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    Home » Berry recipes

    Published on: August 18, 2015 by Janice; Updated on: January 25, 2023 37 Comments

    Low sugar blueberry bran muffins

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    Blueberry bran muffins text overlaid over photo of the muffins displayed in a vintage muffin pan

    This low sugar blueberry bran muffins recipe is made with wheat bran and packed with blueberries! These blueberry muffins make a great healthy breakfast or snack.

    Blueberry bran muffins text overlaid over photo of the muffins displayed in a vintage muffin pan

    There are two main ways to make a bran muffin and to incorporate bran into baked goods:

    1. use bran cereal, like these date bran muffins, which are made with All Bran cereal that's in the aisle with the regular cereals. Date bran muffins are my favourite and my mom always made them with All bran, so that's what I still do today. And they are great!
    2. use wheat bran, like in the blueberry bran muffins below. You'll find wheat bran in the health food aisle of your grocery store, or at your local scoop shops and bulk bin stores.

    Ingredients to make blueberry bran muffins measured out into bowls, ready for mixing

    You might ask what's the difference between bran cereal and wheat bran, and the difference is rather huge. Wheat bran is the outer layer of the wheat kernel and an excellent source of dietary fibre according to most producers. It's 100 % wheat with nothing added. This is the bran you would want to use if you are making low sugar bran muffins.

    On the other hand, bran cereal contains wheat bran, yes, but it also contains a lot of other ingredients, like sugar, fats, preservatives, and more. I love bran cereal and there's nothing wrong with it. I use it to make muffins, I top yogurt breakfast bowls and smoothie bowls with it, and I eat it as a snack. Bran cereal is great, but it's not a suitable substitute for wheat bran without making other changes to your recipe.

    Blueberry bran muffins divided between paper liners in a vintage muffin pan

    If you want a muffin that is made from wheat bran, make this low-sugar blueberry muffin recipe shown below. If you want a muffin made from bran cereal, make these All Bran muffins. If you need a baking substitution for the wheat bran in this recipe, you can try another source of bran, like oat bran, but proceed with caution as I haven't tested any substitutions.

    If you can't find crème fraîche, I recommend using full-fat sour cream, but this has more moisture than crème fraîche so you will undoubtedly have to bake the muffins longer and/or adjust with a little extra bran and flour since these muffins are already quite moist.

    The key to these low-sugar bran muffins is baking them with lots of fruit which adds sweetness.

    Baked blueberry bran muffins in a vintage muffin pan with a blue and white striped linen with orange edging

    While baking a batch of these blueberry bran muffins or honey blueberry muffins, you might notice the blueberries turn green or change colour as they bake, don't panic. It's probably the pH of the batter that changed the colour of the berries, but that has zero impact on the flavour of the berries. The muffins are just as yummy and still safe to eat!

    This recipe is from the book Baking with Less Sugar: Recipes for Desserts Using Natural Sweeteners and Little-to-No White Sugar by Joanne Chang, published by Raincoast Books (available on Amazon and Amazon Canada). Be sure to check out my review of Baking with Less Sugar to see the other recipes that I made.



    If it's not blueberry season and you want to bake fruit muffins with another fruit, try these strawberry rhubarb muffins with streusel topping.

    A muffin pan of blueberry bran muffins with 1 cup empty. One muffin on an offset spatula and another muffin broken open to reveal the interior

    Blueberry bran muffins
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    5 from 1 vote

    Blueberry bran muffins

    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Low sugar blueberry bran muffins are perfect for breakfasts and snacks. These blueberry muffins are loaded with blueberries, not too sweet, and include wheat bran. 
    Course Breakfast
    Cuisine American
    Keyword Blueberry bran muffins, low sugar blueberry muffins, wheat bran muffins
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 45 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
    Servings 12
    Calories 245kcal
    Author Janice

    Equipment

    Muffin pan
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    OXO whisk
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    3-¼ oz scoop
    Cake tester

    Ingredients

    • 250 grams (2 cups) bleached all-purpose flour
    • 60 grams (1 cup) wheat bran
    • 10 mL (2 teaspoon) baking powder
    • 5 mL (1 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) baking soda
    • 2.5 mL (½ teaspoon) Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
    • 2 large egg(s)
    • 180 grams (¾ cup) crème fraîche at room temperature
    • 125 mL (½ cup) whole milk (3.25 % fat) at room temperature
    • 70 grams (⅓ cup) granulated sugar
    • 15 mL (1 tablespoon) pure vanilla extract
    • 115 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter melted and at room temperature
    • 300 grams (⅔ lb) fresh blueberries fresh or frozen (roughly 2 cups)

