Healthy Gluten-Free Chocolate Blender Muffins with Spinach and Zucchini

These healthy chocolate muffins are filled with hidden vegetables and fruits, making them perfect for picky toddlers and children! In fact I developed this recipe for the purpose of sneaking spinach, zucchini, banana, and apples into my very picky son!

Also, this is the most versatile recipe ever. I’ve made it with whole grain flour, I’ve made it with gluten-free flour, I’ve made it with oat flour, and I usually make it with blanched almond flour.

I’ve snuck in spinach, zucchini, summer squash, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, bananas, apples, pears, applesauce, random fruit pouches lying around, and more. But not all at once, haha.

I’ve used organic grass-fed butter and kefir, and I’ve made it dairy free with unrefined cold pressed coconut oil and coconut cream/full fat milk. You can skip all the milks and use juice.

I’ve skipped the double protein oats and used coconut flakes to make it paleo.

I’ve made this keto, I’ve made this low fat, I’ve made this fifty ways since Sunday people. I always use eggs (although I assume you could use a flax-egg). I always use chocolate chips.

And– they always taste divine!

Jump to Recipe

Jump to:

• Ingredients in the Zucchini Spinach Chocolate Blender Muffins
• Suggested Adaptations for Gluten Free Chocolate Veggie Muffins
• How do you make kid-friendly, gluten free, veggie and fruit blender muffins?
• Let your kids help you make healthy chocolate muffins with veggies!
• What non-toxic muffin tins are there?
• Tips for making the best paleo chocolate veggie muffins
• Gluten Free Healthy Chocolate Veggie Muffins
• Cooking Tips
• Substitutions

Ingredients in the Zucchini Spinach Chocolate Blender Muffins

My basic rule of baking- if I have a zucchini or summer squash in the house, and some spinach, I can make these muffins with whatever else I have on hand. But, in general, these are the ingredients I use:

• Double Protein Rolled Oats: We love these organic, double protein, gluten free oats from Zego. They process them in a way that leaves them with DOUBLE the protein- exactly what you need when you are making a snack food for little ones! My kids also often have bowls of oatmeal for breakfast, and I don’t have to worry about an additional protein. You can use the code mommy20 for 20% off! We also buy their trail mix, mix-ins, fruit + chia bars, and their clean plant protein!
• Blanched Almond Flour: High protein and high fat, these make the muffins as nutrient dense as possible. My kids don’t get a lot of nuts in otherwise, so this is a great way for me to make sure they are getting nut goodness and continuously being exposed to almonds! Sometimes I use gluten-free flour, and I’ve found that Pamela’s All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour is THE BEST for 1:1 recipes. We subscribe & save to the big bag on Amazon.
• Banana: The older and riper the better, but I’ve used un-ripe greens ones, and it has been totally fine! My oldest will not even TOUCH a banana, so I love sneaking in this high-calorie food this way! I’ve subbed applesauce, apples, or other sweet fruits here if I don’t have a banana (or have too much of something else!
• Spinach: The king of leafy greens, I have the kids stuff them into the Nutribullet and pack them down. They literally turn the muffin batter green (don’t worry, it still cooks up looking like chocolate!). This is one of the very few ways I get leafy greens into my kids.
• Zucchini: Another green vegetable my kids won’t normally touch, but I can get them to eat it in a muffin! Here’s the best part- you just put the zucchini, banana, spinach, and liquids in the blender or Nutribullet and BLEND. No straining, or worrying about excess liquid. This is KEY when you are in a hurry!!
• Eggs: Adding some more protein, fat, and a whole bunch of nutrients, eggs are key. I’m sure you could use a flax egg too.
• Spices: Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Cloves. This is my son’s favorite part. He smells each, identifies it, talks about how it makes him feel, and then adds a little prayer/blessing/spell with each spice as he adds it in. He usually asks that the muffins help us be happy and healthy when we eat them. Every muffin needs a little magic!
• Maple Syrup: You can substitute honey of course, but I prefer the darker flavor of the maple syrup!
• Coconut Oil or Butter: I love sneaking some good fats into my kids. We don’t eat out or get take-out (pretty much ever, except maybe on vacation), so they aren’t having any unhealthy fats. If I’m not going to eat them I use grass-fed butter, if I’m going to eat the (I’m dairy free), I use organic, unrefined, cold-pressed coconut oil.
• Yogurt or Kefir: There is only 1/4 cup of a liquid, and I have made muffins with so many different kinds! I find that yogurt, kefir, coconut yogurt, or full fat coconut cream works best. But, I’ve also used juice. When my kids were having a hard time, you know, POOPING, I used prune juice. When I thought I needed to make it sweeter I used grape juice. If I’m going to eat them I use coconut yogurt or cream, and if I have way to much organic yogurt or kefir on hand, I use that. It’s all good.
• Other baking ingredients: Salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa (so it is chocolate!), chocolate chips, and vanilla

Suggested Adaptations for Gluten Free Chocolate Veggie Muffins

• Make them paleo and grain free with almond flour, coconut shreds instead of oats, coconut oil, and coconut cream or yogurt
• Make them LCHF/Banting/Keto friendly with full fat yogurt, almond flour, coconut shreds instead of oatmeal, grass-fed butter, and an alternative sweetener
• Make them dairy-free with coconut oil and coconut cream or yogurt
• Make them vegan with coconut oil and cream, and flax eggs
• Make them low FODMAP by using gluten free flour, coconut oil, coconut cream, an unripe banana as your fruit, and a yellow summer squash instead of green!

How do you make kid-friendly, gluten free, veggie and fruit blender muffins?

First, you assemble your small children and have them wash their hands :-). And, potentially, put on aprons.

Then you have them carefully blend the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Be aware, there will be spillage.

Next, you have them stuff the spinach in your Nutribullet or blender. Then you take care of blending the wet ingredients (except eggs and melted butter or oil).

Then, you blend the eggs and butter/oil into the wet.

Finally, add the dry. Hand mix in the chocolate chips. Then pour into your muffin tins!

Let your kids help you make healthy chocolate muffins with veggies!

My kids LOVE to help me bake these. And not just because they know they can slip a few chocolate chips at the end when we mix them in :-).

Here are some ways to let the very littlest help make muffins:

• Let your children stuff the Nutribullet or blender with the spinach
• Have them measure and dump in the dry ingredients
• Definitely have them stir the dry ingredients, and expect a mess
• Let them watch the blender and tell you when it is all combined.
• Have them help mix in the chocolate chips
• Let them put the liners in the muffin tins, if you are using liners

What non-toxic muffin tins are there?

So, if you are making super healthy spinach zucchini muffins for your little kids, but then you are using non-stick muffin pans, you are potentially letting toxic perflourinated chemicals (PFCs like PFAS) leach into your muffins. Yuck. No. We use cast-iron muffin tins like these, but here is another option! You could also use a stainless steel tin.

Tips for making the best paleo chocolate veggie muffins

• When doing substitutions, don’t overdo it with the wet ingredients. If the total wet to dry get’s altered, you’ll wind up with muffins that fall apart.
• If you want to get wild with the wet veggie and fruit ingredients, consider using a gluten free flour mix or an organic whole wheat flour instead of the almond flour- it will hold together better.
• Pay attention to the amount of dry ingredients your small children have spilled during mixing. If it’s more than a tablespoon, compensate by adding some more oats.
• Store in the FRIDGE in a non-toxic glass pyrex. These are not shelf stable! We bought glass pyrex lids so we can put them in the dishwasher without worrying.