I’m so excited to share this recipe with you! A good, healthy bran muffin is hard to create at home. Not only are these whole food plant-based and oil-free, but very low fat and gluten-free! Do you know how hard it is to create a good muffin without eggs and oil, let alone without gluten? Whew! This is a keeper.
What is Oat Bran?
Oat bran is the outer part of whole oats, and it flakes off when making rolled oats. Although it is part of oat groats and steel cut oats, it’s also sold as it’s own product. You can buy this in a bag (Bob’s Red Mill hot cereal is common, sells for $3-$4 a bag) or in bulk bins. This recipe all started when I saw oat bran in the bulk bins and I wanted to make something with it! Oat bran has more protein and fiber than rolled oats, and fewer calories. It is naturally gluten-free, but make sure it’s not contaminated with gluten if you’re sensitive/allergic. If you don’t need gluten-free, you could use wheat bran and wheat flour instead of oats, I’m sure.
If you eat whole food plant-based, you likely have no problem with constipation. However, these are the perfect food for anyone who does because oat bran contains high soluble AND insoluble fiber. It one study, eating 7-8 grams of oat bran a day (one tablespoon–I weighed it) was found to be just as effective as laxatives! Fiber is the new protein–the nutrient that few people get enough of and that needs to be the new buzz word in the health world.
However, health benefits aside, make these oat bran muffins because they are just delicious!
About the Ingredients
You may have to go to the grocery store to get the stuff to make these. I typically don’t have oat bran, molasses, or coconut sugar on hand. However, it is worth adding these ingredients to your list!
I don’t usually use coconut sugar, but I’ve found after many attempts at muffins that a granulated sweetener produces a better rise and less dense muffins. Coconut sugar is sap from a coconut palm that is dried and ground, so it is minimally-processed. It’s still sugar, but in this recipe with so much fiber, I feel like it’s reasonable and won’t spike your blood sugar. You can use maple syrup or honey if that’s what you have, but the muffins may be more dense. You can also use brown sugar instead of coconut sugar.
The molasses is not totally necessary, but I wanted the traditional dark color of bran muffins.
All of us, kids included, absolutely love these muffins. They will keep you satiated for hours, even though they are just 130 calories a piece and low in fat. I vow to only eat one….but I usually end up eating three (er, one and four halves that is, if you know what I mean) for breakfast. If you pack a light lunch, like a salad, these are the perfect accompaniment to fill you up.
As challenging as muffins are to create a healthy recipe for, I clearly love the challenge. Here are some of my other muffin recipes:
Chocolate Protein Blender Muffins (with surprising ingredient)
Delicious, hearty, filling, and low-fat muffins. Perfect for breakfast or snacks. Make and freeze extra for a quick meal.
- 1.5 cups oat bran
- 1/2 cup coconut sugar (can get away with 1/3 cup)
- 2 TBSP ground flax seed
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP molasses
- 1/2 cup grated carrot
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1/3 cup raisins (optional)
- 1 cup rolled oats (will be ground into flour)
- 1.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
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In a large mixing bowl, mix the first section of ingredients together: oat bran, coconut sugar, flax meal, water, applesauce, vanilla, molasses, carrots, raisins and walnuts. Let this mixture sit and soak for 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Get out muffin pan and grease if necessary. Blend the oats in a blender until fine. Add the remaining dry ingredients and pulse the blender to combine.
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Stir dry into the wet, and stir until thoroughly combined. Portion batter into muffin cups.
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Bake for 20 minutes (mini muffins for 10-12), or until firm to the touch. Let cool at least slightly before eating.
Macronutrient facts:
Each standard-sized muffin (without walnuts) contains 129 calories, 1.6 grams of fat, 30 g carbs, 3.6 g fiber, 3.4 g protein
Inspired by a recipe at PowerHungry.Com.
So moist and satisfying. Very close to what my daughter says are morning glory muffins- may add crushed pineapple next time for her. Keeper!!!
I was thinking of adding crushed pineapple, too! In the past when I try to load them too full they get heavy and gummy, but I bet a little bit of well-drained pineapple would be delicious.
Faith, these are delicious! There are numerous ingredients to gather, but the method is simple and everything combines really well. The only thing I swapped was brown sugar for the coconut sugar, as we didn’t have any, and that was Truvia to keep the carbs down. I echo your comments about fibre – for me, this is a primary consideration in making recipes (and also justifies that covert snacking of extra dark chocolate). All your recipes I’ve made have been a hit – keep ’em coming!
Thank you so much for the star rating and comment, Liz! I appreciate the encouragement!
I tried these and they are great! I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to make a savory version? I’d like to get more oat bran into my diet and an afternoon snack would be nice, but I’m more of a salty snacker than a sweet snacker. I’d love any ideas you have, maybe incorporating nutritional yeast? Thank you!
My 3 year old son is picky and he ended up stealing my muffin and eating the entire thing. He has some stomach problems so I think making these for him will help him out a lot. I thought they were great too. I added dried cranberries instead of raisins. I liked the bits of walnuts inside too, so next time I’ll add a few more of those.
Thanks so much for the feedback Liz! So glad your picky eater enjoyed them, too. That’s the best. 🙂