It’s possible to enjoy a fluffy, moist oat bran muffin also gluten-free diet! How? Swap out oat bran and ground flaxseed for a rustic, wholesome taste, while applesauce and a touch of molasses yields a moist, tender bakery-style crumb. If you’ve missed this classic breakfast treat, then gluten-free bran muffins are guaranteed to hit the spot.

Two Gluten-Free Bran Muffins stacked with the top muffin having a bit taken out of it showing the inside texture.
This is a breakfast treat you’ll never get sick of. If you’ve missed classic bran muffins, then try this gluten-free version made with oat bran.

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Fluffy Gluten-Free Oat Bran Muffins

This easy oat bran muffin recipe was my way of reclaiming some old school breakfast nostalgia. My mom frequently made overnight bran muffins, refrigerating the batter and then baking fresh every morning. Since they were made with All Bran cereal I thought this would be a GF recipe I could never recreate.

However, recently I discovered an ultimately comforting gluten-free breakfast option, quick and creamy maple oat bran porridge. It got my culinary wheels spinning. I started to experiment with recreating classic bran muffins made gluten-free using oat bran.

Oat bran has a somewhat neutral taste so adding ground flaxseed and a touch of molasses adds a punch of wholesome flavor. Plus, if you’re looking for easy gluten-free breakfast recipes to start the day right, GF bran muffins are also happen to be dairy-free and using unsweetened applesauce replaces most of the oil in the recipe.

But I promise the taste or texture won’t be of sacrifice to some wholesome, hearty homemade goodness. Try it and see for yourself how magical and swoon-worthy breakfast can be. Let’s do this. 🙌

Ingredient Tid Bits

  • Oat bran – For gluten-free muffins be sure to use certified gluten-free oat bran, which is processed on equipment free from wheat contaminates. Oat bran is not the same as oatmeal or oat groats (another stellar breakfast option). It’s the outer layer of the hull so it breaks down to a smoother consistency, especially when saturated with moisture.
  • Applesauce – I find the muffins to be sufficiently sweet using unsweetened applesauce, but if you only have sweetened on hand that may be substituted. You may also want to slightly cut back on the sugar to compensate. When recipes don’t use a lot of oil, the applesauce really helps bring along the moisture. This is a little trick I use in homemade oat flour carrot cake as well.
  • Sugar – Since the goal is to a bran muffin taste, I used dark brown sugar along with a touch of molasses for a richer, darker flavor. Light brown sugar and honey may also be swapped out, though.
  • Ground flaxseed – Adds to the hearty, “whole grain” taste. It is also available certified gluten-free to be sure it has been processed on equipment free of cross-contamination.

Watch This Recipe

Let’s Make This Together!

(Below shows step-by-step photos and modified instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.)

Start with the dry.

In a large bowl whisk together oat bran, gluten-free flour, ground flaxseed, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Dry muffin ingredients and packages.

Almost there – add the wet.

Add in the applesauce, eggs, vanilla, oil, molasses and give it a good stir. Hard part is over. See, wasn’t that simple?

Wet and dry muffin ingredients in glass bowl with a red spatula.

Give yourself and the muffins a little rest.

While the oven finishes preheating, scoop the batter into the muffin tins, filling pretty much all the way for nice domed tops. For a sweet and crunchy finish, sprinkle on a little coarse sugar, but this is optional.

When making GF muffins, I recommend letting the batter rest about 10 minutes before popping into the oven. This gives time for the moisture to absorb with the GF starches for a softer, fluffier texture.

Uncooked muffin mix in muffin tin.

GF Substitutes for Bran

Bran is part of the wheat kernel so it is not gluten-free. To create gluten-free bran muffins, it needs to be replaced. Using oat bran or rice bran are great alternatives, but I find oat bran a little easier to find and has a heartier taste.

Swapping out oat bran on its own didn’t quite go far enough to recreate a wholesome “whole wheat” flavor, so I suggest adding some flaxseed meal, ground chia seeds, or hemp seed meal with the dry ingredients.

Muffins in a muffin tin.

Yummiest Mix-In Ideas

Of course these homemade muffins are absolutely delish as is, but more goodness is always welcome! Add about 1/2 cup of any of the following to up your muffin game.

  • Dark chocolate chips
  • Dried fruits, such raisins, sultans, cranberries, or cherries
  • Coconut
  • Nuts or seeds – such as pecans, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds
  • Grated carrot or apple
  • Spices – mixture of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves (1 tsp total)

Why Let GF Muffin Batter Rest First?

When testing GF muffin recipes, I experiment with letting the batter rest for 10-15 minutes before baking and baking straight away. Depending on the moisture levels, whether the muffins contain oil, butter, or a mixture of both, and how absorbent the dry ingredients are deems whether the resting wins out or not.

For oat bran muffins resting 10 minutes resulted in a softer, fluffier crumb, more binding to reduce crumbliness, and higher bakery-style domed tops.

Muffins stacked on a pate.

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Two Gluten-Free Bran Muffins stacked with the top muffin having a bit taken out of it showing the inside texture.
4.84 stars (6 ratings)

Wholesome Gluten-Free Bran Muffins (Oat Bran)

Melissa Erdelac of MamaGourmand headshot in patterned dress.Melissa Erdelac
Yield: 12 1 muffin
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
It's possible to enjoy a fluffy, moist oat bran muffin also gluten-free diet! How? Swap out oat bran and ground flaxseed for a rustic, wholesome taste, while applesauce and a touch of molasses yields a moist, tender bakery-style crumb. If you've missed this classic breakfast treat, then gluten-free bran muffins are guaranteed to hit the spot.
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Ingredients
 

Equipment

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line or grease 12 muffin cups.
  • Whisk together the oat bran, flour, ground flaxseed, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Add the applesauce, eggs, vanilla, oil and molasses. Stir until well blended.
    1½ cup oat bran , 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour, ½ cup ground flaxseed, ½ cup packed dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ cup oil , 2 tablespoons molasses
  • Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling to almost to the top. Let stand for 10 minutes to give time for liquid to saturate the GF starches. If desired, sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar.
    (optional) coarse sugar
  • Bake in the preheated oven until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out clean, about 20-22 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then turn onto a wire rack to cool.
Calories: 213kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 297mg, Potassium: 293mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 45IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 81mg, Iron: 2mg
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