Simple & delicious Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins that are packed full of healthy ingredients. Only 152 calories each, whole grain, oil & refined-sugar free. Perfect for breakfast, snacks & lunch boxes!
An email from a reader last month, asking if I could come up with a recipe for some Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins was the prompt I needed to create this recipe. And then later, my Healthy Carrot Muffins too.
MUFFINS FOR BREAKFAST?
Muffins aren't something I have grown up associating with breakfast. You probably already know that I am English and moved to Canada a couple of years ago. In England, the only muffins associated with breakfast are English Muffins and they are bread-like rather than cake-like. No-one eats 'cakey' muffins for breakfast. They are more of a dessert or afternoon tea type treat.
I personally wouldn't feel comfortable eating a sugary muffin made with refined flour for breakfast, but one full of whole grain spelt flour, high fibre wheat bran, oats and juicy berries is a whole different ball game and I have fully embraced the 'muffins for breakfast thing' since creating this recipe.
Thanks Diane! :O)
PACKED FULL OF GOOD STUFF
These Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins are packed full of good stuff and are only lightly sweetened with a little coconut sugar. They are completely oil-free and come in at only 152 calories each with an impressive 6 grams of fibre and 5 grams of protein per serving. They can be eaten as they are, but are also delicious split and spread with my Vegan Butter or some peanut butter. One (or two!) make a fantastic breakfast, either at home or packed up to enjoy on the commute to work or school. They are also great as lunch box stuffers and after school snacks and freeze absolutely perfectly for a month or two.
LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THESE VEGAN BLUEBERRY BRAN MUFFINS
If you try these gorgeous blueberry studded muffins, please let me know what you think. You can leave your feedback below and share your pictures with me on Instagram. I am @avirtualvegan. Use the tag #avirtualvegan to be sure I won't miss them.
For best results please use the ingredients and cooking method described below. Substitutions often affect how a recipe turns out. Please only rate the recipe if you have actually tried it. That way the star rating is an accurate representation and helpful to other readers. Thank you and I hope you love this recipe!
Mel x
Vegan Blueberry Bran Muffins
Author:
Ingredients
- 230g / 2 cups spelt flour
- 58g / 1 cup wheat bran
- 50g / ½ cup rolled oats
- 90 g / ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 312 mls / 1¼ cups non-dairy milk
- 125 g / ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 148 g / 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all of the dry ingredients to a large bowl (except blueberries)
- Add all of the wet ingredients to another bowl or jug and stir them together well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix as this can affect the muffins finished texture.
- Add the blueberries and stir until evenly distributed.
- Spoon carefully into the muffin liners and bake for around 20 minutes or until a tooth pick / skewer can be inserted into the middle and come out almost clean.
- Remove from the oven and cook on cooling trays .
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
sadoe says
I've tried these twice. They are nice, yet a skosh dry. Any suggestions for upping moisture without compromising texture/cook time? Thank you in advance! (They are yum :)
Melanie McDonald says
Glad you're enjoying them! My first tip is if you are not using a digital kitchen scale, use a digital scale. 9 times out of 10 if something isn't turning out quite right it's because cups are being used to measure and they aren't accurate enough for baking. You can easily end up with up to 30-50% more flour/bran than is intended when using them which would make a cake/muffin drier than it should be. If you are already using a digital scale, then it could be that your oven runs a little hot or your bakeware holds/conducts more heat than mine. If it's black/dark metal this is likely. Try reducing the oven temp by 10 to 20°F. Or just reduce the bake time by a few minutes. Hope that helps!
sadie says
Thank you! I swear by a digital scale now (it's a game changer and I'm a newbie baker ;) .... so maybe it is my oven? I will try again. I just use a stainless-steel muffin tin. Hmmm. I will continue to futz because this recipe has great keeper potential for my family (tween twins are voracious! :) Thank you again for helping me to sleuth!
Luna says
Hello, can I subsitute the sugar for anyother kind of sweetner like maple syrup? If so, how could I do that? Thank you!
Melanie McDonald says
You can use any other dry sugar variety (white, cane, turbinado, brown etc) in place of the coconut sugar without affecting how the recipe works. If you use maple syrup it will probably need a bit of altering. Either less applesauce or milk to compensate. How much of either one would need reducing though, is hard to say without trying it.
Patti says
I love this recipe. I use sprouted wheat flour, maple syrup instead of sugar, and oat milk….turns out great every time!
Dahlia Isaacson says
How much maple syrup did you use and did you alter any other wet ingredients proportions? Thanks!
Liz says
I made these today with Truvia and grounded my own oat flour. The texture was perfect!!! I also used mixed berries vs just blu. Great recipe - thank you!!!
Olivia says
I made these with oat bran and white sugar since that’s what I had, and they came out amazing!
Jody says
These are the only bran muffins I make now. At least once a week. I sometimes combine spelt with sprouted whole wheat and oat flour. I also do a variety of mix ins depending on what we feel like for that batch. Chopped dates, walnuts, raisins etc. This recipe is awesome!
A Virtual Vegan says
So pleased you're enjoying them Jody!
Judith Perez says
Do you think I could make 6 large muffins instead of 12 small?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes that would be fine.
Rachelle says
What can we use instead of wheat bran? Flax? Or would that be too much flax for the recipe? And can I make this sugar and salt free for my baby? Thanks!
A Virtual Vegan says
The recipe has only been tested with wheat bran so I recommend you use it if you want the best results. Oat bran would likely work ok, but I haven't tried it so can't be 100% sure and more flour would probably work but the amount might need adjusting. I don't think flax would work well. There is too much of it.
Sugar isn't just for sweetness in baking. It gives structure too so if you remove it, it might affect how the muffins turn out. They might not rise as well or be as fluffy but I'm sure you're baby will enjoy them regardless. Salt you can safely omit.
This spelt quick bread recipe might work better for you instead. https://avirtualvegan.com/yeast-free-spelt-bread/
I would imagine it's pretty baby/toddler friendly and it's yeast-free, no wheat bran, easy to make and has no sugar in it. You can omit the salt and could make it as a loaf but it would also work as muffins. They'd take 20 to 25 mins. You could even add some blueberries to the batter.
Hope that helps!
Makayla says
I made these tonight and they were delicious! I used fresh, local blueberries and the muffins were sooo good. I didn't have any applesauce on hand so I quickly made my own with some fresh apples, and they turned out great! 10/10 recommend.
Sherry says
Hi Makayla,
How did you make your own apple sauce? I would love to try this,
Keri says
Omgosh!! So great! All my non vegan friends loved them too! So hearty and healthy. I just added cinnamon to mine. Can”t wait to make them again. Winner!!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Keri. I'm really pleased you enjoyed them!
heyc says
thank you so much for this recipe! i've been looking for something to make with all the wheat bran i got at home and this were perfect. i added a little bit of cinannom and nutmeg (as i usually do almost obsessively) and i highly suggest for those who also enjoy these spices. up next: healthy carrot muffins. thank you so much again. <3
max says
Do you need to refrigerate these and if so how soon after cooling
A Virtual Vegan says
I don't refrigerate them. The cold makes cakes and muffins dry out so the texture stays at its best if they are kept at room temperature. Once completely cool just store them in an airtight container. I like to put a layer of kitchen paper below and over the top of them in the container to soak up any moisture that occurs. They freeze perfectly too for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag.
Suzy says
These were awesome. Didn’t have spelt, used whole wheat white flour. No coconut sugar, used brown sugar. Added millet seed. Will make again and again! Thanks