Last weekend, we changed our Easter plans at the last minute. My parents had planned to drive to Southern California for the holiday weekend, along with their two golden retrievers, but two days before, they took their young puppy on an unexpected trip to the vet for a procedure.
The surgery went well without any hiccups, but the vet prescribed lots of rest, a cone of shame, and no running or jumping… And since their puppy is incredibly energetic, driving down with her and trying to prevent her from sprinting around the backyard with Grandma’s dogs would’ve been nearly impossible!
Instead, Grandma and I met up for a low-key afternoon coffee date. (Thank you, Starbucks, for staying open on Easter!) She ordered iced tea, I opted for iced decaf coffee, and we spent an hour sitting outside in the beautiful spring weather.
As a surprise, Grandma put together a cute little pink Easter basket for me to bring home! It was filled with Reese’s peanut butter eggs, a ginormous egg-shaped dark chocolate truffle from See’s (yum!), and a stuffed squeaky toy for my dog. So sweet!
But when I woke up on Monday morning, I realized I still had a huge bag of carrots in my fridge because I had planned on baking this carrot cake for my parents’ visit… So I turned them into these Healthy Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins instead!
These healthy muffins are hearty yet tender, with a generous amount of cozy spices and bright pops of sweetness from the raisins. They basically taste like carrot cake for breakfast—but they’re just 115 calories!
Let’s go over how to make these healthy bran muffins!
You’ll start by using my secret trick to making extra moist bran muffins… You’ll soak the oat bran (like this, or this for gluten-free!) in a mixture of milk, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract. It may seem like an odd thing to do, but…
Nerd alert! Soaking the oat bran helps it soften and turn more tender ahead of time! The oat bran acts like a sponge and soaks up the moisture from the other ingredients in the bowl. This trick also helps ensure your muffins turn out really moist without lots of extra butter or oil, like in many traditional recipes!
Next, you’ll whisk together whole wheat flour (or gluten-free, if you prefer!) with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Those spices are the same ones I use in carrot cake: cinnamon and nutmeg! This is my favorite cinnamon because it tastes stronger, warmer, and slightly sweeter than regular cinnamon. I highly recommend it!
When the time comes to sweeten your muffins, you’ll skip the refined sugar and use a combination of molasses (like this!) and pure maple syrup (like this!). Molasses is actually what gives bran muffins their iconic flavor—deep, rich, and comforting—so I don’t recommend substituting for it, if possible. It’s shelf-stable and keeps for ages, and you can usually find it on the baking aisle!
I probably should’ve given you a Nerd alert! for the molasses bit above… Oops! But below, we’ve got another baking Nerd alert!
Make sure you use the real kind of maple syrup that comes directly from maple trees. Skip the pancake syrup and sugar-free syrup because those typically contain artificial ingredients or corn syrup, and that will affect the texture of your muffins. Pure maple syrup, like this, typically comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs.
Now for the good stuff… The mix-ins! Use freshly grated carrots, rather than store-bought pre-shredded carrots (also called matchstick carrots). The latter are thicker and drier, which means they don’t have as much flavor and don’t soften properly while your muffins bake. I promise it’s worth the extra effort of grating your own!
Before starting the recipe, check to see how fresh your raisins are! Ones that have been sitting in your pantry for a few months (or maybe even a year?) tend to be stiffer and drier than a box of freshly opened raisins.
If yours are older and drier, then hydrate your raisins first! Add them to a small microwave-safe bowl, add enough water to fully cover the raisins, and place a lid or plastic wrap on top. Microwave your raisins on HIGH for 1 minute; then let them rest while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Just before it’s time to stir them in, drain your raisins. They’ll be so plump and juicy—my favorite part of these muffins!
Good-bye boring breakfasts… Hello healthy bran muffins that taste like carrot cake! ?? 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 bran muffins!
| Healthy Carrot Raisin Bran Muffins | | Print |
- 1 ½ cups (180g) oat bran (measured like this and gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup (180mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (120g) whole wheat or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tsp 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
- 1 ½ cups (160g) freshly grated carrots (peeled first!)
