Blueberry Bran Muffins
These honey-sweetened, 100% whole grain bran muffins are light, fluffy and delicious. The blueberries make them taste like a healthy treat.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on June 19, 2025
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Let’s talk about these healthy bran muffins. They’re so good. Most bran muffins are dense, so I didn’t know that hearty bran muffins could be so fluffy and delicately sweet. This recipe is made with 100 percent whole grains and naturally sweetened with honey, believe it or not!
These muffins are a breakfast treat that you can feel good about. Wheat bran is the nutritious, fibrous, protective outer layer of wheat berries that is removed when wheat berries are processed into all-purpose flour. One of the greatest benefits of a whole foods-based diet is getting plenty of fiber without even trying.
I can’t say they’re the prettiest muffins around, but bran muffins are never going to win a beauty contest. Fortunately, their taste and texture make up for their modest appearance. If you prefer a classic, fluffy blueberry muffin, be sure to try my healthy blueberry muffins. They’re also made with whole wheat flour and naturally sweetened.
How to Make Healthy Bran Muffins
These bran muffins are so easy to make, no mixer required. Simply combine the wet ingredients in one bowl, the dry ingredients in another, and stir them together just until combined. Don’t overmix, or your muffins will turn out more tough than tender (stop stirring when you see a couple of streaks of flour left).
Ingredient Notes
Deb’s blue sky bran muffins were already on my list to try when my friend brought some over. One taste of the homemade muffins was motivation to adapt them for my blog.
Here’s what I changed: I replaced the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I decreased the buttermilk and baking temperature so I could sweeten the muffins with honey instead of brown sugar. The flavor of honey is lovely here, as is the lemon zest, which adds some freshness that reduces the prominence of the whole wheat flavor.
Choose between mild extra-virgin olive oil, such as California Olive Ranch (I can’t taste it) or melted coconut oil. I tried these muffins with melted butter instead of oil, but the muffins are much more moist with oil.
You can easily make these muffins dairy-free by making your own buttermilk with dairy-free milk, such as plain unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk.
I couldn’t resist sprinkling the tops with raw sugar for a sparkly, lightly crunchy top. They’re just delightful.
Recipe Variations
This recipe is flexible. The fresh fruit contributes some moisture and sweetness, so I wouldn’t omit it entirely, but you can play around with the fruit options. This recipe could easily become raspberry, strawberry or apple bran muffins. Thinly slice the strawberries and either cut the apple into a small dice or shred it.
I appreciate the lemon zest flavor with the blueberries, but you could substitute orange zest with strawberries or raspberries.
Serving Suggestions
I’ve been enjoying these muffins with Greek yogurt for breakfast. They make good snacks, too, with or without a spread of salted butter or nut butter, like peanut butter or almond butter.
They keep well in the freezer for months—I love to have them on hand for emergency snacks (I defrost them by microwaving them for about 15 to 20 seconds).
More Wholesome Baked Goods to Try
Here are just a few more naturally sweetened muffins and quick breads:
- Healthy Banana Bread or Maple-Sweetened Banana Muffins
- Healthy Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Zucchini Muffins
- Strawberry Oat Muffins
Please let me know how your bran muffins turn out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Healthy Blueberry Bran Muffins
These honey sweetened, 100% whole grain blueberry bran muffins are light, fluffy and delicious! Add blueberries or substitute any other fruit you’d like. This recipe is flexible and yields 12 muffins.
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk*
- ⅓ cup mild extra-virgin olive oil or melted coconut oil
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 large egg
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 ½ cups wheat bran
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup (6 ounces) fresh or frozen blueberries
- 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar, AKA raw sugar
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line it with paper liners.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, honey, egg and zest. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined (a few remaining streaks of flour are fine). Gently fold in the berries (if you’re using frozen blueberries, toss them in an extra teaspoon or two of flour beforehand to help prevent their juices from running into the batter).
