Make-Ahead Refrigerator Bran Muffins
This easy recipe for healthy, whole grain bran muffins is a huge family favorite! The batter can be kept in the fridge for up to a month, which means you’ll only ever be a few minutes away from warm, fresh-from-the oven bran muffins!
It’s no secret that we love breakfast around here.
If you ask me, breakfast is the only thing worth waking up for (says the matriarch of a family filled with other morning-haters).
I’ve talked my head off about this before, but during the week, I try to get a quick and easy, warm breakfast in the kids’ tummies before sending them off to school, relying on cold cereal as a backup for the extra chaotic days.
I don’t get fancy on school mornings. There aren’t any pancakes in the shape of a unicorn.
There’s not a single slice of French toast garnished with strawberries and artfully dusted powdered sugar.
It’s all about healthy, hearty survival around here.
Functionally delicious. That’s what I like to call it.
Here are a few of our go-to, easy breakfasts:
Overnight Buckwheat Waffles or Pancakes
Whole Wheat Make-Ahead Pancake Mix
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancake Mix
Overnight Raised Waffles
Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes
Amid all those breakfast options (and even more of our favorite breakfast recipes here), excitement never gets quite as high as when these make-ahead refrigerator bran muffins show up to the party.
I’ll admit (and you can give me a hearty amen, cause I know you’re all thinking it), the bran muffin batter isn’t necessarily the most appealing-looking thing on the planet.
But humble looks aside, these bran muffins are stellar. Promise.
Out of all the muffin recipes on my site (yes, even the sweet treatsy ones), these bran muffins are my kids all-time favorites.
And to be honest, they might be my faves, too.
Ever so lightly sweet and packed with bran and other whole grains, these bran muffins are simple to make and so delicious.
The best part? You can mix up the one-bowl batter and store it in the refrigerator for up to 30 days!
That means you can have fresh, warm-from-the-oven bran muffins whenever you want with hardly any effort.
Bake two at a time!
No wait, how about 24?
It doesn’t matter, because that batter was born to be patient and wait.
When you are ready to bake some bran muffins, give the batter a good stir and start scooping.
To make quick, even work of the scooping, I use this cookie scoop for this batter (and actually most other muffin recipes, too). It’s the perfect size.
Sometimes, though, even knowing the batter is ok to stay unbaked in the fridge, I still bake all the muffins at once.
I let them cool and then toss them in large ziploc bags to go in the freezer.
I know it only takes a few minutes to bake a muffin, but there are some mornings where baking a muffin might be the thing that puts my time-sensitive person over the edge.
Pulling a few bran muffins out of the freezer and quickly warming in the microwave for less than a minute? Yeah, we can do that.
Or rather, my kids can totally do that.
Occasionally we dig out the cute honey bear from the pantry to drizzle on these bran muffins, but most often, we keep it simple.
Warm muffin + sweet cream butter = bran muffin perfection.
Soft and tender, these bran muffins are amazing.
Considering I grew up eating bran muffins very similar to this at least weekly and loved every bite, it’s no surprise I’m looping my kids into the same breakfast cycle.
When recipes are this easy and stress-free and still produce such delicious results, you really can’t help but love them.
Have you made these bran muffins before?
They are a long-standing favorite for my family and I know for many of you, as well.
Humble in appearance but magnificent in taste, these bran muffins are the best of the best.
I hope you love them!
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Ingredients
Instructions
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Recipe originally posted September 2010; updated with new photos, commentary and recipe notes.
Hi I want to make these but I can’t find the bran flakes. Is this a cereal? Can you post a picture. I’m sorry I’ve looked and looked. Also is whay is wheat bran? Thank you
Bran flakes are like Wheaties cereal but made with bran. I’m not necessarily advocating this brand but here’s an example: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Bran-Flakes-Cereal-15-6-oz/49303124
Can I add bananas to this recipe or would I need to take something out to do that? I’ve seen others have added raisins and apples, but maybe bananas aren’t the same to add? Thanks!!
I honesty don’t know since I haven’t tried it – bananas won’t be the same as a chunkier add-in like raisins or apples – but it’s worth a try.
Growing up my mother had a recipe of Refrigerated Bran muffin batter that lived in our fridge a couple of weeks everytime she mixed it up. We loved it. Hope this one is close to hers.
I made these today. Turned out perfect. Moist and yummy. Put remaining in fridge. Dont think they will last 6 weeks before we have them all eat!!!
Love!—we’ve even cooked them as singles in a mug in the microwave for 1 minute!—delish!!
Oh my goodness, that is awesome!
Can I add blueberries to this recipe?
Sure!
Delicious, go- to recipe. I decrease the sugar by 25%. Sometimes I add cinnamon, walnuts, and vanilla chips, grated carrot or zucchini, wheat germ for great results.I spray my paper muffin cups lightly with butter spray to prevent sticking. Yummy with butter. I bake for my elderly neighbors and this recipe makes plenty to go around.
When baking, do you always use unsalted butter?
I always use salted butter
Great!! Used Raisin Bran cereal and didn’t use any bran stuff
Do you have nutritional info?
Hey Mel, locally where do you find the bran buds or all bran? Winco I doesn’t carry. Fred Meyer!
Hey Marne – I’ve grabbed them at Ridleys and/or Walmart!
Thanks! I will check Walmart. Sorry for my wonky words. Phone typing!!
Oh, just noticed someone else in comments tried bananas. I also need to clarify replaced the buds and twigs with the Grape-Nuts cereal.
I just made these and used one overripe banana in place of applesauce and GrapeNuts in place of bran-worked well.
These are the best! My teenagers even love them, and they don’t like much these days.
Can’t view the recipe for some reason..anyone else having this problem?
It was just a temporary error – my website was down for a bit this evening due to some technical issues but everything should be displaying ok now. Let me know if you continue to have issues accessing the recipe!
