Last week a reader asked me if I have a healthy oat bran muffins recipe. Her grandma used to make one with chopped dates. After a few tries I came up with my preferred version: whole wheat flour, organic high fibre oat bran, a touch of unsulphured molasses, mainly moistened with applesauce from my garden and bursting with raisins and walnut pieces. You can also use wheat bran or chopped dates.
These oat bran muffins with applesauce and no sugar came out moist, with a coarse nutty texture of oat bran and running only 229 calories each versus 500 calorie bakery muffin.
What a great idea to add these muffins to a snack rotation! More likely you will have all the ingredients on hand at any time, so no special grocery trip (I dread those with 2 kids in tow to grab a lime or a bunch of cilantro). Perfect for breakfast or school/work lunches. These bran muffins are super filling because of fibre and nuts.
More Healthy Muffins Recipes to Try:
- Healthy carrot muffins – moderately sweet muffins with oatmeal, raisins and nuts.
- Morning glory muffins – breakfast worthy with a little bit of everything good for you muffins.
- Healthy pumpkin muffins with cream cheese, just like Starbucks but so much healthier!
- Healthy chocolate chip muffins – your kids will approve!
Healthy Oat Bran Muffins
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients:
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup applesauce unsweetened
- 1/2 cup raw honey or maple syrup
- 2 tbsp unsulphured molasses
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups oat bran
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
- 1/4 cup flax seed ground
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder aluminum free
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Add Ins:
- 1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates not packed
- 1/3 cup nuts coarsely chopped (walnuts (I used cheaper pieces rather than whole), pecans, hazelnuts)
- Cooking spray I use Misto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray non-stick 12 muffin tin with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine Wet Ingredients. In another large mixing bowl, stir to combine Dry Ingredients. Add Wet Ingredients to a bowl with Dry Ingredients, gently mix just enough to combine. Do not over mix otherwise muffins won't rise properly.
- Add Add Ins and stir a few times. Distribute batter evenly between 12 openings of a tin (I used regular ice cream scoop) and bake for 17 - 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let muffins cool for a few minutes and transfer to a cooling rack to cool off completely. Do not leave muffins in a tin as they will over bake and become dry.
Store: Refrigerate in a glass airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Recipes and images are a copyright of ifoodreal.com. It is against the law to republish recipes anywhere including social media, print and all world wide web. Nutritional info is provided for informational purposes only and to the best knowledge.
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.
The best!! Thank you! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Hi Olena, I LOVE browsing through your website recipes! I read the reviews on your oat-bran muffins and can’t wait to try them. However, I love almond flour and was wondering how I could use that instead of both other flours. Any suggestions?
Hi Linda!
Why don’t you check out my super popular recipe for Almond Flour Banana Muffins?
https://ifoodreal.com/almond-flour-banana-muffins/
I’ve been playing around a bit with this recipe. First, I’m using bob’S Red Mill Paleo flour in place of the whole wheat flour to be gluten free. I’ve done it once with fresh blueberries (I washed them and spread them out on a towel to air dry) and they were great. Next I did them with an overripe banana instead of the applesauce and added chopped dates. Again great. This last time, I did banana again with pecans. Again great. I’m thinking about trying pumpkin and walnuts next.
Excellent muffins!!! I make 2-3 doz at a time. My grandson loves them ??
These are so good! I am excited to explore your website. Thank you for creating recipes that are low in sugar and full of flavor. I added dried cherries instead of raisins. I also added some chia seeds. Very good. I am going to make the pumpkin muffins next time.
Pris
So happy that you are enjoying my muffin recipe 🙂 Let me know what you think of the pumpkin muffins!
I made a batch and it turned out ok,but I don’t understand what the 2 tbsp’s whole wheat flour is for..
Muffin batter should be certain consistency. So, those 2 tbsp get it there. To be honest it is an old recipe of mine and probably should be re-tested. I am a better cook now. Just being honest. But yes, sometimes it literally a matter of tablespoons so muffins rise properly.
