World's Best Bran Muffins is not a title to be taken lightly. Once you taste these, you'll call them by no other name! You will want to eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!
These tasty little baked goods are inspired by a childhood favorite. We would often have them with dinner, and leftovers would be our breakfast the next day. Seems strange, I know, to have muffins for dinner, but as kids it was the best thing ever. Still is. Try it.
Another muffin I love at dinner is this Caper-Herb Corn Muffin.
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The best muffin pans
Muffins are quick-breads, so the recipe is really easy for kids to put together and bake. This was one of our dinner duties as kids, making muffins. Instead of plain bread and butter with dinner, it was something slightly sweet on the side of our main dish.
I like using a heavier gauge muffin tin, rather than a standard pan. I find it bakes my muffins more evenly. This gold version from Calphalon is great.
If you typically don't use muffin papers, a good non-stick muffin pan like this one from USA Pan is a necessity. You still have to grease the cups, but it just takes a little cooking spray and your muffins pop right out with a little nudge.
How to make the best bran muffins:
For most people bran muffins are a boring breakfast food. Something slightly bland that goes down in the name of fiber.
In my recipe I kept the fiber. Kept the signature bran. Added some whole wheat flour, extra brown sugar, sweet raisins and poof! The World's Best Bran Muffins are ten times better than any muffin you've ever had.
One secret tip is to grind the raisins (currents or dried cherries if you want to sub) in the food processor with some of the All-Bran cereal. These small bits of dried fruit add sweetness, flavor and actually absorb a bit of the liquid to help the muffins stay moist and tasty, like cake. I love cake. But, not to get side-tracked...
The World's Best Bran Muffin recipe is delicious anytime of day!
You can definitely call this a healthy breakfast. With 3 grams of fiber in each muffin, and low-fat yogurt mixed in (adds a little protein), you're not doing so bad.
If you take my advice to heart, they really do make an amazing addition to dinner, lunch, or as a snack. It's an all-day thing for me.
Oh who wouldn't want to put a little butter and honey on that gem? Best bran muffins for the win! Let me know how you like these, and how brunch month goes for you!
Try these other quick bread and muffin recipes too:
Whole Wheat Walnut Pumpkin Bread
📖 Recipe
World's Best Bran Muffin
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups All-Bran cereal
- ½ cup raisins, dried currants or dried cherries
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1¾ cups low-fat plain yogurt
- ¼ cup unsulfured molasses
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Raw sugar crystals optional
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F. In a food processor, finely grind half the cereal. Add raisins (or the other dried fruit you are using) and blend until finely chopped. Transfer mixture to a bowl with remaining cereal, flour, whole-wheat flour, sugar, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- Combine butter, eggs, yogurt, molasses and vanilla. Stir together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Line muffin tin with baking cups; fill each just more than halfway. Sprinkle generously with sugar crystals, if desired. Bake until muffins spring back when touched, 15 to 18 min. Remove from the tin and allow to cool slightly.
- You can store remaining batter in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- Bran muffins are good for your heart, but too often they taste like cardboard. The challenge - to create a moist, delicious, satisfying bran muffin that still packs a healthy 3 grams of fiber. You will love what I came up with.
Nutrition
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About Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in the food publishing business for over 20 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television & advertising. Order my new cookbook & stick around for amazing things to eat.
Recipe Tara Bench. Photographer Rita Maas. Prop Stylist Tiziana Agnello. Food Stylist Anne Disrude. Originally published in LHJ 03/09
Thomas Craney says
Really excellent: I did them with bran flakes, baked at 350 (25-30min). Hydrated the raisins in water before blending, used 70/30 greek/buttermilk and used all wheat flour.
I like that they are not overly sweet and I added crushed hazelnuts which worked a treat.
Thanks
Tara says
Fantastic! I’m glad you made your own adjustments!
Mary Bench says
Truly the best muffin ever!
anna belle emery says
Hello Tara,
I've made these twice now and this recipe is a keeper for sure. Very tasty and moist.
The only thing I added were some prunes mixed with the bran and raisins minced.
They add a depth of flavour.
Thanks for the great recipe.
Tara says
What a great addition! I'm so happy you've like this recipe. It's one of my favorites!
ELF says
Any idea on how to lower the salt. I am looking for low salt and low sugar. Thanks.
Tara says
You can simply reduce or omit the salt. Salt brings out the flavor of other ingredients. So in baked goods a little salt balances everything out. If your diet can handle it, I'd also suggest trying a salt substitute that you can find at the health food store. You can also try substituting coconut sugar or a sugar substitute. I have not test this, so the result may be slightly different, but that is my suggestion!