I love these muffins! They are my go-to breakfast. I don’t think they come out as well if they are baked from refrigerated batter, though. I get the best results from fresh batter, then freezing everything and thawing as needed. I also only use 2/3 cup sugar, and they are sweet enough for my taste, but I add raisins which are sweet, plus I’ve only ever used the buds, and I think the buds are sweeter than the twigs as well. With raisins and chopped nuts, this is the perfect hearty but easy breakfast.
Just like my MIL’s recipe. Delicious! Love your kitchen favorites posted with the recipes! I want one of everything.
Our family LOVES these muffins! I was so bummed that my grocery didn’t have the bran twigs today, and I couldn’t take a sick kid to another grocery store… Do you think these would work out the same if I just increased the bran flakes?
Yes, I’ve done that and it works pretty well – the texture is a little more dense, but I’ve done the same in a pinch.
These are the BEST!
We call these 6 Week Bran Muffins and they are AMAZING with homemade raspberry jam! That’s the only way we eat them and my kids devour them!
Delicious!! Love a good brand muffin, and these are everything a bran muffin should be.
I like to decrease the sugar by 1/2 cup, and substitute 1/2 cup molasses. A little extra iron boost. 😉
I am type 2 diabetes….would like to know fiber, carbohydrates and sugars please
I made these the other day and they were just ok. I only made 1/4 of the recipe because I didn’t want to commit to 4 dozen until I was sure I liked them. The taste was fine, but not great. They were very sticky, not sure if they’re supposed to be. Also after a few days, I ate one and it tasted rancid so I threw the rest of them out. I’m bummed.
Kathleen, you should give these another try if you genuinely like bran muffins because these are THE best! I make them all of the time and everyone raves over them! They freeze beautifukkybtoo for quick breakfasts or to bump up a lunch or snack during the day. They have never been sticky (Did you bake them long enough?) or rancid… (Were your cereals and/or WW flour rancid to begin with?) Bummer that they didn’t turn out for you initially, but I would give them another whirl because these are a household staple.
Mel do you know what the Carb count would be for these muffins? As I am a diabetic and restricted on the amount of Carbs each day! My Grandma used to make these and they are my family’s favorite. Thank you, Debora
I don’t, sorry! There are lots of free nutritional data calculators you could find online and plug the recipe into.
Come, on! This recipe is fantastic. I decided to double it, which was hilarious when I realized how gigantic the batch was turning out to be, but now my kids are consuming them like air and I’m super glad I did! We have been mixing the triple berry blend from Costco into half of the batch each morning and those are huge hit with some of the kids. I didn’t have applesauce so I put some smashed bananas in to replace it, but now I’m wondering if that would make the batch ferment faster? We are consuming them so quickly, I guess I’ll never know 🙂
Haha, a double batch of these is insane! 🙂 I do think the mashed banana will give a different flavor/color to the batter if it sits long enough in the fridge, but it sounds like that’s not a super big problem for you right now. 🙂
I can find bran flakes where we live, but no bran buds. Would it be okay to substitute plain wheat bran for the little bran twigs you talked about? Or give me another idea for a sub, as I LOVE these muffins. Thank you!
Yes, I think that should work! I’d probably measure with a light hand so the batter isn’t dry.
Thanks, I’ll give it a try and get back!
I made these a couple weeks ago, baked up half the batter and saved the other half to bake up for later. The first batch I baked turned out good- the batter smelled yummy and the muffins were tasty. But when I baked the other half 2 weeks later the batter didn’t smell good anymore but I went ahead and made the rest of the muffins anyway. They tasted terrible, had an ammonia-like smell! I’m going to keep making this recipe but going to bake everything at once haha. Anyone else have this problem?
Yes, I have had that problem with this recipe as well. I asked my good friend, who is a food scientist about it. She said that the root of the problem was in the baking soda. The baking soda chemically reacts with the ingredients in the batter which is what causes the change in flavor/aroma. I’ve had this problem with both the batter and also the baked muffins. Sometimes if I bake them muffins and let them sit for too long, the baking soda will start to affect the flavor in those too. (If you’ve got a bunch of kids gobbling up all your muffins, you may never experience this issue but for small households like mine – we don’t go through our muffins so fast.) I found that the best solution to create the best muffins out of this recipe was either to bake them all at once and then put them in the freezer and just thaw them as needed, or to cut the recipe down by half and use the batter within a week. They’ve always been great when I’ve done that.
Thanks for replying! Yeah I have a small household so I will take your advice and bake everything at once and freeze the extra or just halve the batch. Thanks again!
This is a go to muffin recipe! We love them and could eat them daily! These little beauties make us very happy!
These muffins are absolutely delicious.I made them as the recipe was written, but added cinnamon. Next time I think I will added raisins too because that’s the way I like bran muffins, but I love these the way they are too. I baked them all at once and will keep them in the freezer for my husband and I to grab as we head out the door. We can both either wait until they thaw or pop them in the microwave once at work.
Hi, can you use powdered stevia instead of sugar…Not allowed sugar, bummer
Thanks
Conni
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried that. Sorry!
I’ve made these and loved them. Wondering if there’s a way to lower the sugar amount. Thoughts?
I love these so much. I love that I can make the batter one day and the next day bake them. I like to cook them all and put them in gallon freezer bags and I put one bag in the fridge and then freeze the remaining. I have made substitutions and they still turned out great. I was short an egg once so I added extra apple sauce and some baking powder, I started baking once and forgot that I didn’t have buttermilk so I did equal parts milk and fat free yogurt, this the way I do it now. Last time I made these I finally chopped an apple and added some cinnamon, tasted great. I’ve also added frozen berries.
These are so delicious! I really am not surprised since I have tried 100’s (literally!) of other recipes from your blog over the years and love them all! I substituted flax eggs with for the real egg since my little man can’t do eggs and they were still so light a fluffy!! I will probably make them all today since I don’t know if the substitution will mess up the ability to keep it for weeks in the fridge.
That’s awesome the egg substitute worked out so well, Erin!
