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These Carrot Bran Muffins are what is called a breakfast muffin, I suppose, as they aren’t really sweet and loaded with sugar, but a solid tasty muffin that can be a good start to your day. The raisins and molasses are what give it most of the sweetness, and the spices save it from being too bland. You can substitute the oil with applesauce as well, I made them with oil since it’s only half a cup needed but you can cut a lot of calories and fat if you want to by using applesauce. Also – the applesauce adds a great flavour!
Healthy Carrot Muffins
I know, we all love a good sweet carrot cake muffin, but you can make a healthier carrot muffin that everyone will enjoy. Now I’m going to be honest, my daughter asked to me bake her up some bran muffins ( which are her favourite, which of course they are because picky eater + plain bran = common sense.)
She took one look at these carrot muffins and said ” MOM! Why would you ruin a perfectly good bran muffin!!!!!???” and of course, didn’t touch them with a ten foot pole.
I can’t win. I told her to go bake her own, because this was an old recipe from 9 years ago that SHE USED TO EAT WHEN SHE WAS 3 AND NOW SHE THINKS SHE’S PICKY. Ok fine, she’s always been picky, but she used to eat these when she was little. That’s the thing about being a food blogger, you are constantly trying out new recipes so I can honestly say that I haven’t made these carrot muffins for a good 5 years now.
Tips & Tricks for Making Carrot Bran Muffins
- I like to boil my raisins for a couple minutes before putting them in, I put them in a large measuring cup with hot water, and boil them for 2 minutes in the microwave to plump them up. They are SO much better in the muffins this way, plump and juicy, not dry little shriveled things.
- You can absolutely skip the raisins in these muffins because some people are weird and don’t like them. It’s fine, I love you raisin haters anyway.
- Applesauce works like a charm to reduce calories and fat.
- Don’t be scared to throw in a tablespoon of ground hemp seeds!
So go ahead and “ruin” good bran muffins by adding in carrots and spices, these are a great lower sugar muffin to start out your day. As we all know muffins are huge calorie, sugar and fat bombs when they are made commercially and this is a nice change. They are currently frozen individually in my fridge freezer for my son, my current favourite child, as he loves to grab one on his way our the door and eat on the bus to school. They freeze well and are a great start to your day!
Happy baking!
Love,
Karlynn
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Carrot Bran Muffins
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Breakfast
- Cuisine
- American
- Servings
- 12 muffins
- Calories
- 256
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
Bran Mixture
- 1 cup of wheat bran
- 1 cup soured milk or buttermilk
Dry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of flour
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of oil
- 1 tablespoon of molasses
- 1 1/2 cups of grated carrots
- 1 cup of raisins
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 °F. Line a 12 well muffin tray with paper liners or spray the wells with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Mix your bran with the milk in a bowl and let it sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all your dry ingredients and whisk them together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the bran mixture and combine well.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine until smooth and well mixed.
- Bake at 350 degrees until the tops spring back when touched, about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Please rate this recipe in the comments below to help out your fellow cooks!
Laura says
These are good. I was looking for a healthier alternative to carrot cake. I cut the spices nearly in half (and I’m so glad I did!). Used 1 tsp of cinnamon, and about 1/4 tsp cloves and nutmeg (the spice measures seemed a bit heavy to me). The taste of cloves is still too strong for my taste, but everything came out great otherwise. I had a bit over an inch in a big loaf pan left after filling the muffin cups. I let the bran soak for a few hours, so maybe it grew. I probably had a bit over 1 1/2 cups of carrots and shredded apple, but that didn’t add enough volume for what I ended up with. Always happy to have extra! Great recipe if you like it really spicy. (it’s obvious, but move the eggs to the “wet” ingredients). Thanks! I’ll make these again with less clove.
Julia says
Made a second batch of these muffins. The first time I try a recipe I follow directions exactly, no changes. Now on my second try, this is what I’ve done. Reduced brown sugar to 1/3 cup. Don’t think about skipping the molasses, it adds another layer of flavor, plus we love molasses here. After plumping the raisins, drain leftover water and keep it. If the mixture seems not moist enough, (and when you know, you know) add the leftover raisin water. Lots of flavor there and too good to throw out. I used EVOO and worked just as well as canola or veg oil. These freeze well as 12 muffins too much for just the 2 of us.
Julia says
Just out of the oven and they smell awesome, 12 of the most perfect muffins took 20 minutes ; I followed the recipe exactly, no changes or substitutions. Needing more fiber so hope these do the job!
Julia says
Ate one cooked down muffin. Fluffy inside but moist and very good. Plumping the raisins was the key I think. This is a keeper.
Marie says
Excellent muffins. I think the trouble with them not cooking is the applesauce. I’ve tried them with just oil and a seperate time with applesauce. Those with applesauce stayed wet while those with oil were absolutely perfect.
Marie says
Excellent muffins. I think the trouble with them not cooking is the applesauce. I’ve tried them with just oil and with applesauce and those with applesauce stayed wet while those with oil were absolutely perfect.
Kelsey says
Awesome muffins! They are moist and spiced and satisfying. I changed a couple of things for a few healthy tweaks. Substituted 1/2 cup of regular flour for whole wheat, substituted half of the oil for Greek yogurt, used 1 regular egg and 1 Flax, and just poured boiling water over my raisins to get them nice and plump. This made 15 regular sized muffins and about 16 minutes was good. Thanks for the excellent recipe.
