I haven't struggled so much to come up with a name for a recipe before. Usually I go with the title of the original recipe if it is from some source or pick something which is more apt. This oat bran muffin recipe is an exception to it because it has a big list of healthy ingredients and leaving even just one doesn't seem right to me.
So you must be wondering what is really there in this muffin! It has significant amount of oat bran, carrots, apples, zucchini, raisins and pecans. I have made it vegan as well. Now you can understand what I'm talking about right? Muffins can't get any healthier and tastier too. Yes you read it right, these oat bran muffins are damn tasty. You don't really realize the presence of oat bran because it is loaded with lot of other ingredients.
Usually when a recipe calls for a huge quantity of healthy flour like whole wheat or oat bran in this case, we usually try to mask it with a whole lot of other unhealthy ingredients but in the end term it as healthy. But this muffin recipe is a BIG exception to this. It has so much other healthy ingredients going in but it actually doesn't taste healthy at all. It tastes just like any other ordinary carrot muffin or even better I can say. I found this recipe in "250 Best Muffin Recipes" by Esther Brody. I have modified it a little bit to make it vegan and to use the stuff I had in the refrigerator. My son helped me with measuring the ingredients and when I was in doubt myself whether the muffins are going to turn out right, like a big fellow he was assuring me that it is going to be just fine. And it was very fine indeed! These oat bran muffins are good for any time of the day. It can be a very good way to start your day with a cup of milk or freshly squeezed orange juice, or to pack it in the lunch box as dessert, or an after school snack or to end your day with a guiltless indulgence.
Recipe
Wholesome Vegan Oat Bran Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Oat Bran
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 and ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cardamom
- 1 cup Brown Sugar, packed (light brown)
- 1 cup Grated Carrots
- 1 cup Grated Apple
- 1 cup Grated Zucchini
- ½ cup Raisins
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans
Wet Ingredients:
- ¼ cup Oil (I used Canola)
- ½ cup Unsweetened Applesauce
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C for 15 minutes. Line required muffin tins with paper liners or grease it with a non stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center.
- Similarly combine together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Just stir it well with a whisk.
- Pour the wet mixture of the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin tins.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes for the mini muffins and around 16 minutes for the regular size muffins. The time mentioned in the original recipe was about 20 minutes, but when I did the toothpick test around 15 minutes I saw that the muffins were almost done, so just left it for one more minute.
- Leave the pan on the wire rack for just 5 minutes and transfer the muffins directly to the cooling rack. If the muffins are left in the pan for more than 5 minutes the muffins will start to condense.
My Notes
- I just washed the carrot, apple and zucchini. Did not peel it before grating.
- Zucchini was not used in the original recipe, instead 2 apples were used and ½ cup skim milk. Since I used grated zucchini it started secreting water and so used only ¼ of liquid (water in this case to make it vegan). So if you are using all apples, you may want to use another ¼ cup of liquid or add less or more according to the consistency of the batter.
- Also 2 teaspoons of cinnamon was used. Since I'm not a cinnamon fan I used 1 teaspoon of cardamom instead and actually felt that even that was more. If you are not a spice fan like me even ½ teaspoon should be fine.
- Once the dry and wet ingredients are mixed together you may notice that the mixture is very tight unlike the usual muffin batter. Don't worry though because the zucchini starts secreting water and makes it right.
- The mini muffin cups hold roughly about a tablespoon of the batter and fill the regular size muffin to the top of the tin. Since this muffin batter is thick it does not rise a whole lot, so you don't have to worry about the muffins overflowing.
- The original recipe mentions that it will yield 18 regular size muffins. Since I wanted to pack it for my son's lunch I first filled a 24 mini muffin tin and the rest of the batter was just enough for 9 regular muffins. Had I spooned the batter among the 9 muffin cups I would have got even beautiful muffins with bigger tops.
Pallavi says
Hi
Really liked ur recipe.. Cuz I was looking for this eggless bran muffin :).
Will try it soon..
Before that wud like to know the following:
1 medium size Grated Carrots
1 medium size Grated Apple
1 medium size Grated Zucchini
Is it one number of carrot apple n zucchini or one cup..Of all three?
And can we use wheat bran instead of oat bran if we want to? If yes then how much qty should be okay n is there anything else that we need to add to make it right? Pls let me know..
Thank you in advance 🙂
Pallavi
One cup
Madhuram says
Pallavi I have updated the recipe. It is one cup of each or a medium size of each fruit/vegetable. I guess you could use wheat bran. I'm not sure because I haven't tried. Also the texture of wheat bran is different from that of oat bran, so I'm not sure if it will affect the muffins. Other than that, you may want to add a couple of tablespoons of water to get the desired consistency of batter.
Viji says
Hi
Very first time a receipe that worked well for me. Thanks so much,
It came out very well. A real treat to my son who is alergic to egg..
Thanks once again.
Madhuram says
You're welcome Viji.
patricia says
I'm discovering your amazing site! Thanks for share your delicated and lovely work.
This is an incredible recipe!
I can't wait to try it. The cardamom's option is perfect for me. I will make this especially for my five-year-old daughter.
Love from Spain
Excuse me if my english is not good enough ! I'm learning a little bit more each day. 😛
Welcome to my blog Patricia.
kim says
Do you know the carb count for each muffin? Thanks!
I'm sorry Kim, I don't know it. Maybe you can google for some nutrition calculators and try to find it out entering the ingredients and measurements.
NSG says
Madhu, muffins look awesome. Cant wait to try them.
Can you specify how much grated apple, carrot and zucchini to use, in metric/cup measurement? I dont want to ruin them by my guesswork.
Thanks NSG. I would say a cup of each should be fine. From the next time on, I will be sure to note this one too.
Jen says
These are wonderful!! I just found your website today and have already gotten some wonderful ideas and recipes. I made these tonight to go along side white bean salad and tomatoes with fresh mozzarella. All, including my picky child, enjoyed it. I used white wheat flour and dried cranberries instead of raisins. Thanks for posting.
Thank you very much for trying the recipe Jen.
Amrita Sagu says
Yesterday I tried Wholesome Vegan Oat Bran Muffins. They came out sooo good. Thank you for such a wonderful healthy recipe....
You're welcome Amrita. I'm very glad that you liked it.
ammu says
Hey nice to see a blog full of mouthwatering recipes:)
Geetha says
Hi Madhuram,
I made these a while ago and they were absolutely delicious.I only had green apple,so I used it but also added dates hoping to balance out the tartness.I also replaced part of APF with whole wheat pastry flour.My kids could hardly wait for the muffins to cool before digging into them.Thanks to you,I have discoovered a new passion-baking...Right now,I am making strawberry cupcakes for my husband's birthday..I woke up at 4 a.m. coz I was so excited about it..now I can't remember when I was ever excited enough to do that!
Keep the recipes coming..
Geetha
You're welcome Geetha. Your excitement is rubbing on me too! Thanks a lot.
deepti says
Dear Madhuram
Thanks 4 visiting Panchamrutham & 4 ur sweet words !!
Im really honored by ur visit...Shud say ive missed adding such a wonderful blog 2 my blogroll !!
Keep Going with the Good Work !!
btw muffins r too tempting & healthy !!
regards
deepti
Thank you very much for your compliments Deepti.
SathyaSridhar says
Vanakkam Madhuram madam,,epdi irukkenga unga blog la ella recipe um nalla irukku rombha health concious oeda ellam seithurukkeenga paa... inga neenga seitha muffins nalla perfect ah vanthurukku athuvum zuchchini,cardamom super,,,
Thanks Sathya.
nags says
i am yet to try savory muffins 🙂
These are sweet muffins Nags.