Oat Bran Muffins are tender, moist, and peppered with raisins, dates, and walnuts throughout. These 30 minute muffins are dairy free, naturally sweetened, and the perfect make ahead breakfast or snack!
There are so many delicious ways to add fiber filled oats into your day! Check out my recipes for Instant Pot steel cut oats, healthy oatmeal cookies, and oatmeal pizza crust.
Table of contents
These oat bran muffins are hearty and wholesome, yet moist and full of flavor with a delicious nutty, slightly chewy texture! They’re made dairy free with whole wheat flour, high fiber oat bran, a touch of unsulphured molasses, and maple syrup, raisins, dates, and applesauce deliver natural sweetness and moisture.
Whip up a batch of these bakery style muffins at home quickly and easily with ingredients you probably already have on hand. They make a great mid morning or afternoon snack as well as breakfast, brunch, or make ahead and freeze for school lunches throughout the month!
Why Is This Oat Bran Muffin Recipe Healthy?
- Fiber, protein, and iron: Oat bran, whole wheat flour, dates, and flaxseed provide these muffins with tons of fiber, protein, and iron among other things, which our bodies need to regulate blood sugar.
- No refined sugar: Medjool dates, raisins, maple syrup (or honey) gives us loads of vitamins and antioxidants but also a sweetness without the addition of any highly processed refined sugars.
- Dairy free: Great for vegetarians or those looking for a dairy free muffin when dairy causes inflammation.
- Walnuts: Not only provides us with great nutty texture and flavor but they also have plenty of good fats and antioxidants too.
- Keeps us fuller longer: Just one oat bran muffin provides our bodies with what it needs to stay full and satisfied longer and maintain our blood sugar levels so we don’t find ourselves reaching for extra snacks.
Other whole grain muffins we enjoy for breakfast or healthy snack recipes include healthy morning glory muffins, healthy apple muffins, and healthy carrot muffins!
Oat Bran Muffins Ingredients
- Wet ingredients: Eggs, applesauce, maple syrup or honey, unsulphured molasses, oil, and pure vanilla extract.
Unsulphured molasses means there has been no sulfur added to preserve the molasses giving it longer shelf life. It tastes better and is less processed.
- Dry ingredients (aka baking staples): Oat bran, whole wheat or spelt flour, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder & baking soda, and salt.
- Raisins and Medjool dates: Dates sometimes look like jumbo raisins, but they’re not. They’re dehydrated stone fruits that have a delicious sweetness to them. They need to be pitted and chopped. Try them in savory stuffed dates!
- Walnuts: Coarsely chopped, they add a crunchy, creamy, nutty texture to these muffins.
- Cooking spray: I use Misto, to help create a nonstick surface inside the muffin liners.
What is Oat Bran?
Oat bran is just one layer of the entire oat grain. First off, when oat grain is harvested, the outer shell (called the hull) is removed and discarded because it’s not meant for consumption. What remains from the removal of the hull is called the oat groat. What a name!
The outer layer of this groat is what we know as oat bran. It can either be kept with the rest of the oat groat or removed and used separately. The innermost part of the oat groat is what continues to be processed whether minimally into steel cut oats or a bit more into old fashioned rolled oats.
How to Make Healthy Bran Muffins
- Prepare your station: Set the oven to preheat to 425 degrees F. Line the muffin cups with unbleached muffin liners and spray with cooking spray. Set that aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: Mix eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Combine well and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients: Using a medium mixing bowl this time, add oat bran, flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then, use a spatula to mix until the flour mixture is smooth and lump free.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients: Gently pour and stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just enough to combine.
- Allow the batter to rest: Set the muffin batter aside to allow it to thicken. This gives the leavening agents time to activate and do their thing!
What does overmixing do? It releases the trapped air needed to create fluffy muffins, leaving them dense and heavy.
- The add-ins: Give the batter a gentle stir a few times and then add the raisins, dates, and walnuts. Fold them in a few times making sure everything is incorporated.
- Divide the batter and bake: Evenly divide the batter between each of the 12 prepared muffin compartments. I like to use an ice cream scoop so I know I’m getting an equal amount of batter in every one. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes and then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
- Cool before eating: Remove the muffins from the oven and allow them to cook for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool down a bit more.
How to know they’re done. Use a toothpick and insert it into the center of the muffin. If it comes out clean, your muffins are ready! If not, continue baking for a little while longer.
Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Applesauce substitute: Mash bananas and add them into the muffins if applesauce isn’t your thing.
- Swap your sweetener: Instead of maple syrup use honey, or a liquid form of any of your favorite sweeteners. Do not use any dry sugars like dark or light brown sugar, or even coconut sugar. It will throw the dry/wet ratio off balance.
- To make these gluten free: Try a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour (like I do in banana zucchini muffins) or oat flour. Coconut or almond flour will not work!
- Other dried fruits: Blueberries, goji berries, mango, apricots, strawberries, and raspberries would all be delicious in this oat bran muffin recipe.
- Nuts: Any chopped nut would pair well with oat bran muffins. Chopped almonds, pecans, pistachios, you name it! I love walnuts in healthy carrot cake baked oatmeal!
Craving a little chocolate? Sprinkle in some chocolate chips into your muffin batter instead of raisins for a little something extra, make healthy banana chocolate chip muffins, next!
Tips for Best Results
- Room temperature ingredients: Starting with ingredients that are at the same temperature helps with even baking. Things like the eggs and applesauce, and even flax if you keep yours in the fridge, should be brought out ahead of time.
- Stick with oat bran: I haven’t tried wheat bran or oats instead, so I can’t guarantee those results.
- Don’t skip the spray: Applesauce in muffins can sometimes cause the muffins to stick to liners, which is why we spray them first.
