Full of fibre and fruit, these Mixed Berry Bran Muffins< are sweetened only with honey and molasses. Perfect for a morning muffin.
I noticed the other day that I haven’t very many muffin recipes here. Truth be told, I don’t eat a ton of muffins. Part of the reason is that many muffins have as much fat and calories as a piece of cake and honestly, when that’s the case, I’d rather have cake ;) So when I do make muffins, they tend to be of the non-cake variety.
These muffins fill the bill perfectly. They are full of fibre, from the wheat bran, to the oat bran to the whole wheat flour. Add in lots of fruit and sweetening without white sugar and there’s lots to love about these muffins.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Wheat Bran and Oat Bran – these are usually easy to find in the natural food section of most grocery stores. For Canadians, Bulk Barn is a good source for picking up small amounts of these items.
Fruit – These muffins are also endlessly customizable. For my batch, I used blueberries and raspberries. Blackberries would also be nice. Use a combination of fruit of just one kind – about 1 pint worth, whatever kind of fruit you use.
Honey – For sweetening, a nice honey is all you need. I actually used Lyle’s Golden Syrup for my batch with added great flavour.
Molasses – As for the molasses, you’ll want to use “Fancy” or mild molasses, not blackstrap, which would be a little too harsh in flavour for these muffins.
Recipe Tips
Feel free to add in any other goodies you like, such as flax seed or meal or chia seeds etc. I love to use fresh fruit in these muffins, but I see no reason why frozen berries wouldn’t work just as well.
Storing and Freezing
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container for 2-3 days or freeze for longer storage. These muffins will freeze well for 2-3 months.
Get the Recipe: Mixed Berry Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups wheat bran
- 1 cup oat bran
- 1 cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour, (I used white whole wheat)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mild molasses, (not blackstrap)
- 1/3 cup + 1 Tablespoon honey or golden syrup, (I used Lyle's Golden Syrup)
- 1/3 cup neutral-tasting oil , (vegetable, canola etc.)
- 1/2 pint fresh raspberries, (approx.)
- 1/2 pint fresh blueberries, (approx.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners (really recommend liners for these muffins as they tend to be loose and may fall apart when trying to remove from just a greased muffin cup.)
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the wheat bran, oat bran, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine well.
- In another medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the yogurt and milk and stir well to combine. Then add the molasses, honey and oil and stir until well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients over the dry, and gently stir together. Gently fold in your fresh fruit.
- Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, divide the batter between your 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 22-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. Allow to cool in the muffin tins on a wire rack for about 5-10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin to cool completely.
Notes
More Muffin Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
These are great! My husband’s favourite. I use frozen berries but do pick out any huge strawberries before adding the fruit to the batter as they get very mushy. I like to eat the frozen strawberries on their own so no waste! I make a batch every few weeks and freeze them so that my husband can have 2 or 3 each week. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you are enjoying them, Edina :) Thanks so much!
Is there a substitution you would suggest for the oat bran. I bought the berries but I forgot to purchase the oat bran.
Thanks
Hi Elizabeth, you could just use more wheat bran or possibly run some rolled oats or quick oats through a food processor to get it down to bran-size and try that.
Hey Jennifer! Small family working on a budget here and those fruits aren’t Exactly in season juuust yet but now I’m craving these! Would frozen work?
Hi Amanda and absolutely frozen would work :) Enjoy!
I have been looking for a good breakfast muffin for so long! I can’t wait to make these. Thanks!
I think you will love these as a breakfast muffin, Karen. Enjoy!
These look great, Jennifer. I don’t think I’ve had a bran muffins in years. Gosh, I always “forgot” about certain foods. Food blogger problems I guess! Can’t wait to try these out!
Thanks Liz and I do that all the time. I have to remind myself of some of these things that aren’t really exciting or glamorous, but are still nice to sit down to once in a while :)
I am with you on muffins, Jennifer. Don’t get me wrong, I like them but they ARE little cakes in a healthy disguise! These ones, on the other hand, look plenty and healthy and DELICIOUS! I will make them as soon as I search local stores for all kinds of bran-not so easy to find here.
Thanks Julia. We are spoiled here in Canada with Bulk Barn – so easy to pick up little bits of brans.
The mixed berries are so pretty, what scrumptious muffins!
Thanks Laura. They are great morning muffins!
Can the fruit be left out? Would it cook for the same time?
What did you sprinkle on top? Thanks
Hi Kayla, Sure you can leave the fruit out :) Baking time might be a little less, but not too much. That is just some oat bran sprinkled on top, I think.