Start your day with certainly one of these bran muffins and your day might be off to a fantastic begin! You can be glad you probably did, as a result of not solely are they fluffy, scrumptious and studded with candy raisins, however they’re additionally full of important dietary fiber and healthful complete grains! Bake up a double batch of those nutritious bran muffins and maintain some within the freezer to simply thaw for busy mornings.

Why You’ll Love These Bran Muffins

If the point out of a bran muffin brings up pictures of dry or crumbly well being meals, then assume once more! These delicate and moist bran muffins will redefine what you consider them.

This wholesome bran muffin recipe will change into your go-to recipe! The pure sweetness of honey and raisins are all which are wanted to stability out the nutty complete wheat and all bran cereal. Bonus: they’re child examined and mother accredited!

Recipe Highlights

• They solely take half-hour
• Made with 100% complete wheat
• Excessive in fiber (5 g per muffin)
• Made with honey (an unrefined sugar)
• Applesauce offers pure moisture – so they aren’t dry!
• Made with raisins- however you may omit them should you desire.
• May be frozen and reheated

Ingredient Notes For Bran Muffins with Raisins

• All Bran Cereal: After I began testing this recipe, I spotted that wheat bran is typically very tough to seek out. I appeared in three totally different shops and couldn’t discover it. However Kellog’s All Bran Cereal could be discovered at each grocery retailer and grocery store! So to make everybody’s lives simpler I made a decision to base this recipe on All Bran wheat cereal so that everybody could make it- and get the identical anticipated outcomes. The secret’s to let the cereal soften for a few minutes earlier than stirring the batter collectively. It solely takes a number of minutes- about the identical period of time it takes to your oven to warmth up.
• Raisins: Raisins are naturally candy and excessive in soluble fiber and a basic addition to bran muffins. That’s why we’ve added them to our system, however in case you are not a giant fan of them this recipe works completely properly with out them. Merely skip them!
• Boiling water: That is the important thing to softening up the bran cereal. It’ll go from sticks to mush in a matter of seconds when you add within the boiling water. Then as soon as it cools for a couple of minutes you may combine it with the eggs and different components for the batter.
• Eggs: We used three eggs- Whereas many muffin recipes use solely two eggs, utilizing an additional egg is tremendous essential for bran muffins as a result of they’ll are usually too crumbly- The additional egg helps them get good and fluffy and maintain collectively with out being dry.
• Unsweetened applesauce: These muffins are comparatively low in fats and added sugar- so utilizing applesauce actually helps maintain them moist.
• Honey or maple syrup: We favor pure sweeteners in these components (I wrote an entire e book on the topic in spite of everything!) So we opted for honey. I did check them with maple too and it labored equally as properly. In a pinch you may simply use sugar or brown sugar if that’s all you will have readily available.
• Avocado oil or canola oil: A impartial oil is greatest, however should you like the flavour of coconut oil you should utilize some (melted) as an alternative.
• Entire wheat flour: Our flour of alternative as of late is 100% complete wheat flour. If you’ll find it white complete wheat is nice as a result of it has a extra delicate taste, however I examined this recipe with white complete wheat flour and complete wheat flour and I couldn’t inform the distinction, so use whichever you will have readily available.
• Baking Necessities: You’ll additionally want basic baking staples like baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla. I added a bit cinnamon too (just one teaspoon) and I like the delicate spice it provides to the muffin. We expect they style identical to a bakery-style muffin! Observe: in case you are on a low-sodium weight loss program, omit the salt altogether.

How To Make Wholesome Bran Muffins

Step 1: Soften Bran Cereal

Mix the All Bran cereal and raisins in a big mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over it and toss the wheat bran cereal with a fork or spatula. Let the combination cool, stirring sometimes till the All Bran is damaged down and the combination is lukewarm.

Step 2: Preheat The Oven

In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 levels F. Coat a normal muffin tin with cooking spray or line it with paper cupcake liners or paper liners. [Note: a standard muffin tin has 12 wells. The muffin cups hold about 3 to 4 fluid ounces of batter.]

Step 3: Combine Moist Elements Into Softened Wheat Bran

Add the eggs, applesauce, honey, oil and vanilla extract to the All-Bran combination and stir to mix.

Step 4: Whisk Entire Wheat Flour with Dry Elements

Stir the whole-wheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl till the combo is combined.

Step 5: Combine Moist and Dry Mixtures To Type Batter

Add the flour combination to the bran combination and stir till evenly moistened.

Step 6: Bake the Bran Muffins

Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin papers within the pan or the greased muffin pan. An ice cream scoop works properly! The wells might be full (see the picture above for reference.) Switch the pan to the middle of the oven. Bake them till are properly puffed and the highest springs again when evenly touched within the heart, 22 to 25 minutes. One other option to check if they’re performed is to verify with a wood skewer or toothpick. It ought to come out clear.

