Bran and Chia Muffins Recipe (2024)

I'm no raisin fan, so I add chopped-up dried apricots instead. (Chopping is another step in this multi-step recipe, but no matter.) I substitute maple syrup for agave; I add the molasses at the same time. I do NOT refrigerate the batter overnight! I just bake it. Anyone who can plan to make muffins a day in advance is a better man than I. And I cram the batter into my one 12-cup muffin pan, so mine have nice big tops :o). Then I give away as many as I can, to smiles all around.

The recipe does not say when to add the molasses, but whisking it in with the eggs and agave should be fine.

Best bran muffin I have ever had. Be sure to allow the bran to soften and the chia seeds to release their mucus. Doing so yields a moist muffin, sweet from the raisons, that when filled to the top of a standard muffin liner, rises beautifully. I spray the muffin liner with oil for these low fat muffins to ensure no sticking.

Honey: Replace with equal amounts. White Sugar: For every 1 cup sugar called for use 2/3 cup agave, and reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup. Brown Sugar: For every 1 cup sugar called for, use 2/3 cup agave, and reduce the liquid in the recipe by 2 tablespoons. From web.

Deceptively flavorful! I used olive oil rather than canola oil and usually use honey rather than agave, but had none, and only 1/4 cup maple syrup which I made up with water before I realized I could have just used more molasses. Still turned out moist and flavorful--no need for any spread--and smelled wonderful while baking--a treat on a cold, gray, January Saturday morning. Martha's recipes are always reliable and a pleasure.

Agree--no refrigeration step necessary! Muffins are spontaneous treat in our household! Upped the oil by 1/4 c and added abt 2T melted butter, 1/4 c apple butter, melted honey instead of agave and subst 1/4 C buckwheat flour for same of bran (actually used wheat germ and didn't soak). Then sprinkled walnuts and shredded unsweetened coconut on top. Next time, will add brown sugar and some lemon peel. Thanks for the inspiration Martha Rose!

Okay -- so I think these are totally delicious. BUT I used coconut oil instead of canola and I used 1/3 but dark brown sugar instead of agave. They have a great texture, soft and toothsome! I've been looking for a bran muffin recipe and this one is the winner so far!

These were great, and it was nice to have hot muffins in the morning! I didn't mind letting them refrigerate overnight. I used dried cranberries rather than raisins and made my own buttermilk. They were moist even with all the flour. I ended up with 24 small to medium-sized muffins.

I halved the recipe. For flavour I added cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Used brown sugar instead of agave; the ingredient list calls for molasses but doesn't mention it in the instructions, but I added it anyway. I didn't bother with the overnight refrigeration, and only left them in the fridge for 1-2 hours. They turned out fine and moist, except I used muffin/cupcake liners and they stuck to the liners considerably, which is too bad, since a lot of the muffin ended up going to wast

We made this with the addition of 1 C walnuts which we enjoy. Didn’t change the baking time which, for us at about 3K feet above sea level is 30 minutes.

Let cool 10 minutes before removing from tins.

I make these often and add 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia oil along with the vanilla extract; you could achieve the same effect by adding the zest of one orange. Parchment muffin papers are indispensable!

I had hemp seeds on hand but no chia seeds, so I decided to tweak this accordingly, knowing that hemp seeds don't have the same liquid-absorbing property of chia seeds. I didn't change any liquid amounts and just stirred the hemp seeds into the batter as the last item. Also, I made the muffins immediately. Batter was runny, thinner even than typical pancake batter, but the result is tasty & moist. If I use hemp again, I'll try cutting the amount of buttermilk in half.

This was very good using dried blueberries instead of raisin. Also did not have bran on hand so I used oatmeal and it worked just fine. Chia seeds add a nice twist, making texture a bit chewy.

I didn't have agave so used brown rice syrup instead. Used part oat bran because I didn't have enough wheat bran. Just realized I forgot the molasses and the muffins are in the oven :). We shall see...

These muffins are perfect as is! I put half a walnut on top of each one -not really a change. Soaking is key to get the health benefits from chia as well as making the muffins moist .They freeze well. They’re going to be a staple !

Made as directed but used dried apricots instead of raisins. I liked these, but my family thought the texture was weird. I think it was bc of the chia, which kept the muffins moist, but imparted an almost gelatinous quality to the interior of the muffins.

Can anyone tell me what "unprocessed bran" is? It would be great if folks could mention what brand and type of bran they used. Our family always used Kellogg All-Bran combined with Nabisco (Post) 100% Bran, but the latter was discontinued in 2006 leaving those of us who loved our mother's recipes with no substitute. Different kinds of bran produce different textures and flavors based on feedback I've read, so I'm still searching for a replacement for the Nabisco/Post discontinued version.

Absolutely not worth all the time and effort for totally average muffins. Would not make again.

I forgot to add molasses, then realized that’s because no step mentions the molasses. Any thoughts on when I was supposed to add it?

I didn’t have whole wheat flour so I used 2 cups bread flour in place of the whole wheat because it has a higher protein content than all purpose. Turned out great, just a little less healthful.

I forgot to add the molasses but put it in at the last minute before I let the batter sit for 3 hours. Instead of agave syrup, I used half molasses and half maple syrup and the result is fabulous!

Tasty! I used silicone muffin liners and there was zero sticking. No agave so I subbed maple syrup and used diced apricots cuz raisins are a no-go in my house.

I used chopped dates instead of raisins, sugar free maple syrup and whisked the molasses in with the eggs, syrup and oil. They were great!

This recipe tastes very healthy. It’s a little bland so I added a little bit of raspberry jam which gave it a little more flavor but also made it less healthy. I also made mini muffins with this batter which I think made it a little less dense and more fluffy

I thought these were terrible. Not enough flavor, not enough bran texture, and the chia made them weirdly gluey. And I’ve got 18 of them :-(

I did forget to add the molasses, but these were quite tasty anyway. Used half the raisins, other half in chopped dried apricots (which was a nice variance).

Amazing! Substituted maple syrup for agave. Added cranberries and white chocolate chips (just a few) in addition to raisins. Made 24… delicious!

What type of bran? Oat or wheat? Could the ingredients list be edited? I suppose one type or the other is commonly used, but I don't know for sure and other bakers may not either.I want to make these today, so I bought both kinds & will use a blend of both.

Used half dried California apricots / half sultana raisins, and coconut oil instead of canola. Whole spelt flour was my ww flour. Otherwise followed exactly. I left in fridge for awhile, like maybe even 24 hours. I honestly cannot believe how tasty these are - granted I just ate one hot from oven. Will definitely make many more times over. And I already have several default muffin recipes for this to compete with! Thank you for such a healthy muffin that I can feel really good about :)