These vegan bran muffins are bursting with juicy raisins and warming spices! Easy to make and perfect for a sweet snack or on-the-go breakfast!
Did anyone else thing bran muffins sounded like the worst thing ever when they were a kid? I did!
Mom used to make them for her and dad, and I couldn't for the life of me understand why anyone would want to eat a crunchy looking brown muffin with raisins in it, when there were so many other types of desserty muffins in the world, like chocolate muffins or pumpkin muffins.
Well now I know better. Bran muffins are delicious. These vegan bran muffins in particular are sweet and spicy enough to taste like a treat, and when I slice one in half and slather it in almond butter I'm basically in heaven. The fact that they're on the healthier side (as far as muffins are concerned) is basically a big bonus.
Let's talk about how they're made. It's super easy!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Whole wheat flour. You can absolutely substitute with white flour if you prefer, but since we're making muffins specifically featuring wheat bran I figured why use a variety of flour that has the bran removed? Whole wheat flour contains the bran, so that's what I went with.
- Wheat bran. Look for this in the baking or natural foods section of your supermarket, or buy it on Amazon. I'm using SweetGourmet brand wheat bran.
- Brown sugar. Make sure your sugar is organic in order to keep the recipe vegan.
- Baking powder.
- Baking soda.
- Spices. We're using ground cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy-milk. Soy milk, oat milk, cashew milk, and almond milk are among your options here. Just make sure whatever you use is unsweetened and unflavored. Need help choosing? Check out my guide to dairy-free milks.
- Vegetable oil. Your favorite baking oil can be used here. Canola oil, coconut oil, and corn oil will all work.
- Apple cider vinegar. This is important for adding acidity to the batter, which will cause it to react with the baking soda so our muffins rise. If you don't have any on hand, check out my list of apple cider vinegar substitutes.
- Vanilla extract.
- Raisins. You can leave these out or substitute another type of dried fruit, or even nuts, if you prefer.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Whisk your dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl: flour, bran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
- Stir the wet ingredients together in a separate container, such as a liquid measuring cup. Include the milk, oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla.
Tip: Make sure your ingredient are at room temperature before you begin. This may mean you need to warm up your non-dairy milk slightly if it's been in the fridge.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir everything just until the batter is blended.
- Add the raisins and gently fold them into the batter using a spoon or rubber spatula.
Tip: It's important to avoid overmixing the batter at these stages. If you want your muffins to have the best possible texture, stop stirring as soon as the ingredients are mixed.
- Divide the batter among paper-lined cups of a muffin tin.
- Pop the tin into the oven and bake the muffins for about 20 minutes. To test a muffin for doneness, gently press on the top with a finger. It will spring back when it's done.
- Transfer the muffin tin from the oven to a wire cooling rack. Let your vegan bran muffins cool for at least a few minutes before removing them from the tin.
Shelf-Life & Storage
Vegan bran muffins will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about 4 days, in the fridge for about a week, or in the freezer for about 3 months.
More Vegan Muffins
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
📖 Recipe
Cinnamon & Spice Vegan Bran Muffins
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup wheat bran
- â…” cup organic brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- â…“ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Whisk the flour, bran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt together in a large mixing bowl.
- In a separate container such as a liquid measuring cup, stir together the milk, oil, cider vinegar, and vanilla.
- Pour the milk mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Stir the ingredients together just until blended. Don't overmix the batter.
- Fold in the raisins.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups.
- Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, or until slightly darkened and domed on top. To test for doneness, gently press a finger into the top of a muffin. It will spiring back if the muffin is done.
- Transfer the muffin tin to a cooling rack and let the muffins cool for at least a few minutes before removing them from the tins.
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I left out the cloves ( can’t stand them!) and they were delicious. The second time I made them I added a cup of chopped fresh apple to the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients. They turned out amazing! Thanks for this recipe, it’s proven to be a hit with everyone who has tasted them! Definitely my go-to muffin recipe from now on. I love that it uses simple ingredients that I always have so I can whip up a batch any time.
These muffins were delicious and so quick and easy to make! I didn’t have cloves or ginger, and quite frankly, I liked them with just the cinnamon.
I will definitely make these again and often! Thank you for the recipe!
These are delicious! I will be making them again, and again. Thank you for the recipe.
I made this as a loaf and it turned out great! (I have an irrational preference for loaves over muffins)
Baking time was longer, of course (maybe about 40-50 min? I forgot to time it) and I ended up lowering the oven temp to 350 after about 30min so the top didn't get too dark. It turned out perfectly - it's delicious and not overly sweet. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you for sharing your results! I'm sure this will be useful for some folks. 40 to 50 minutes does sound about right for a loaf. Glad you enjoyed it!!
Do these freeze well?
Very well! Seal them up and they should be good for about 3 months.
What can be used instead of oil?
You could try applesauce. It works in most recipes, though I haven't tested it in this one.
I plan on using unsweetened applesauce, approximately 1/2 cup or 1 small cup usually sent in a child’s lunchbox.