Sometimes your body just craves a bran muffin? Am I right?! Maybe it’s just me. That hearty, dare I say branny goodness, lightly sweetened with molassesy brown sugar and just begging for a generous dab of butter atop a craggy crumb. Craving one yet? It might be a nod back to my childhood. My granny bakes up a pretty mean bran muffin and I remember even liking the version from the grocery store. You know, the giant ones, full of ingredients that I don’t even want to think about.
Since going mostly vegan almost 2 years ago, my desire for bran muffins has gone unsatisfied. Until now. These Perfect Bran Muffins are my current favorite breakfast, but I have the feeling they’ll stand the test of time. They’re everything a bran muffin should be (read above), but like all of my muffins, wrapped up in a vegan and hugely healthified little package. Wheat bran is of course the star of the show, brown sugar and applesauce provide the sweetness, a flax egg binds everything together, and unrefined coconut oil adds some healthy fat. The coconut oil also keeps these tasting like muffins and not healthy bricks.
A sprinkle of brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon accentuates the sweet little domed tops of these muffins. It’s totally optional, but I like the texture the oats add to the muffins and a hint of cinnamon is always a plus in my kitchen. I’ve been enjoying these warmed with a slather of blueberry or raspberry compote, but my favorite accoutrement is a pat of vegan butter. They’re plenty moist on their own, but a little butter is never a bad idea and sometimes breakfast demands an equal amount of decadence with virtuousness. However you top ’em, just make ’em and embrace the bran.
- 2 cups wheat bran
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour*
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- ¼ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
- ⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- CINNAMON OAT TOPPING (optional)
- 2 tablespoons old fashioned oats, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water and set aside (this is your flax egg). Add apple cider vinegar to almond milk and set aside. Allow both to sit while you prepare the other ingredients.**
- Stir together flour, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in a large bowl. In another bowl combine brown sugar, vanilla extract, coconut oil, and applesauce. Once flax has thickened and almond milk has curdled, add to sugar mixture and whisk to thoroughly combine.
- Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until no dry spots remain. Scoop batter by leveled quarter cupfuls into muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, stir together oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon for topping. Sprinkle on top of muffins.***
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool completely on a cooling rack before serving.
- Muffins can be stored at room temperature for one day and then in the refrigerator for up to five days. Warm muffins in the microwave for 20 seconds before serving
** Almond milk should be at room temperature so that it does not cause the coconut oil to harden when mixed together. If it's still cold from the fridge, warm in the microwave in 10 second increments.
*** Do not allow the muffin batter to sit too long before portioning out and placing in the oven. The wheat bran will continue to absorb moisture from the wet ingredients and can cause the muffins to stick to the paper liners once baked and cooled.
My favourite bran muffins they are so moist and yummy.
Thanks, Jackie! They’re my favorite too.
Mine came out crumbly😭😭😭 I used coconut flour instead. Would that matter??
Hi Diana, most definitely! You really can’t just switch out the flour, especially for a gluten free one, without adding some kind of binder like xanthan gum. The wheat bran has gluten too, so I’m curious why you would use coconut flour at all.
These look so incredible! I love your photos and your website – it’s so clean and easy to navigate. Looking forward to your recipes!
Thank you so much, Tiffany! Your comment made my day.
These muffins look amazing! It has been ages since I’ve made bran muffins. I am pinning these to try, thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you, Angela! You’ll have to let me know how they turn out.
I was searching for a bran muffin recipe that was more bran than sugar, when I came across this one. I’ve been using and modifying this recipe for a few months now—and I rarely repeat recipes! Every time I’ve made these they have come out delicious. I made quite a few substitutions to accommodate my dietary preferences and to work with my pantry staples. I figured I’d share my experience for anyone who might be interested! Here’s what I switched up: stone ground whole wheat flour instead of white flour, 1 banana instead of the 1/2 cup sugar (and I often also add 3 puréed dried dates and 3 apricots), puréed spaghetti squash instead of the applesauce, and while the sugar on top is absolutely delicious, I usually omit it and sprinkle some sea salt. Almond milk and ground flax are two ingredients I also don’t regularly have, so I often sub water and whole chia. Lastly, I dislike cleaning muffin tins, so I make quenelles instead on reusable parchment for super easy clean up! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. It is so adaptable and absolutely delicious. These are bran muffins that are difficult to say no to!