- Working quickly, divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin top with turbinado sugar.
- Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking for even browning, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out with just a few crumbs attached.
- Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing them from the tin. Leftover muffins will keep at room temperature for 2 days, up to 5 days in the refrigerator, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s blue sky bran muffins.
*Make your own buttermilk (with dairy-free option): Pour 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice into a liquid measuring cup. Pour in your milk of choice (nut milk would be fine) until you reach the 1-cup line. Let the “buttermilk” rest for 5 to 10 minutes and then use as directed. See photos of the process.
Change it up: Deb says you can use any fruit in these muffins, other than pineapple or citrus chunks. Fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries would be nice. You could substitute orange zest for the lemon zest if you prefer.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
These muffins sound like the perfect combination of hearty + indulgent. Right up my street. I know exactly what you mean about spending time outside too – I’ve been making an effort to eat breakfast outside recently and it makes such a difference to my mood for the day.
You know, I should really start doing the same. Breakfast outside is the best.
I’m with you, outdoor spaces just do something right for the body! When we went to look at the apartment I live in now I noticed there was a porch and a patio, SOLD!
A porch and a patio? Lucky girl!
We both had wholegrain blueberry muffins on our minds this morning, except you beat me and used honey to sweeten it. These look delicious. Also, that picture of Cookie is hilarious. I love when I happen to get a picture of my dog with her tongue out.. they’re always my favorite.
Cookie stuck her face in the sugar jar when I wasn’t looking! I don’t mind when she steals a stalk of kale but sugar is another story. Hope you give these muffins a try soon!
Best Bran muffins I’ve had or made!
Just wondering, why can’t pineapple be used in the muffins?
Also totally agree about the porch. Whenever I see pictures of old Southern houses with gorgeous porches I just think how nice it would be to sit on a chair, watch the world go by, sip ice tea in the summer and maybe yell at imaginary kids to get off the lawn from my porch for extra effect ;)
Good question about the pineapple, I wondered the same! Deb didn’t include an explanation why, so I just passed along what she said. I want one of those old Southern houses with a wrap-around porch! I think that would settle my outdoor needs.
Pineapple has too much juice that gets released when baked- it makes for VERY soggy muffins, sadly! Though I bet dried pineapple would be delicious.
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Ah, good to know!
same thing with strawberries! comes out soggy.
Regarding the pineapple or strawberries making the muffins too soggy…just count them as part of the liquid. If you add the fruit to your liquid measuring cup, then measure the liquid in that same cup up the amount called for in your recipe you should get the right amount of liquid so your muffins won’t be soggy..
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My family picked 14 pounds of blueberries this weekend…I think you read my mind that I needed a blueberry recipe :) I’ve been silently following your blog for about a month now, and I’ve recommended it to several GF friends. Your blog is lovely and I adore all the recipes I’ve tried so far….can’t wait to try this one!
Marianne, that’s a lot of blueberries! Thank you for sharing my blog with your friends. I hope you love the muffins! If you’re not GF, I have a delicious blueberry maple cake recipe that I think you would enjoy.
You know I love these muffins and can’t wait to try your spin on them!
They’re pretty great, if I do say so myself! I can bring you some when we hang out this weekend!
I totally feel you about being in the present! My husband never has his phone out when we are at dinner and he always gets a little sad whenever I pull mine out at an “instagrammable” moment. I’m trying to let go of it – sometimes it is better to just leave the phone at home! This sounds delicious – I love your adaptation of this muffin. If you can eat a muffin for breakfast and do your body good at the same time – it is a win/win!
Leah, I’m always struggling with whether or not to get out my phone and be a “better” instagrammer or just be in the moment. Of course, if I instagram something, then I want to check for likes and that further distracts me! That’s why I usually leave my phone in my purse when I’m out with friends or family.
