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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Green Smoothie Chocolate Muffins

    Published: Jun 1, 2021 · Modified: Jan 21, 2023 by Christy Faber · 8 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    You would never know these green smoothie chocolate muffins have 2 cups of spinach in them! Share that secret with your friends and family after they’ve eaten a chocolate muffin. They will be amazed.

    This recipe is the perfect way to sneak nutrient-dense greens into your life or into your children’s snacks. The chocolate flavour totally disguises the spinach. Why eat just a plain old chocolate muffin when you could take the health factor up a notch!

    More Chocolate Recipes

    • Buckwheat Flour Chocolate Muffins
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    • Tahini Hot Chocolate
    • Double Chocolate Banana Bread
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    A group of muffins in paper cups in a muffin wells.
    These muffins have 2 cups of spinach in them! This recipe is the perfect way to sneak nutrient dense greens into your life or into your children’s snacks.

    Nutrition Notes

    Spinach Nutrition Facts:

    Spinach is known to provide iron, calcium, magnesium and vitamin C in good amounts. It also provides some beta carotene, potassium and folate.

    Cocoa Powder Nutrition: 

    Cocoa powder is an excellent source of magnesium. The high amounts of magnesium present in chocolate may be one reason why people tend to crave chocolate when they’re stressed. Magnesium is considered an anti-stress nutrient that our body is often deficient in but needs in abundance.

    Is Spelt flour good for you?

    Spelt is an ancient grain that hasn’t undergone the level of hybridization of modern wheat. Spelt has higher amounts of protein and fibre and provides significant amounts of important nutrients like manganese, niacin, copper and phosphorus.

    Some people who struggle to digest common wheat find spelt to be highly digestible. One reason for that could be that the gluten in spelt is water-soluble whereas the gluten in common wheat is not.

    How to Make Green Smoothie Chocolate Muffins

    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tin well or line with paper liners.
    In a medium bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
    In a blender combine melted coconut oil, buttermilk and coconut sugar, eggs, lemon zest and spinach and blend to create a “green smoothie”.

    Ingredients with spinach and lemon zest in a blender container to make green smoothie muffins.
    In a blender combine melted coconut oil, buttermilk and coconut sugar, eggs, lemon zest and spinach and blend to create a“green smoothie”.
    an overhead shot of the wet ingredients all blended up in a blender.

    Add the green smoothie to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don’t over-mix muffin batter.  Stir in chocolate chips.

    wet and dry ingredients being mixed together in a white bowl with a wooden spoon.

    If you have time, allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour as this will give the muffins a better rise.  If time doesn’t allow, move ahead to the next step.

    Distribute batter into the prepared muffin wells. If desired, top muffins with a few chocolate chips. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.  (No need to open the oven door.) Continue to bake for 13-15 minutes. The total baking time is approximately 20 minutes.  The muffins are ready when a  cake tester comes out clean.

    an overhead shot of the muffin batter in the muffin wrappers before being baked.
    Two green smoothie muffins.
    These muffins have 2 cups of spinach in them! This recipe is the perfect way to sneak nutrient dense greens into your life or into your children’s snacks.

    Recipe Notes

    • This is a great way to sneak veggies into both your and your kids’ snacks!  If you don’t tell them, they will seriously never know.
    • The lemon zest in this recipe is optional. It just adds a subtle flavour and I think compliments the chocolate well. 
    • It’s thought that buttermilk creates lighter and fluffier muffins because the acidity in buttermilk works to break down the tough gluten protein in flour.
    • Using fresh baking powder and baking soda is really important in baking. I recommend buying smaller containers of these baking ingredients and writing the date you open them on the box. They should be replaced every 4 months or so. Old baking powder and baking soda lose their effectiveness.
    • Splurge for an organic lemon when you’re including the zest in a recipe!
    • Be careful not to overmix muffin batter. Overmixing can result in dense muffins. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are just combined.
    • For a better rise, bake the muffins in the upper third of the oven.

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    Spelt Chocolate Chunk Cookies on a plate on a countertop.
    Spelt Chocolate Chunk Cookies are chewy and delightfully chocolatey. These cookies taste delicious and feel indulgent all while being made with healthier ingredients like coconut sugar and spelt flour.

    Spelt Chocolate Chunk Cookies

    This is one of my favourite cookie recipes! They are chewy and delightfully chocolatey. These cookies taste delicious and feel indulgent all while being made with healthier ingredients like coconut sugar and spelt flour. I know you’re going to love them!

    Save This Recipe to Pinterest:

    pinterest pin showing a picture of a muffin turned sideways in the muffin well.
    a pinterest pin that has the test "chocolate muffins with 2 cups of spinach".
    Pinterest Pin for Green Smoothie Chocolate Muffins featuring two images, one on top of the other, from the muffin blog post and text overlay.

