These brightly-flavored lemon spinach muffins are zesty and not too sweet; a fresh addition to a spring brunch or delicious when paired with an afternoon cup of tea.
Originally my plan was to make a basic muffin- blueberry perhaps?– and make it green by adding a couple handfuls of spinach. Yup, the secret is out in the first paragraph of this post. Just like smoothies, you can add (blended) spinach to muffins to increase the nutritional profile without changing the flavor (cha cha cha!). BUT, don’t take the tip and run just yet because I have something even better to share with you.
If you haven’t felt it where you are yet, spring is certainly on the way. The 70 degree sunshine I experienced yesterday confirmed it and to me, nothing feels more fresh and springlike than lemons, right?
I decided to incorporate the sunshiny citrus fruit (spring! fresh!) with spinach (St. Patrick’s Day green! Health!) and try to create a wholesome and tasty muffin. It took a lot of playing with my favorite lemon juicer and several kitchen messes…
but I finally ended up with a light and lemony, not too sweet, brightly-flavored muffin.
The muffins are quite good on their own and make a fun switch up from typical muffin flavors. They pair as well with a cup of tea in the afternoon as they do with fresh fruit for breakfast.
As I started thinking how great these could be for a spring brunch, visions of a lemon drizzle appeared in my head and I knew I had to try kicking things up a notch.
Oh I’m so glad I did. Though these muffins can be enjoyed wholeheartedly on their own, for a fancy presentation or to entice the kids to give them a try, drizzle on this simple lemon glaze. It really blurs the line between muffin and cake, delighting both the eyes and the taste buds.
[Tweet “Mmm… lemon zest muffins with a colorful, healthy twist from @ahealthyslice!”]
So open up your windows to let the spring breeze in and whip up a batch of these lemon spinach muffins to welcome it with!
Print
Springtime Lemon Zest Spinach Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: adapted from [url href="http://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-meyer-lemon-poppy-seed-muffins/" target="_blank"]Minimalist Baker[/url]
Description
These brightly-flavored lemon spinach muffins are zesty and not too sweet; a fresh addition to a spring brunch or delicious when paired with an afternoon cup of tea.
Ingredients
for the muffins
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup avocado oil (or oil of choice)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3–4 ounces baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
for the glaze
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2–3 tsp almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and fill muffin pan with liners, or coat in a nonstick spray.
- In the blender, add eggs, applesauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, oil, almond milk and spinach. Blend on low until spinach is fully incorporated. (You could use an immersion blender if you prefer)
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, salt and baking soda. Once well combined, add flours and whisk until fully incorporated.
- Slowly pour in spinach mixture and mix until combined into a thick batter.
- Divide evenly between muffin tins.
- Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick can be inserted into the center of a muffin and comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer onto a baking rack to continue cooling.
- If making glaze, whisk lemon juice into sifted powdered sugar. Add 1/2 tsp of almond milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle glaze onto cooled muffins and serve immediately.
- Muffins will stay fresh for up to 3 days (un-glazed) in an airtight container. Add glaze before serving.
What is your favorite muffin flavor?
I usually reach for blueberry!
Haley @ Hobson Homestead says
These look awesome. My oldest loves lemon-flavored food. And what kid wouldn’t love the bright green color?! Genius!
Kate says
These look so yummy! The color looks so good!
These would surely be great as a make-ahead breakfast! Gonna try these. 🙂
Jennifer says
I LOVE the color of these muffins!! Do you think you could substitute kale for spinach?
Brittany Dixon says
Kale might work if you make sure it gets really blended. My experience is that spinach usually is a bit more mild and blends easier, but if you give it a try, please let me know! 🙂
Kathy says
Beautiful!! Like you said–perfect for spring!! I’ll have to give this recipe a try.
Kelli H (Made in Sonoma) says
These look really great! Love the ingredient list, too.
Alyssa @ renaissancerunnergirl says
I love the look of these, and I’m sure they taste vibrant and fresh too! Also perfect for St. Patrick’s Day. We haven’t felt spring too much this week in NYC, but hoping for next week some high 50s/60s weather.
Amanda says
Theese look so cute and delicious. Think I may have to make this for my family-friends’ annual easter egg hunt/parade this year. Thank you for sharing your recipes, they are always so good. Happy Spring.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh thank you! I hope you like these- please let me know! The lemony flavor is different and tastes fresh!
Gcroft says
Beautiful photography and the muffins look very delectable.
Patricia @Sweet and Strong says
These look so good! And I am a huge fan of sneaking extra veggies into anything. I just recently started seeing pictures of spinach muffins on Instagram so it’s nice to have a recipe now. I usually go for a blueberry or cinnamon crumb muffin with a cup of coffee or tea of course ; )
Chantal says
These look fantastic! I love that they’re dairy-free too, since I can’t be having dairy while breastfeeding for my son. I’m saving these!
Dana says
These look amazing and healthy! Cant wait to try. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Stephanie says
I was instantly excited to try make these healthy muffins, and being celiac, I have to use different flour. I never really know how they turn out. It’s all trial and error. But your recipes seem to prove me wrong everytime!! Your baking recipes turn out amazing, and I know it’s not me 😉
I substitute all flour for Bobs Red Mill 1to1 gluten free baking flour ( it’s a mouth full) and it bakes just like normal flour. It is the best gluten free substitute I have found.
So thank you, Brittany, thank you for making me feel like I can bake like the best of them;)
Bravo. Love your blog.
Brittany Dixon says
Oh my gosh Stephanie that is so nice of you to say because I feel like such a novice baker! It’s not natural for me at all, but I keep working at it. And thank you for the gluten-free suggestion! I’m going to pass it along to my friend who has celiac. Thanks!
Vivian says
Sounds delightful. Could you please provide an estimate of what “3-4 oz” of spinach translates to in “cups”? Thanks a million.
Brittany Dixon says
I’d estimate about 4 cups of roughly chopped baby spinach- more or less depending on your preference. Hope this helps! 🙂
Vivian says
Thanks, Brittany, I really appreciate your getting back to me.
BTW, I made your vegetable-lentil soup, and it was delicious! I’d never have thought of using cumin in a veggie soup, but it tasted great! Thanks so much for the recipe ideas.
Kristie says
These are delicious! My 1 year old and 2 1/2 year old gobbled them up (ate 1 and 2, respectively) and I had to stop myself from eating more than 2 in a sitting :). And since neither of them will eat their greens unless they’re blended or pureed into something (the leafy green texture is just a no go) I see myself making these again soon.
Abby says
I made these in mini muffin pans for my 2 toddler daughters and baked them for exactly 10 minutes and they were perfect. My girls each devoured several right away! Will make them again! Great recipe Brittany!
Brittany Dixon says
Thank you so much for the feedback; I’m so glad you liked them! I love your idea to make them mini! I’m going to do that next time 🙂
Katy Widrick says
These look so yummy!