These whole grain, all-natural, GREEN muffins are super soft, super fluffy…and super green.

The green color comes from a whole bag of spinach. And guess what? The muffins actually taste good. Not just good, incredible!

Green muffin in brown wrapper.

Muffin Batter

For this recipe the dry ingredients are whisked together:

  • whole wheat flour
  • baking powder + baking soda + salt

And the wet ingredients are processed in a blender until smooth:

  • buttermilk
  • bananas
  • egg
  • oil
  • sugar
  • spinach (and lots of it!)

For the whole wheat flour, use a white wheat variety for a lighter muffin, like soft or hard white wheat, kamut or einkhorn. Hard red whole wheat might make for a denser, heavier muffin.

Top down view of six green muffins on cooling rack.

You Can’t Even Taste the Spinach

These fun green muffins are foolproof. They always dome perfectly and have the ideal muffin texture: soft and sturdy but also deliciously fluffy.

And it’s true, you can’t even taste the spinach. Not even a little bit.

My kids go crazy for these muffins. They are easily one of our favorite muffins ever!

Try the muffins warm with butter and a drizzle of honey. So incredibly delicious!

One green muffin in brown liner tipped halfway in muffin tin.

FAQs for Whole Grain Hulk Muffins

Do these freeze well?

Yes, the baked and cooled muffins freeze great. I freeze them in gallon-size freezer ziploc bags.

About how many cups of spinach is 6 oz?

It is around 2 1/2 cups of spinach (lightly packed).

Do I take the stems off the spinach leaves?

Nope! Throw the leaves in there, stems and all!

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat?

Yes. Just sub the same amount of all-purpose flour for the whole wheat flour.

Is there a substitute for the spinach?

I’m afraid I don’t have a good suggestion for a spinach substitute – that ingredient is pretty integral to these muffins.

Whole grain green muffin tipped halfway in muffin tin.

Whole Grain Green Hulk Muffins

4.67 stars (251 ratings)

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups (355 g) white whole wheat flour (see note)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • ¾ cup (159 g) granulated sugar (see note)
  • ¾ cup buttermilk (see note)
  • ¼ cup canola, vegetable, avocado, grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces (170 g) baby spinach
  • 2 mashed very ripe bananas, (about 227 g)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray (the recipe makes between 16-18 muffins).
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In a blender, add the egg, sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, spinach and bananas.
  • Blend until pureed and smooth.
  • Pour the spinach mixture into the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. A few small dry streaks and lumps here and there are ok. Don’t overmix or the muffins can be dry.
  • Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling the cups about 2/3 full. I use my #20 cookie scoop to make this process easy as can be.
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes (increasing time as needed as each oven differs slightly in exact oven temperature) until the tops of the muffins spring back lightly to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
  • Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan; turn them out carefully onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Flour: you can definitely use all-purpose for the whole wheat flour or use a combination (half whole wheat, half all-purpose). 
Sugar: if you want a healthier alternative to the granulated sugar, try maple syrup, honey or coconut sugar. 
Buttermilk: if you don’t keep buttermilk on hand or don’t have any, mix equal parts sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) and milk together for the perfect buttermilk solution. 
Serving: 1 Muffin, Calories: 145kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 184mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 10g

Recipe Source: from two recipes online (The Green Forks and Pamela Salzman) after a reader, Erin G., sent me one of the links almost two years ago – I put my own spin on the spinach muffins (using buttermilk, adding weight amounts, changing up the method just a bit)