Healthy Oat Bran Muffins are tender, moist, and dotted with raisins, dates, and walnuts throughout. High in fiber, naturally sweetened, and full of good for you ingredients!
Why Oat Bran Muffins Are Good for You
According to Healthline, here are a few things what makes healthy oat bran muffins wholesome:
- Keeps us fuller longer: Just one oat bran muffin provides our bodies with what it needs to stay full and satisfied.
- Fiber, protein, and iron: Oat bran, whole wheat flour, dates, and flaxseed add fiber, protein, and iron among other things to the muffins, which our bodies need to regulate blood sugar.
- No refined sugar: Medjool dates, raisins, maple syrup add vitamins and antioxidants but also a sweetness without the addition of any highly processed refined sugars.
- Dairy-free: These healthy bran muffins are great for those when dairy is an issue.
- Walnuts: Not only for great nutty texture and flavor but they also contain plenty of good fats and antioxidants too.
Reader’s Review
Great recipe, my husband loved it. I decided to try a different one yesterday and he said yours was his favorite. 😁 I made it GF and left out the dates, raisins and walnuts. I also added dried cranberries instead. This is a keeper for him.
Sheila
Ingredients for Healthy Oat Bran Muffins
- Oat bran: You can find oat bran in a cereal aisle of your grocery store. I haven’t tried wheat bran or oats instead, so I can’t guarantee the results.
- Flour: I have tested recipe with whole wheat flour or spelt flour. Many readers have had success with different flours because I think these muffins have so many mix-ins for structure, but I haven’t tried. I think oat flour would be a good fit if you substitute it by weight. 1 cup of wheat flour weighs 125 grams, oat flour – 90 grams. It would make muffins gluten-free too!
- Ground flaxseed: For healthy fats and fiber. A reader reported she used 1/4 cup of chia seeds instead successfully.
- Eggs: I think it would be an easy swap for flax eggs or chia eggs.
- Applesauce: You could mash bananas and add them into the muffins if applesauce isn’t your thing.
- Maple syrup or honey: Use liquid form of any of your favorite sweetener. 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.
- Unsulphured molasses: Unsulphured means there has been no sulfur added to preserve the molasses giving it longer shelf life. It tastes better and is less processed.
- Baking staples: Pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Oil: For moisture. I like to use avocado oil but any other oil like olive oil or melted coconut oil works.
- Raisins: Dried cranberries, blueberries, or goji berries are a great substitute.
- Medjool dates: They need to be pitted and chopped. Any dates work.
- Walnuts: Any chopped nuts like almonds, pecans, or pistachios would pair well with oat bran muffins.
- Cooking spray: I use Misto.
How to Make Healthy Oat Bran Muffins
- Mix wet ingredients: Whisk eggs, applesauce, maple syrup, molasses, oil, and vanilla extract in a large bowl, and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, 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 to the wet ingredients: Gently pour and stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just enough to combine. Set the muffin batter aside for a few minutes to allow it to thicken.
- The add-ins: Give the batter a gentle stir a few times and then fold in raisins, dates, and walnuts.
- Bake: Evenly divide batter between each of the 12 prepared muffin compartments. I like to use a trigger cookie dough scoop, so I know I’m getting an equal amount of batter in every one. Bake in preheated oven to 425 F for 10 minutes and then at 375 degrees F for another 10 minutes.
- Cool before eating: Remove healthy oat bran muffins from the oven and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool down a bit more.
Tips for Best 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.
- Stick with oat bran: I have not tried replacing it with wheat bran, oats or anything else, so can’t guarantee results.
- Don’t overmix: Mix gently just enough to combine. Overmixing releases the trapped air needed to create fluffy muffins, leaving them dense and heavy.
- Don’t overbake: To avoid dry muffins bake just until inserted toothpick into the center comes out clean. Keep in mind all ovens vary, so might need to adjust baking time by a few minutes either way.
How to Store Oat Bran Muffins
Store: No need to keep oat bran muffins 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!
Storage Tip
For more helpful tips to make your leftover muffins stay fresh, check out my posts how to store muffins and how to freeze muffins.
More Healthy Muffin Recipes to Try
Healthy Oat Bran Muffins
Healthy Oat Bran Muffins are tender, moist, and dotted with raisins, dates, and walnuts throughout. High in fiber, naturally sweetened, and full of good for you ingredients!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
- 3/4 cup maple syrup or honey
- 2 tablespoons unsulphured molasses
- 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups oat bran
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat or spelt flour
- 1/4 cup flaxseed, ground
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon 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.
🎉 Last step! If you made this recipe, please leave a review and let us know what you think!
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 269kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.003g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 277mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 20g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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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.
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!