Oooh I used to LOVE bran muffins. But haven’t really found many vegan muffins since going vegan. I’ll have to try this recipe. They sound great =)
If you’re a bran muffin fan then you definitely need to try these, Kimmy! So not the sexiest kind of muffin, but they’re always my fave.
I can substitute coconut milk for almond milk, correct? These look great, btw.
Hi Bobby, yes, you can substitute with any unsweetened plant milk you like!
Made them today. They were great! Thanks!
Awesome! Thank you for commenting, Bobby!
I made these today and they are amazing! I have been vegetarian for years and am recently “mostly vegan” as well, so I was looking for a recipe to replace my former favorite bran muffin recipe. No need to look further!
Yay! Your comment made me so happy MaryBeth. Glad I could fill the bran muffin void. 🙂
Are you able to provide the nutritional info or calories per muffin?
Hi Devon, I don’t include calorie counts with my recipes. For me, it triggers unhealthy obsessing over the numbers as opposed to focusing on the quality of food I’m eating. But I know it can be super helpful for lots of people. You could input all of the ingredients into one of the various calorie counting tools available online.
Hi!! Loved this recipe and I even added blueberries and some walnuts into the batter too! One quick note! I saw the ingredient of coconut oil in the ingredients but not in the directions. I assumed it went with the rest of the wet ingredients and based on the delicious results assumed correctly!
Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Ooooh, I love the idea of adding blueberries and walnuts! So good! Thanks for catching the coconut oil omission, I’ve updated the recipe.
These are amazing!! I made a half batch and could definitely sit there and eat them all, lol! I didn’t use the topping and used canola oil instead of coconut. My whole family loved them. My daughter and I were thinking of adding raisins, blueberries, or walnuts next time. Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Awesome, thanks so much for commenting Aimee! Love all those addition ideas, and good to know canola oil works well as a substitution.
Can I use oat bran instead of wheat bran? Thanks x
Hi Elizabeth, I’d guess yes, but it might affect the liquid ratio a bit depending on how oat bran absorbs liquid compared to wheat. If you give it a try, let me know.
Could you substitute molasses for the sugar?
Made them with sugar but flavour was a bit lacking.
Hi! I am trying to make some vegan muffins for a friend because I’m having a muffin party tomorrow and want her to be included!
I’ve never made anything vegan before but she says her favorite muffins are vegan carrot bran muffins. Could I add some carrots and molasses to this recipe to turn it into carrot bran muffins?
Hi Sarah, you could try it, but you’ll probably need to lengthen the cooking time to account for the extra moisture from the carrots. I’d also add some cinnamon/cloves/allspice to the batter. Not sure why you’d add molasses. You could also try my Coffeehouse Zucchini Carrot Spice Muffins and just swap out the zucchini for more grated carrots https://www.themostlyvegan.com/coffeehouse-zucchini-carrot-spice-muffins/
Could I spray the muffin tin with Pam rather than use paper liners?
Of course, that should be fine.
These were great! I prepped the ingredients the night before (dry with dry, and wet with wet) and it turned out perfectly this morning. They’re moist and flavourful, and I love the touch of sweetness from the topping. Great recipe! Thank you!
So happy you liked them! Thanks for commenting, Meshell.
So, wow.
These are good.
When I started making these, my wife, and daughters all thought I was crazy when I said they would be good. But, as soon as they were cool enough to test out, the entire batch disappeared, and they are asking if we can make some tomorrow. Everyone in the house thinks these are excellent.