Hey! So I measured out the wheat bran flakes (about 4 cups) and it only came to a little over 5oz. The recipe says 4 cups would be about 8oz so I am unsure about which measurement would be right. I measured the All Bran at 2 cups and it was about 4oz like the recipe. Being unfamiliar with consistency I didn’t want to add too little or two much since it would be about another 2 cups of wheat bran for a total of 6 cups to equal 8oz. Thanks! I am excited this recipe uses butter and not shortning!
I love these! A yummy, healthy, make-ahead breakfast!
I made this recipe, however, it is too thick and I haven’t even put in all the flour yet. What is the consistency supposed to be…how do I correct? I used shredded wheat in place of wheat bran flakes. The flavor is still there…help!
Hi Wendy – it’s probably due to the shredded wheat. I’ve never used that in this recipe, so I’m not sure how it would affect the texture. You can try adding a bit more buttermilk or hot water.
My whole family loves these and they are so easy to throw in the oven during a busy school morning.
YUUUMMM! A few weeks ago my husband and I went to a super popular bakery in LA (Porto’s Bakery) we go there often, but I tried the apple bran muffin this time and I fell in love! I have been thinking about it ever since I ate it! I knew you would have a delicious bran muffin recipe that I could add apples to. So I made these this morning and added diced apples that we picked this weekend and some cinnamon. They are SO good! Just as good, if not better than Porto’s bakery.. And thats saying something! I am looking forward to freezing them heating them up on busy mornings!! Thank you for all the wonderful recipes. You have been helping me feed my family for the last 5 years or so. My husband has never been happier! 😉
Yay! Such great feedback!
So yummy with a slice or two of extra sharp cheddar cheese. That is how my husband grew up eating bran muffins. And it makes it a little more filling and a little more protein to hold the tummies over for a little longer.
Where can I find bran buds or all bran? Is in a cereal like form, or something else?
Yes, it’s in the cereal aisle usually in a white box.
First time i’ve made bran muffins and they totally turned out well!
If you use plain wheat bran flour instead of the bran flakes, do you still use 4 cups or do you do 8oz? Seems like it would be denser than the flakes. We just moved I don’t have my kitchen scale yet. Thanks!
The weight (8 ounces) is for the flakes. If you are using plain wheat bran, you would still use full 4 cups (but I can’t remember the exact weight…I’ll try to update the post next time I make them). The muffins have a slightly different texture if subbing out the bran flakes for the wheat bran flour, but we still love them that way.
I love these muffins, and I make them weekly!
I have recently decided that I love the outside texture and taste when I grease He pan instead of using muffin liners. I was just wondering what do you use to grease the pan?
I usually use nonstick cooking spray (the Kirkland brand from Costco).
I love these with my whole soul! I made a batch the day before we went on a long road trip and used one dozen for our last meal at home (coupled with scrambled eggs and fruit–it’s so tricky to strategically meal plan before a trip so you can hopefully empty the fridge!), and then took one dozen with us for some wholesome car snacks to balance out the other junk. And then the most beautiful thing of all: When we got back at 8pm on a Sunday after driving 15 hours… I totally had something legit to feed my family!! I walked in the door, preheated the oven to 375, threw some muffins in the oven, and scrambled some eggs. Boom. Dinner in 15 minutes with a nearly-empty fridge. Most brilliant mom-epiphany of my summer. I’m doing this for every trip for the rest of my life!
Awesomeeeeeee!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! My entire family love these muffins, and I have been sharing this recipe with other family and friends too. It’s a keeper and so convenient!
Mel, I’ve already made these once with buttermilk.
But, do you think 4 cups whole milk mixed with 4 TBSP vinegar would sub for the buttermilk? I do not have buttermilk, nor do I have any sour cream on hand. I do have some plain, low fat kefir. Which would give great results? Thanks so much!
I’d probably opt for the kefir since I’ve made them before with my homemade kefir and it works great (the crumb is slightly softer and more tender)
I made them with the kefir! I like them better than with the buttermilk! They seem lighter. I used only 1.5 cups sugar too.
Thank you so much.
Now…..how to control myself around these muffins……I am expecting , due in October, so I keep thinking “the baby wants just one more”. At least they’re super healthy.
Thanks for the report back! I bet they are delicious with kefir! And hey, there are WAY worse food choices when pregnant, right? Congrats on that upcoming baby.
This morning I added about a tablespoon of lemon zest to a batch (18 mufffins) I had left after making lemonade. They were THE BEST so far!!
Thanks again for an easy, great recipe!
Use the whole milk with vinegar all the time with this recipe. Works great.
Hey Mel! Great mufffins! Super moist and the kids loved them. I left the batter in the fridge for 4 days and The top layer of the batter was grey. Is this normal? Seems like something’s not right even though I had it in a covered container.
Yes, it’s totally fine! I need to add a note to the recipe. You can stir it all together to combine – no worries!
Made the batter Thursday night, baked a dozen Friday morning. to take to a party. And baked a dozen more Sunday morning for us. So delicious! Thank you for this excellent recipe.
Made these for breakfast and they were so yummmm!!!! Never had a bran muffin before! They were super soft and delicious.
May I sub white whole wheat flour for the whole wheat flour with the same results? Thanks.
Yes, I use white whole wheat flour as well.
Thank you!
Would Grape Nuts work instead of Bran Buds, do you think? My small town store doesn’t carry a lot of cereal varieties.
I haven’t tried them, but yes, I think it stands a pretty good chance of working.
Tried it and it worked out super well! The muffins were absolutely delicious 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for reporting back!
I can’t seem to find any bran buds or all bran in any of my grocery stores! is all bran a cereal?
Yes, it is a cereal – looks like this: https://images.kglobalservices.com/www.kelloggs.com/en_us/product/product_4508444/kicproductimage-124883_ab_original_2016.jpeg
Thanks Mel! Cant wait to try these!!
Love these muffins! I added raisins, so good!! Thanks for sharing your recipe:)
i made these this weekend and they are sooo good. i definitely wasn’t expecting much considering they are bran muffins but boy was i wrong. so glad i still have more batter to make a couple more batches for muffins next week. thanks so much for yet another amazing recipe!