    Instructions

    • Place a rack in the centre of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a standard 12-cup muffin tin, coat with nonstick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
    • In a large bowl, stir together flour, wheat bran, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, crème fraîche, milk, sugar, and vanilla until well-combined. Slowly pour in the melted butter while whisking.
    • Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients and fold gently, using a rubber spatula, just until the ingredients are combined. Gently fold in the blueberries until the fruit is well distributed. The batter may seem lumpy, but don’t try to smooth it out.
    • Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon, scoop a heaping ⅔ cup batter into each prepared cup of the muffin tin, filling the cups to the brim (almost overflowing) and making sure the cups are evenly filled. You might think you have too much batter, but you can fill these to overflowing and then you will get nice tops on your muffins. (If you prefer smaller muffins, spoon about ½ cup batter into each cup and decrease the baking time to 25 to 35 minutes. You will get up to 18 smaller muffins.)
    • Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the muffins are entirely golden brown on top and they spring back lightly when you press them in the centre. There’s a lot of fruit in these muffins, so make sure you bake them enough so the insides of the muffins don’t get soggy. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, and then remove them from the pan.
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    Notes

    These blueberry bran muffins are made with wheat bran, which is NOT to be confused with bran cereals like All-Bran. They aren't the same and cannot be interchanged. If you want to use bran cereal to make muffins, try these All Bran muffins.
    If making this recipe with frozen blueberries, DO NOT thaw them and make sure they are frozen solid before mixing them into the muffin batter. Otherwise they may bleed into the batter too much.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @bakesomethingawesome or tag #bakesomethingawesome!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 245kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 167mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 406IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg

    Raincoast Books offered me one copy of this book, plus the opportunity to host a giveaway. As always, please know that I wouldn’t work with a sponsor nor recommend a product if it wasn’t worth it. I tested three recipes from the book before coming to the conclusion that this book is awesome. 

    More Berry recipes

    • Strawberry jam
    • Strawberry rhubarb jam
    • Apple and blueberry crumble
    • Scones with blueberries
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    Comments

    1. June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says

      August 18, 2015 at 6:49 am

      I don't usually cut sugar in baking, but I do appreciate a good low-sugar recipe on occasion! Particularly for breakfast, like these muffins 🙂

      Reply
      • Karen Gianni says

        August 19, 2015 at 2:15 pm

        I use Splenda, both the white and brown sugar and the recipes are just fine. An even swap.

        Reply
    2. Chloé says

      August 18, 2015 at 7:05 am

      I usually try to replace sugar with anything fruity or good old maple syrup!

      Reply
    3. Steph says

      August 18, 2015 at 8:03 am

      I don't like overly sweet desserts so I usually choose less sweet recipes

      Reply
    4. Steph says

      August 18, 2015 at 8:04 am

      I tweeted!!

      Reply
    5. Adrienne says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:07 am

      I tweeted, https://twitter.com/adriennezannino/status/633641326538543104

      Reply
    6. Adrienne says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:09 am

      When measuring sugar I measure out a little less than what the recipe calls for. I use honey in smoothies instead of sugar.

      Reply
    7. joy says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:19 am

      i often just use less sugar when baking without repercussions...it isn't even noticed if i put in less than indicated!

      Reply
    8. joy says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:19 am

      https://twitter.com/Jemrah1/status/633644406990589952

      Reply
    9. Lynn says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:32 am

      Depends what I'm making. In a cake recipe I'll usually leave the sugar as is because I don't want to mess things up. But in fruit pies I'll usually cut the sugar drastically and replace with honey. Peach bourbon pie sweetened with a bit of honey is the best.

      Reply
    10. Eva says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:45 am

      I normally replace it with honey (depending on what I'm making) or just cut down the sugar. But the outcomes totally depend on luck!

      https://twitter.com/eatwitheva/status/633650538224205824

      Reply
    11. Amanda | The Cinnamon Scrolls says

      August 18, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      I usually replace sugar with either honey or maple syrup. I actually love using a combination of maple syrup and raw cane sugar in baking recipes. I love the caramelly taste it gives baked goods!

      Reply
    12. Amanda | The Cinnamon Scrolls says

      August 18, 2015 at 2:37 pm

      I tweeted: https://twitter.com/cinnamonscribe/status/633707407751913472 🙂

      Reply
    13. C-Jay says

      August 18, 2015 at 4:59 pm

      I always reduce the sugar a bit each time I make a recipe. I keep reducing and reducing until I feel the recipe cannot handle any more reductions. My family is becoming so used to low sweet, that regular recipes often seem "too" sweet now.

      Reply
    14. SB says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:12 pm

      I have a friend who went to pastry school (I know, I'm a lucky girl) and she told me that they always cut the sugar and usually swap in brown sugar for white sugar. So with her blessing, I usually cut the sugar in a recipe by at least one-third and use brown sugar unless I think that will affect the texture or something. If I'm baking for friends, I reconsider my operating procedure, but often go ahead and use my usual formula - they almost never notice!

