Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
Some call these banana spinach muffins (since those are the real stars of the show!), but to me and the 100+ readers who have given this recipe a 5-star rating, they will forever be Green Smoothie Muffins. Super easy to make, naturally sweetened, oat based, and packed with all kinds of feel-good ingredients (why, hello 2 cups of spinach). We love them as part of breakfast, as a lunch box filling or made as part of meal prep for a veggie-loaded snack.
When the smoothie burnout hit…
We are a green smoothie-lovin’ family. And I am a smoothie lovin’ girl. I mean, they are a quick and easy way to get tons of fruits and veggies in in a tasty, simple way. And while there are lots of delicious veggie-packed smoothies to be made…I’ll be honest with you, I am a bit burned out on smoothies. Like, if I have to drink another green smoothie anytime soon, I might cry. Luckily, I have found a way to enjoy the ease, natural sweetness and veggie-goodness of a green smoothie…but in muffin form!
These Green Smoothie Muffins are perfectly sweet thanks to ripe banana and a little maple syrup or honey and rocking 2 cups of baby spinach! Hearty from blended rolled oats, these spinach banana muffins are surprisingly soft and fluffy. This recipe makes a dozen muffins and only takes 20 minutes to bake, so make a quick batch today so you have some on hand for a quick snack or healthy breakfast all week long. And with many readers sharing that these muffins are beloved by their children, it is safe to say that these spinach muffins are kid-approved!
Let’s make these together. Just you and me…








Loving the veggie-loaded goodness and hungry for more? Sign up so that my newsletter is delivered straight to your inbox. And be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all kinds of veggie-loaded living ideas!

Oatmeal Green Smoothie Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups (200 g) rolled oats, uncooked, Gluten Free option, use gluten free oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs, can sub with 2 "flax eggs" to make egg-free
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) milk of choice, I used unsweetened almond milk, but you can use whatever your family prefers
- ¼ cup (59.15 ml) avocado oil, or melted coconut oil
- 1½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 medium (252 g) very ripe bananas, Can sub with 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ⅓ cup (78.86 ml) honey or maple syrup
- ½ Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 handfuls (40 g) baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and line a 12-hole muffin tin with liners.
- In your blender, combine uncooked oats, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Blend on high-speed until the oats break down into a fine flour. Pour oat flour mixture into a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
- In your now empty blender, add milk, eggs, oil, vinegar, mashed banana, honey/maple syrup, vanilla, and spinach in that order.It is important to put into the blender in that order so the blender blades can easily move to puree the spinach. Blend on high-speed until the spinach is liquified and there are no leafy pieces remaining. NOTE: If you have a high-speed blender prefer to blend everything together all at once, you absolutely can. Just combine everything (starting with the wet ingredients first) in your blender and puree until you have a smooth batter and no leaves of spinach remaining.
- Pour contents of the blender into the bowl with the oat flour. Stir until combined, being sure not to over mix (this can lead to dense, flat muffins).
- Portion batter out between the 12 muffin tin liners.
- Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. If you have a kitchen thermometer, cook until the muffins have an internal temperature of 200℉.This will ensure they are cooked through, but not overcooked.
- Cool in a pan for 10 minutes before transferring the muffins to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy warm or allow to cool completely before storing in the fridge for up to 5 days or in a freezer for up to a month.
Notes
- 2 cups rolled oats (uncooked
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk of choice
- 1/4 cup avocado oil or melted coconut oil
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups loosely packed baby spinach


I don’t have a blender only a food processor will that work?
That should work just fine!
I used the original recipe and since I didn’t have milk I used a little almond butter blender in water. I used the flax egg and these are great. Great way to use up spinach and bananas.
So glad you enjoyed!
This will be good for Me to stay healthy and be healthy and that is a good thing
Best muffins ever!! And approved by my toddler
Thanks for taking the time to share, Monica! I’m so happy these were a hit!!
These are fantastic!!! I wasn’t sure how my girls would feel about the spinach but they both LOVED the muffins. These will be on repeat here!
Woot woot!! Love when skeptical littles are won over!
Is it possible to substitute oat flour with coconut flour? Is ratio the same? We love these muffins but have been reading recent studies on oats and how they aren’t good for the body 🤷🏻♀️
Unfortunately, coconut flour is kind of its own thing and really can’t be swapped for another “flour” without heavy modification.
Hi Taesha!