My first time to comment on your blog, but wanted to thank you for this recipe. I found it about two months ago and made a batch to freeze in gallons bags before I gave birth (along with mini quiches), and these have been my go-to food when the baby is screaming but my tummy is howling about as loud. Just microwave one or two muffins for one minute and top with honey and peanut butter and it’s *amazing*. The muffins are moist and filling and the honey melts into the crumb. It’s. so. good. I just about ran out, and then my mom made these for a breakfast buffet when we had a bunch of family come over and they were a hit. I’m just happy I got some leftovers to freeze so I have more for the coming couple weeks. 😀
Thanks so much, Ivy! Glad these muffins have been a new-mom/new-baby lifesaver!
Thank you so much for the recipe & all the great pictures of the step-by-step process! Those are always a huge help!!
This is nearly identical to my grandmother’s bran muffin recipe that we’ve been using for decades. Truly the most delicious muffin!
this is a beautiful idea, it makes mornings so much easier. big love for this one!
Hi Mel,
I would like to add ‘some’ drained crushed pineapple to the recipe but I am not sure how it will affect to overall outcome. Ideas? Thanks so much.
Regards,
John
I haven’t tried it, John, but another commenter mentioned she uses lots of add-ins for this recipe, so I definitely think it is worth a try! Just make sure to add the pineapple right before baking (not to the entire bowl as it sits in the fridge).
I love pumpkin. Wonder if I could substitute that for applesauce?? I look forward to trying them.
I love these muffins! In fact, the batter is in my fridge right now. Our favourite add-ins are a few chocolate chips or diced apple, cinnamon and chopped walnuts. Straight up bran muffins are also delectable!
I’ve made this same recipe for 35 years! We love them, I use less sugar. Our go to menu for these muffins is: a banana, a yogurt, and a muffin or two.
But also sometimes will make a smaller batch of bran muffins using Raisin Bran cereal.
LOVE your list of wholesome breakfasts!!!
Ours is similar:
Cooked cracked wheat with butter/honey
Blender wheat pancakes
Whole wheat waffles
Brown rice n’ raisins
Best oatmeal pancakes (all quick oats except 1/4 cup unbleached flour)
Oatmeal n’ craisins
No boxed cold cereal in our house except Raisin Bran occasionally. It took me a year to get my family off of having cold cereal for breakfast!!!!
These muffins look amazing! I’ve never made bran muffins from scratch before, but they’re one of my favorites! I need to try this recipe!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Mel, I have been making this recipe for 44 years! It is a wonderful moist recipe. I found, through trial and error, that you can add bits of apple, shredded carrot, cut up dates, raisins, or even nuts to the muffins to make them slightly different each time. Just don’t add any of the above to the batter you are storing for 30 days. It will ferment!! I lost a whole bowl of muffin mixture that way! You must add these things as you are making a pan of muffins to bake. But kids and adults all love them!!
Great tip about the add-ins (both the possibility AND the risk of fermentation!). Thanks, Diane!
We make these regularly and we love them. One of my favorites! Plus we’ve referred probably 40 people to your site for these muffins alone. The best!
Thank you, Ashlee!
This might me a little bit of an indelicate question, but with all that bran content do these have a laxative effect? Would hate to send the kids to school with a couple and have a problem!
Valid question, Nana! I think if your tummy isn’t used to a high fiber diet, you might notice, er, changes; however, my family doesn’t seem to notice any difference (but we do eat these and a lot of other high fiber foods quite a bit). If bran muffins are a new thing, I’d start by enjoying them for an afternoon snack to see how they fare on little tummies.
Hi Mel! I love your recipes. I’m sure I will love this one too.
I started the muffins tonight, but I’m having a hard time getting the wet ingredients incorporated with the cooled bran/water mixture. Even with a wire whisk there are still lots of marble sized pieces of bran mixture that I can’t get to incorporate. Should I have added more boiling water to the bran perhaps? Or is that normal? I almost feel like I need to throw it in the blender (in batches) – but that would make for tough muffins, no? I haven’t added the dry ingredients yet, I think I will just refrigerate the muffin batter overnight for now to see if it helps before adding the dry stuff.
Thanks for your awesome recipes!!
Hey Trisha – did these work out for you?
My “wet” stuff still had some small clumps of bran even after resting over night, but I added the flour/baking soda/salt anyway and I couldn’t see the small clumps much after adding the dry ingredients. I baked them and they are amazing! They are moist, delicious – perfect. If I pull the muffin apart there are a few small clumps of bran but you would never notice unless you pull them apart. And they are fantastic!
Next time I make them do you think I could heat the buttermilk and add it in at the same time as I add the boiling water to the bran? More liquid would certainly help when I mix in the other ingredients I think. What do you think?
I’m glad they worked out! I think if you have the same issue next time, I’d just increase the water by 1/2 cup and see if that helps OR err on the side of undermeasuring the bran ingredients just slightly.
They worked! I added the flour/salt/baking soda and mixed it well and you really couldn’t tell there were small clumps of bran in there. They baked perfectly – moist and delicious! Thank you!!
I love bran muffins! Your recipe looks great- ill have to try to meld it with my go-to bran muffin recipe. I was just going to comment that I like to do half whole wheat flour and half almond flour in my muffins! It really adds just that perfect extra something to make them so so delicious. Plus added benefits of nut flour! I love your site so much! Thanks for all your hard work
Thanks, Jennifer!
Wondering about using 1/2 coconut flour with 1/2 almond flour, or 1/2 almond flour and 1/2 oat flour. Also…to replace sugar, what amount of honey and or part honey and coconut sugar? Do you know the gram count on the fiber in the muffins? Thank you, so much!!
Hi Diane – I haven’t made those substitutions; good luck if you experiment!
I have used this recipe and it is fabulous. To change thing s up a bit, ill divide the batter up and mix in blueberries and cinammon in one batch, bananas and nutmeg in another batch, diced apples and walnuts in yet another. Oh, my husbands favorite- grated carrots, pineapple and sprinkling of coconut in his batch. Now I’m thinking pumpkin and chocolate chips in one more batch!!!