Step 7: Let Muffins Cool On Rack

Allow them to cool within the pan for five minutes, then gently flip them out. Allow them to cool on a wire rack. Freeze or retailer at room temperature for as much as 24 in an hermetic container.

Professional Suggestions and FAQs for the Greatest Bran Muffins

Are bran muffins really wholesome?

Bran muffins are made with wheat bran which is a superb supply of dietary fiber, an important sort of carbohydrate that promotes wholesome digestion. Since most People don’t get sufficient fiber of their diets, including a bran muffin to your breakfast or snack routine is usually a handy approach of hitting your fiber wants.

Nevertheless, not all bran muffins are created equal! Some jumbo-size bakery bran muffins are very massive and are excessive in added sugar and butter. Moreover, the serving measurement is commonly too massive which makes them excessive in energy too.

Our wholesome bran muffins are completely portion managed with solely 168 whole energy every. They get pure sweetness from honey, raisins and applesauce as an alternative of gobs of white sugar. We used avocado oil, which is proven to profit coronary heart well being, as an alternative of butter or bitter cream.

Are bran muffins good for constipation?

Sure, bran muffins are made with wheat bran which helps alleviate constipation amongst different well being advantages.

What’s an alternative choice to All-Bran cereal in muffins?

We used All-Bran unique cereal to develop this recipe as it’s the mostly discovered wheat bran. If you’re not aware of it, it seems to be like little cardboard-colored tan twigs. It has a beige coloration and tough texture formed into sticks. As a sub, you should utilize bran buds or wheat bran flakes. Weigh out 5 1/2 ounces and observe the instructions to melt the bud or flakes. If the flakes don’t dissolve in the first step, let the moist combination (step 3) sit for a couple of minutes to assist the flakes break down earlier than stirring the dry components in. Dry wheat bran (which is powdered) is just not an excellent sub on this recipe as it’s unsweetened and can’t be substituted one to 1.

We have now not examined this recipe with Raisin Bran cereal so we have no idea if that can work.

Don’t sub in oat bran which is excessive in soluble fiber, and turns into too gummy.

How do you make raisin bran muffins moist?

We use a number of tips for baking the very best tender muffins and to maintain these muffins moist.

• Soak the raisins with the boiling water. This leads to two advantages, you’ll have good plump raisins they usually received’t draw the moisture out of the muffin.
• Don’t use an excessive amount of flour. It is a frequent drawback with whole-grain baking recipes. Entire grain wheat flour could be very absorbent (and so is wheat bran) so it requires extra hydration than white flour. Giving the bran time to hydrate and utilizing extra moisture within the system compensates for these tendencies.
• Add applesauce: Applesauce is a superb low-calorie approach so as to add moisture to baked items.
• Sweeten with Invert Sugar: Honey, which is a sort of invert sugar, is of course hygroscopic. Meaning it naturally attracts moisture and attracts it into the baked good. This helps maintain it from getting stale. Maple syrup will do the identical as additionally it is excessive in invert sugars.
• Don’t overbake: Even should you observe all of the above steps, your muffins could be dried out should you overbake them. My prime tip for baking success is to a) be sure to calibrate your oven usually and b) rely first on the indications of doneness not the kitchen timer. In different phrases, in case your muffins are puffed and spring again when evenly touched then they’re performed, it doesn’t matter what the timer says.

Substitutions and Variations for Entire Wheat Bran Muffins

• As a substitute of cinnamon, taste the batter with pumpkin pie spice or a mix of one other few baking spice comparable to nutmeg and allspice.
• Use your favourite dried fruit as an alternative of raisins comparable to chopped dates, chopped dried apricots or currants. Or strive mini chocolate chips for a deal with!
• Make these muffins vegan by swapping in flax eggs or your favourite egg various.
• Make them low in sodium by omitting the salt
• Add chopped nuts or seeds as an alternative of the raisins on this bran muffins recipe so as to add crunch
• Use pumpkin puree as an alternative of the apple sauce for a seasonal twist! Or strive plain yogurt as an alternative.
• Do a holiday-themed twist by including 2 teaspoons of orange zest. Then substitute dried cranberries for the raisins and add a half teaspoon of floor cloves to the batter.

Thanks a lot for studying! If you’re new right here, you might have considered trying to enroll in my e mail publication to get a free weekly menu plan and the newest recipes proper to your inbox. For those who make this recipe, please come again and go away a star ranking and evaluate. I’d love to listen to what you thought!

Completely happy Cooking! ~Katie

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In regards to the Creator

Katie Webster

Katie Webster studied artwork and pictures at Skidmore School and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been knowledgeable recipe developer since 2001 when she first began working within the check kitchen at EatingWell journal. Her recipes have been featured in quite a few magazines together with Form, Health, Dad and mom and several other Edible Communities publications amongst others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was printed in 2015. She launched Wholesome Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont together with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you’ll find her on the fitness center, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial backyard.