These flourless, sugar-free blueberry oat bran muffins make a delicious and satiating snack! They're sweetened with applesauce and full of fiber.
I love oat bran, especially in the form of muffins. It provides a nice dose of fiber while also being filling and delicious.
This recipe is one that is light, high in fiber, and low in both sugar and fat.
I like to eat these with a nice slather of butter or coconut oil, and, for the kids, I'll drizzle a little honey over the top.
Add a couple of eggs on the side for a hearty and satisfying breakfast or tote them in your bag for a mid-day snack!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Oat bran
- Baking soda
- Sea salt
- Cinnamon - Optional; pie spice would also be tasty!
- Applesauce - One large mashed banana also works.
- Milk of your choice
- Egg - You can just use the egg white, if you're trying to avoid the fat or cholesterol.
- Oil - Grapeseed, coconut, and olive all work, as does melted butter.
- Vanilla extract
- Vinegar - Lemon juice can be substituted.
- Blueberries - I generally use frozen, but fresh work well too.
Recipe steps
In a large bowl, mix together the bran, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, if using.
Separately, mix the milk, applesauce, oil, egg, vanilla, and vinegar. Add the milk mixture to the bran bowl, along with the blueberries, and gently stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.
Divide the batter between nine muffin cups and bake until golden!
Recipe notes
I use my Instant Pot Applesauce for this recipe.
Not a fan of oat bran? Try my Soaked Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins! They're a favorite with my younger daughters.
Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins
Ingredients
DRY INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ¼ cups oat bran
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
WET INGREDIENTS:
- ½ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup milk of your choice
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon oil of your choice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
- Mix the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
- Add the wet mix into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently add in the blueberries toward the end of mixing.
- Divide the batter among 9-10 paper muffin cups, depending on your preferred size.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are springy to the touch.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have a chance to try this recipe, please leave a star rating and a comment below letting me know how you liked it!
Audra
These look delicious! I don't have oatbran...could I use oats or coursely ground oat flour? Thank you!
Lauren
Thank you! I haven't tried that, so I'm not sure, sorry!
Begum Karim
Audra: Check comments.
There have been variations people have used with success.
Ellen
Hi Lauren,
I cut the recipe down and made one giant oat bran muffin for myself this morning, subbed chopped dates for the blueberries, and it came out so delicious! I have a bag of oat bran in that I'd been meaning to use.... but it won't last long now!
Best to you and your family
Debbie
These were so horrible they went straight to the garbage. I've read and re-read the recipe and I did nothing wrong that I can see. It was like eating moist saw dust with a slight blueberry flavor. The applesauce provided no sweetness at all.
Kristen
These are so good if you put 1/4 cup of Splenda in them.
Alanna
The texture and level of sweetness are to be expected given this is a healthy alternative to typical flour and sugar. It isn’t the recipe it’s what your making, plus you can always grind oat bran finer in food processor and add more sweetener like others have.
hajijah
can ues whole wheat bran
Lauren
I've not tried, but I think so!
Lisa
I made these twice . The first time I followed the recipe as is . The second time I substituted oat bran with 1 cup oat flour and 1/4 cup ground flax seed and made 4 larger muffins . Both times the muffins turned out perfect! And I am NOT a baker at all ! So if I can make these ~ anyone can 😉
Tina
Interested to know if anyone being diabetic has tried these?
I decided to try it anyways and will see how it goes.
Tina
The muffins were absolutely fine with my blood sugar. Very pleased!!
Liv
Really easy and quick. I buy GF oats and whizz them in my nutribullet and they come out great.
Would highly recommend.
Maeve
These are SO good - exactly what I was looking for. I’ve also subbed a banana for the applesauce because I didn’t have any, and I added about 2 tbsp of peanut butter and that version was delicious also. I’m so excited about these bran muffins and that there isn’t additional flour or refined sugar!
Bob Larsen
How much banana would you use instead of the applesauce? Has anyone tried Stevia instead of splenda? Thanks
Amanda C.
I just started on an anti-inflammatory diet and with the long list of things I can no longer enjoy(flour, sugar and dairy...) these were a perfect fit! I can have everything in these muffins as long as I use no sugar added ingredients. I just made a batch and it was moist and surprisingly delicious. I will be making these again! Thank you.
Wells Norma
Hello, I baked this for 15 minutes. Yield 6 small muffins. Although low calorie, no saturated fat, no sugar and high fibre, I would not make again; although oat bran consumption benefits those with cholesterol levels. The taste was flavourless.
winemann
A few small changes, cut the oat bran to one cup, cut baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon, added 1/4 fresh ground flax seed, plus 2 tablespoons chia seeds, plus 2 tablespoons swerve, plus whole egg not just the white, a a full cup of frozen blueberries. Nets out to 81 calories for 10 muffins compared to 70 for the original. Pretty darn good.
Shara
Could I use frozen wild blueberries? The fresh blueberries at my local stores are all giant blueberries. I’d end up with only a couple blueberries per muffin!
Lauren
Yes, that's what I typically use. 🙂
Shara
Thank you! Just made these and they are pretty great. Wish they had sugar or honey or maple syrup but my doctor won’t let me right now. Lol. I did add 1/8 tsp of ground cloves and 1/4 tsp of nutmeg and thought it was wonderfully spiced! Might add ginger too. Love this!
Diane Wood
Maybe just not used to the ingredients but found them very dry was trying to find a recipe my diabetic friend could eat.
ybok heal
What brand of oat bran do you use? Where can I find oat bran at the store?
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lauren
Hi there,
I usually buy it at a health food store or in bulk. Bob's Red Mill is a good brand for it!
Ybok
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Lauren
I was looking for a sugarless muffin recipe, thank you for sharing the recipe for Oat Bran blueberry muffins. I doubled the recipe and ended up with 12 small/medium muffins. I liked them very much as my current health journey doesn’t allow sugar and dairy. I may lower the baking soda as it can be tasted in the baked muffin. Have you tried non-alum baking powder to give rise to them? I also added a few walnuts to each for nutritional value.
Mary M Pettit
Loved them. So easy to make!
Rosie
Hi, The recipe was easy to make and I appreciate the healthiness it offers. I will definitely make these muffins again. The only downside was I missed a sweeter taste but as you suggested, I ate with some honey. Thank you, Rosie W
Linda Cavanagh
I thought these were delicious! I doubled the recipe and added a little brown sugar for a little sweetness! So yummy!
Sherri Grubbs
Tastybut mine didn't raise at all..came out very flat. Next time I will add a pinch of baking powder.
Kelsie
I modified by using a chopped apple, added fall spices, and a small drizzle of maple syrup, but otherwise followed all the ingredients. Probably could have added a bit more moisture, but the apples help quite a bit. I got 12 small muffins from the recipe due to adding one small chopped apple. Lovely, not too sweet, and as expected. Thanks so much!
Ava
These are wonderful. It's great to have an oat bran / no flour / no sugar recipe; thank you!
The first time I used coconut oil, which solidified when it came in contact with the frozen blueberries and cold applesauce, oops. I also used lemon juice, which may not work as well as vinegar to fluff up the muffins as they bake.
The second time I used avocado oil, defrosted the blueberries and added a few more berries (wild organic blueberries from Trader Joe's)... better.
The third time I used avocado oil, oat milk (Oatly), and apple cider vinegar and put an extra marionberry (large blackberry) in the center... best batch yet!
One last tip... weigh the oat bran on a kitchen scale. 1 1/4 cups should be about 117 grams. Too much oat bran means the muffins will be drier.
Vera Doll
How can you manage to make NINE muffins from this - i managed 3 medium sized.....