Mel, these were surprisingly good! I say surprisingly because lets face it, it’s a bran muffin and fairly healthy to boot. So expectations were low, even though I love you. I had a whole pep talked planned to get my kids eating them and I didn’t even need to break it out! Wahoo! Excellent! *Double Fist pump*
I make these fairly often so I figured I should let you know that we LOVE them! (Seriously, who loves Bran Muffins??)
These are my fave! I tweaked it a little for me. Only 1 C. sugar, added 1/2 C. Blue agave nectar, a little less buttermilk because of the agave, and added 1 T. Cinnamon. Thanks for the recipe Mel!
I have a hard time buying whole wheat flour or other similar flours where I live, and I would really love to try these.
Is it okay to do it with ordinary all purpose white flour? Does it also make a difference to the taste or texture, if so?
Sure, that should work just fine.
Thanks for replying so fast 🙂
I just made these today and YUM! I used 2 cups of flakes, 2 cups of twigs and 2 cups of bran. The whole family loved them!
Hi Mel, just curious, if you are mixing it all up together so it becomes all mushy, do you need the different types of bran? Could I just use loads of All Bran for example?
Hi Vikki – I’ve made them with all of one or the other types of brands and the texture differs slightly but yes, you could definitely do that.
Great thanks Mel!
These are AWESOME!!! My picky kids are gobbling then life up — and don’t even know they are good for them!! Your Applesauce Oatmeal muffins have been my “go to” muffins for a year now— but these delicious muffins may have dethroned them!
Hi Mel, I wanted to make a batch of these tonight, but I just realized I’m all out of whole wheat flour. Would these work with white whole wheat flour or un-bleached all purpose flour? Thanks
Yep, either of those would work great (I usually use white whole wheat flour).
Thanks! I used the white whole wheat and they were great.
Made 8 this morning for my family of 5 because, yes, I was skeptical. Am now making 6 more!! Haha, thought you’d get a kick out of that 🙂
I went to the store and found bran buds so I used the bran buds and wheat bran. It seemed a little dry when I added the boiling water ,so I added a 1/4 cup more boiling water. Other than that, I followed the directions exactly and they were great! My 2 year old is snacking on one right now. 🙂 I can’t wait for my husband to try them. He wasn’t very excited when he saw I was making bran muffins. Lol
Glad they ended up working out, Nita!
Hi Mel ,I wanted to make these muffins tonight and I bought Bob’s Red Mill wheat Bran and Kelloggs All Bran, but I just realized my Kelloggs All Bran are flakes ,not buds or twigs. The name on the box is Kelloggs All Bran complete wheat flakes. Can I still make them using these ingredients, or do I need to get Bran buds or All Bran that looks like twigs ,to get the recipe to work? Thanks
Maybe I did something wrong? I made these last week. I followed the directions exactly, except that the bran-water mix was still a little warm (lukewarm, but not quite room temperature) when I added the next ingredients, and I cooked them all up right away, rather than storing the batter in the fridge. The flavor was good, but the texture inside was kind of gooey, like hot cereal. Even after baking them so the outsides look a little overdone. I, like another responder, am close to sea level and don’t know if that makes a difference, but am wondering if that’s normal, or any ideas how to fix that? Thanks for all the great recipes and help with them.
Emily – You might try decreasing the oven temp to 350 or even 325 and cook a bit longer – they may cook more evenly then (especially if your muffin tin has a dark coating). Sorry they didn’t work out!
This bran muffin recipe looks like a great recipe! I cant wait to try it. I’m just wondering if I could us wheat bran instead of the bran cereal?
Thanks
Rebecca – Yes. The mixture is slightly more dry so I use a bit less wheat bran (maybe 1/4 cup or so) but it works great.
My son can not have any dairy. I really, really want to try these. Is there a substitute for the buttermilk that can be used????
Rainy – You will have to google for a buttermilk sub since I’ve never made these dairy free. Good luck! I am sorry I am not more help.
I just got a KitchenAid stand mixer last weekend and this was one of the first recipe’s I made. By request, I added a few handfuls of chopped walnuts to the batter. My grandfather *loved* the muffins! He still raves about them daily and says they’re the best muffins he ever ate! I definitely have this bookmarked in my recipe app – thank you so much!
I thought this might help some who are keeping track of calories, save time. 143 calories per muffin.
Melanie:
Thank you so much to u and your family for a wonderful recipe!!!!! My picky six yr old and pickier husband love them!!!!! I am making them for the third time!!! There r no arguments or delays for breakfast on busy schoolday mornings when I pull one of these out!!!! I cannot thank u enough. :))) I am trying the pancakes/ waffles today as well. Thank you very, very much for your lovely blog and the awesome recipes . So nicely done! 🙂
Veena
My family LOVES this recipe and I make the following changes: I added 1 cup molasses and changed the sugar to 1/2 cup and the brown sugar to 1.5 cups.
I baked 12 the other day for breakfast. The kids and I ate 6 of them and left for the day. When we came home my dog was doing a MAJOR “potty dance” and I couldn’t figure out why until I went into the kitchen and saw the pan on the floor with no more muffins in it! I don’t think he’ll ever eat 6 bran muffins again! LOL
Lisa – I’m not familiar with the Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal but it undoubtedly is far different (probably many things added since wheat bran isn’t in the title) than just wheat bran which is why your liquid ratio might have been off. If you can find regular wheat bran, that should do the trick.
I love the flavor of these. I am wondering if I did not use the right type of bran . . . I had a package of Quaker Oat Bran hot cereal (4 cups) and then I used 2 cups of Bran buds. 2 cups of water was Not enough, I ended up having to use close 2 5 cups of hot water for the mixture to have any wetness! They taste great (just a little dense). Did I use the wrong thing?
Mel, this is has been an amazing recipe! All of my kids (7,5,and 3) LOVE these. We went through the whole batch in one week. They kept asking for them!
