Bran Muffins that are Actually Healthy

These healthy bran muffins may sound pretty ordinary, but they're packed with the best goodies such as oat bran, apple, raisins and dates. As a result, they're extra moist but also have reduced sugar for a guilt-free breakfast!

Delicious! I've had trouble finding a good muffin recipe ... These are perfect! 

Lena

Old Fashioned Bran Muffins - So Simple

While flipping through my Granny's handwritten Black Book of Scottish recipes on a bleak winter morning, I stumbled upon her simple bran muffin recipe. It was a pleasant surprise, as I had only ever known to use All-Bran with Mum.

Curious about Miss Adams, the original creator of the recipe, it was unusual for a UK recipe, as written in cups. So I adapted it to metric weights in grams, tested it with oil or butter instead of the shortening and reduced the sugar content as much as I dare.

The recipe simply uses milk rather than buttermilk.

As you can see from the handwriting, my granny suggested using dates. I love that squidgy concoction. She often mixed dates with apples in her recipes (see recipe for sticky toffee pudding with apple). So I added the apple for old times' sake - call me old fashioned but this adds extra moisture.

You can also see that Granny kept all sorts of mementos in that recipe book - including adverts for hair colour and newspaper cuttings of interesting cake ideas.

Are Bran Muffins Healthy?

These homemade bran muffins are particularly healthy as we can control the sugar content and their flavour. Here's why we love them:

• As we're making the muffins from scratch, we can control the sugar content. By using shop-bought cereals, there's always added sugar. Moreover, we don't need to pre-soak it so it's quicker to make.
• It includes a grated fresh apple. Many recipes use commercial apple sauce. Even if unsweetened, in France our apple compotes contain synthetic aromas. We prefer homemade apple compote - but in this case, it's easier to grab an apple!
• They contain oats, oat bran and, if using wholemeal flour, wheat bran which are all high in fibre and so can help relieve constipation. There's also no need to pre-soak the bran. For more on the health benefits, see Harvard University's Nutrition Source on Oats and below on oat bran.
• By adding a mixture of dates with the raisins, this makes the muffins even sweeter. The result? We can reduce the sugar even further to only 30g (2 tablespoons).
• Each muffin is packed with healthy goodies and antioxidants, containing a good amount of protein, calcium (70%), potassium (50%), vitamin D (40%), iron (20%) and fibre.

So, with just the right amount of sugar added, it's makes a guilt-free breakfast. These bran muffins are both high in fibre and contain iron.

What is Oat Bran?

Oat bran is rich in fibre and nutrients, sourced from the outer layer of the oat groat.

Wheat bran and oat bran differ in origin, with oat bran coming from oats and wheat bran from wheat. Both are good substitutes.

Oat bran contains more fibre and protein than regular oats plus high in beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre. It also has slightly more soluble fibre than wheat bran, offering heart-healthy benefits.

Pure oats are inherently gluten-free, but cross-contamination may occur during processing. In this recipe, we're also using regular flour, so if gluten sensitivity is a concern, choose certified gluten-free oat bran and gluten free flour.

For more, see the Healthline article on the health properties of oat bran.

Bran Muffin Calories

For one homemade bran muffin, count just 216 calories. It's even less if you use half fat (semi-skimmed) milk.

Healthy Bran Muffin Recipe

First, prepare muffin tins with 10 cavities. Either use regular tins with paper cases or use non-stick or silicone moulds that have been buttered or oiled.
Please avoid baking oil sprays as they are really not healthy (just look at their ingredients!) What's more, they go rancid very quickly and the flavour isn't pleasant. It's just as easy to rub a little vegetable oil with the fingers or with kitchen paper.

In a large bowl, weigh out all the dry ingredients and mix together.

Melt the butter in a second bowl (or use a healthy oil such as canola/rapeseed or sunflower). Add the rest of the wet ingredients with the melted butter and grated apple and stir just until everything is incorporated.

Secret To Make them Moist

The secret to making these bran muffins moist is the right amount of fat. Not too much and not too little, either. This recipe is without buttermilk but uses full fat milk.

The grated fresh apple not only gives that extra healthy touch but adds moisture. Best yet, is to add the chopped dates. Believe me, when you bite into one, it's extra fudgy with the raisins adding the ultimate texture - yet they're light too.

Oat Bran Muffins with Raisins

So don't forget the sultana raisins! Even better, use a half and half mix of both raisins and chopped dates. This not only makes them moist but adds natural sugar. By adding dates, we've tested the sugar content: you can reduce it even further!

Simple UK Recipe - Metric vs Imperial and Cups

Don't worry about conversions, I always use weights in preference to volume - it's just easier! Trust me, it's a game changer for continued successful baking. It's important to weigh out ingredients to the nearest gram - especially when baking pastries such as a pâte sucrée sweet pastry for tarts and, of course, macarons.

For making muffins, it's not that crucial but it's the best way to practise baking with digital scales if you're not yet used to them.

The bonus is that it can also cut down on your washing up, as you can directly weigh ingredients in the mixing bowl.

So go ahead, indulge in these delicious muffins by using digital scales and never look back to measuring with cups again. However, I've added them in the recipe as a guide.

The result? A trip down memory lane with the best homemade muffins, made completely from scratch without any shop-bought cereal in sight. What's more, there's no packaged apple sauce - it's just a grated apple!

If you make the muffins the night before, just warm them slightly to serve for breakfast. They also freeze well - an extra bonus!

More muffins? Enjoy these healthy banana oat muffins with no added sugar.

This post was first published February 6th, 2018 but is now completely updated.