The Best Maple Bran Muffins

By: Krolls Korner

19 Comments

Updated: 10/14/2023

The Best Maple Bran Muffins are a nutrient rich and wholesome way to start your day or to enjoy during an afternoon slump; they’re made with recognizable, healthful ingredients and are freezer friendly.

Muffin Monday is my FAVORITE day of the week! I am thrilled to have this #MuffinMonday series going strong with you all this year and I hope you are equally excited to be following along week by week!

It’s hard to claim something as “the best” but after multiple batches of this making this recipe I have finally perfected it for you all!

Savory muffins are some of my favorite type of muffins…buuuuut I have a sweet tooth and love a good, indulgent muffin as well like these maple bran muffins. What are your favorite kind of muffins?

What is Bran?

• Bran is the hard, outer layer of whole cereal grains such as oats, wheat, rice, and rye to name a few.
• Nutritionally speaking bran is rich in protein, iron, fiber, carbohydrates, fatty acids and B-vitamins.
• You can buy pure wheat bran in the bulk section of most health food stores or online. (I get mine at Sprouts).

Get on the BRAN Wagon:

• Looking to increase your fiber intake? Get on the bran wagon!
• Introduce bran into your diet via oat bran for a boost of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber has been shown to lower blood cholesterol levels.
• Wheat, corn, and rice bran are high in insoluble fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Bran can be sprinkled into your favorite foods, from hot cereal and pancakes to muffins and cookies.

Other ways to incorporate bran into your diet:

• Sprinkle bran on your oatmeal/hot cereal or incorporate into your pancakes, cookies and muffin recipes like these maple bran muffins.
• Many popular high-fiber cereals and bars are also packed with bran. Cereals with bran you may be familiar with include All-Bran, Raisin Bran and Fiber One Bran Cereal!
• Do you have IBS and are concerned about bran? IBS (irritable bowel syndrome patients) strive for the same 20 g to 35 g of fiber recommended for the general population. Increasing fiber can help improve bowel function and decrease symptom severity, even though certain high-fiber foods like bran may increase gas and bloating.

DID YOU KNOW…

• One-half cup of oatmeal or two tablespoons of oat bran per sitting are considered low FODMAP?  (FODMAP is an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols, all of which are short-chain carbohydrates fermented by gut bacteria).

What you’ll need for The Best Maple Bran Muffins:

• Wheat Bran
• Milk
• Orange Zest
• White wheat flour
• Brown sugar
• Baking soda & baking powder
• Salt, cinnamon and cardamom
• Vanilla extract
• Egg
• Maple Syrup
• Vegetable oil or coconut oil

How to make Maple Bran Muffins:

• In a medium sized bowl, pour in the wheat bran with the milk and orange zest. Stir ingredients together. Let the wheat bran soak up the milk for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with non-stick baking spray.
• In another bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Then in the bowl with the bran add in the vanilla, egg, maple syrup and oil. Fold in the dry ingredients and you can optionally add in 1/2 cup raisins or diced up dates.
• Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the tops of the muffins spring back to the touch.
• You can enjoy the muffins as is, with a smear of butter or make the frosting if desired (but highly recommend).

These muffins are…

• Perfect for breakfast or a snack
• Easy to make
• High in fiber
• Great with coffee or tea
• A delicious grab and go muffin

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

4.85 from 13 reviews

The Best Maple Bran Muffins

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 12 muffins

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The Best Maple Bran Muffins are a nutrient rich and wholesome way to start your day or to enjoy during an afternoon slump; they're made with recognizable, healthful ingredients and are freezer friendly.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 1/2 cup wheat bran
• ▢ 1 1/2 cup milk
• ▢ 1 tsp. orange zest
• ▢ 1 cup white-wheat flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp. baking soda
• ▢ 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. salt
• ▢ 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• ▢ 1/2 cup maple syrup
• ▢ 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted) or vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

• In a medium sized bowl, pour in the wheat bran with the milk and orange zest. Stir ingredients together. Let the wheat bran soak up the milk for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the other ingredients.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line a muffin tin with muffin liners or spray with non-stick baking spray.In another bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
• Then in the bowl with the bran add in the vanilla, egg, maple syrup and oil. Fold in the dry ingredients and you can optionally add in 1/2 cup raisins or diced up dates.Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the tops of the muffins spring back to the touch.You can enjoy the muffins as is, with a smear of butter or make the frosting if desired (but highly recommend).

Equipment

muffin pan

Notes

Maple frosting: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring 1/2 cup maple syrup, 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1 Tbsp. milk to a simmer – let simmer for 2 minutes while you are stirring. Remove from heat, whisk in 1 tsp. vanilla and then gradually add in 1-1.5 cups powdered sugar. Spread on top of muffins once cooled. 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 130kcal (7%), Carbohydrates: 27g (9%), Protein: 4g (8%), Fat: 2g (3%), Saturated Fat: 1g (6%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Trans Fat: 0.002g, Cholesterol: 19mg (6%), Sodium: 321mg (14%), Potassium: 189mg (5%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 14g (16%), Vitamin A: 75IU (2%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 135mg (14%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

© Author: Tawnie Graham of Kroll’s Korner

PIN THE BEST MAPLE BRAN MUFFINS FOR LATER!

Bran Cherry Muffins

I made another Bran Muffin that deserves some attention. It’s so good and made using a blender or Vitamix.

You’ll Need:

Dry ingredients: 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 cups wheat bran, 1 Tbsp. baking powder, 1 Tbsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger.

Wet ingredients: 1 1/4 cup milk, 2 eggs, 5 oz. yogurt, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/3 cup honey/maple syrup/molasses.

Mix ins: 3/4 cup chopped almonds and 1 cup dried cherries.

Mix the dry ingredients together in 1 bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in your blender. Once wet ingredients are mixed, add in the dry ingredients and mix JUST until combined. Then fold in mix ins and let batter rest for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 375° F and bake for 12-13 minutes.

Enjoy with your favorite nut butter drizzled on top!