Ooh these look good! And about outdoor spaces – I totally agree. Gazebos, porches, balconies, verandas, patios.. I’ll take any of the above. Also, I love your comment about slowing down. It’s something that I really struggle with but even when I do just a little bit, I feel so much better. Thanks for the reminder!
I love a muffin as a breakfast treat, and these seem like a perfect ‘dreaming of outside and summer’ breakfast to eat at my work desk in the mornings. Enjoy your summer slow down Kate, your writing and work will be all the more fresh and passionate for it.
Are we living the same life? So much of what you said is how I’m currently feeling. Just recently we bought a little patio set [2 seater + a small table] and have been eating outside ever since. I completely agree about being crossing the threshold to the outdoor world and just ‘being.’ I’m so glad you were able to take a weekend completely “off” and that you’re trying to slow down this summer. It’s something I need to work on myself! And these muffins…YES! Love a good hearty muffin. :)
Cheers to slowing down! I just borrowed a charcoal grill from friends so now I get to learn how to cook outside. :)
I also dream about having a huge patio for when I have my I-am-a-grown-up house. Right now I have a balcony and I just can’t get enough of it. Everything is better on a balcony… or outdoors in general.
Cheers to disconnecting, being present, spending time outside and drinking wine with friends. These muffins sound lovely. Can’t wait to make a batch when blueberries arrive here soon!!!
so basically these are happening this weekend :D YUM! Blueberry muffins are my faveee. I’ll probably use almond milk as my buttermilk… will report back!
BTW I recently posted a video on my YouTube channel with 3 recipes for easy/quick/healthy summer breakfasts. Just thought I’d let you know/it would mean a lot to me if you took a look! Here’s the link if you’re interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTadqrL6Dxg
Glad you’re feeling better <3
Ella
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Ella, thanks for sharing! Loved your video. Cacao and quinoa, that’s just genius! How do you talk quickly without adding in a ton of “ummms”? I’m terrified of being on video for a lot of reasons, but that’s one of them!
Thanks for watching, I’m glad you enjoyed it! The cacao and quinoa combo is SO delicious, I think because the quinoa is kind of a blank slate of flavor (like plain pasta or tofu… it just sucks up all the tastes around it!).
I’m not really sure… if you go back and watch some of my first videos, you’ll see I wasn’t always very good at not “umming.” :) Some of it is editing/knowing when to refilm a certain sentence, but most of it is just experience. I’m not at all nervous when I sit down to film because my channel and subscribers make up such a positive community. YouTube has made me so much more confident in myself in just about all aspects of my life. I don’t think twice about giving class presentations and the like anymore! If you’re interested, I think a cooking/recipe/tutorial channel could be a great spinoff of this blog. Not sure if you’ve seen it, but David and Louise from Green Kitchen Stories recently launched a cooking channel to go with their blog (as did Elsie and Emma of A Beautiful Mess). You should go for it if you want to!
Thanks again for watching :)
Ella
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Well, you’re really great at it! Green Kitchen Stories’ videos are beautiful. I might have to buy a new dSLR just so I can shoot video!
You’re so nice, that means a lot to me! FYI I use a Canon Rebel T3i, which I think is an excellent sort of all-purpose camera, but the one major con is that it can’t film anything longer than 12 minutes 27 seconds, no matter how big your SD card is. Major bummer sometimes! If you get the value package that it is sold in at some stores (i.e. costco), you get an 55/18mm lens and a really nice strap to go with the body. Great deal for the price if you’re seriously considering it!
Have a great 4th.
http://www.youtube.com/sparklesandsuch26
Awesome, thanks for the details! I’ve been looking at the Canon 6D. I’m glad you told me about potential video limits, thank you! Sounds like I could film up to 30 minutes with that camera, so that’s probably good enough. Maybe I should take the plunge into video!
Wow, that’s a pretty perfect picture of cookie! I haven’t decided about whether I think gluten is the devil or not yet, but I agree, outdoor time is when I feel the most connected to God or my higher self, or Heaven, or whatever you wanna call it! Glad you’re taking time to enjoy it and just be. :)
Cookie totally stuck her face in the sugar jar when I wasn’t looking. I should have known better! If I had your backyard, I would be outside all the time. So good to see you the other day.