I was going to make these muffins but I only had frozen spinach. I’m sure you’ve posted somewhere this adaptation, but I couldn’t find it.. what would be the suggested amount of frozen spinach? Thanks!
I would probably do 1/3 of a cup since spinach wilts down so much during the freezing process.
We called these grinch muffins and my 3 year old and 9 month old loved them! I omitted the maple syrup and they were still great
Love that! And i love to make these with just banana too. Mildly sweet but still yum.
Yes! And we added snowflake sprinkles too just for fun!
So fun!
This was the first recipe I made from Taesha’s and it is honestly still my favorite! These muffins are easy to make and come out moist and so filling. I make them at least every couple weeks. They also freeze really well so they are an easy grab and go snack.
This was my first recipe in the veggie-loaded approach and still one of my favorites as well. I make it all the time. So glad you love them too, Nicole!
My child is allergic to oats. Can I use flour instead of the oats?
While I find that whole wheat flour typically can be used in place of oat flour, I haven’t tested this exact recipe with it. However, this recipe is similar and is made with flour and might be a good one for you! https://thenaturalnurturer.com/sweet-kale-muffins/
Disgusting. Had to throw it away
Sorry to hear this recipe wasn’t for you. However, calling a recipe many others love disgusting is pretty rude. Go ahead and leave a one-star if something isn’t your thing, but you can do it respectfully.
Hello! I LOVE the old recipe, 5 stars. It’s the only time my kids will eat a vegetable and I make these at least once a week, sometimes twice! My question is – what will adding baking powder do to the old recipe. I don’t want to make any other changes but would consider this because it wouldn’t change the flavor (I’m assuming).
I find it gives the muffins a bit of a better rise! That is it 🙂
I wanted to make these for my one year old, could i omit the sweetener? He’s under 1 and he can’t have honey or maple syrup. Thanks!
Hi Kristin! You absolutely can if you are looking for a mildly sweet muffin. Consider replacing the sweetener with extra banana or some applesauce
I made these for my 11 month old today and he loved them! I ended up just doing the applesauce in place of the sweetener 🙂
Yay! So awesome to hear, Kristin!
Amazing!
So glad you enjoyed them so much, Anastasia!
I used kale in place of spinach because of kidney issues and they were so good!! I don’t have a blender so I used an immersion blender. These are SO good, thank you!!
I bought a clamshell of spinach this week (for another one of Taesha’s recipes 😂) and saw that she shared these in her stories the other day. I used about 1/8 cup of honey and doubled the spinach and added a double serving of collagen peptides to even out the additional liquid. I also added some dark chocolate chips 😀
Really good and really looking forward to incorporating these into breakfasts/snacks for the week!
Well, now I’m curious which other recipe you made 😂 so glad you loved these! I’m snacking on one right now!
Is it ok to use store bought oat flour (I think it’s finer than what the vitamix will do) or will that change the texture too much?
Totally fine and a swap I make often! The texture will just be closer to that of a muffin made with traditional flour
This recipe is on repeat for our family. My 5yr old loves the fun color and I love the ingredients. The taste is really great for an added bonus!
Music to my ears, Trish! So glad they are such a hit!
I made these for a toddler play date and they were a huge hit! My toddler loves these and so do I for an easy and quick snack. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Yay! I am so glad to hear that, Jane! It can be so tricky finding nourishing (and green!) foods that toddlers will happily eat and I am SO happy these were a success!
Can steel cut be used? I only have one cup of rolled oats 😔
We absolutely love these. Make them all the time!! I thought I would give it a twist and add blueberries….have you tried that? My grandchildren love love love them!!
Yes! These are so fun with blueberries. I love the contract of the blue and the green and the flavor is just so good! So happy these are such a hit with your grandkids, Stephanie!
I’ve been making these for years and about to make again for a road trip:) these green muffins are outstanding!
Aw I love that, Melanie! I basically have raised my daughter on these muffins and I am glad they have been such a staple in your home too!
Just whipped up a batch using the original recipe with the exception of added baking powder, applesauce in place of banana and extra spinach. The batter was very thin and so I sprinkled walnuts and chia seeds on each. They were delicious!
So glad you enjoyed these, Deb!
A friend of mine shared this with me. I love this recipe. I have 2 for breakfast with a cup of coffee. Just the perfect amount of sweet. ( I used applesauce since I didn’t have bananas on hand).
So glad you loved these as much as we do, Trish! I agree. They pair perfectly with a cup of coffee!