- ¼ cup (40g) raisins (see Notes!)
- 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, ½ cup of milk, and vanilla 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, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, 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. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and remaining ¼ cup of milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Fold in the carrots and raisins.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 18-20 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.
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 (like this one!) should also work, as long as they are measured like this.
White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the regular whole wheat flour.
Remember to measure the oat bran and flour correctly with this method or a kitchen scale. (← That’s the one I own and love!) Too much of any of these ingredients will make your muffins dry (especially the oat bran; it acts like a sponge and soaks up so much liquid!).
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.
I don’t recommend substituting anything for the molasses; it’s required to produce the iconic bran muffin flavor. Use regular molasses (like this), not blackstrap molasses.
Do not substitute store-bought pre-shredded carrots! (They’re also called “matchstick” carrots.) They’re too thick and dry, and they don’t soften properly while baking. You should need about 3 medium carrots, but measure by volume (cups) or grams—not by number of carrots!
If your raisins are older, drier, and not very plump or juicy… Add them to a microwave-safe bowl, and pour water on top until they’re completely covered. Seal plastic wrap over the top, and microwave the bowl on high for 1 minute. If you let the raisins sit while mixing together the muffin batter, this little trick hydrates them so they’re really soft and juicy!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Morning Glory Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Blueberry Buttermilk Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bran Muffins
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Mini Muffins
♡ Healthy Carrot Cake Scones
SO glad the procedure went well; and hooray for these muffins! Delicious way to use up all those carrots, for sure.
Thanks so much Liz! You’re too sweet! 🙂
What can be used in place of the yogurt in this recipe? Also could the milk be subbed or avoided?
They look delicious.
Thank you,
Sue
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sue! I’ve actually answered your question about milk in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly beneath the Instructions. It can be easy to miss! 😉 As for the yogurt, regular yogurt or non-dairy yogurt (ie soy- or almond-based) will work as a substitute. I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Can i substitute the molasses and maple syrup syrup with. 1 /4 honly and 1/4 cup brown sugar?
If you’d like to substitute for those two ingredients with honey and brown sugar, you’ll need ¼ cup of honey, ¼ cup of brown sugar, and 2 additional tablespoons of milk to compensate for the missing liquid. However, your muffins won’t have quite the same iconic “bran muffin” taste without the molasses. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try them Chantell!
Hi! I just first made this recipe yesterday (4x multiplied; clearly I’m confident in your recipe), with a few adjustments. But first of all, I was wondering why you used two egg whites instead of whole eggs? Since they’re not being whipped and folded in, I was wondering if there was any reason why I couldn’t substitute a whole egg for the two whites? In the end, this is how I made it (to save on waste in my kitchen), so I’m hoping it won’t have made a significant impact on the recipe.
Otherwise, utilizing what I had on hand, I used wheat bran instead of oat bran… and in the end, though the muffins came out very well, we weren’t exactly keen on the bran texture. Does oat bran produce a softer end product?
Finally, and kind of totally on a tangent here, I have been considering the use of unflavored gelatin powder packets in my baking simply in hopes of naturally and unobtrusively adding more of a protein balance to my bread products. Would you have any reason to believe this would cause a problem with the recipe? Do you know of any adjustments that should be considered in order to try this? Thank you very much!
In any case, thank you for sharing so many wonderful ideas on your website for tasty and healthy clean eating that I can be confident in! This site was truly a remarkable find, and I have only just started! (This was only the second recipe from here I’ve made.) I am looking forward to many more. 🙂
Thanks again! Sincerely,
Marianna
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipes Marianna! That means so much to me that you plan on trying many more in the future. 🙂 Like I mentioned in the Notes section of the recipe, I haven’t tried using wheat bran, so I don’t know how that affects the texture of these muffins. With oat bran, these muffins are really moist and soft! Since some of my family members have high cholesterol, I prefer to omit egg whites wherever possible. If you use two eggs whites, as written, instead of one whole egg, you’ll also increase the protein content, which seems to be a concern of yours!
