The Healthiest Banana Bran Muffins

The healthiest banana bran muffins with no added sugar. These bran muffins are sweetened with bananas and are high in fiber. Perfect for a light and nutritious breakfast or snack!

Where do you stand on bran muffins? Do you like them? Personally, they were never my go-to muffin flavor, but I do appreciate their extra dose of fiber. And really, I’m up for any healthy baked good.

I first decided to create a healthy low-sugar bran muffin after being asked by countless patients for a healthy bran muffin recipe. I searched and all the recipes that I found contained a generous amount of added sugar. While there’s nothing wrong with enjoying muffins with sugar, I wanted to share a low-sugar version.

I’m calling these muffins the healthiest banana bran muffins for good reasons. First, they’re sweetened with fruit. Second, they’re made with whole wheat flour (believe it or not, but most bran muffins aren’t). Finally, they’re packed with fiber thanks to the added bran. That last one goes for every bran muffin of course.

Put all of these things together and you’ve got very nutritious muffins. Of course they might not literally be the healthiest on earth, but they’re certainly the most nutritious muffins I know, so let’s just go with it.

These muffins are highly customizable. This recipe is a great base, but I’m sharing some ingredient substitutions and additions below if you want to take it to the next level.

What You Need: Overripe bananas, apple sauce, eggs, avocado oil (or light-tasting oil), vanilla extract, all-purpose whole wheat flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder, salt.

How to Make The Healthiest Banana Bran Muffins:

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make healthy banana bran muffins.

Getting Ready
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottom of a muffin pan or use muffin liners.
Mix the Wet Ingredients
Mix all the wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, including the mashed bananas, apple sauce, eggs, avocado oil and vanilla extract.
Mix the Dry Ingredients
Stir all the dry ingredients together in a different bowl, including the flour, wheat bran, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. Avoid overmixing.
Bake
Transfer the mixture to the prepared muffin pan, making 12 muffins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Ingredient Substitutions and Additions:

For the Apple Sauce: Some readers have had success replacing the apple sauce with Greek yogurt. If you use plain Greek yogurt, you will lose some of the sweetness of the apples. Read below for tips on adding sweetness to the recipe.
Add Spices: For more flavor, try adding a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg and/or cardamom to the muffins.
Add Fruits: Feel free to add blueberries or dried raisins to add a light sweetness to the muffins. Raspberries, dried cranberries and other fruits could work too. Have fun with it!
Add Nuts: You can add a crunch to the recipe by adding chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.
Add Chocolate: Add chocolate chips for extra sweetness. Of course they won’t be fruit-sweetened in this case, but it would be a delicious addition to these nutritious muffins.
Make them Vegan: You can make these muffins vegan by using a flax egg or other egg replacement. The results might vary slightly. I’m currently working on a vegan recipe and I will update this post to share the other version when they’re done.
Make them Gluten-Free: Some readers have had success using different flours. You can try replacing the wheat bran with oat bran (use certified gluten-free if needed) and the flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour mix. Some have also used almond flour with success, but I can’t guarantee the same results as I haven’t tried it myself.

A Note on the Sweetness of the Muffins:

Note that these muffins aren’t overly sweet. They’re not meant to be sweet dessert-style muffins. I would describe them as lightly sweet breakfast muffins, which are best when served with nut/seed butter, jam or other toppings. So before you tell me that these are not sweet, please know that this is not the intention of this recipe. Please keep this in mind when you leave a review. That being said, most of you said you LOVED this recipe! I love them too and I’m so happy to see you guys make this recipe.

Healthy Bran Muffins FAQ:

Can I Add Sugar to the Recipe?

If you want a nutritious fiber-rich muffin recipe with a little more sweetness, you can add a bit of sugar. I haven’t tested this recipe with sweeteners myself, but many readers have made them with a touch of honey, maple syrup or even stevia. If you use honey or maple, I would recommend starting with 1-2 tablespoons as adding more might affect the texture of the muffins. If you want them sweeter, try adding granulated sugar to taste.

If you don’t want to add sugar to the batter, but would prefer a sweeter snack, I highly recommend serving them with a fruit jam or a bit of honey.

What Are the Nutrition Facts for Bran Muffins?