First timing making them and they were great! Reduced the honey to 1/4 cup and used 2 cups of frozen spinach (as I know I like spinach!) and was very happy with them. Would try 1/8 cup of honey next time. Baked only for 15 mins as they reached 200F at that point. Thanks for the tip! I hate dried out baked foods.
So glad you loved these, Sarah!
I have made these at least 30 times. I have made these since my 6 year old started eating solids. We love these muffins.
These are the OG veggie-loaded recipe that started my wheel turning. Staple here too since my kid was a tot! Now I’m feeding them to a middle schooler!
I love spinach and I also love a good muffin and these were exactly that. I used protein powder in place of honey or maple syrup, they weren’t too sweet but extremely yummy. Made me feel good about my food choices, haha. Thank you so much for sharing with the rest of us.
Oh yay! I am so glad these were such a success for you! I love that you had luck adding protein powder. I’ve tried with these and find mine tend to burn quickly with that addition. Did you run into that? If not, what protein powder did you use?
These are great!! I make them for my parent helper day at nursery school. This time I don’t have enough spinach. Can I substitute with kale?
Yes! I’ve done that before and it works great as long as you remove the ribs if the kale before blending.
Have been making these for years bc they keep being requested in my house. I think was the first recipe I made off this blog and I was hooked after that! These muffins are delicious!
Oh I love that so much, Kim! This is many people’s first TNN recipe and it always makes them a believer! So glad they have become a staple and I so appreciate you taking the time to share how much you love these.
Another veggie infused muffin winner!! So easy to make in the food processor.
Enjoy the flavor, wholesome ingredients and green color, perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day treat!
Yay! SO glad you loved these, Connie! So perfect for a feel-good green goodie for the holiday.
Can I sub out the banana with applesauce? I am not a banana fan but love the sound of this muffin.
Yes! I do that often! They will be a touch less sweet but it will still be yummy
I’ve made these many times and now some of my nanny kids request them weekly! Thank you for creating yummy healthy stuff I can share with all the littles I love!
Aw! I love that so much, Ti! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Hello, I’m going to make these soon and was wondering if I have to use the apple cider vinegar? And what happens if I don’t?
Thanks!
You can omit it if you like or use white vinegar! I find it helps to give the muffins a better rise and adds a little acid to the batter to balance out flavors.
just made them and my batter was nowhere near as smooth or liquid. thought they were supposed to be like clay so i baked them anyways.
measured exactly as the recipe said so i dunno what went wrong. next time maybe i’ll add milk to taste instead of the 60ml so the batter will actually be smooth and rise and stuff.
Bummer to hear that these gave you trouble. You mentioned that your batter wasn’t smooth. Were you mixing a high speed blender? It sounds as though it was having a hard time breaking the oats and everything down. The batter is indeed thick but clay doesn’t sound right and they should certainly rise!
Hi, thank you for sharing your recipes. I am omitting salt as my baby is just 7months and starting out solids.
May I know if I omit the maple syrup, do I need to replace it with extra banana or milk?
May I also know if blending everything together with a high speed blender may result in a denser muffin? (Since the wet and de ingredients shouldn’t be overmixed) Thank you.
My kids and I love these. Made them as a St Pat’s treat recently and they were gobbled right up!
Love that you made these for St. Patrick’s Day—such a fun (and feel-good) way to celebrate! So glad they were a hit with your crew and got gobbled right up. That always makes my day!
I love this recipe! I sometimes add blueberries, walnuts and protein powder. When someone asks for my recipe, I send this link.
I noticed the weight on 2 cups of oatmeal is 473.18 g. I think this is incorrect. Quaker oats weight is 40g per 1/2 cup. The weights doesn’t show up when printing recipe.
Oh my! Thank you for catching that typo! Fixed and thanks so much for sharing it with others. I am so glad you love it so much!
Looks great and wondering…could we substitute some cottage cheese on this to up the protein? Any idea?
Hi J! I wouldn’t recommend swapping in cottage cheese for this one—it’ll throw off the flavor and texture since it’s already pretty moisture-heavy from the spinach and banana. But! I have two other veggie-loaded muffin recipes that actually do use cottage cheese and are super protein-packed. https://thenaturalnurturer.com/chocolate-chip-carrot-cottage-cheese-muffins/ https://thenaturalnurturer.com/chocolate-zucchini-cottage-cheese-muffins/
These are my favorite muffins! I like to add chocolate chips.
Chocolate chips in a green muffin so makes a good thing better! So glad you love them as much as we do, Becky!
