Whole Grain Honey Bran Muffins
A whole grain healthy muffin with the light sweetness of honey and the delicious heartiness of wheat bran and whole wheat flour.
We’ve been eating these muffins left and right, up and down, over and under (ok, I’m done) for a few months now and they are simply fantastic.
We happen to be muffin lovers around here so maybe we’re biased but they have us won over as new favorites for breakfast and snacks and everything inbetween.
The batch makes plenty so after they’ve been baked and cooled, I pop them into a gallon-size ziploc bag for the freezer to be pulled out easily for quick and healthy and delicious breakfasts (usually alongside one of our go-to smoothies and often hard-boiled eggs, too, which I also make ahead, peel and shove in the fridge).
When I’ve run out of savvy lunch ideas these muffins also come to the rescue. (I calculated the other day and by the time my five kids are out of elementary school, I and the kids will have packed close to 5,400 lunches, give or take a few sick days here and there; heaven help me.)
Sometimes I even get all mother-of-the-year on them, split the muffins in half and spread a bit of peanut butter on before sandwiching back together.
Call me simple, but these muffins make me very, very happy.
One Year Ago: Skillet Butternut Squash, Sausage and Penne Pasta
Two Years Ago: Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Quinoa Bites
Three Years Ago: Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies {Egg-Free}
Whole Grain Honey Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 cups wheat bran
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 2 cups boiling water
- ¾ cup melted coconut oil or butter
- ¼ cup (53 g) brown sugar, optional, only if you want them a touch sweeter
- ½ cup (170 g) molasses
- ½ cup (170 g) honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 ¼ cups (462 g) whole wheat flour (see note)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the wheat bran and wheat germ. Pour in the boiling water and stir to combine. The mixture may look crumbly, it’s ok if it doesn’t appear to be soaking wet. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the coconut oil (or butter), sugar (if using), molasses, honey, eggs and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Whisk together the milk and buttermilk.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the muffin batter and mix until just combined. Stir in 1/2 of the milk mixture. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. Add the last half of the milk and stir together. Add the final dry ingredients and mix just until combined (don’t over mix or the muffins might be dense).
- Let the batter rest for 20-30 minutes if you have the time. It isn’t completely necessary but I think it gives the muffins a slightly higher rise than baking them right away. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Fill lightly greased muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake for 18-22 minutes until the tops spring back lightly to the touch. Don’t overbake; we don’t want dry muffins here.
- The cooled muffins can be stored covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or frozen.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Inspired: heavily adapted from a recipe in The Professional Pastry Chef (scaled the recipe down from 100 muffins, altered almost all of the ingredients, used whole wheat flour, decreased the butter and used coconut oil instead, and on and on)
87 Comments on “Whole Grain Honey Bran Muffins”
Mel, have you ever ground your wheat and sifted out the bran rather than buying bran? I am researching how to do it, there’s got to be a way but wondered if you’ve done it?
I haven’t, Heidi – but sounds intriguing. I should try it as well!
These sounds great and I have them resting right now, can’t wait to bake them! I have a quick question (which I should have asked before, not after!) I went to my local bulk food store to get wheat bran and my options were ” hard wheat red bran” and “soft wheat white bran”. Which one would be better? I went with hard wheat red bran! Also, they told me they don’t keep wheat germ anymore because it kept going rancid. I found some at the grocery store but it’s a fairly big bag. Any idea how long it will keep or any special storage secrets? Thanks so much for all you do with this website, you keep my family fed and happy!
Hi Carla, I don’t know that the wheat bran I’ve bought has ever been labeled white or wheat, so I’m guessing either will work! As for the wheat germ, if you store it in the freezer, it should stay fresh and not go rancid!
Love this recipe Mel!! super yummy and hearty and great for on the go!
I was wondering if you’d ever considered using canola oil or another kind of oil instead of coconut oil for baking? Coconut oil tends to be higher in saturated fat, whereas canola oil is polyunsaturated! Not sure how this would impact the baking of the muffins, but I’m thinking about trying it for a more heart-healthy option!!
Yes, you can sub in canola oil for the coconut oil. 🙂
These are really tasty. I like getting more fiber into my families diet and this is an easy way to eat it. Your tip about measuring the flour lightly is important. I did that the first time, but not the second, and the muffins were heavier and not quite as good. Trying them again tonight and will be sure to not pack the cup for the dry ingredients.
I made these muffins with white whole wheat flour. Even though it’s not a one bowl muffin recipe the end result was worth the extra work. We love to pop them in the freezer after they have cooled then reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds as needed!