Banana Bran Muffins are soft and moist and they’re full of flavor making them the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack!
Served warm with a bit of honey butter, these are going to be the breakfast your family requests over and over again!
I am so excited to have partnered with Alberta Wheat to bring you this belly-warming banana bran muffin recipe.
An Easy Staple
Muffins are kind of a staple around here, they’re easy to make, freeze well and are the perfect grab and go snack! As much as I love a traditional Banana Muffin, I also love the wholesome almost nutty flavor of a bran muffin.
Great Way to Use Those Ripe Bananas
When we think ripe bananas, we often turn to our favorite Easy Banana Bread Recipe but of course there are so many other great uses! These easy banana bran muffins are the perfect way to combine ripe bananas along with the goodness of whole wheat and bran!
Bananas not only add sweetness, but they add enough moisture so the butter in this recipe is kept to a minimum.
So, what is Bran? Bran is the outer layer of grains like wheat, oats and even rice. In most bran muffin recipes (like this one) wheat bran is used. Wheat bran has lots of fiber along with vitamins and minerals. When we eat bran, we don’t actually digest it but it does help us feel full and studies show it helps prevent colon cancer and aid in weight loss among many other benefits.
Moist Banana Bran Muffins
To make moist muffins I add in mashed bananas. These banana bran muffins are pretty fail-proof and turn out perfectly fluffy every time! A couple of easy tips to keep in mind:
- Ensure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning.
- Be sure to toss the raisins with the flour mixture, this helps keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter.
- This recipe calls for wheat bran which is found near the flour in the grocery store. This recipe doesn’t use bran cereal.
- Nuts or chocolate chips can be added in (or dried cranberries can be substituted for raisins).
- Do not overmix your batter, overmixing will cause your muffins to be dense and chewy.
- Store at room temperature in a sealed container. Heat before serving (we microwave 30 seconds) to keep them soft.
You can find more delicious wheat recipes as a part of Alberta Wheat Commission’s Life’s Simple Ingredient campaign (including whole wheat like I’ve used in this recipe)! Whole wheat flour is a source of fibre, vitamins, minerals and is also a plant based protein.
How to Incorporate Whole Wheat Flour Into A Recipe
You can add whole wheat flour into your recipes without compromising texture and flavor. Here are a few tips to make sure your recipes are successful:
- Start Slowly – Whole wheat flour has an almost nutty flavor. When adding whole wheat flour to a recipe you have previously made with all purpose flour, try substituting just a small portion at first (half all purpose and half whole wheat for example). Once you know how the recipe tastes with the addition you can decide if you would like to incorporate a bigger portion of whole wheat flour.
- Ratio of Substitution – Whole wheat flour is more dense than all purpose flour. When swapping out whole wheat for regular flour, you will need to use less than you would all purpose flour. Try a ratio of 3:4 for whole wheat flour to white flour.
- Add a bit more liquid – Whole wheat flour can tend to absorb more moisture, you might like to add an extra tablespoon or two of liquid to keep your recipe from becoming dry.
I personally love the nutty flavor bran adds to baked goods, cereal and of course these easy banana bran muffins!
More Easy Muffin Recipes
- Banana Muffins
- Easy Pumpkin Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Gingerbread Spice Muffins
- Banana Nut Crunch Muffins
Easy Banana Bran Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup wheat bran
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup golden raisins
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup mashed bananas (3 small)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
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In a large bowl, combine whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon & salt. Whisk together. Stir in raisins.
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In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, bananas, buttermilk, butter and vanilla.
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Create a well in the dry ingredients. Add egg mixture and stir just until combined. Do not overmix.
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Bake 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
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This recipe has been sponsored by the Alberta Wheat Commission’s Life’s Simple Ingredient campaign. While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!
Wow! These turned out amazing! They raise high & look like the nice ones you can buy – but much better because they’re homemade. I made exactly as you suggested & we love them! Will be making these often! Thank you.
I’ve made this recipe three times so far; it makes 18 muffins for me. I used Bob’s Red Mill unprocessed miller’s wheat bran, which gives the muffins a gritty mouthfeel. I substituted sour milk, just past what I’ll drink, for buttermilk.
When I had a fresh pineapple that needed to be used before it went bad, I diced pieces small and substituted for raisins. Muffins were doubly tropical!
Is the nutritional information for one muffin?
Yes, it is for one muffin.
These are really good, realtively healthy muffins :D The batter comes together beautifully and I always end up with a few more than a doze, even after filling my muffin cups almost up to the top. My husband loves to take these when he’s golfing and I like them for a quick snack at work. Thanks for sharing!
How do I make these if I don’t want to use wheat flour but want to use all purpose flour and wheat bran?
I have only made this recipe as written.
Looks great, can I use Almond milk with lemon juice or vinegar?
Hi Carrie, it should work well with almond milk as well :)
The proportions for this are way off. I made the recipe as directed, and it produced a super thin batter, like for pancakes, that was nowhere near cooked through at 20 minutes. They’re still in the oven at 40 minutes now, and still not cookedthrough. And no, theres nothing wrong with my oven— I’m a daily baker, and I never have problems with the accuracy of my oven temp.
Sorry to hear that, I am not sure why these didn’t work out for you!
I just made these with the following changes and they are incredible:
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour and no all-purpose
extra 3 Tbsp buttermilk
equal quantity of oil rather than melted butter
added 3 Tbsp of ground flax and 3 Tbsp wheat germ
substituted chocolate chips for the raisins
Thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks for sharing Tracy! That sounds delicious.
perfect, fluffy and moist banana bran muffins. exchanged the raisins for walnuts and was super delicious and still sweet enough.
Amazingly delicious! I used 4 bananas, came out to more than one cup but very moist. Thank you!
Delicious and easy!
Hi Holly,
I live in Edmonton and have been looking all over for wheat bran. Where would you recommend that I look?
Thanks so much.
Hi Michael, we get ours through Walmart. But I have heard you can get them through Superstore.
Try The bulk section of your local food coop (or grocery store). Bob’s Red Mill also has a wheat bran product that you could order online from amazon or another online retailer.
I used this as my base recipe for protein bran muffins. I just added 1 egg white, a serving of vanilla protein powder, and one serving of unflavored pea protein powder and they came out wonderfully. (Don’t worry, absolutely no pea taste!)
Great ideas Anja!
Can these be made using canned crushed pineapple instead of raisins and bananas?
I’ve only tried the recipe as written Jonni.
These look delicious! The perfect quick breakfast meal. Thanks for your notes on substituting buttermilk – I had no idea you could just add some lemon juice.
You’re welcome! Enjoy!