Vegan Whole Grain Blueberry Bran Muffins with Oat & Pecan Streusel Topping
These vegan blueberry bran muffins are made entirely with whole grains and have a pleasant slightly nutty bran flavor, soft crumb, and crunchy oat and pecan topping. Packed with over 4 grams of fiber, each muffin offers a more nutritious - yet still sweet - alternative.
As is often the case in any creative ventures, the inspiration for these muffins came about when I wasn’t even expecting it! A few weeks ago, I was playing around with testing some whole wheat strawberry muffins and ran out of strawberries. Since I had pints on pints of blueberries stashed away in the fridge, I swapped those in for the strawberries in my next test batch - and the blueberries ended up changing the entire profile of the muffin. Without the extra sweetness of the strawberries, the muffins tasted earthier. And they were lacking something I couldn’t quite pinpoint at first - something that would really enhance the whole grain vibe I was going for... And it immediately came to me - bran! But to make them a bit more indulgent, I topped them with an oat and pecan streusel. The resulting muffins are a great way to take advantage of the last bit of blueberry season as summer transitions into fall and we all start craving all things pumpkin!
Why You’ll Love these Bran Muffins
Whole grain. Every grain - from the whole wheat pastry flour and the wheat bran in the base to the rolled oats on top - inside these muffins is a whole grain, which means these muffins contain all the nutritious fiber, protein, vitamins, and other nutrients found in these grains!
Delightful bran-y flavor! A lot of times, recipes try to conceal the flavor of whole grains, but it’s nearly impossible (and just absolutely not worthwhile) to do that with whole wheat flour and bran. Plus why fight it when you can embrace it? These muffins take advantage of wheat bran’s pleasantly nutty flavor, so you’ll be able to tell it’s a bran muffin, but I promise they won’t taste like cardboard. The muffins are tender, dotted with blueberries, and have a delicious brown sugar, oatmeal, and pecan topping that adds some extra sweetness and a bit of crunch on top.
High fiber. Since these are made with whole wheat flour and bran, they pack a ton more fiber than your typical muffin! A cup of wheat bran adds 24 grams of fiber into a whole batch of these muffins, while the whole wheat pastry flour adds an additional 24 grams - that comes out to 4 grams of fiber per muffin! And that’s before counting the extra bit of fiber from the blueberries and topping - not bad for a muffin!
Sweet & crunchy streusel topping. Since the muffins themselves aren’t overly sweet, the streusel topping adds that extra bit of sweetness needed to make you feel that you’re actually eating a muffin (albeit a more nutrient-dense bran muffin 😉, so don’t expect a bakery-style lemon poppyseed here). As the topping bakes, the crunchy top layer forms, which nicely complements the tender interior while also incorporating the delicious flavor of butter-y pecans to complete the muffin.
Ingredient Overview
Whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat pastry flour (WWPF) comes from the same grain as white whole wheat flour but is ground more finely, so it produces softer and lighter muffins! I haven’t tested these muffins with non-pastry whole wheat flour, but since the bran adds quite a bit of graininess into the muffins (and counteracts some of the softness), I recommend using WWPF for the best texture. (Always curious to hear from you if you experiment with other flours though - drop a comment below!)
Wheat bran. To add that slightly nutty bran flavor and lots of fiber! If you’re having a hard time finding wheat bran in your local grocery store, you can find it sold online on various websites like Bob’s Red Mill (not sponsored, but this is the brand I used!).
Baking powder, baking soda, and salt. For rise and texture.
Light brown sugar. To sweeten the muffins while also adding some depth from the molasses!
Oat milk (or another non-dairy plant milk) & apple cider vinegar. When combined together, oat milk and apple cider vinegar form a vegan “buttermilk” that reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise!
Neutral oil. The fat source that provides most of the moisture content in these muffins! I use avocado oil, but any neutral oil (sunflower, safflower, etc.) works.
Applesauce. Adds additional moisture and helps create really soft and tender-textured muffins.
Vanilla extract & cinnamon. For flavor depth and warmth.
