Blueberry Maple Bran Muffins
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Start your morning right with blueberry maple bran muffins—hearty, lightly sweet, and bursting with juicy berries in every bite.
Most delicious muffins are loaded with white flour, sugar, and butter, making them more like cupcakes without the frosting than a wholesome breakfast. On the flip side, most healthful muffins don’t taste very good. These blueberry bran muffins, sweetened with maple syrup, strike the perfect balance between nutritious and indulgent. They’re lower in fat and sugar than most muffins, enriched with wheat bran and whole wheat flour, and packed with antioxidant-rich blueberries.
These muffins are a treat you can feel good about baking for your family. The recipe was inspired by a similar version in Lucinda Scala Quinn’s Mad Hungry: Feeding Men and Boys.
“These are delicious and easy to make. I made them this morning, following the recipe to a T. The best bran muffins ever!”
What You’ll Need To Make Blueberry Maple Bran Muffins
- All-purpose flour, whole wheat flour & wheat bran or wheat germ: This trio provides structure and hearty texture, with the bran or germ adding fiber and a subtle nuttiness.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Work together to give the muffins a light, tender rise.
- Cinnamon, maple syrup, sugar & blueberries: Bring warm spice and sweetness to the muffins, with juicy blueberries scattered throughout for bursts of flavor.
- Large eggs, vegetable oil & milk: These bind the batter and add richness, moisture, and a tender crumb.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Prep the oven and dry ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 cup of the all-purpose flour, the wheat flour, wheat bran (or wheat germ), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Step 2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, maple syrup, sugar, oil, and milk. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is smooth—it will be very wet.
Pro Tip: If your maple syrup is cold from the fridge and you have the time, bring it to room temp first so it doesn’t seize up when mixed with the eggs and oil.
Step 3. Prep and add the blueberries. Rinse the blueberries, then toss them in a small bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons of flour so they’re lightly coated (the blueberries need to be wet for the flour to stick). Gently fold them into the batter using a spatula.
Pro Tip: Tossing the berries in flour helps keep them from sinking—just make sure they’re a little wet so the flour will stick to them.
Step 4. Fill the muffin tin. Use a ladle or 1/3-cup measure to scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each almost to the top.
Step 5. Bake. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and crisp around the edges.
Step 6. Cool and store. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack. Serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. The muffins can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Pro Tips For the Best Blueberry Bran Muffins
- Frozen blueberries work fine: Just don’t thaw them—adding them straight from the freezer prevents them from bleeding into the batter and turning it purple. As with fresh, toss them in a little flour so they don’t sink.
- All-purpose flour is okay: If you don’t have whole wheat flour on hand, feel free to use only all-purpose. The muffins will still turn out great, but using both adds texture and a little nutritional boost.
- Use a gentle hand with mixing: Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, stir just until there are no dry spots. Overmixing can make the muffins dense.
- Store wheat bran and/or wheat germ in the fridge or freezer. This will significantly extend its shelf life. If kept at room temp, it will generally only keep for 3 months.
Bake Your Way Through These Muffin Recipes
Blueberry Maple Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, divided
- ¾ cup whole wheat flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ⅓ cup wheat bran or wheat germ
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 cup (130 g) of the all-purpose flour, the wheat flour, wheat bran (or wheat germ), baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In another bowl, beat together the eggs, maple syrup, sugar, oil and milk. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until batter is smooth (note: batter will be very wet).
- Rinse the blueberries and toss them in a small bowl with the remaining 2 teaspoons of flour until they are well-coated (the blueberries need to be wet in order for the flour to stick). Add them to the batter and fold gently with a spatula until evenly distributed. Using a ladle or ⅓-cup measure, scoop the batter into the muffin cups until they are almost full.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and crisp around the edges. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn muffins out onto a wire rack. Serve warm. Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days and reheat before serving. (To reheat, wrap muffins in aluminum foil and place in a 350°F/175°C oven for 10 to 15 minutes.)
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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These taste too good to be healthy! I keep a batch on hand for my high schooler who rushed out the door every morning. It makes me feel good to know she has some ” brain food”
Can I use frozen blueberries? do I need to thaw them first? Will they be too juicy?
Hi Walki, Yes, you can definitely use frozen berries. It’s best not to defrost them. Hope you enjoy!
I followed the recipe, except I substituted brown sugar for white. They came out so moist and perfect. Usually bran muffins are dry, these are perfection 🙂
Thanks, Maya. Good to know brown sugar works as well.
Yum so good! I used frozen blueberries and they turned out beautifully. Thanks for another great recipe.
We made this recipe a few weeks ago. I have a tried and true bran muffin recipe in my repertoire, but am always on the hunt for something new! These were so fluffy and moist – mine are usually a bit drier and don’t rise quite as much. I loved the idea of placing the berries on top and dipping them under the surface – worked like a charm and the muffins turned out perfectly as pictured. I always learn something new on your blog! Thank you.
I have a lot of frozen blueberries, do you think they will work out ok?
Hi, I would like to make these for a brunch with some families, and maybe even your french toast with challah (that one’s even more likely, actually). Any idea on whether I can make either of these batters the night before, or even two hours beforehand, or will that mess up the chemistry?
Thanks,
Patricia
Hi Patricia, You can make the French toast batter the night before but not the muffins. Hope you enjoy them 🙂
Hooray… a healthy muffin recipe! Now I have muffins that taste good and are good for me. Thanks! 🙂
I made these tonight and they were FANTASTIC! Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe! 🙂
Yum! I made these a few days ago, and they’re already gone. I’m glad you noted (and the pictures show) that the batter is so wet, because at first I thought, “Uh oh…this can’t be right. Did I add too much milk? Not enough flour?” Not to worry! They turned out just fine. Thanks again for another great recipe, Jenn!