I don’t include the nutrition facts in my recipes for specific reasons. As a dietitian, I truly believe that having a healthy relationship with food is incredibly important and that we can enjoy nutritious foods without needing to count calories or macros. That being said, I understand that there are times when knowing certain macronutrient numbers is helpful or necessary, such as carb counting for insulin purposes. Each one of these muffins have 15g of carbs and 3.7g of fiber. If you want more information on the nutrition facts, some readers have shared the details in the comments. I hope this helps!

More Fruit-Sweetened Muffin and Bread Recipes:

The Healthiest Banana Bran Muffins

These are no ordinary bran muffins. These are sweetened with bananas and applesauce, plus they’re made with whole wheat flour, making them the healthiest banana bran muffins. They’re high in fiber, low in sugar and make the perfect snack when served with nut butter, butter or jam!

Course Snack

Cuisine vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings 12

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

2 large overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup avocado oil (or other neutral tasting oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat bran
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease the bottom of a muffin pan or use muffin liners.
Mix all the wet ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
Stir all the dry ingredients together in a different bowl, then stir in the wet ingredients until combined. Avoid overmixing.
Transfer to the prepared muffin pan, making 12 muffins. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let them cool a few minutes before removing from the pan.

Notes

Note that these muffins aren’t overly sweet as they’re only sweetened with fruits. They’re great served as a healthy snack with peanut butter or butter/margarine! If you want them sweeter, try serving them with a touch of honey or jam. You could also add chocolate chips or fruits to the batter, such as blueberries, raspberries, dried raisins or cranberries.

Some readers have had success replacing the apple sauce with Greek yogurt.

For different flavors, try adding a touch of spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg and/or cardamom to the muffins.

You can add a crunch to the recipe by adding chopped nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.

You can make these muffins vegan by using a flax egg or other egg replacement. The results might vary slightly.

For a gluten-free option, you can try replacing the wheat bran with oat bran (use certified gluten-free if needed) and the flour with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten-free flour mix.

If you make these banana bran muffins, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love to hear from you guys. And of course, if you try this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram!

This post contains affiliate links. I only share products that I trust and recommend. Choosing to use these links helps to support me and this blog. Thank you!

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View Comments

Linda says:

2019-02-18 at 11:49 am

May I sub gluten free flour? The recipe looks so healthy but I don't eat gluten.
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-02-20 at 5:59 am
  
  I haven't tried it, sorry, I can't say it would work. The wheat bran would need to be changed as well and it wouldn't be the same recipe. You can always try my sugar-free banana bread, which has gluten-free options. :)
- Lori says:
  
  2021-07-08 at 10:59 am
  
  How much fiber please? These are awesome.
  - Nourished by Caroline says:
    
    2021-07-09 at 12:26 pm
    
    Hi Lori, I calculated it at 4g. Someone else in the comments mentioned 3.7g. I'm happy you like them!
  - Laurie Bailey says:
    
    2024-06-01 at 11:48 am
    
    I added one tsp cinnamon, and one unpeeled apple chopped into chunks……they are fabulous! A guilt free TREAT!
    - Nourished by Caroline says:
      
      2024-06-11 at 4:35 pm
      
      Thank you Laurie, I'm so happy you enjoyed them!
Lucie Woloschuk says:

2019-06-11 at 9:20 am

I'm just baking these awesome looking sweets! I'm just wondering if you know the protein and calories for these muffins?
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-06-13 at 6:48 am
  
  Hi Lucie, sorry, but I don't. However, I have them for my other bananas muffins (which are very similar). It's 139 calories and 3g of protein. Hope this helps!
Jackie says:

2019-06-22 at 11:36 am

Wow, these are the best bran muffins ever and I’m not very good at baking. . I like bran muffins myself but not the extra sugar. Thank you so much for this recipe.
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-06-23 at 2:35 pm
  
  I'm so happy you love them! I agree, regular bran muffins are full of sugar, just like most muffins. Thanks for taking the time to share. :)
- Justine says:
  
  2021-06-25 at 11:08 am
  
  These Bran muffins are 124 calories each! Love them btw.
  - Nourished by Caroline says:
    
    2021-06-25 at 11:50 am
    
    Thank you Justine!
Delores says:

2019-07-17 at 3:05 pm

How many carbs in these muffins please?
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-07-20 at 1:54 pm
  
