing commercial baked goods and sweets and replacing them with nutritious whole foods (source). Although these muffins will satisfy your craving for a regular ole' muffin full of sugar and gluten, you and your loved ones will be eating a healthy muffin made with nutritious whole foods and minimal sugar instead! The sugar can be minimized even further by choosing keto-friendly chocolate chips and maple syrup. More on that in the sections below.
- Gluten-free: did you know that gluten has been associated with symptoms of psychiatric and behavioral disorders? It’s true! In lieu of gastrointestinal symptoms, gluten often causes symptoms associated with depression and autism.
- Nutrient-rich ingredients provide your brain with the nutrients it needs to make neurotransmitters: These green blender muffins are packed full of nutritious ingredients like spinach, zucchini, and eggs. The result is a generous serving of vitamins B2, B6, B12, vitamin C, folate, vitamin A, choline, iron, and magnesium. All of these vitamins and minerals are needed to turn the protein in these muffins into neurotransmitters, the tiny substances that are responsible for our emotions, focus, learning, and motivation [source].
- MCT in coconut oil provides fuel for your brain: Although the brain typically relies on glucose for energy, it can also use ketones. Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs), a type of fat in coconut oil, can be converted to ketones, which can significantly boost brain function [source].
These muffins may taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but they are actually gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and packed full of nutritious ingredients. The best part is that they are a super fun, vibrant green color that makes them the perfect healthy treat for St. Patrick's Day or Christmas!
Steps, Tools, & Substitutions
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Substitutions for Special Diets
These muffins are already super nutritious and allergy-friendly. The tips below can also make them either Paleo or keto-friendly.
- Paleo: These muffins are gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, and free of refined sugar and additives. So long as you use paleo-friendly chocolate chips, like Enjoy Life Mini Chips (which are certified Paleo by the Paleo Foundation), these muffins satisfy all the requirements to be called paleo-friendly.
- Low Carb & Keto: This recipe minimizes sugar as much as possible, but with a few substitutions, these muffins can be low-carb and keto-friendly! Swapping the regular chocolate chips for Lily's sugar-free chocolate chips drops the sugar down to 9 grams per muffin. A sugar-free maple sweetener instead of regular maple syrup will drop the sugar even further. Wholesome Yum, Lakanto, Pyure, and NuNaturals all offer keto-friendly, maple-flavored syrups that are sweetened with stevia, monk fruit and/or erythritol instead of sugar. Both of these substitutions will bring the amount of sugar down to almost zero, which puts them well within keto guidelines!
How to make Green Blender Muffins
Step 1: gather your ingredients
Step 2: add the ingredients to your blender with the spinach at the bottom and zucchini on top of it to push the spinach down into the blades. I prefer to blend the zucchini, spinach, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, and peppermint extract until smooth before adding the dry ingredients (coconut flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt). However, you can also add everything at the same time. Use a knife to scrape the sides of the blender, if needed.
Step 3: Blend until the batter is smooth before using a long wooden spoon to mix in the chocolate chips. If you have a Ninja Master Prep, remove the blades before mixing in the chocolate chips.
Once the chocolate chips are well incorporated, spoon the batter into your muffin pan. I used an aluminum pan in the photo because it looked pretty, but I typically use my silicone muffin pan (without paper liners). I love it!
The batter is pretty runny, so it may be easiest to use a ladle.
Step 4: Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. I live at high altitude, so this is baking temperature and time at 6,000 feet above sea level. According to high altitude baking suggestions from GFJules, baking time may need to be reduced by as much as 5 minutes. However, it's best to try the recipe as-is first and then reduce the bake time, if needed.
Tools Needed to Make Blender Muffins
Hopefully this doesn't come as a surprise, but the most important tool you'll need to make blender muffins is a blender.
I used the blender portion of my Ninja Master Prep to make these Green Blender Muffins and it did a great job! It costs about 10 times less than a VitaMix. You can see the Ninja Master Prep that I have and adore by clicking here.
Although not essential, I highly recommend a silicone muffin pan. I make a lot of muffins, so I really appreciate that my silicone muffin pan is non-stick, non-toxic, and washes easily! It has made clean up a breeze.
Gluten-free & Paleo Green Blender Muffins
No food dye needed for these vibrant Green Blender Muffins! The fun color of these gluten-free, paleo, and nut-free muffins comes from spinach that is completely undetectable thanks to mint chocolate flavor that will remind you of mint chocolate chip ice cream!
No food dye needed for these vibrant Green Blender Muffins! The fun color of these gluten-free, paleo, and nut-free muffins comes from spinach, but all you'll taste is incredible mint chocolate flavor reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream! Click To Tweet
Other recipes with hidden veggies:
- Slow Cooker Roasted Red Pepper Chili
- Keto Zuppa Toscana
- Chocolate Cherry Superfood Smoothie
- Mint Matcha Green Superfood Smoothie
Other Gluten-free Baked Goods:
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Almond Flour Blueberry and Sour Cream Scones
- Gluten Free Almond Flour Tortillas
Green Blender Muffins
No food dye needed for these vibrant Green Blender Muffins! The fun color of these gluten-free, paleo, and nut-free muffins comes from spinach, but all you'll taste is incredible mint chocolate flavor reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch or arrowroot powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 medium zucchini about 6-inches long
- 1 cup baby spinach packed
- ½ cup coconut oil melted
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp peppermint flavoring
Add-Ins
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
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Cut the zucchini crosswise into sections about 1 inch long. Add the coconut oil to a bowl and microwave for about 1 minute or until melted.
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Add the spinach, zucchini, eggs, maple syrup, coconut oil, and peppermint extract to a blender. and blend until smooth.
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In a soup bowl or small mixing bowl, mix the coconut flour, tapioca starch, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the blender and blend again, stopping to scrape the sides of the blender, as needed, to ensure that the batter is smooth.
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Add the chocolate chips and stir with a sturdy wooden spoon.
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Spoon or ladle the batter into a muffin pan. No paper liners are needed if you are using a silicone muffin pan, but paper liners are recommended otherwise.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes (this is at high altitude - see notes)
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Let the muffins cool at least 15 minutes before devouring.
Recipe Notes
I live at over 6,000 feet above sea level, so the cooking time listed above is for high altitude. According to high altitude baking suggestions from GFJules, you should try the recipe as-is first, keeping in mind that baking time may need to be reduced by as much as 5 minutes. Check the muffins at 20 minutes. If they look browned on the top, they're probably done. Otherwise, cook the muffins for the full 25 minutes listed in the recipe.
Disclosure: this post includes affiliate links for convenience. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Love healthy desserts like this one. So yummy, and I can't wait for my toddler to try it!
These are so cool! Love the color and that they don’t taste like spinach.
These muffins are fun and delicious! So moist and full of goodness!
This looks incredibly easy by blending everything in the blender!
Thanks, Yang! It is a super easy recipe, thanks to the blender. And tasty and delicious, too!
so pretty and tasty, no one will ever know they are healthy! I love this easy recipe!
These are adorable & healthy snacks for St Patrick’s Day and we love the chocolate mint flavor.
Thanks, Stacey! Yes, the color makes these muffins the perfect healthy snack for St. Patty's Day 🙂 I'm glad you love the chocolate mint flavor. It's a hit in my house, too!