After my guy’s car suddenly died three weeks ago, my parents raced to the rescue and offered to let us borrow my dad’s “I-woodwork-on-the-weekends-and-sometimes-need-to-haul-long-heavy-boards” white Ford pickup truck until we found a specialized auto shop willing to work on our problem vehicle. However, they accidentally forgot that the truck needed a smog check by the end of the month, so earlier this week, I climbed into the cab and slowly crawled across town to the test station to check that off the “To Do” list.
As I inched along the back roads, I chuckled a bit to myself when I realized how comical I probably looked to the other drivers: a tiny, barely 5’3” dark blonde girl behind the wheel of a big tall truck? Thank goodness we live in a half-college, half-farmland town where people rarely question strange sights—otherwise I would’ve gotten laughed right off the roads!
After turning into the parking lot, I eased into a spot, jumped out (literally—I’m that short!), and pulled open the front door of the smog shop. Before the mechanic could offer a greeting, his shaggy-haired golden lab mix bounded up to me, dropping a graying weathered baseball at my feet. I nearly melted into a puddle right there on the grease-stained floor; the quickest way to my heart has always been through chocolate, cute dogs and baseball!
I handed over the truck keys before sinking into one of the cushioned chairs in the entryway to wait. Roxy, the playful pooch, hopped up next to me, tucking her long legs underneath her in a perfect dog show “Sit.” I offered my palm for her to sniff. She licked it for a few minutes, then laid down to sprawl across three of the chairs.
With her doggie kisses as permission, I started scratching behind her ears like my old childhood golden retriever always loved. Although she perked up every time the mechanic switched machines for the different smog tests, she lowered her head back down to the cushions for more ear rubs after confirming her owner was still okay.
Twenty-five minutes later, the mechanic announced that the truck passed and apologized for taking longer than normal. (Apparently, the Ford designers stuffed a critical part in the very back, hardest-to-reach spot under the hood, and he spent an extra ten minutes trying to find it with a flashlight and side mirror welded to a stick. Oops!) I immediately smiled and told him not to worry; the time flew by with the sweet, comforting dog beside me!
Just like Roxy, these Banana Bran Muffins are sweet and comforting—the perfect healthy breakfast! Warm molasses permeates throughout every moist morsel, followed by the sweet banana and cozy oat flavors. Baked with purely wholesome, clean-eating ingredients, these low-fat muffins will stick to your ribs and keep you full all morning long!
Bran muffins characteristically contain molasses. Since that ingredient always brings back of fond memories baking whole wheat bread with my dad as a little girl, I knew I needed to include it in my recipe too! Molasses provides that rich dark brown color and deep earthy sweetness. It’s a fairly strong flavor and masks some of the banana’s brightness, but the two are still an irresistible pairing!
Mashed banana works doubly hard in these healthy muffins. It (a) supplies structure by acting as an egg replacer {so it’s really easy to make these vegan!} and (b) adds most of the moisture instead of relying on excess fat. You actually only need 1 tablespoon of oil for the entire recipe!
There’s a special secret to making extra moist bran muffins: soak the oat bran for at least 10 minutes. If you add the bran in with the flour and other dry ingredients, it doesn’t get a chance to soften, which results in dry and crumbly muffins. Stir the bran together with the milk, mashed banana, and vanilla before measuring and mixing together the other ingredients. By the time you’re done with everything else, the oat bran will look like a bowl of cozy oatmeal—that means it’s ready!
With more oat bran than flour, these muffins barely rise at all in the oven, so fill each muffin cup all the way to the rim. Even with all of that batter, they’re still surprisingly low-calorie! Bake these treats until the tops feel just barely firm; the toothpick test doesn’t always work because they’re so moist. Do not overbake the muffins—we just put in all that effort softening the oat bran to make sure they stayed moist!
Hearty and healthy, these skinny Banana Bran Muffins taste homey and satisfying, like Grandma’s baking or freshly baked breakfasts at a B&B. With their cozy molasses and moist texture, it’s pure torture to wait for them to cool and nibble away at the edges. You might want to bake a double batch—these sweet treats won’t last long in your kitchen!
With most of my baked goodies, I sample one or two before shipping out the rest to neighbors and friends. But these muffins… I don’t plan on sharing a single crumb! Well, except with my dad. We’re headed to another baseball game this afternoon, and they’ll be the perfect mid-morning snack for him on our drive to the ballpark!
These hearty muffins are extremely moist, thanks to the mashed banana! Their warm molasses flavor makes them absolutely irresistible and beautifully complements the sweet fruit. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 6 days.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 10 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oat bran, milk, banana, and vanilla extract. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the melted butter, honey, and molasses until thoroughly combined. When the oat bran mixture is ready, stir it into the molasses mixture. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are just barely firm to the touch. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Notes: For a vegan version, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk for the skim milk, swap in agave instead of the honey, and use the coconut oil option instead of butter.
Soak the oat bran before measuring and mixing together the remaining ingredients. By the time you finish with those, the oat bran will be soft and ready to use.