      Reply
    15. Natalie V says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:56 pm

      Applesauce or Agave

      Reply
    16. Todd g says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:57 pm

      https://twitter.com/investboston/status/633834815079493632. Love Joanne chang and the book looks way cool!

      Reply
    17. Natalie V says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:57 pm

      Hi tweeted! ttps://twitter.com/OceanScented/status/633835110836498432

      Reply
      • Natalie V says

        August 18, 2015 at 10:58 pm

        gah! forgot the "h" https://twitter.com/OceanScented/status/633835110836498432

        Reply
    18. Todd g says

      August 18, 2015 at 10:58 pm

      We often cut the butter in recipes but haven't done much with sugar other than to substitute in some honey. Will try these muffins this week though. Thanks!

      Reply
    19. [email protected]'s Recipes says

      August 19, 2015 at 5:04 am

      I like to replace at least 1/3 of sugar with applesauce in baking. These muffins look heavenly!

      Reply
    20. Linda says

      August 20, 2015 at 12:30 am

      I've been cutting down the sugar in my baking for years. For example, no one has ever noticed that I halve the sugar in my banana bread, and there's never a smidge leftover! And these recipes all look just great, and I'm eager to try rhem right now!!

      Reply
    21. Emilye says

      August 20, 2015 at 4:54 am

      I usually cut sugar by at least one third, sometimes half, when i bake. doesn't seem to affect the results too much.

      Reply
    22. Megan says

      August 22, 2015 at 1:57 am

      I usually reduce the sugar when in baking, and I've dabbled with different sugar alternatives like Splenda, stevia, maple syrup, honey, agave, or just sweeten with fruit like dates and overripe bananas. I think this cookbook sounds really interesting!

      Reply
    23. Teresa says

      August 22, 2015 at 4:15 am

      This is a cookbook that's been on my list for a while. So many members of my family are trying to cut back on processed sugar, for various reasons. I've always been like you - ALL the sugar is necessary, you just have to share. But, I think I'd bake more often if I baked less sweetly, as I'd have more takers. So far, I've experimented with honey a bit, but my partner is vegan, so that's out for him. I really need to learn more.

      Reply
    24. Teresa says

      August 22, 2015 at 4:17 am

      And here's the link to my tweet: https://twitter.com/onewetfoot/status/635002565189459969

      🙂

      Reply
    25. Carolsue says

      August 22, 2015 at 8:07 pm

      I have some cookbooks that have recipes where you can substitute honey or Splenda - there are many ways to cut down on sugar and still have good desserts!

      Reply
    26. Carolsue says

      August 22, 2015 at 8:07 pm

      Tweeted
      https://twitter.com/Sillysiamese/status/635241639531843585

      Reply
    27. Olivia @ livforcake says

      August 23, 2015 at 2:00 am

      Funny, I was JUST talking to my friend the other day about reducing sugar, etc, and that it would be really hard for me as a baker (mostly in buttercreams, which I LOVE). I didn't know this book existed but am now going to check it out!

      Reply
    28. ELAINE says

      August 23, 2015 at 10:58 am

      My go to is usually maple syrup. Sometimes I use coconut sugar, but I've learned it needs to be ground finer to use in baking recipes.

      Reply
    29. Erika says

      August 23, 2015 at 11:11 am

      I do cut the sugar occasionally but I'm also very excited to learn about using honey and otger sources as well!

      Reply
    30. Jessie says

      August 23, 2015 at 11:15 am

      I never cut sugar in recipes, but I do like recipes that use maple syrup or honey instead of sugar!

      Reply
    31. Joyce says

      August 23, 2015 at 1:43 pm

      To be honest, I never look into reducing sugar in my baking, but as we get older and try to eat more responsible, this is something I'm interested in learning and experimenting. This cookbook will be a great starting point for me!

      Reply
    32. Joyce says

      August 23, 2015 at 1:44 pm

      Tweet: https://twitter.com/vanfoodies/status/635507852472250368?s=09

      Reply
    33. Alisha Duncan says

      August 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      I love using maple syrup and honey in my baking - I try to use them more often now, but there are still times I use granulated sugar...

      Reply
    34. Alisha Duncan says

      August 23, 2015 at 2:15 pm

      Tweeted! https://twitter.com/LeashaE/status/635515607375458304?lang=en

      Reply
    35. Eleanor Chen says

      January 16, 2022 at 1:12 am

      Hi Janice. Mine is a low sugar household. Any idea if I can add/use dried blueberries if I don't have enough fresh or frozen ones?

      Reply

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