Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins Recipe

If you love healthy muffins, you will love my Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins! Perfect for breakfast or as a snack, these nutty, orange-spiked muffins make a nice treat in a lunchbox too. Although they have lots of wholesome ingredients, the flavour of these muffins reminds me of carrot walnut cake.

There’s a story behind these delicious muffins, but if you want to skip straight to the recipe, just click the Jump To Recipe button.

A Family Recipe

When I was a little girl in Canada, there was a restaurant in Preston, Ontario called The Knotty Pine. My Dad used to stop in there a couple of times a week for one of their famous bran muffins and once in a while, he’d bring a half a dozen of them home for a treat. We loved these yummy muffins which were not too sweet, not too savoury, and full to the brim with raisins. One day Dad came home with the secret recipe.

Mom and I were delighted when the muffins we made using the recipe came out every bit as nice as the ones Dad brought home. I’ve been making them ever since. They were part of the inspiration for these Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins.

Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins

History of My Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins

Although I rarely deviated from the original recipe in recent years I did formulate a refined sugar free version of my Bran Muffins. Occasionally I make them with mixed dried fruit instead of just raisins, or add some apple. After I tasted a wonderful muffin at a Tim Hortons coffee shop in Canada nearly ten years ago, I couldn’t resist another experiment. My Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins were the result.

My family and friends love this new variation as much as they love my original bran muffins. This recipe post was first published back in 2011 and I still make it regularly.

A Healthier Muffin

You will be so glad you tried these Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins! Full of healthy ingredients with a rich depth of flavour, these cinnamon and ginger laced muffins are spiked with a hint of orange. They have some sugar, but these sweet and spicy treats are definitely NOT cupcakes.

If you want to make these muffins even healthier, reduce the sugar to half a cup. They still taste amazing.

Hints and Tips

This recipe uses actual bran, not bran cereal, nor oat bran. You can find bran in the cereal aisle in some grocery food stores or in health food stores. This is the bran I use (affiliate link).

The recipe makes about 12 large muffins or 15 smaller ones. Smaller muffins will take less time to cook. The muffins are completely cooked when a skewer inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out with no batter clinging to it.

Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins will keep for a three days in a sealed container at room temperature, or store them for up to five days in the fridge. Allow to come to room temperature or warm before eating.

Can This Recipe Be Made Dairy Free?

Buttermilk enhances the flavour of these muffins. However, if you are dairy-free, you can use milk alternatives to make them very successfully. I have experimented with coconut milk and the results are deliciosu. I am sure other milk alternatives would also work and I will update this post as I try them. If you do try another alternative to milk before I do, please let me know how it goes.

Can I Freeze Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins?

These muffins freeze really well too. They are best served slightly warm. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat gently in the oven for about 5 minutes at 300°F or 150°C. I prefer to oven heat but you can also microwave them on medium for a minute or so before eating,

Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins – Printable Recipe

Created by: April J Harris

Carrot Walnut Bran Muffins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Canadian

Servings 12 muffins

A deliciously healthy bran muffin recipe that tastes like carrot walnut cake

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ¾ cup lightly packed brown sugar use ½ cup sugar for a healthier muffin
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup mild olive or sunflower oil
• 1 cup buttermilk You can use ordinary milk if you do not have buttermilk. Buttermilk gives the best flavour though.
• 1 cup all purpose (plain) flour
• 2 cups bran available in the cereal aisle in most grocery stores – you want bags of real bran, not bran flakes cereal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• grated rind of one orange
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
• ½ cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350℉ (170℃).
• Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease and flour them.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl.
• Add brown sugar and oil; mix well.
• Mix in the bran, cinnamon and ginger. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and salt.
• Add flour mixture to the bran mixture alternately with the buttermilk, stirring well between each addition.
• Gently fold in the orange rind, grated carrot and the walnuts.
• Spoon mixture carefully into muffin tins, filling them about half full.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out without any batter clinging to it.
• Remove the muffins from the pan and cool on a wire rack.
• Serve warm or at room temperature. These are delicious with butter and/or jam. If muffins have cooled to room temperature, you can reheat them in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds on high. I sometimes put them frozen in a lunch box and they thaw in time for lunch while helping to keep everything else cool too.

Notes

Links to suggested equipment including those below are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Equipment

• 1 set of measuring cups
• 1 set of measuring spoons
• 1 medium bowl
• 1 large bowl
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 muffin pan

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