I make these every 12 days. I enjoy one almost every morning with my tea.Addinf different ingredients each time such as coconut, raisins,nuts and pineapple.??
That’s so great to hear Susan!
These muffins are awesome! They come together quickly, are moist and yummy. As soon as we run out I make another batch, I store them in the fridge and they are the perfect breakfast.
Thank you for another great recipe!
You are so welcome Tracy!
Baked these muffins for the first time this afternoon and I’m eating one right now – moist, delicious and such an easy recipe to follow. This one is a keeper!
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Teri!
Can you clarify whether the flax amount is 1/4 cup of the seeds before grinding into meal texture or after (so 1/4 cup of the ground seed)? Sorry if this topic is covered elsewhere but I’m a newbie baker and want to be sure I make it correctly.
Thanks so much: the photos look amazing!
1/4 cup ground. Measured after grinding if you grind whole seeds. No worries. There are no silly questions when it comes to cooking. So happy people ask. Means they are cooking healthy. Please let me know how these come out.:)
“No sugar” in description means no refined sugar. All sugar is different. These muffins are made with healthy sugar like maple syrup or honey that’s full of vitamins and minerals. Not empty calories. Just like fruit contains “a lot” of sugar but it’s good for you.
These muffins are wonderful! I found them very moist and flavorful! Highly recommend. Very easy recipe to follow.
Happy to hear, Debbie!!!
Awesome!!!!! Love, love, love these muffins. They stay so moist for days. Thank you for sharing this receipe.
I made these muffins. They were delicious ,but I found them quite dry. What can I do to make them nice & moist?
Add more applesauce or avocado oil. I should remake this recipe, could be the case…
These r excellent! They remind me of bran muffins I would buy when I travelled periodically to NYC!!!
Three for three Olena! So happy I found your recipes!
I can tell you are enjoying cooking a storm, I am glad! 🙂 I won’t lie but I had to Google “three for three” and still would like a light shed on its meaning. 🙂
Oh! Hahaha… no worries! It just means that I’ve cooked three things and each one was a winner! Say if one turned out not soo good… I would write two for three!
Got it.:)
Made these muffins today and they are sooooo delicious, really moist for bran muffins! I’m going to add more dates next time though. Thanks!
Yes, sweetness is a personal taste.:) Glad you enjoyed, Chris!!!
thank you for putting the nutrition info. Including sodium. my doc made us cut out sodium and this helps me even know if i can look at your recipes. made a batch With pumpkin and walnuts and they were delicious am making a 2nd batch now.
Thankfully you can control sodium in many recipes to your taste. Just know that 1 tsp salt equals 2300 mg sodium and go from there. Overall, processed foods are the major cause for sodium overload. Glad you enjoyed my muffins.:)
These are simply amazing, and made with such wholesome ingredients, my kids love them!
I know, bakery muffins have at least 500 calories and if there’s a butter top/crumb frosting, you are done!! I love how there’s only 229 in these. Now that’s something to pat yourself on the back before. And you take reader ideas….hmmm, might have some of my own to send you, ha.
Spill the beans! I wanted to ask you, what is a good way to clean non-organic vegetables? I have heard of something about soaking in vinegar solution.
Oh my goodness….these look perfect! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you….just what I was looking for…I cannot wait to make these. I have been buying them from a nutritional dietician and have been hating the fact that I could not find a good clean eating recipe I can make (for half the cost) on my own. These Olena will be perfect for my breakfast rotation! I cannot thank you enough for researching and coming up with this recipe! I, by the way, made your banana muffins over the weekend and they were amazing!!! My whole family loved them! I turned around and made a second batch to freeze. They are yummy! Now it looks like I will be making bran muffins tonight!!!! Hugs!
I made these muffins because of you.:) That was a great idea! What other recipes “to clean up” do you have in mind?:) Oh, you are paying for muffins?! You are a true clean eating fan LOL. Glad you liked banana muffins. You might also like my chocolate muffins. Do you know of The Gracious Pantry? Another clean eating recipe blog. I haven’t made a single recipe though but Tiffany has lots of recipes!