I cheated and used egg and milk since I didn’t have the flax seeds and almond milk on hand. I think next time I’ll use whole wheat flour.
When I made them, I intended for them to be breakfast tomorrow morning. oh well.
Awesome, so glad your family enjoyed them, and good to know the non-vegan substitutes work in this recipe. You should check out my Cinnamon Pear Buckwheat Muffins post, might want to try subbing in oat flour instead of whole wheat flour in these muffins to keep them extra moist and tender.
I made these tonight. So yummy! I used wheat germ instead of bran and it worked great.
Yay, and good to know wheat germ works as a substitute! Thanks for commenting, Sarah.
I have made these several times now. Including variations with blueberries or raspberries. Absolutely love this recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing it.
You’re so welcome, Dani! Blueberries are my favorite add in too, second favorite is raisins.
Can applesauce be used in place of coconut oil?
I just baked the muffins . I omitted the vinegar , replaced the milk by prune juice didn’t add any sugar I replaced it with 1 table spoon molasse . I made 7 big muffins I baked it in my convection oven 23 minutes . My oven is super hot .
It was amazing , next time I will do 2 table spoon molasses and add more cinnamon , nutmeg, ginger and clove . I love spices and maybe 1/2 shredded apple . This will be a recipe I will keep .
This recipe was amazing. I’ve read through the comments & will potentially try some additions next time (like walnuts, apple or raisins) but for now I followed the recipe exactly & it’s one I’ll definitely be keeping! Thank you!
So glad you liked them, Melissa!
So I just tried this lovely recipe this afternoon, and it is a keeper! I like that it has a fair bit of flexibility. Rather than apple sauce, which I never have, I subbed the same amount of grated apple. I also added about 3/4 c of chopped walnuts and another of raisins, which I first soaked. They didn’t rise much, which made me nervous, but they baked thoroughly and are very moist and flavorful. Thank you!
Loved this recipe ! I used 1/3 cup of Coconut Nectar Sweetener instead of sugar because I didn’t have it and I used 1/3 cup of banana instead of applesauce (didn’t have applesauce either ). I also added Raisins. I will definitely make this again , I had to keep my boyfriend away from it so it lasted at least until the next day ! Thank you for the recipe .
Lovely base recipe. Used avocado oil instead of coconut oil, oat milk instead of almond, doubled the apple sauce and added raisins. Made a triple batch and they did not last long. Will make again.
The best vegan bran muffin recipe I’ve ever tried! I’ve tried a few others that used crushed bran flakes cereal, but they didn’t quite have the texture and flavor of the bran muffins I enjoyed in my youth. I love that these use actual wheat bran (and a lot of it). I also appreciate the not-too-sweet flavor, which I think is perfect for breakfast (save the extra sugar for dessert)!
I forgot to add that I used canola oil like another reviewer, and instead of the optional topping I just added a tsp of cinnamon to the batter.
Agreed with saving the sugar for dessert, SJ! I hate it when muffins taste like cupcakes. 🙂
Amazing recipe!
Turned out to be one of my favourites. Even without the vanilla extract they came out flavorful, I think this is my 3rd time making them. Thank you so much! I added almonds on top as well.
Amazing recipe!
Turned out to be one of my favourites. Raisins were fantastic in them. Even without the vanilla extract they came out flavorful, I think this is my 3rd time making them. Thank you so much! I added almonds on top as well.
So glad you liked the muffins, Kate! Love the addition of almonds to the tops. Yum!
Truly a great recipe. I especially enjoyed the proportion of bran to flour. My only change was butter instead of oil and I added currants one time and prunes another. It’s important to bake them thoroughly. I pulled them too soon one time but was able to get them back in the oven for a few more minutes. Just perfect. Already made them three times! Many thanks.
Hello! Found your site by searching vegan bran muffins. Will be a follower of your site because the recipes sound great. The recipes are easy to find on your site and there are no ads. Like the ‘mostly vegan’ admission as well. The site gives good energy! Not anxiety inducing :).