On our first trip to Southern California this past spring, we quickly fell into a routine. Wake up, shower, drive straight to the hospital to meet Grandma, who had stayed there all night. Talk to the doctors, let Grandma head home to shower and nap, sit next to Grandpa’s bed, take turns holding his hand until night fell.
We ate nearly all of our meals in the hospital’s cafeteria, including breakfast. With good quality food and a decent selection of items, everything from scrambled eggs and breakfast burritos to Philly cheesesteaks and sushi to almond-crusted chicken and tuna salad, nobody ever grew bored.
After Grandpa passed on Sunday afternoon and everyone went back to Grandma’s house, nobody felt up to cooking, so Mom ran out to grab pizza from the nearby shopping center. On her way back, she also stopped by the grocery store to pick up a platter of cookies for dessert.
The next morning, Mom and Dad woke up early to take care of a few chores while Grandma slept… But they completely forgot that we had no breakfast food in the house! Dad opted for leftover cold pizza, but Mom turned to those chocolate-dipped macaroons from the night before.
I officially know the source of my sweet tooth and chocoholism! 🙊
So as a more wholesome breakfast treat for Mom, I baked her these Healthy Almond Joy Bran Muffins instead! They have the same coconut and chocolate flavors from those cookies she snuck for breakfast in San Diego, plus a bit of almond too. (Almond Joys are her favorite candy bar!) Even better, these muffins have no butter, refined flour or sugar and just 123 calories!
To make these healthy bran muffins, you’ll start with oat bran (this is the kind I buy—or this, for gluten-free muffins!). Make sure you measure the oat bran correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale! Too much will quickly dry out your batter. For that reason, I highly recommend a kitchen scale. This is the one I own, and it has been the best $20 I’ve ever spent because it ensures my treats turn out with the perfect taste and texture every time I bake them.
Although bran muffins have a bad reputation for being dry, or overly oily to compensate for the dryness, I have a secret trick to extra tender, almost-like-cupcakes bran muffins… You’ll soak the oat bran in Greek yogurt and milk before mixing it into the batter! This softens the oat bran, and the Greek yogurt gives your muffins a protein boost, too!
For the classic bran muffin flavor, you’ll use a combination of pure maple syrup (the real kind, like this!) and molasses to sweeten them. The molasses is what creates that oh-so-cozy bran muffin taste, so don’t skip it! This is the kind I use. It’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages.
For the iconic almond joy flavor, you’ll use a combination of almond extract, shredded unsweetened coconut, and mini chocolate chips. These are my favorite mini chocolate chips because they taste very rich and melt really well. I love pressing some into the tops of the muffin batter just before baking for a cute presentation!
Time for breakfast! 👌🏻 And when you make your own, 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 muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Almond Joy Bran Muffins | | Print |
- 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
- 2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup (120g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) molasses, room temperature
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 3 tbsp (15g) shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3 tbsp (42g) miniature chocolate chips, divided
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the oat bran, Greek yogurt, milk, and almond extract. 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 whites. Stir in the molasses and maple syrup. Add the oat bran mixture, stirring until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Fold in the coconut and 2 ½ tablespoons of miniature chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, and press the remaining miniature chocolate chips into the tops. Bake at 350°F for 18-21 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.
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.
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. Most store-bought blends should also work, as long as they are measured like this.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup. Do not substitute pancake syrup because it will not produce the same taste or texture. Do not substitute anything for the molasses; it’s required to produce the iconic bran muffin flavor.
For a less prominent almond flavor, decrease the almond extract to 1 ½ teaspoons.
I’m not a huge fan of coconut in my muffins, which is why there’s very little of it. You’re welcome to add more, if you prefer!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Peach Pie Bran Muffins
♥ Morning Glory Bran Muffins
♥ Carrot Cake Bran Muffins
♥ Chocolate Chip Banana Bran Muffins
♥ Chocolate Chip Strawberry Bran Muffins
♥ Blueberry Buttermilk Bran Muffins
These look delightfully fluffy. I’ve been creepin your posts waiting for your announcement…please tell me I didn’t miss it!
Thanks Brittany! You’re such an awesome friend to creep on my posts!! (Dang, that sounds funny… 😆) You haven’t missed it yet — I promise! Still working on the final details!
Hey do you think I can sub wheat bran for oat bran? 😄
I’ve actually answered that already in the Notes section! It can be easy to miss. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins Erin!
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry! I saw the ingredient list and immediately jumped down to ask you!! Too excited I suppose!!😜
Nothing wrong with being overly excited about making a recipe Erin — that makes me happy to hear! 😉
Hello Amy!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I just ate two muffins straight from the oven and they are delicious!:) I must say I was sceptic while making the batter, but they dont’t taste healthy at all and make a delicious snack (or dessert of my breakfast like today:))!
Next time I will use less maple syrup as for me they are too sweet, even though I skipped the chocolate chips. I made only 2/3 of the recipe (didn’t have enough oat bran), but used one whole egg nevertheless.
I devoured them with extra cinnamon on top, because there can never be enough cinnamon in a muffin, especially if there are molasses involved;-)!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins Anna! That really means a lot to me! If you prefer your muffins to be less sweet, then substitute milk for however much maple syrup you omit to make sure the batter has the same consistency (and so the muffins don’t turn out dry!). 🙂
Thank you so much for the advice! You saved my next batch of these muffins!:)
You’re welcome Anna! That’s what I’m here for! 😉