Just gotta be careful about those spiders and other creepy crawlies! :) Good to see you, too, as always!
Watch out for spiders falling from the sky!
this sounds amazing, a breakfast muffin that is also a treat ! yummy yummy
Hi Cookie & Kate!
I just want to say that I love your site and I enjoyed your post. I understand what you mean about framing moments. I really feel ya sister. Love to you and Cookie! Many happy long summer days to you.
Love,
Angela
Angela, I’m sorry I didn’t thank you for your comment sooner! I appreciate it and I’m glad to know that you get it. Hope you have a great Fourth of July!
I can eat two of these in one sitting and not feel guilty about it. Lovely muffins. Can’t wait to make some.
I completely understand your sentiment here Kate. I resent having to have multiple social media accounts (as I’m not that sort of person, strangely enough) but after attending a couple of blogging conferences I view it as unavoidable if I want to succeed in this strange world! I definitely agree that viewing the world through an Instagram lens can be detrimental and distracting from being ‘in the moment’. For that reason I usually post only ‘process’ photos with an absence of the finished product unless I am eating alone. I want my friends and family to know that they have my full attention! I think you’ve found a good balance, Kate. Living slow is definitely restorative and de-cluttering for the mind.
As for these gorgeous bran muffins? I love the look of that nourishing, wholegrain crumb, studded with sweet blueberries. That picture of Cookie is SO CUTE. Ah, that little monkey always puts a smile on my face. Thanks for sharing these honest thoughts with us Kate, I appreciate and value it hugely xx
It’s so nice to hear that you get it, Laura! Sounds like you have a great system in place. I want to give my friends my full attention!
Love the puppy picture…I am forever trying to catch funny moments with my dog too! Muffins look delicious! :)
these muffins look delicious! It’s really tough in a world where you feel you have to share everything you are doing and put a positive spin on the not so great, to step back and just be present.
These look really good, especially for breakfast! Would love to enjoy one with my regular cup of coffee. One question (I always want to learn something new): you said you decreased the baking temperature so you could sweeten these with honey. Do baked goods that have been sweetened with honey need to be baked in lower temperatures?
Wishing you a sunny weekend,
Sini
Hi Sini, I’m sorry for my slow response! Great question. Yes, honey browns fairly quickly at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and above. My first batch almost looked/tasted burnt even though they hadn’t been in the oven for long. Typically, it’s best to bake honey-sweetened goods around 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
No problem. Thanks a lot, Kate! Wishing you a wonderful Fourth of July!
I’m new to your site. Love It! Making these muffins today!
Love the picture of Cookie!
What kind of dog is she? Looks like she might have some blue healer in her?
Hi Mishell! I actually just had Cookie’s DNA tested so I finally have an answer to your question. She’s half purebred schipperke and half mutt. The mutt side includes dachshund and Australian koolie (that’s where she gets her spots!). I hope your muffins turned out marvelously!
These look great as always. I recently tested and made some blueberry oatmeal muffins. Will definitely have to try these out.
Looks like Cookie was helping you out! My sous chef departed for college this weekend, so I guess I’ll have to lick the bowl by myself!
I also feel weird about instagramming/tweeting every little thing I do…and so I don’t. And then I occasionally feel guilty about it, but whatever. It’s just not me!
Totally wishing I had muffins on my counter waiting for me to consume for breakfast!! These, specifically. Love those bursts of blueberry juiciness throughout.
Just baked these muffins last night. They are delicious and so moist.
I love all your recipes. You are an inspiration!!!