We’ve been munching on your delicious refrigerator bran muffins all week. They are moist and delicious! Plus I decided to just bake the whole batch at once (which makes a bazillion), so we have a ton yummy bran goodness in our freezer for quick kiddo snacks. Thanks for another fantastic recipe!
Oh, and I see several people asking about what brand of bran flakes and all bran, I used generic (Meijer store brand) for mine and turned out great! Both boxes of cereal were on sale for $1.99 each and I have enough left to make probably 2 more batches. Doing some rough math (I am no mathematician!) I think I made this for around $5, or about 10 cents each! A bargain and healthy!!!! I use my GT express 101, the thing with 2 cooking wells- please tell me I’m not te only one who got sucked in by that infomercial! Anyway, it’s quick, and no heating up the oven. This is a keeper!
These are delicious! Made them exactly as your recipe says! Instead of a bowl I put them in one of those tall skinny cereal dispensers in the fridge it fits a little better for us. My 4 1/2 yr old and 3 yr old helped make it and then devoured one as soon as we were done! Thank you!!!!
Mel, these are truly AMAZING! Can’t wait to play and use 10-grain cereals and quinoa flakes and all kinds of fun stuff! And your oatmeal pancake mix is next on my list! 🙂 Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Dot – it really is 4 cups of either. The way the bran flakes break down in the boiling water must make up for the difference in how they measure compared to the wheat bran. I almost always use the flakes and my sister always uses the wheat bran and they turn out great either way.
I had one of these muffins at work today and immediately asked for the recipe!
Question? It seems like 4 cups of bran flakes would not be as much as 4 cups of wheat bran (due to the air between the flakes). Is it truly 4 cups of either?
Ok. I have been wanting to try these muffins ever since I made your pancakes ( which we love by the way ) and I’m so glad I didn’t half the recipe because they are great! Thank u so much for sharing all of your recipes! My husband is skeptical of any food that doesn’t come from your blog but if I tell him it came from Mel’s he is all about it. You are our no fail go to! Thanks again! And congrats on expecting a girl! I have a baby girl and love love love having a daughter ( ;
These were amazing muffins! Just what I was looking for. I was searching the internet for refrigerator bran muffins like my mom used to make, and stumbled across your blog. I have to say I think your blog is great, and I have made 3 of your recipes (slow cooker oatmeal, bran muffins, and chocolate chip bars) in the last 24 hours — they all were wonderful! Thanks for inspiring me to make good food for my family!!
these are also great for individual servings–microwave 1/4 cup in a mug or bowl for 1-2 minutes, and voila!-one quick muffin!!
Excellent muffins. The whole family loved them. Just informationally, we used Great Value (Walmart) Bran Flakes and All Bran Buds, and half white wheat, half whole wheat flour. DELICIOUS. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Wow. Super easy and so yummy. I’m a health nut when it comes to my kids and this was excellent. My 4 yr old daughter basically made them and they were perfect.
I am adding this to my healthier approach to getting my kids to eat better. So I guess it will start with me. My question for you is will this recipe work if I substitute the buttermilk. I know the buttermilk helps to keep the muffins moist. My youngest has an allergy to milk in comparison to the those with peanut allergies. I was wondering if I could use soy milk as a substitute?
Brenda – I don’t use soy milk so I’m not sure how it substitutes in baking. You’ll probably have to play around with the recipe and see how it turns out using the soy milk. Good luck!
For those looking for bran flakes and buds without HFCS or other funky stuff, I noticed both at Trader Joes today (the ingredient list looked nice and straightfoward). Anyway, I just pulled my first batch out of the oven and they are mighty tasty. The kids are enjoying their after-school snack. Thanks for another great recipe!!
Thanks Melanie. I actually just ran to the store and bought the flakes. These turned out so good! There’s a place in Utah called Rainbow Gardens that have awesome muffins and I think these taste just like them! Thanks for the recipe!
Melanie – I’ve never tried it that way but it’s definitely worth a try. I think you might miss out on a little texture differences but if you try it, let me know how it turns out!
Hi Melanie,
I was looking for a healthy muffin for school breakfast and this is perfect! I was wondering if it would work if I just used 6 cups of All Bran (the twigs) instead of the 2 different types? Thanks again for this recipe. It looks perfect!
In an effort to learn some baking skills before leaving home my 18 year old is baking one new thing a day for 30 days (lucky me!). He made these today and we LOVE them! So easy and quick and super tasty. He’s going to play around with adding cinnamon and raisins to the next lot. Can’t wait! 🙂
Melanie – I totally messed up when I made these this morning. I used 4 cups of wheat bran and 2 cups of the bran flakes! oops! But, they turned out great! My hubby ate a few hot out of the oven and loved them. Then, my picky five year olds and 1 1/2 year old each ate 2 for lunch! I bought “unprocessed wheat bran” instead of the all-bran cereal (why does everything have to have high fructose corn syrup in it? ahh!). Then, I used whole wheat pastry flour. It worked great, and I’m so glad I have batter in the fridge for tomorrow! Thanks for the healthy recipe!
These were so good! My 3-year-old and 21-month-old even liked them, and I love the fact you can mix up a huge batch and bake them fresh every morning for a month (if the mix lasts that long!) Thanks as always for the great recipes.
I make these often. We love them. I make the batter plain and then sometimes add goodies as I bake some up. We like dried cranberries or raisins but I must admit are favorite is semi-sweet chocolate chips. If I don’t add chocolate they are wonderful hot with a little cream cheese. 🙂
Thank you so much for such a fantastic and quick breakfast recipe. I am a big fan of bran muffins but haven’t had a good one in a long time. I made these this morning before church and they were so moist and delicious and came out as good as I imagined. This batter will certainly become a staple in our fridge right beside your equally wonderful oatmeal pancake mix! I just ate another one for an afternoon snack and it was still just as moist and yummy. It feels great making healthy homemade meals for my family without a big fuss or mess. I plan to make some mini muffins to freeze for a quick afternoon snack for my kiddos. (Idea stolen from my sister-in-law. 🙂 )
Heather – isn’t it great when something healthy tastes good, too? Love the mini muffins idea!