Isa says
Cannot wait to try these.
Can I add passion fruit pulp. Or other fruit to the batter instead of sultanas?
Laura says
I followed the recipe and I thought they were to dry?
Tara says
Oh I'm so sorry. I haven't ever been given that feedback. It's one of my most popular recipes. Some things you can do are make sure you are measuring your liquids in a liquid measuring cup as well as have an oven thermometer to make sure your oven isn't running high. Thanks for leaving a comment! I hope you can enjoy some other Tara Teaspoon recipes.
Jill Ouellette says
I, too, improvised...sour cream in place of the yogrt simply becuase I was out at the time; regular flour for the entire receipe; added flax seeds. They turned out great! I think the molasses is a terrific touch. And not a lot of extra sweetness. I drizzle them with honey or pair them with fresh fruit if I desire a tad more sweet. Well done! Thank you for posting.
Maya says
Hi -
These look YUMMY! I want to use wheat bran (not cereal but the flakes from the health food store) in place of the cereal in this recipe. Would you suggest I use the same amount as the cereal or what amount?
I also want to add another 1/4 c. (By weight) molasses. Can I just add it or should I remove liquid from somewhere else?
Thanks for the recipe and your help.
Best,
Maya
Sarah Alderman says
I am making these today and the mix is really, really stiff! Is is supposed to be this way? I measured everything precisely and I am a pretty experienced baker. Guess I will know after they are baked!
Julie says
I am super picky about my bran muffins and typically don't eat them if they have raisins BUT these are perfect. I still get the benefits of fruit but I'm not biting into it. These are delicious! Thank you.
Moriah says
These muffins lived up to the hype. They are delish.
Elizabeth says
Delicious! I’ve been making them since I first discovered this recipe about a year ago . I make sure my freezer is always stocked. I double the recipe. My 5 yr old grandson loves them so I stock up for his house as well. Thank you so much! P.S. I have followed Martha since she came out with her Entertaining book
(She autographed it for me) and my sister in law and I bonded big time because of Martha. We’d travel to antique shows all over and get excited over all kinds of finds. They were such happy days, wish we could do it all over again. 🥰
Beth Pierce says
I baked these for the family even the kids liked them. They are healthy and delicious!
Betty Schiavone says
I am using wheat bran, is it still the same measurement as cereal? It seems like a lot.
Tara says
Betty do you mean wheat bran cereal? Or wheat bran itself? If it is just wheat bran then definitely not the same measurement as the cereal. This recipe is meant to use the cereal and needs the texture and bulk.
Dorothy Reinhold says
I would have never thought to use the cereal. I can't wait to try these!
Amanda says
MY kids and I will be making this next weekend, I cannot wait!
Anna says
These muffins are fluffy and delicious! I had two for breakfast today!
Catalina says
Mmmm... how can I resist to these delicious muffins? They look fabulous?
Toni says
Such a delicious day starter!! We love these muffins!
Tara says
Oh good! So happy to hear.
Cathy says
Bran muffins are so underrated... these were awesome!
Tara says
Haha! One bite of these and you know they shouldn't be underrated!
Brenda K says
Made these and they are fabulous! I followed the recipe exactly. Delicious- can’t even believe they’re healthy, except I know what went in them!
Mimi says
I think I followed the recipe with the exception of adding some fresh grated lemon zest. But with that little butter(fat component) they were, as I feared so dry! Not really edible without something to sip along with each bite. I have read the comments and see I am in the minority, what on earth could I have done wrong?
Tara says
Hi Mimi. Sorry they didn't turn out as you had hoped. Yes, so many people have had success, but always with cooking and baking there are factors that will be different for every cook. This recipe is resiliant, so if you want to try it again, it holds up to adding more liquid or fat. Try adding a few tablespoons of vegetable or avocado oil, or 1/4 cup extra yogurt or buttermilk. As far as troubleshooting, I have found that the way folks measure flour can attribute to dryness. Make sure your flour isn't tapped or packed into your cups (you can sift it or lightly spoon it into your measuring cups to prevent over measuring. Another factor could be the yogurt. Greek style yogurt will be thicker than the yogurt I call for, so don't use Greek style. If you can't find a nice traditional thin yogurt, feel free to use straigh up buttermilk here. And lastly, I always suggest adjusting baking time, as most ovens are at least 25º off, perhaps yours runs hot. Mine does! I keep an oven thermometer in my oven to adjust my dial. You can try baking them just a minute or two less if your oven is hot. I hope these things help! Thanks for writing in.