And love all the pictures of Cookie. Definitely puts a smile on my face. :)
Shelley, I’m so glad the muffins turned out well for you! Thank you for commenting. Cookie says hi. :)
Hi Kate, I tried to email you a few days ago, but I’m not sure if my message ended up in spam or not…
I just made a nectarine oatbran version of these muffins and really enjoyed them! I love your recipes!
I was wondering if it would be okay to post my nectarine oatbran version on my blog. I kept most of the ingredients the same, but used a higher flour to bran ratio and used oatbran instead of wheatbran. I will credit you as my source and rewrite the recipe in my own words.
Not sure if I’m always supposed to ask before I adapt recipes from other bloggers. As a new blogger, I just want to make sure I use correct blogging etiquette!
Hey Emily! I’m so sorry, I’m super behind on emails. You’re welcome to post your adapted recipe on your blog. When I adapt recipes, my general rule of thumb is that it’s ok to post if I’ve made three substantial changes and written the instructions in my own words.
Thank you, Kate! That is a helpful tip. I will keep your general rule of thumb in mind!
I’m bran muffin obsessed!! These sound perfect!! Whenever I’m in Norman OK I always stop by La Baguette for a big bran muffin!
What! I’ve never tried one of those muffins. I will be making a pit stop at La Baguette next time I’m in Norman.
great healthy treat!
has anyone tried adding peaches? What about roasting them first to help dry them out so the muffins don’t become too soggy (thinking along the lines of those roasted pear and chocolate scones from SmittenKitchen)?
Awesome! Tasty snack/ breakfast treat.
Yay, glad you enjoyed these, too!
I’d really like to make these today but I don’t have enough wheat bran. I only have about 2/3 of a cup. Is ground flaxseed meal a good substitute to make up for the missing wheat bran or would it work if I just used more whole wheat flour to make up for it? Thanks!
I am on the no-refined sugar band wagon, but have been craving some sort of baked good! This fit the bill. Deliciously satisfying. Thanks, Kate!
Oh, also, I used almond milk/vinegar in place of buttermilk and oat bran instead of wheat since that’s what I had on hand. Both substitutions worked well.
Thank you, Rachel! Thanks for sharing your substitutions, too!
These muffins were excellent!I don’t feel so guilty for eating this version:) I made one change and added about a tablespoon of butter to the coconut oil, but not sure if it was necessary. Next time, I’ll try it with all coconut oil. I’ve baked them twice now.The second time I forgot the turbinado sugar. I missed the crunch, but they were still very good! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Kathy! So glad you’re enjoying the muffins!
I couldnt find wheat bran at the store so I got oat bran, is that ok to use, or do i need to change something in the recipe? Thanks so much.
Hello! I’m pretty sure oat bran will work the same.
I made these delicious muffins for breakfast this morning on a cold, but sunny, Wisconsin morning. I used sunflower oil which is organic and locally sourced from our CSA farm. The only other change I made was to use orange zest instead of lemon–no lemons in the house. I was amazed at how light they are considering all the bran. Another great recipe!
Thank you, Edith!
I made these today and had to read your blog again to see if I made a mistake. Then I saw the comment about how bran muffins will never win a beauty contest and that made me laugh. The muffins turned out okay as far as bran muffins are concerned. They were quite crumbly though. I did make one mistake though. I didn’t melt the coconut butter fully so by the time I added in the milk and egg which were cold, the coconut oil got chunky. Would that have caused that? The other thing is, I used whole wheat pastry flour. Would you recommend that for your muffin recipes? I’ve used spelt flour for all the others I’ve tried and they have all turned out delicious!
My husband loves these & I make them every week. A few things that have helped me: I heat the buttermilk up in the microwave until it is just barely warm. This solves the coconut oil clumping problem. I also use cupcake papers because mine always stick to the tin no matter how well I grease it. I make a batch and freeze them. I take out one the night before I want to eat it and it’s thawed and delicious. When I don’t have lemon zest, I just use a teaspoon of vanilla and they are still really good. My other tip I just discovered on accident when I forgot the turbine sugar. If you sprinkle the sugar on top half way through cooking (when you turn the pan) the sugar doesn’t disappear into the top of the muffin completely and you get a yummy slightly crunchy sugary top.