Gelatin powder packets probably fall under the category of “protein powders,” in the sense that you’d like to use them. They’ll definitely affect the texture of baked goods, and I’d recommend reviewing my Protein Powder FAQ page here, before you try anything! Additionally, if you click on the “Recipes” tab in the top pink menu bar of my website, you’ll find an option to view all of my high protein recipes. Perhaps that would be a better place for you to start, rather than starting with adding gelatin, because I can definitely guarantee the results of those recipes! 😉
I’m so excited to hear what recipes you decide to try next!!
I’m baking a double batch of these right now. Subbed out the raisins for dried cranberries because that’s what I had on hand. They smell great! I had a similar recipe years ago and couldn’t find it, so I’m hoping this turns out similarly delicious and satisfying.
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Emily! I love your idea of using dried cranberries. I need to remember to try that myself! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Hi, I want to make a batch of 12 as the recipe calls for but I know they wont all get eaten in time, can i freeze half the dough to cook later or should i bake all and freeze half the cooked muffins? What do you recommend? Or should I just cut the recipe in half to make 6 instead of 12? I dont want to negatively affect the taste/texture etc through freezing but it would save me a lot of hassle. Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Zurine! Once fully baked, these muffins actually freeze really well. It should also work just as well to make a half-batch. I’ve done both of those with great success! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Hi, I am just wondering if anyone can tell me how I can make these muffins with bug tops like the kind you can buy in coffee shops. I really want to bake this muffin and I would love to make it with a large top! Thanks.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Elsa! If you’d like your muffins to have the tall domed tops like in bakeries, then I’d recommend filling each muffin cup all the way to the brim with batter. (That means you’ll probably only get around 8 muffins, instead of 12, and the Nutrition Information will change accordingly!) Then preheat the oven to 425°F. Bake your muffins at 425°F for 7 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the temperature to 350°F. Continue baking for another 10 minutes. Check on them at this time (17 minutes total should have elapsed!), and if the tops feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (or with a few crumbs attached!), then they’re done. If not, continue baking until they reach that point. Does that make sense? 🙂
I cover why this two-temperature baking method creates tall domed bakery-style muffin tops in this blog post of mine. (This bran muffin batter is already thick enough, like in Tip #1 in that other blog post!)
I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins!
Thanks for the tips Amy! I have baked the muffins and they turned out great with the domed tops! They are delicious!
It’s my pleasure! I’m so glad you love these muffins Elsa! Thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂
Good afternoon Amy,
As of today I have baked five batches of your current raisin bran spice muffins. And each time they came out perfectly. In fact I almost can’t bake them fast enough. I baked them and 24 hours later they are gone. Thank you for this recipe.
I am a cancer survivor and I have needed to increase my fiber intake. I was looking for a way to do it without taking something like been a fiber. And then I got diagnosed with Fossett joint osteoarthritis and I got told that while I am not intolerant or have silly acts it would be helpful for me to reduce my gluten intake.
So I use Bob’s red Mill gluten-free one-to-one baking flour, and Bob’s red Mill oat bran. The first time I made the muffins I was a little concerned about the oat bran and the texture of the muffins. Your suggestion of soaking the oat bran in the yogurt, the milk and the vanilla worked beautifully. The muffins come out light and fluffy and the texture is just perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe, I am forward to trying more of your recipes. And yes I signed up to receive recipes by email.
Sincerely Teri
Thank you so much for your kind comment Teri — it completely made my day! I’m incredibly honored that you’ve already baked five batches of these muffins, that you’d call their texture perfect, and signed up for my recipe email updates. Those are the best compliments I ever could’ve asked for, and it really means the world to me! I truly appreciate you taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I also appreciate you including your recipe modifications about Bob’s Red Mill’s products. I always love hearing what tweaks work!
I’m really excited to hear what recipe of mine you pick to make next, too! And if you have any questions about making any of my other recipes gluten-free to better suit your dietary needs, please don’t hesitate to ask!