  Hi Delores, I don't have the nutrition facts for this recipe, but if you make my banana bread into muffins (it's a very similar recipe), they're about 20g of carbs per muffin. Hope this helps!
- Jennifer says:
  
  2019-12-27 at 4:53 pm
  
  Thank you I love this recipe and turned it vegan. I don't really eat refined sugar so for clean eaters this is a bread with a touch of sweet, perfect! I substituted protein powder for the flour, coconut oil used, and Bob's Redmill egg replacer for the eggs. Excellent recipe. Blessings
Lisa says:

2019-08-13 at 2:07 pm

Just made these- altered it a touch! 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup rolled oats- delicious!
Made a second batch with 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 cup rolled oats, 1 T. of chia seeds, and a TON of frozen blueberries (had to bake an extra 5 minutes- but worth it for the extra fiber/fruit!) They were amazing. Everyone wolfed them down- the teenagers begged me to make them all the time!
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-08-14 at 7:16 am
  
  Hi Lisa, I'm so happy you like them! Thanks for the feedback, I love hearing about other's substitutions. Enjoy!
- Dale Bronson says:
  
  2019-11-02 at 3:27 pm
  
  We added a 1/4 tsp each or cinnamon and cardamom. These were delicious. They will be on the table at Christmas Brunch.
  - Unsweetened Caroline says:
    
    2019-11-03 at 6:29 am
    
    Hi Dale, thank you so much for the feedback! I'm so happy you loved them and that they'll have a place at your Christmas brunch. Enjoy! :)
  - Jennifer says:
    
    2019-12-27 at 4:55 pm
    
    Thank you I love this recipe and turned it vegan. I don't really eat refined sugar so for clean eaters this is a bread with a touch of sweet, perfect! I substituted protein powder for the flour, coconut oil used, and Bob's Redmill egg replacer for the eggs. Excellent recipe. Blessings
    - Unsweetened Caroline says:
      
      2019-12-29 at 4:43 am
      
      Hi Jennifer, thank you for the feedback! I'm so happy it turned out well with those substitutions. Thanks for letting me know and enjoy!
Rhonda says:

2019-10-01 at 6:52 pm

I can't say enough how impressed I am with these muffins! I added a tsp of cinnamon, substituted coconut oil for the avocado oil and added chopped pecans. These are so moist and just sweet enough. Thank you!
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-10-03 at 2:08 am
  
  Hi Rhonda! Thank you so much for the sweet comment! I'm so glad you liked them and the added pecans sound like such a good idea. Enjoy!!
Amber Blake says:

2019-10-02 at 8:42 pm

Sorry! Didn’t like them; even added a bit of cinnamon & raisins- still so bland! Sadly, they do need a touch of sugar..
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-10-03 at 2:05 am
  
  It's not for everyone I suppose, but I must say, you were warned. I did specify many times in the recipe that these aren't sweet bran muffins. They're made to be a high-fiber muffin without any added sugar that can be eaten for breakfast or a snack with nut butter, jam or other normal bread toppings. Instead of seeing them as a sweet muffin, try seeing them as a high-fiber bread in muffin form that should be enjoyed with regular bread toppings. I'm sorry you gave them a 1 star rating as the recipe was not meant as you thought they should, but thanks for the feedback!
Nancy S says:

2019-10-15 at 9:21 am

I loved this recipe. I used almond flour instead of the other flours and it turned out perfectly.
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2019-10-17 at 12:48 am
  
  Hi Nancy, I'm so happy you loved them! And it's good to know they worked with almond flour. I'll have to try it myself. Enjoy! :)
Jane says:

2020-01-29 at 10:50 am

Great recipe!!! Made it for my 1 year old for quick breakfast or snack. I used coconut oil and added chia seeds and she loves them. I also used bran cereal soaked in warm water. First time making on of your recipes and will definitely not be my last. Thanks.
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2020-01-29 at 1:55 pm
  
  Hi Jane, that's so good to hear! I'm happy she loved them and that it worked well with the adjustments. I hope you'll both enjoy the other recipes. :)
Sarah says:

2020-01-30 at 5:24 pm

Does anyone know the calorie count on these?
- Unsweetened Caroline says:
  
  2020-02-03 at 6:24 am
  
  Hi Sarah, I don't have the calories for these, but the recipe is inspired by my banana bread, which is similar. The banana bread made into muffins will come to about 145 calories. Hope this helps!