Thank you for suggestion. After making a bunch of the other muffins from this website with either spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour it was probably the mistake that I made with the coconut oil that caused the muffins to be crumbly. Every other recipe I have tried where I have properly melted the coconut oil has turned out perfectly. I will be making these again for sure.
These muffins are delicious! Plenty sweet, moist and light. Will definitely make again. Added 1 tsp vanilla and used the almond milk/vinegar for buttermilk. Also subbed orange zest since that’s what I had. Thanks!
Girl! Truly love many of your recipes including those for baked goods and pancakes! However I have found recently that many of the muffin and pancake recipes call for more baking soda or baking powder then I would typically use. I have noticed with this muffin recipe especially that the increase of baking soda and powder has left the muffins tasting quite a bit like both baking agents…not so great on the scale of greatness.The next time I make this recipe I will decrease both baking agents. Thanks for your creativity and ability to inspire deliciousness!
These muffins came out great! Just one question…is there a way of reducing the oil amount in the recipe without affecting the taste?
Delicious and easy to make!
I made these this morning with my 2 year old (our first adventure baking together!) They are tasty but I have one note- 325 F sounded really low to me so I checked the original SK recipe and she says 425. Is that what you meant? I did 425 for 20 minutes and it seemed about right. Looking forward to trying some more of your baking recipes- recent lemon raspberry muffins looked tasty!
Oops, just saw that you already addressed this in another comment. I think my oven runs a little low so that must be why they didn’t turn out burnt tasting for me. Thanks!
I made these today and they are so tasty! They’re definitely going into the regular repertoire.
I really love your recipes. For these muffins, it was appealing that they could be dairy free, and I like using honey instead of sugar. Your recipes are generally pretty adaptable too, so I used some almond meal instead of all the bran.
I had a problem with my fruit though. I used frozen peach slices and didn’t cut them into small-enough chunks. So my muffins were really fragile coming out of the pan and I needed a plate and fork to eat some of them. Not a real hardship, but I will make an adjustment next time!
I’m glad they still tasted great, Becki!
These are delicious and the lemon zest is perfect. It really comes out even after baking. I know bran muffins are rather dense in nature but would adding applesauce moisten it a little?
I haven’t tried it myself, Christina, but feel free to experiment!
These are the best! I used some organic chocolate mile with apple cider vinegar for the buttermilk and added about 1/3 cup organic cocoa powder.
I searched for this recipe yesterday online and found this. Went to save in my recipe folder and found I’d already save this a year ago.
Chocolate milk is an interesting addition, Kristine! It sounds like it worked out well.
These muffins are cooling as I type, and they look and smell delicious! I added some coconut, yogurt, flax, spices and made buttermilk with almond milk and I cannot wait to try (nothing against the original, I just love experimenting with what I have)!
They smell so good, don’t they! What did you think?
Long time follower- love this blog and all your recipes.
Im in my first trimester with my second child and literally was dreaming about bran muffins last night. I came across this recipe and just inhaled two muffins. They really hit the spot! Perfect balance of hearty with just the right amount of sweetness. Thanks for satisfying my pregnancy craving. :)
Yes! That’s great. Thank you, Lisa for sharing.
These are excellent. Perfect muffin recipe, i add a tablespoon of wheat germ just to boost up the nutrition ….turn out great every time.
I’m so happy to hear that, Scott! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Kate…Your recipes are amazing! I have absolutley loved every recipe that I have tried!
In this recipe, I am wondering if there may be a substitute for the wheat bran in order to make the muffin Gluten Free! Thank you!
Great recipe! Thank you. Another reason to eat organic food is to preserve our soil. Conventional practices lead to the loss of a foot of soil a year. Organic farming grows soil.
Thanks, Heidi!