FAQs
These are not! We use whole flour or spelt flour neither of which are gluten free. You could try using oat flour or a 1:1 all-purpose gluten free flour or you could switch to my naturally gluten free almond flour blueberry muffins recipe!
You can try it and let me know how it turns out! I have never tried it, but knowing that oat bran and wheat bran can be used interchangeably in many baking recipes, I don’t see why not. Wheat bran is also higher in fiber than oat bran but lower in protein, just to keep in mind.
I have tried almond flour and coconut flour and both are a no-go. I think oat flour, which is basically ground oats, would be a better fit in this recipe, so I encourage you to try that for starters. You could of course use spelt or a regular all-purpose flour (use an extra tablespoon of all purpose for every cup of whole wheat flour) . Let me know what you think.
How to Serve Oat Bran Muffins?
- For breakfast/brunch: Grab a muffin and enjoy with some overnight oats or a healthy breakfast sandwich for a nutrient-packed on the go breakfast that will keep you full for hours.
- As a snack: With a cup of anti-inflammatory tea, healthy iced coffee, or healthy hot chocolate. A kombucha smoothie, strawberry smoothie, or a vibrant green smoothie would also be delicious.
- With spreads: Butter, orange and honey butter, almond butter, pumpkin seed butter, peanut butter, or a healthy chocolate spread.
Along with other muffins: I don’t know about you, but when I make a batch of muffins I think about making a few different kinds to freeze for later! Try these healthy chocolate muffins, healthy cranberry orange muffins, and healthy chocolate chip muffins.
How to Store These Muffins?
Store: No need to keep oat bran muffin reicpe in the fridge. As long as they’re covered and stored in a cool dry area, you’ll have fresh muffins to last you up to 4 days.
Freeze: Once completely cooled, transfer muffins to an airtight container or freezer friendly bag. Keep them frozen for up to 3 months. Only thaw what you intend to eat!
More Healthy Muffins Recipes
Oat Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 tbsp unsulphured molasses
- 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups oat bran
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed ground
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 1/3 cup Medjool dates pitted & chopped
- 1/3 cup walnuts coarsely chopped
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F, line 12 muffin tin with unbleached parchment paper muffin liners and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, oil and vanilla extract; whisk well to combine. Set aside.
- In another medium mixing bowl, add oat bran, flour, flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir with spatula to mix until no lumps, transfer to a bowl with wet ingredients and stir gently just enough to combine. Do not over mix and let batter sit for a few minutes to thicken, then stir a few more times.
- Add raisins, dates and walnuts. Stir a few times just enough to incorporate.
- Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter evenly between 12 openings of a muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes in preheated to 425 degrees F oven. Reduce heat to 375 degrees F (no need to wait for oven to cool off) and bake for another 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Remove muffins from the oven, let muffins cool for about 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool off a bit more.
Notes
- Store: Store covered in a cool dry place for up to 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Let muffins cool completely and freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
- Room temperature ingredients: Starting with ingredients that are at the same temperature helps with even baking. Things like the eggs and applesauce, and even flax if you keep yours in the fridge, should be brought out ahead of time.
- Don’t skip the spray: Applesauce in muffins can sometimes cause the muffins to stick to liners, which is why we spray them first.
- Oat bran: I have not tried to use wheat bran or oats instead of oat bran in this recipe, so can’t guarantee results.
- Sweetener: Make sure sweetener is liquid, any will work. Also if you don’t have molasses on hand, feel free to use more honey or maple syrup.
- Flour: Baking is a science and each flour act very differently in a recipe. I have not tried all-purpose flour (it might work) and I do know that almond flour or coconut flour will not work. Oat flour and all-purpose gluten free flour might work too.
- Egg free: Try replacing egg by learning how to make a flax egg or chia egg.
These muffins are delicious, healthy and high fiber, this is my favorite muffin recipe! I used mashed ripe pears instead of the apple sauce and 1/4 cup chia seed instead of the flax. Thank you for a great recipe!
I’m so happy to read this! Thanks for your positive feedback!
Amazing! Turned out perfect!
So glad you enjoyed them!
Dear Olena, when I saw the many ingredients, I decided to make a double batch and I didn’t regret it. Your recipes fill the pages in my cook book. All of them are very tasty. Thank you for the ideas.
Hanna
I’m so happy to read this, Hanna! Thanks for your positive feedback!
These were soooo good! I just made them yesterday and they’re perfect. I don’t know why I’ve been craving bran muffins lol, and then I got your email for this recipe. Thanks so much!
Sounds like it was meant to be! So glad you enjoyed them!
I made these with dried cherries and mini chocolate chips. Really good!
Sounds delicious!
Hi Olena,
I forgot to mark 5 stars on my review.
Can you adjust that for me?
These were great.If I could put more than 5 stars I would. 😁
Lily
that would be fun to have more than 5 stars 🙂 So glad you loved them!
These were absolutely delicious. Husband & I both loved them. These will be on a regular rotation. Looking for more recipes to use oat bran & flax. These hit the spot. 😛
ps – Do you have any that recipes that use hemp hearts?
Thanks for this tasty recipe. Lily
So glad you loved them! Thanks for the review. Not at this time on the hemp hearts.
I have made this oat bran muffin recipe several times. I have baked them plain and with raisins and walnuts. Neighbors and family love them.
Glad to hear this Reginaldo!
These muffins are my favorite muffins! I have made them almost every week.They come out moist and just sweet enough to make them tasty.
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback April!
First off love all your recipes I have tried so far!
Anything else I can use instead of flax seed? Maybe chia seeds? I cannot have flax seeds.
I am so happy to hear that, Sharon! You can use 2 tbsp chia seeds instead.