What the baking time be for mini muffins?
I’d guess around 10-13 minutes
Can I do applesauce instead of eggs? If so how much?
Hi can I omit the salt?
Hi Summer! You can, however (as odd as this sounds) the salt helps to make the natural sweetness pop in these muffins. So leaving it out is find, but they might not taste as sweet as the recipe as written.
Best recipe and love how little cleanup 🙂 Mamas – little fun tip – we add little edible googly eyes for fun, and when you stick them on these muffins – they transform to little green monsters. My toddler is obsessed. We call them Monster muffins, especially during spooky fall time of year.
LOVE doing that!!
Just made these for my one year old for snacking and I am so excited! They turned out so well and taste amazing!!
Oh yay! I originally made these for my own then-toddler (who is now 14!!) and it was such a game changer in our house. I am so glad you all enjoy them too!
I was disappointed in how these turned out. I followed the recipe to the letter, but they came out with clumps of dry ingredients all throughout. I stirred the wet and dry ingredients together, briefly to avoid over-mixing, but as much as I would with any other muffins. I make muffins of various kinds all the time and I’ve never had this problem. Usually any little clumps dissolve during baking. Not only were there clumps baked in, but the batter separated during baking somehow, leaving the bottom half of each muffin a different color and flavor than the top. Weird. I guess because the batter was so watery. That said, the flavor is very good overall, and I’m still eating them (picking all the little clumps out). Recipe could use improvement.
Well now. That is very very interesting. And I can’t say I have ever anything quite like that happen with the hundred times I’ve made this recipe. So, its a total bummer to hear your first go with it was less than dazzling! I do stir until I don’t have any more clumps, but I appreciate your caution with overmixing. I find that is usually more of an issue when people make this recipe entirely in their blender. They turn the blender on and walk away…leaving the batter to over mix and be really dense when baked. But the separation of the batter in the baked muffins themselves leaves me to think that your batter simply wasn’t mixed enough. The batter def should’t be watery….maybe you moved faster than me from bowl to muffin tin and your batter needed a bit longer to sit and have the oats soak in the moisture! Either way, I’m glad they tasted good and I will totally look at my instructions in case there is a way to better explain so people don’t run into that!
Making this as we speak! However, can I make it as a bread as well?
Yes! I’ve made it as a loaf many times and it works great!
how long should i bake it for if it’s a loaf? Thanks!
I would say about 40-45 minutes but it can vary based on your oven and what material you loaf pan is made from! Use a kitchen thermometer and once the center of the loaf is 200F, its done!
Wow! My pickiest eater scarfed these up, and she doesn’t even like banana bread. I didn’t want to use expensive maple syrup or honey, so I substituted sorghum syrup. I didn’t want to measure and mash bananas, so instead I threw 3 frozen bananas in the blender. Other than that, I followed the recipe with excellent results!
SO glad these were such a hit!
My kiddo has aversions to veggies, but loves these! We make them all the time, and it’s so nice to make them on the weekends and pop them into lunches for the week.
Ah! LOVE this so much! This was my first veggie-loaded recipe that I made for my own (then) veggie-iffy kid and it was such a game changer. I am so glad it is as uch of success in your house as it has been in mine!
I made these a few months ago and loved them. They are delicious! Our grandson is two years old now and helps me cook “Grandpa’s dinner” most Monday nights. He is going through a muffin stage and of course his parents want him to eat as healthy as possible. Pulled the recipe out this morning and will make them with him this week. Thank you!
Oh my goodness, I love all of this so much 🥹 “Grandpa’s dinner” and a muffin stage?! Both are just the best. I’m so glad you both enjoyed them and I’m honored they’ve become such a staple. Thanks for trusting me when cooking for your precious little one. Hope you two have the most fun baking them this week!
I do love a green smoothie, but the fact that these can be meal prepped is such a great thing. I’ve gotten so tired of washing the blender every morning. Now I only have to do ot when I make these and I’m set for a week!
Oh yay! I am glad they have made mornings a bit easier for you!
These muffins are perfectly fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. I like to mix blueberries in with mine. They make a great afternoon snack!
Blueberries are SUCH a good add-in for these 😍 And I’m so happy you enjoyed them! I always love hearing how people make the recipes their own, and I totally agree…they make such a good afternoon snack.
Delicious muffins!! Great for my 13 month old son & I to snack on 😉!
Yay! I’m so glad you and your little loved them, Danica! Thanks for popping back and sharing with me!