Praise the gourd gods. Canned pumpkin is plentiful on grocery store shelves and after drooling over these tasty looking bran muffins last week, I was inspired to come up with a delicious pumpkin bran muffin of my own.
Bran muffins are the best kind of muffins in my book. Wheat bran is packed with all sorts of good nutrients like fiber and B Vitamins.
After scouring the internet for recipes, I determined that the key to a flavorful, moist bran muffin is pureed raisins and a bit of molasses, so naturally those went into the food processor along with the canned pumpkin.
Oh, and the 2 other key ingredients: pumpkin pie spice and orange zest! A little bit of sifting and a few stirs to combine the wet and dry ingredients and the batter was done.
Large muffin tins are where it’s at. This recipe made exactly 6 humongo muffins.
SO GOOD, moist & sweet… and makes a totally legit breakfast with a large mug of piping hot coffee if you ask me.
Makes ~6 large muffins, 12+ smaller muffins
- 2 cups wheat bran
- 1 + 1/4 cups dark raisins, divided
- 3/4 cup water, divided
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup molasses
- 1/2 cup plain low- or non-fat yogurt
- fresh orange zest
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil (vegetable oil works fine too)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 + 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 + 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread the wheat bran on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 4-6 minutes, stirring a few times so it cooks evenly. Let cool.
While the bran is toasting, heat 1/2 cup raisins with 1/4 cup of the water. Simmer for ten minutes, or until the water is all absorbed. Puree the raisins in a food processor or blender with pumpkin puree and molasses until smooth.
In a large bowl, mix together the toasted bran, yogurt, 1/2 cup water, then mix in the pumpkin-raisin puree orange zest and brown sugar. Stir in the oil, egg and egg white.
Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice and sift directly into the wet ingredients. Stir until the ingredients are just combined. Mix in the remaining 3/4 cup raisins.
Spoon the batter into lightly greased muffin tins. Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until the muffins are set in the center and tops slightly browned (baking times will vary depending on muffin size.) Sprinkle with a pinch of sugar before serving.
P.S. With nearly 10 grams of fiber, 7 grams of protein and less than 275 calories, this is one healthy muffin… Calorie Count even gave it a Grade A. But I promise, you won’t even taste the healthiness when you’re scarfing one down.
P.P.S. Recent midweek eats creations for your eating pleasure.
I made these with pumpkin purée I had frozen last fall. They are delicious, moist and flavourful. I did find the recipe was a bit more time consuming than my regular recipes, however, they are a time worthy treat.
OMG these are delicious. Very moist, a lot of flavors going on, and they seem to have a sort of crunchy top. I did not sprinkle sugar on them. Only thing I changed was instead of adding the extra raisins at the end I added chopped pecans instead.
No not yet. I’m concerned about the sugar content.
Seems like a lot of sugar for a diabetic. I’ll have to think about this one. A lot of carbs!
Hello…. not a raisin fan. Could I substitute prunes for the raisins?
And if so….. would I use the same amount and prepare the same?
Thank you,
Roni
Hi! Prunes would definitely work. You can either substitute by weight or chop them to raisin size and substitute by volume. And yes, prepare the same since they’re both dried fruit!
Made this recipe for my disabled son that is in a wheelchair and suffers from chronic constipation. I was looking for a brand meth and I can make that he could eat for breakfast on the daily basis. this recipe turned out great I did not have the orange zest but otherwise stuck to the recipe and I loved it! Sweet enough but not too sweet we’ll see how he likes it
Glad you enjoyed them. I hope your son loves them too!
This recipe sounds delicious. I’m making next week. A question, is the oven temperature right? 400 degrees sounds high to bake muffins for 22-25 minutes. Thank you.
Is the nutritional value for 6 or 12?
I come up with 165 calories for 12 muffins.
I made regular sized muffins. They’re fluffy and delicious and with a glass of water or milk they are very very filling. My family doesn’t usually like healthy baked goods but they won’t stop stealing these muffins.
I do not like pumpkin . What can I use instead pumpkin ?
This is pumpkin muffins
is there a replacement for the yogurt ? I would love to make the muffins but I’m vegan thank you
These look amazing. Thanks for doing the research. I want to make in the morning to bring to a friend, but have no oranges. Would lemon zest work or should I just skip the zest? Also are calories for 6 or 12? Thank you!
What can I use instead of the wheat bran, I am gluten sensitive?
I’ve made these twice now and both times they’ve turned out awesome, thanks for the great recipe. Totally my new go to bran muffin recipe.
So glad you love them!
How much pumpkin pie spice?
Oops, 1 teaspoon! Ill update the recipe – thanks for asking!
These sound SO good. Pureed raisins — oh the sweetness!!
Wow – these muffins sound amazing and nothing like what you’d think when you hear the words bran muffin. I’m going to have to try these – I’ve been looking for new breakfast ideas.
What brand of pumpkin was used here? and are the nutrition facts for the jumbo muffins?
I used organic pumpkin puree from Whole Foods and yes, the nutrition facts are for the big muffins!
thanks!!!
I just made pumpkin butter and pumpkin spice latte syrup to use up the rest of a can that I had opened for pumpkin granola… I wish I would have saved it for a day and made these! They look heavenly – but let’s be honest… I don’t have muffin tins in NYC! :(
Looks delish! I made a pumpkin mac and cheese the other day which was good too! Tis the season for pumpkin!
Pumpkin mac & cheese?! Sounds amazing!
Beautiful photos and deliciously healthy recipe! :)
These look amazing! I love anything pumpkin and have been trying to find something on the healthier side. Can’t wait to try these! Oh, and great images!
Recipe looks mouth watering and the photos are gorgeous!