    Chocolate Spinach Muffins

    A group of green smoothie muffins

    Green Smoothie Chocolate Muffins

    Christy Faber
    You would never know these chocolate muffins have 2 cups of spinach in them! Share that secret with your friends and family after they’ve eaten a muffin. They will be amazed.  This recipe is the perfect way to sneak nutrient dense greens into your life or into your children’s snacks. The chocolate flavour totally disguises the spinach.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 20 minutes mins
    Total Time 40 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Snack
    Cuisine American
    Servings 12 muffins
    Calories 207.7 kcal

    Equipment

    • Blender

    Ingredients
      

    Dry Ingredients:

    • 1 ¼ cups spelt flour (or all-purpose flour)
    • 5 tablespoon cocoa powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda 

    Wet Ingredients:

    • ⅓ cup coconut oil (melted)
    • ¾ cup coconut sugar  (or brown sugar)
    • 2 cups packed down spinach (or 60 grams)
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    • 3 eggs large
    • zest from one lemon
    • ½ cup chocolate chips (plus some to top the muffins if desired) (or ¾ cup if you really love chocolate)

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease muffin tin well or line with paper liners.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the spelt flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
    • In a blender combine melted coconut oil, buttermilk and coconut sugar, eggs, lemon zest and spinach and blend to create a "green smoothie".
    • Add the green smoothie to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't over mix muffin batter. Stir in chocolate chips.
    • If you have time, allow the mixture to sit in the fridge for one hour as this will give the muffins a better rise. If time doesn't allow, move ahead to the next step.
    • Distribute batter into the prepared muffin wells. If desired, top muffins with a few chocolate chips. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 5-6 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. (No need to open the oven door.)
    • Continue to bake for 13-15 minutes. Total baking time is approximately 20 minutes. The muffins are ready when a cake tester comes out clean.

    Notes

    • Be careful not to overmix muffin batter.  Overmixing can result in dense muffins. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients and wet ingredients are just combined.
    • For a better rise, bake the muffins in the upper third of the oven
    • To help achieve a nice domed muffin top, I recommend baking the muffins at a higher temperature for 5 minutes before lowering the temperature to 350 degrees F for the remaining baking time. 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 207.7kcal
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    If you make these Green Smoothie Chocolate Muffins please leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! I aim to respond to every single comment. I am so grateful when you trust me and try one of my recipe creations in your own kitchen. I love to hear how it went!  Let’s connect on Instagram and tag me in your food pics!

    'Till next time,

    Christy

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Will F. says

      September 26, 2021 at 8:29 pm

      5 stars
      I love how easy these were to make! They also taste amazing...and you'd never know how much spinach was in them.

      Reply
      • Christy Faber says

        October 13, 2021 at 10:47 am

        Yes! The perfect way to sneak in extra greens. Thank you for trying them!

        Reply
    2. Allison Welch says

      July 07, 2021 at 6:28 pm

      5 stars
      Wow! These muffins are honestly so delicious, I can't get over it! You're so right when you say you'd never know they have spinach in them. I chilled the batter for about 3 hours in the fridge and they got a great rise - they looked like Costco muffins but I loved that they are healthier and homemade!

      I also made them with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and half expected them to be dry and crumbly (like most gluten free baking I've had). I couldn't get over how moist they were, they didn't taste gluten free at all! So impressed with this recipe!

      Reply
      • Christy Faber says

        July 15, 2021 at 12:18 am

        I'm so glad to hear that the recipe works well with gluten free flour! Thank you for sharing!

        Reply
    3. Kaili Reveles says

      June 02, 2021 at 10:25 pm

      These sound so delicious!!! Putting on my “gotta try” list!!

      Reply
      • Christy Faber says

        June 07, 2021 at 5:40 pm

        Hope you love them!

        Reply
    4. Paul D says

      June 01, 2021 at 3:06 pm

      5 stars
      Looks tasty! Gotta try em!

      Reply
      • Christy Faber says

        June 07, 2021 at 5:42 pm

        Thank you! Gotta get that extra spinach in any way you can! 🙂

        Reply

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    Welcome,

    I’m Christy

    a happy wife and mother to three boys, a nutritionist, a food lover and a Canadian. Creating and experimenting in the kitchen is my idea of an afternoon well spent. To me, a clean kitchen is an empty canvas of possibility and that means my kitchen never stays clean for long. My dream is that one or more of the recipes I share here will inspire you, perhaps even becoming a cherished family favourite.

    READ MORE >

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