This bran muffin recipe is a wholesome classic that’s anything but boring! The muffins are soft, moist, and hearty, with a lightly sweet flavor and a tender crumb throughout.
Why You’ll Love This Bran Muffin Recipe
This bran muffin recipe makes soft, moist muffins that are lightly spiced and easy to make at home. Made with wheat bran, whole wheat flour, and applesauce, these muffins are perfect for breakfast, snacks, or meal prep.
Moist and tender bran muffins
Thanks to the applesauce and oil, these bran muffins stay soft without drying out. If you enjoy moist breakfast bakes, you may also like my banana nut muffin recipe or apple cinnamon muffins.
Made with whole wheat and wheat bran
This recipe uses wholesome ingredients that give these muffins a hearty texture (like my oatmeal muffin recipe) while still tasting balanced.
Quick and easy muffin recipe
No mixer is needed and the batter comes together in minutes, making this a great option for a quick breakfast or snack.
Easy to customise
Add raisins, dates, or nuts to suit your taste.
Wheat Bran vs Bran Cereal (Including All-Bran)
Wheat bran is the outer layer of the wheat grain that is removed during milling. It has a mild, nutty flavour and is commonly used in baking recipes like bran muffins to add structure and a hearty texture.
Bran cereals, including All-Bran, are processed breakfast products with added sugar, salt, and flavourings. Substituting bran cereal or All-Bran for wheat bran can change both the texture and sweetness of your muffins. For best results, this recipe is made with wheat bran, not bran cereal or All-Bran.
How to Make Bran Muffins
You can find the full list of ingredients for this bran muffin recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) conventional and line a 12-hole standard muffin tin with muffin liners. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the wheat bran, whole wheat flour (no all-purpose flour in this recipe), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, blackstrap molasses, egg, applesauce, vegetable oil (neutral oil like canola oil), and milk until well combined.
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and gently fold until just combined (do not overmix).
If using, gently fold through the raisins until just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide the muffin batter evenly between the muffin cups.
Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for a further 8–10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
Allow the muffins to cool in the tray for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
How to Store This Bran Muffin Recipe
Store bran muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Bran muffins also freeze well. Once completely cooled, place them in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature or warm briefly before serving.
Moist Bran Muffin Recipe
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups (50 g) wheat bran
- 1¼ cups (150 g) whole wheat flour - also called wholemeal flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1½ tsps ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (50 g) soft light brown sugar
- 2 tbsps (40 g) blackstrap molasses
- 1 large egg - room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup (180 g) whole milk - room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavored vegetable oil
- ½ cup (82 g) raisins - optional (see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C) conventional (see note 1 if using a convection oven) and line a 12-hole standard muffin tray with muffin liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the wheat bran, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the light brown sugar, blackstrap molasses, egg, applesauce, vegetable oil, and milk until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold until just combined (do not overmix).
- If using, gently fold through the raisins until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin liners.
- Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C) and bake for a further 8–10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the tray for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