I’m so torn. My 2 year old loves these muffins. I still prefer my old recipe loaded down with sugar :-X BUT after making them morning after morning for my son, they did grow on me and I actually liked them the more I ate them. So next time I make them I have no idea which recipe I want to use.
Just a side note, after like 2 weeks, my batter was a funny color ontop. It was like a greyish color instead of brown, but once I scooped into the batter it was the regular color. It made me leery of eating it! Is that normal?
Haley – I’m glad these muffins have grown on you. My batter also develops a weird-ish color but I just mix it all around and use it anyway.
Mel, where can I find bran buds? I am opposed to all-bran and Wheaties since they have so many additives, including corn syrup. Is there a way to just use more wheat bran? I live in Japan, and some specific ingredients are hard to find. I did convince a visitor to bring a whole bunch of wheat bran. 🙂
Hi Anne – I don’t blame you for avoiding the other cereals. I admire you, actually! To be honest, the bran buds might have just as many additives. I’ve never looked closely. Really, though, you could try using all wheat bran. My sister has done that before. It makes the muffins a bit more dense than normal but she loves them that way.
Having never tried bran muffins before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the sweetness and moistness were great! We loved them. Thanks for the recipe(s).
SJ – glad you liked your first try with bran muffins!
Thanks for this recipe. We’ve been enjoying them all week, it makes me happy to see my 18 month old eating such a healthy breakfast 🙂
Thanks, Nicole!
Oh and one more thing: I used my Bosch to mix everything. I had started the first parts in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, but decided quickly that it was going to take too much effort (my Bosch has made me the laziest person on the planet), so I just dumped it all into the mixer with my wire beaters. Fabulous, and nothing but clean-up of the mixer for me, as far as “work” goes!
Fabulous fabulous. Made these to help with the Thanksgiving pie/junk-food overload. I halved the recipe, and did a couple things different: made my own buttermilk (added 2T lemon juice to 2c 1% milk); used a little less than the full amount of sugar. They are still plenty sweet, and I’ll try even less sugar next time. I also didn’t have any wheat bran flakes, but I did have Raisin Bran, which is pretty much the same thing. I just used that, so our muffins also have the occasional raisin in them. Used All-Bran cereal (twigs).
I baked them and after they cool I’ll wrap each one into plastic wrap, and then freeze them in a large ziplock for a fast breakfast/snack. That is, if I have any left…the little 2.5 year old around here has eaten 3 in a row!
These are just fabulous! Thanks for another good one!
Julianne – so glad you like these muffins and thanks for including your variations. I’m glad the little bug likes them, too!
I just made these for the first time yesterday and had teriffic results. I used 4c wheat bran and 2c All Bran cereal. My super picky, wheat bread hater husband even declared them “awesome”! I baked a dozen and he ate half right out of the oven and took another for breakfast this morning. I was SO tempted to tell him just how healthy they were but didn’t for fear that he wouldn’t touch them in the future 🙂 Your pancake mix recipe with the whole wheat flour substitution is already a regular breakfast/snack in our house and I have a feeling these muffins will be a staple as well. THANKS!
Amy – so glad you liked this recipe! Thanks for including your changes. And kudos to winning over your husband with them!
I have been making these and love them! Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks, Heidi!
I just made these this morning and they are delicious! I have never made bran muffins before so I was a little hesitant – but I trusted you and I am so glad I gave it a try! Major comfort food!
Jess – glad you liked these despite your initial hesitations!
I have been looking for the perfect bran muffin recipe so I have to try this!
Just made these for breakfast and they are so delicious! I usually do not like bran muffins (cardboard as I refer to them), but these are so moist and yummy. This is a keeper. Thanks, Mel!!
Glad you liked them, Lani! Thanks for checking in to let me know!
I have to admit I was skeptical. I made just a 1/2 batch. These are wonderful. All three of my boys and even my husband said they were good (not an easy accomplishment). I did make them with splenda rather than sugar and saved about 30 calories per muffin. Thanks for the fun new recipe.
Nanci – I’m glad these muffins proved their worth since you were skeptical at first! Thanks for checking in to let me know you liked them!
I love bran muffins too, perfect way to use the homemade applesauce I just made!
Just wondering what we could use instead of all the white sugar. I love the recipe but really want them even more healthy without white sugar. Any suggestions?
Oh, and I did make these and my kids had them for breakfast this morning. I just cannot have white sugar!
Thank you.
Carla – I’m not an expert on sugar substitutions but if you are concerned about the sugar content, you might try substituting splenda like another commenter mentioned or just decreasing the sugar to 1 cup or 1 1/2 cups.
A cookbook I own has a recipe for bran muffins that can be stored in the refrigerator for six-weeks. I’ve never tried them, but I’m just mentioning it because 30 days really is realistic for a lot of refrigerator bran muffins.
That said, I’ve never been tempted to try a bran muffin recip before–but I’m running out to get all the stuff today because you’ve sold me. I’m so excited!
This is an answer to my prayers! I can’t wait to get a batch in my fridge & in my oven! This year I have a kindergartener and a preschooler – the mornings are a struggle for ME, actually, to get it all done and out the door in time -anything QUICK for breakfast is usually sugary and full of fat… THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!
As a huge fan of your pancake mix, and a lover of bran muffins, I can’t wait to give these a try. They will be perfect for my daughter who has cheer practice before school and has not been making time for breakfast. Thanks Mel!
Hi Mel, I just wanted to clarify…you said your sister exclusively uses the wheat bran in place of the flakes, which is what I want to do. Does she still use the bran buds or all wheat bran? Thanks, can’t wait to try them!
Hi Patti – my sister Em uses wheat bran in place of the flakes and still uses the bran buds – so in reference to the actual amounts she uses 4 cups wheat bran and 2 cups bran buds or all-bran. Hope that helps!