Mike says
Kelsey … I’m a little confused by your description of some of your tweaks.
Did you mean to say that you substituted 1/2 cup of regular flour WITH (not “for”) whole wheat flour? And substituted half of the oil WITH (not “for”) Greek yogurt?
And what is the “1 Flax”? (“… used 1 regular egg and 1 Flax …”)
Nancy says
I had to leave them in for about 30 minutes and they are still a bit too “damp”. As an experienced baker, I would recommend more flour in this recipe and a bit more sugar. As well, they would have baked better at 14 muffins instead of 12. Other than that, I do appreciate a muffin that can provide so much fibre.
fifilaroo says
I’ve made a double batch of these muffins at least once a month for the past 6 mos—(freeze well) they are the best bran muffins hands down—moist, flavorful and delicious. My family and friends have nothing but compliments. Just for fun I substituted cranraisins in the last batch—added great tang and flavor! Thanks for this recipie!
VANESSA R HARI says
Where do i find a dry egg?
Katrina says
Lol..that’s what I was wondering too!🤭
Esther Davis says
Delicious! I made them plant based by using almond milk and flax eggs. Used the applesauce version. Great flavour!
Lori says
I’m allergic to almonds so no almond milk for me.
Do you have any suggestions?
Debs says
In the oven now; I’ll let you knowhow they turn out…
Al says
Delicious but never fully baked even after 10 additional minutes to the max time they were soupy and fell apart. Didn’t know how many times I could keep putting them back in the oven after they partially cooled and still didn’t adhere.
sook hee says
I followed your recipe, not altering anything. They turned out wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
Holley says
Absolutely fantastic my husband was very impressed said it tasted like from Whole Foods. Thank you for this recipe! I made just a few tweaks:
Used whole wheat flour
“All Bran” Buds
unsweetened applesauce instead of oil.
Left out molasses and cloves (I didn’t have cloves)
Lynn says
These were delicious! I left out the molasses completely as I thought the raisins would make them sweet anyway. Really good, thank you. All the way from South Africa.
Heather says
Instead of raisins I added about half cup of chopped dark chocolate…yummy. Will definitely be making these agin..thanks!
Sarah says
My batter was very very wet and my muffins never baked- still raw in the middle after an hour! Guessing bran flake cereal was not a good substitute for wheat bran.
Heidi says
Nope – they are not at all the same 😉.
Heather says
This was an excellent recipe. I used All bran cereal instead of oat bran or wheat bran, soaked in 2% milk. I traded the oil for coconut oil. I traded the molasses for organic maple syrup. Soaking the raisins is great, makes them soft and much better in the cooked muffin.
Great flavor and super filling.
Jackalynne says
Loved these muffins, great taste and so moist. Perfect!
Hailey says
I love this recipe! I think I’ve made it 20 times over since I found it a few months ago, they are the perfect breakfast muffin. I use all bran buds, and I substitute .5 cup of flour for ground flaxseed with perfect results for a little extra nutrition. I usually do a mix of half grated carrot and half apple with pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, it’s a beautiful warm rich flavour. I’ve made this with both coconut oil and butter, all variations coming out incredible. I love the boiling raisin tip!
Esther Davis says
Delicious! I made them plant based by using almond milk and flax eggs. Used the applesauce version. Great flavour!
Lana Moffatt Wilmot says
Looks good !
Sarah581 says
These muffins turned out great. I decreased the amount for raisins and carrots a little and added in a handful of unsweetened dried coconut. I am definitely saving this recipe to make again!
Sheri says
These are the best carrot muffins I’ve ever made! Thanks for sharing! Don’t know what I did differently than the other ladies but this recipe was very very moist.
moment556 says
I made these yesterday< so delicious, the hubby loves carrot muffins and he said “these are the best he’s ever had” Between him and the kiddos, there are 8 left. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
JodyGoodman says
I ended up adding some left over pineapple juice after it was all mixed together. Haven’t pulled them out of the even yet, but they look good. :)
Christine says
I found this batter REALLY dry – so I went through the ingredients list to make sure I hadn’t left anything out. When that proved fruitless I ended up adding milk until it was wet like your pictures.
What kind of bran did you use? I used oat bran… maybe that was the difference?
Karlynn says
I used wheat bran, not oat and it definitely could be the difference. Also, did you take any moisture out of the carrots? You just grate them, don’t squeeze any moisture out of them, I left that step out on purpose because you need the moisture.
Cindy Moar says
I made these today and they are great! They were pretty dry when I mixed everything together compared to my usual bran muffin recipe so I just added another 1/4 cup of buttermilk and that did the trick. They are delicious.
Lori says
Using different flours will change the consistency of baking. I’m gluten free and some gluten free flours absorb more moisture so you have to measure accordingly and add more moisture. I’m a baker and had to learn these things in my travels.
Brenda says
I made these this morning to use up some things out of the fridge. I cut the oil to 1/2 a cup and added 6 small apples that were in the fridge (grated). I also added 1 tsp. ginger, because I just love ginger. They were great.
Karlynn says
MMm sounds good! Ginger makes everything taste better!
JodyGoodman says
The ginger does sound good. :) I also added zucchini to my muffins as I only had 1 cup grated carrots from my juice making yesterday.
Brenda says
Oh I forgot to mention that I double the recipe.
incrediblecrunchyflavor says
i’m on a quest for the perfect bran muffin, so these go on the list to try. they look fabulous! i love the idea of putting carrot in.