Blueberries. To add some bursts of juicy berries into the muffins! Blueberries are always delicious in muffins, but they’re especially essential here as they help balance out the bran’s earthiness.
Oat & pecan streusel topping. Pecans and oats are mixed with light brown sugar, whole wheat pastry flour, melted vegan butter, and a pinch of salt to create a delightful streusel topping. Be sure to use raw pecans since they’ll toast during baking - pre-roasted pecans will get overcooked and possibly even burn.
Tips for Baking these Muffins
Use a scale to measure ingredients in grams. For the best results, I suggest using a food scale to weigh the flour, bran, and brown sugar. If you don’t have one: 1) make sure to really pack the cups when you’re measuring out the brown sugar and 2) measure your flour using the “spoon and level” method to avoid using too much flour (you don’t want dry, dense muffins!). (To do this, “fluff” the flour to aerate it. Then, spoon the flour into a measuring cup until it overflows slightly, and use the back of a knife to “level” the excess flour off the top.)
Don’t overmix. As with any cake, muffin, or quick bread, it’s essential to only mix the batter just until the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated to avoid ending up with dense muffins.
Use muffin liners. Since these muffins are quite tender, they’re quite difficult to remove from the muffin pan without them crumbling (even if the muffin tin is well greased!). So save yourself the hassle and use muffin liners (I promise it’s absolutely worth buying them if you don’t have any on hand!). Bonus: muffin liners fill up some of the volume of the pan, so they’ll actually help create taller muffin tops, too!
Dual baking temperatures. Start baking the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350°F for the remainder of the baking time. This dual temperature system activates the leavening agents faster, which triggers them to rise up quickly, creating taller muffin tops - who doesn’t want that?!
Whole Grain Blueberry Bran Muffins with Oat & Pecan Streusel Topping
Vegan, Whole Grain
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients
Muffins:
180 grams / 1 ½ cups (spooned & leveled*) whole wheat pastry flour
56 grams / 1 cup (spooned & leveled*) wheat bran
134 grams / ⅔ cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup + 1 tablespoon oat milk (or another non-dairy milk)
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce
⅓ cup avocado oil (or any other neutral oil like sunflower, safflower, etc.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries
Oat & Pecan Streusel Topping:
½ cup raw pecans, chopped
¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
⅛ teaspoon fine salt
2 tablespoons vegan butter, melted**
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 425°F. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, wheat bran, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the milk and apple cider vinegar to make a vegan “buttermilk.” Set aside for 5 minutes to curdle.
Meanwhile, prepare the streusel topping. In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans, oats, brown sugar, whole wheat pastry flour, and salt. Pour over the melted butter and use a spoon to mix until everything is thoroughly incorporated.
To the measuring cup/bowl with the “buttermilk,” add the applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract and whisk together until fully combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients and use a spatula to combine everything just until the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated, being careful not to overmix. (The batter will be thick!) Add the blueberries and use the spatula to gently fold them in.
Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups, then top with the prepared streusel topping.
Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking at this temperature for the remainder of the time until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 17-18 more minutes.
Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool inside the tin for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently remove each muffin from its tin (they’re on the fragile side!) and transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool until they come to room temperature, about 20 more minutes, before eating.
Leftover muffins can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes:
*If you don’t have a food scale, measure the flour and bran using the “spoon and level” method. To do this, “fluff” the flour/bran to aerate it. Then, spoon the flour/bran into a measuring cup until it overflows slightly, and use the back of a knife to “level” the excess flour off the top.
**To melt the butter, microwave it in 10 second increments just until melted, pausing and stirring it in between increments to help it melt evenly.
If you found these muffins to be as bran-tastic as I did, please take a moment to leave your feedback in the comments below and tag me on Instagram (@teostinykitchen) when you share them! And for more whole grain baked goods, check out my recipes for chocolate espresso scones, chocolate cherry spelt scones, oatmeal raisin cookies, white chocolate macadamia nut oatmeal cookies, and lots of granolas.