I plugged this recipe into a recipe calculator (http://www.sparkrecipes.com/) is the one I used and I used Kellogg’s brand products for entering the wheat bran and all bran ingredients. I was mostly curious on the fiber and sugar content per muffin. Here are the results for those interested. Also, I am also really interested in the microwave option….I have individual silicone muffin cups that would work great for that and then my husband who leaves the house before we are up could just pop one in the microwave on his way out….Jennie, any more on this?
Nutrition Facts-Condensed Version of just the main info…gives you more in depth on each vitamin as well…
User Entered Recipe
48 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories
124.9
Total Fat
2.9 g
Saturated Fat
1.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat
0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat
0.7 g
Cholesterol
22.8 mg
Sodium
201.4 mg
Potassium
56.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate
23.3 g
Dietary Fiber
2.9 g
Sugars
9.6 g
Protein
3.6 g
Michelle – thanks for the nutritional info!
Thank you for taking the time to provide this very detailed and informative nutritional facts. Very helpful.
I’m not a baking person, but I sure would love to have one of your muffins.
I’m glad you mentioned that these freeze well. They sound wonderful!
These look wonderful. I can’t wait to try them. Yum!
I don’t mean to sound like a skeptic, but 30 DAYS! REALLY?!? If it is true this is amazing.
Megan – I know, 30 days sounds extreme, but it really works. I will say this, though, the batter starts taking on a dark, nasty-ish hue after a few days, even. If you can get over that, the muffins still taste great and actually, I never have the batter in my fridge that long. Usually within a week or two we’ve used it up and I am making another batch.
These sound perfect for rushed mornings. I just found out that I’m going to have to head into school SUPER early this month, and these sound like the perfect solution for a rushed breakfast. Thanks!
YOu had me at “hello”. I’m adding bran buds to my grocery list right now and can’t wait to try this.
What a great recipe. Healthy and perfect for those mornings when you don’t have a lot of time for making breakfast but still want something delicious and homemade to eat.
This might be a silly question, but do you use regular apple sauce or the no sugar added apple sauce? I actually love bran muffins and I can’t wait to try some of these!
Erin – that is not a silly question and I appreciate you giving me the chance to clarify. I always use the no-sugar added applesauce. I’ll edit the recipe to reflect that!
I had some apples no one was eating, so I threw them (with the cores sliced out) into my pressure cooker- skins on and everything. Them blended them with a hand blender- applesauce!!! I used it in the muffins and they turned out delicious! Thank you, Mel for the amazing recipe.
These look delicious! I’m excited to try them! I can’t tell however, if the ones in your pictures are mini or regular size muffins. I would prefer to make mini muffins, as they’re just the right size for my 2-year-old. Would the cook time need to be adjusted for the smaller muffin?
Tracey – the ones I made are regular sized muffins. I’m sure they would work equally well as mini muffins but I would bake them for 8-9 minutes and check often to make sure they don’t overbake.
If these are like the ones we had growing up, you can microwave them too. I’ll have to check my mom’s recipe.
Jennie
Oh, I want to try these. One question though, do you know if they freeze well? Don’t want to be baking every morning and we are now an empty nest : (
Lani, actually, these freeze great! I will sometimes make up a batch and then after the muffins have cooled, I pop them in a freezer-safe ziploc bag. They reheat well in the microwave for 30-ish seconds.
We love muffins here! For awhile, the only thing my two year old would eat for breakfast was muffins. My kids love mini muffins in there lunch too. Their favorite kind right now are your pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I can’t wait to try these.
Oh, I can’t wait to try these! Like Kim, I’ve never had a bran muffin that I particularly liked, so I’m excited about these. They sound great, and keeping the batter in the fridge is a fantastic idea.
I don’t know if I ever commented to say I LOVE your oatmeal pancake mix too!! I feel so much better making that for my 2 year old than a boxed mix (even if we do often put some chocolate chips in them lol). There is always a batch of the mix in our fridge. We do find that we need 1 1/4 cups of the mix though… I know you said it would thicken upon standing, but for us, without that extra 1/4 cup of mix, we end up with something more like crepes than pancakes… we’re right be the ocean, so maybe it’s an altitude/humidity difference or something??? Who knows. Regardless, as long as we add that extra 1/4 cup, they are always super! 🙂
Im going to make these today after I go to the store! My toddler is obsessed with mini muffins right now, so I am trying to come up with healthy varities! I hope these will turn out well as mini muffins!
What kind of bran flakes and bran buds do you use?
For all those inquiring about what kind of bran I use – I almost always buy the Kellogg’s brand of bran flakes and bran buds or twigs (All-bran) and have also had good results using Wheaties as the bran flakes. However, my sister makes these muffins exclusively with wheat bran (a fine, flaky substance you can find in bulk in the natural foods aisles oftentimes) in place of the bran flakes and she uses the Bob’s Red Mill brand. It is a very versatile recipe in that way, but I do encourage finding a good quality bran product no matter what brand it is since that is definitely the focus of the recipe.
Is there a way to make these muffins dairy-free?
Not sure since I haven’t tried it. Someone else may have done it (and left a comment in the thread). Otherwise, you’ll have to experiment. Good luck!
I have made them with Aldi bran flakes and All Bran buds. They are so good! And my kiddos and I have happy tummys when we eat these.
Ooo I agree, those do look delicious! And nothing better than when a food can be fast AND healthy!
I have to say that I have never eaten a bran muffin that I LOVED. They are always dry and taste like cardboard! Your recipe looks like the exeption to the rule! You have never steered my wrong, so I will give them a try. I love that you can keep the batter in the fridge! Thanks for sharing, Melanie!
Oh- and I would love to know what brand of bran flakes you used, too. The quality of the bran is obviously the most important part of this recipe.
What kind of bran flakes do you use? Also, I tried the lime/cilantro rice last night and it was wonderful!!! Thanks for the great recipes.
Ah! Healthy muffins! I need these in my life. I’m obsessed with muffins.