I made these today and omitted the honey completely, because I figured they’d be plenty sweet with the 1/4 cup molasses (I used some extra milk to make up for the difference in liquid). Although they came out beautifully in terms of texture, I found them sickly sweet and couldn’t eat one 🙁 I must admit I can’t imagine how sweet they’d be, had I used both molasses AND honey! So I’m putting this out there for other folks who like their muffins only lightly sweetened. I’m not giving up on this recipe, though. Next time I’ll try making these without any added sugar; the bananas should be enough. In the mean time, I will give this batch to my sugar-fiend boyfriend. I know for a fact he won’t complain!
I’d love to hear what you think of the entirely unsweetened batch, and in the meantime, I really hope your boyfriend enjoys this first batch of muffins Lily! Growing up, my brother was almost exactly the same way… He never complained about extra sugar or sweetness! 😉
Hey Amy! I made these again today with some tweaks and I love the results! I made them with zero molasses/honey, 2 tbsp oil instead of one, 2 tsp cinnamon instead of one, and 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk. As you’d expect they’re not very sweet and wouldn’t please everyone’s taste buds, but for me they’re just right for a muffin/breakfast item. I will be making these again 🙂 Plus, I think this recipe is a great base for all sorts of mix-ins.
Perfect!! I’m so glad you were able to adapt the recipe to suit your taste, and thank you so much for sharing your recipe tweaks. I love hearing what works! 🙂
Can you tell me what oat bran is? I know of oats and I know of bran but not sure what oat bran is. Thank you.
Great question, San! In a nutshell (oat-shell? ;)), many grains, including wheat and oats, consist of three main parts: the bran (outer shell), the endosperm (starchy part directly underneath the bran / outer shell), and the germ (the very inner bit). The bran contains a lot of fiber (because it’s that outer shell that’s supposed to protect the inner parts!), and both the bran and germ contain more of the micronutrients.
So oat bran is just that outer layer of the oat “groat.” The same is true for wheat bran; it’s the outer layer of the wheat “berry.”
To be even nerdier… In wheat-based flour, whole wheat flour includes all three parts — bran, endosperm, and germ — whereas all-purpose flour is just the endosperm (I think!).
In case it’s helpful to you, we like to use this brand of oat bran.
That may be more information than you needed, but I hope it helps to answer your question! 😉
Hi, Amy! I have been super obsessed with your blog lately, pinning every beautiful recipe to try out <3 I want to try all the bran muffins but I was wondering if it's possible to use wheat bran instead of oat? Would that make too much of a difference? Thank youu :*
You’re so sweet Anushay — that means so much to me that you’ve been pinning many of my recipes! Thank you so much! 🙂 Yes, wheat bran will work just fine as a substitute. I’m excited to hear what you think of the muffins!
I am confused by the nutrition information. When I ran the ingredients through MyFitnessPal and Calorie Count, I got 145 calories and 27 grams of carbohydrates and that was for 12 muffins
The nutrition information will often vary depending on the calculator that you use and brands of products that you enter into it. This is the nutrition calculator that I use. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the muffins if you try them!
Amyyyy!!! I made these muffins this morning and they turned out delightful! I must double the recipe next time. Nothing I bake, using your recipes, lasts in my house! Unlike another reader, these are NOT sickly sweet. They are PERFECT! Thank your for another great recipe! Next I am going to make your grandpa’s thumbprint cookies. Your story touched me so those are next. I will let you know how they turn out.
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed these muffins too Carmelina! That’s the biggest, best compliment I could’ve ever received that none of my recipes ever lasts long in your house — thank you SO much!! ♡♡ I can’t wait to hear what you think of my grandpa’s thumbprint cookies. I really hope they’re just as big of a hit! 🙂
Could you explain to me what oat bran is? Is this plain oatmeal put in a blender to measure the 1 1/2 cup called for in this recipe? I don’t want to buy a whole bad of this if I cam make it as I need it with oatmeal.
Oat bran just consists of the outer layer (actually called “bran!”) of the grain, so it’s slightly different than regular oats (made from the entire grain). This recipe works best with regular oat bran. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins if you try them Joyce!
Hi! Can I replace the honey? I want to make these at home and have a 1 year old that shoudn’t have honey yet. I have coconut sugar but I know I can’t replace that directly, what else could I add if I were to use cocont sugar?
Thanks!
You’re so sweet to want to make these for your child Claudia! To replace the honey with coconut sugar, you’ll need ¼ cup of coconut sugar + 2 additional tablespoons of milk (add this amount with the coconut sugar, not to the bran mixture!). 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
I love your website! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for and you have so much material…this is amazing!! Keep at it, I’ll be sure to keep updated
You’re so kind — thanks Maddie! That means a lot to me. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins and any other recipes that you try!
I loved the muffins! 10/10 would bake again. Thank you so much for this recipe, this is definitely going to be a recipe I use often. I can’t wait to try out some more of your recipes!!
I’m truly honored Maddie — that means so much to me that you plan on using this recipe often! Thank you!! 🙂
Amy, I just wanted you to know that I think these are the best healthy bran muffins that I have ever eaten. Believe me, I have made oodles of bran muffins over the years, and these are by far the best. Love them just as they are with the addition of a handful of walnuts I had lying around. Will be making them again and again. Thanks for a great recipe.
Oh my goodness!! I’m truly honored – that’s such high praise, Mabel! I’m so glad you loved these and thought they were the best healthy bran muffins you’ve ever had. That’s the best kind of compliment too, if you already think you’ll make them again! Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know; you just made my entire week!! ♡