Healthy Strawberry Bran Muffins

 
Once old enough to understand the concept behind New Year’s Resolutions, I never really liked them. To me, “resolution” carries a negative connotation and sounds like something I have to do, instead of what the New Year really represents: an opportunity to reflect and improve certain areas of life.  

So when the calendar flips to January 1, I prefer to set New Year’s Goals. That sounds a little more optimistic and achievable, don’t you think? They generally vary from year to year, depending on how the previous 365 days panned out. I’ve aimed to write in a journal every evening, finish cooking my way through the alphabet, and even gave up desserts (and successfully made it through the entire year!).

This year, my New Year’s Goal is…
 

 
To find balance. Particularly the work-life variety! As someone who’s self-employed and works from home, that line quickly turns gray and fuzzy, especially when my full-time job is running this blog, which means lots of time baking and doing things I love! But I inherited my dad’s workaholic tendencies, so I often spend seven days a week — including nights and weekends — writing posts, editing photos, and responding to comments and emails.

It’s all incredibly rewarding, but at the same time, I still need to relearn how to take time off! I realized over the holidays that I don’t have many hobbies anymore, seeing as I turned my main hobby into my full-time job. As a result, I spent most of Christmas afternoon testing a new hobby by using crayons to carefully shade in sections of an adult coloring book my mom gave me with really intricate designs. (If you follow my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat, you saw the final result — and the one I colored two days later too!)
 

 
In addition to taking time off to find better work-life balance, I also want to get more sleep. Ever since I was little, I’ve needed a full 8-10 hours per night to function at my best, but over the past few months, I’ve been going off of only 6 or 7 hours each day and subsidizing with extra caffeine.

As much as I love coffee… I value my sleep a little more!
 

 
And these healthy strawberry bran muffins are just the thing to help me sneak in a few extra minutes each day! Instead of spending time cooking eggs or oatmeal and washing the dishes, I can pop one or two of these in the microwave and start nibbling on my breakfast in mere seconds.

And any morning that begins with chocolate-filled muffins as tender as cupcakes is bound to be a good day!
 

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY STRAWBERRY BRAN MUFFINS

Let’s talk about how to make the best strawberry bran muffins! This recipe is simple and straightforward, and it uses many common pantry ingredients. There’s a decent chance you already have almost everything you need to make them!

Let’s start with one of the most important ingredients: oat bran. Generally, bran muffins have a bad reputation for being dry or crumbly, but these are the exact opposite! They’re the moistest, most tender bran muffins you’ll ever eat, and it’s all thanks to my secret trick…
 

 
You’ll soak the oat bran in a combination of milk, Greek yogurt, and vanilla while mixing together the other ingredients. This gives the bran time to soften and absorb the moisture, similar to how overnight oat recipes work, and that makes your muffins really tender.

And if you’ve been around my blog for a while, you know how much I adore Greek yogurt! It’s one of my favorite ingredients in healthier baking because it adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil — but for a fraction of the calories — and it also gives your baked goodies a protein boost.
 

 
These healthier muffins are sweetened with two main ingredients: pure maple syrup and molasses. When it comes to maple syrup, be sure to buy the real kind! Avoid pancake syrup and sugar-free maple syrup. These can change the texture of your muffins — especially the latter! Sugar-free syrup is often water-based, which will make your muffins collapse while cooling and turn out much denser. Pure maple syrup generally comes in a glass bottle or large squat jug, and the only ingredient on the label should be “maple syrup.”

Molasses is thick and dark brown, with a viscosity similar to honey. It provides the iconic bran muffin flavor (as well as the familiar taste in gingerbread baked goodies!), so I don’t recommend substituting anything for it! Molasses is very inexpensive, and you can find it on the baking aisle near the other liquid sweeteners, as well as online.

Tip: Use regular unsulphured molasses — not blackstrap molasses! Blackstrap molasses is much stronger and more bitter, and its flavor will basically overpower everything else in these bran muffins.
 

 
And now for the best parts… The strawberries and chocolate chips! I opted for frozen unsweetened strawberries for these healthy bran muffins so I could easily make them year-round without spending an arm and a leg on fresh berries at the grocery store during the winter. However, if you feel like baking this recipe during the summertime, fresh would easily work just as well!

You’ll use mini chocolate chips for these bran muffins. Their smaller size ensures that practically every bite contains a morsel of chocolate! I almost always buy these mini chips because they melt much better than the ones in the iconic yellow bags. (I think they taste better too!) For the prettiest presentation, save a few to press into the tops of the muffins just before baking.

Don’t they look cute?
 

 
Ready to make your own? And when you do, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your healthy strawberry bran muffins!

Healthy Strawberry Bran Muffins

© Amy's Healthy Baking

Yields: 12 muffins

These bran muffins are some of the most tender ones you’ll ever eat! They’re full of strawberries and chocolate chips, and they’re perfect for quick on-the-go breakfasts and snacks. The muffins will stay fresh for at least 4 days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

5 from 3 votes

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Ingredients 

• 1 ½ cups (180g) oat bran (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
• ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (120g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp (14g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 large egg white, room temperature
• ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup (60mL) molasses (not blackstrap!)
• 1 cup (140g) frozen whole strawberries, barely thawed and diced (see Notes!)
• 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips, divided

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the oat bran, Greek yogurt, milk, and vanilla. Let the mixture rest for at least 10 minutes while preparing the remaining ingredients.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a third bowl, whisk together the coconut oil and egg white. Stir in the maple syrup and molasses. Add the oat bran mixture, stirring until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Fold in the strawberries and 1 ½ tablespoons of chocolate chips.
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and gently press the remaining chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 20-23 minutes or until the tops feel firm to the touch. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.

Notes

IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE – READ BEFORE BEGINNING: It’s extremely important to measure the flour and oats correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own!) Too much of either will will make your muffins dry (especially the oat bran; it acts like a sponge and soaks up so much liquid!).

 

OAT BRAN NOTE: Other readers have had success substituting wheat bran for the oat bran. I have not tried that myself and cannot personally vouch for that substitution. If you decide to try substituting wheat bran, measure by volume (cups) not weight (grams).

 

MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.

 

FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the regular whole wheat flour.

 

PURE MAPLE SYRUP ALTERNATIVES: Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Do not substitute pancake syrup or sugar-free syrup; these change the texture of your muffins.

 

MOLASSES NOTE + ALTERNATIVES: If at all possible, I don’t recommend substituting anything for the molasses; it’s required to produce the iconic bran muffin flavor. Use regular unsulphured molasses (like this), not blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is much more bitter, and it overwhelms all of the other flavors in these muffins.

 

In a pinch, pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the molasses to produce the same muffin texture — but their flavor will be different and lack that classic "bran muffin" taste!

 

STRAWBERRY NOTES + ALTERNATIVE: Measure the strawberries when whole, not when diced. Fresh strawberries may be substituted for the frozen. The baking time may be slightly reduced.

 

GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use certified gluten-free oat bran. For the gluten-free flour, use the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum. Many store-bought blends (I like this one from Bob's Red Mill) should also work, as long as they're measured like this.

 

HOW TO STORE: Store the fully cooled muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They should keep for at least 4 days (if not closer to a week or more!). These muffins freeze well too!

 

{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.

View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
 
 
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡  Blueberry Bran Muffins
♡  Banana Bran Muffins
♡  Pumpkin Bran Muffins
♡  Double Chocolate Bran Muffins
♡  Morning Glory Bran Muffins
♡  “Almond Joy” Bran Muffins
♡  …and the rest of Amy’s healthy bran muffin recipes!