📋 Wheat Bran Muffins recipe

A Wheat Bran Muffins sitting on top of a bowl of fresh mixed berries, with walnuts scattered beside the bowl.

📋 Wheat Bran Muffins recipe

This Wheat Bran Muffin recipe is the best bran muffin you will ever eat! A healthy bran muffin is a great start to your day, especially when it's chock-full of real and wholesome ingredients like butter, molasses, wheat bran, chia seeds, wheat germ and walnuts. Not only does it make a great breakfast, it also makes a great snack!

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine North American

Keyword bran, healthy, molasses, muffin

Special Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings muffins

Calories 230kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Equipment

Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
½ cup canola oil (substitute any vegetable oil)
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoon molasses
2 cups whole wheat flour
¾ cup all purpose flour
2 cups milk I use 1% but you can substitute 2%
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs beaten with a fork
1 ½ cups natural wheat bran
3 tablespoon wheat germ
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoon chia seeds

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/176 degrees C. Fill muffin tins with paper muffin liners (these work the best in this recipe - I do not recommend making these muffins without using paper liners)
Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to milk and set aside.
*This creates a homemade (lighter) buttermilk, which reacts with baking soda to give the muffins a light, fluffy texture.
2 cups milk, 1 teaspoon vinegar
In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) cream butter with brown sugar.
½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup packed brown sugar
Then beat in molasses and oil.
½ cup canola oil, 2 tablespoon molasses
in a separate bowl, mix flours, bran, wheat germ, baking powder and chia seeds together.
2 cups whole wheat flour, ¾ cup all purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ cups natural wheat bran, 3 tablespoon wheat germ, 3 tablespoon chia seeds
Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix well. You can use an electric mixer for this part.
Add baking soda to milk and stir.
2 teaspoon baking soda
Stir wet ingredients into dry mixture.
Stir in walnuts.
1 cup chopped walnuts
Fold in beaten eggs. Stir only until combined
2 eggs
Spoon batter into paper liner filled muffin cups to the top.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 mins then transfer to wire rack. Cool for 5 more minutes and serve.

Notes

Expert Recipe Tips:

- Use fresh baking soda and baking powder. Leavening agents lose potency over time. To ensure a high, fluffy rise, test them first: For baking soda: mix with vinegar — it should fizz. For baking powder: mix with hot water — it should bubble immediately.

- Soften your butter properly. For the best texture, butter should be soft but not melted. Room temp means your finger should leave an indent, but not sink right through. Cold or melted butter won’t cream properly with the sugar.

- Cream the butter and sugar well. This step adds air and structure to the muffins. Cream until the mixture is light and fluffy (about 3–5 minutes) before adding oil and molasses.

- Don’t overmix the batter. Especially once the eggs go in, mix only until ingredients are just combined. Overmixing leads to tough, dense muffins with air pockets or tunnels.

- Get Them in the Oven Right Away! Once your muffin batter is mixed, don’t let it sit too long—get it into the oven immediately. The baking soda and baking powder start reacting as soon as they’re combined with the wet ingredients. If the batter sits too long before baking, you risk losing some of that rising power, which can lead to dense or flat muffins instead of light and fluffy ones. Have your oven preheated and muffin tins lined before you start mixing for best results!

- Freeze your wheat bran. Wheat bran can go rancid quickly because of its natural oils. Keep it in the freezer in an airtight container for best freshness and a longer shelf life.

🌡️Storage

These muffins can stay in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 48 hours. However, I freeze them right away and keep them frozen for freshness and easy access. You can let them defrost in your lunch bag or pop them in the microwave for 30-ish seconds.

Fridge: Store these delicious bran muffins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezer: They freeze really well in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag for up to 6 months

*NOTE: Results may vary depending on type of flour and brown sugar used

**NOTE: The process photos look different than the main photos because they were taken in different lighting.

Nutrition