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How could a healthy double chocolate bran muffin recipe be so good? Find out how easy it is to make these muffins in just a few easy steps. There’s no complicated recipe here — just pure goodness and CHOCOLATE!
Easy Chocolate Bran Muffins
Old to me but new to you! I have made these easy chocolate bran muffins for years and I have learned one thing. They NEVER fail to impress me. You won’t get used to the moist and crumbly deliciousness of these healthy chocolate muffins. Try this bran muffin recipe for breakfast and see how it’ll be your favorite part of the day.
Why you’ll love this recipe
Aside from this being the easiest bran muffin recipe, these double chocolate muffins are moist and have the perfect amount of sweetness to them. I love a good balance of not too sweet but still sweet enough to satisfy.
These deliciously rich and chocolatey muffins are moist and full of fiber, and protein. Plus these chocolate bran muffins are kid friendly!
Ingredients in Double Chocolate Bran Muffins
- Bran: I’m using Original All Bran Cereal for this muffin recipe, this is an important ingredient and doesn’t have a substitution, unless you find a generic equivalent.
- Milk: You can use any kind of milk, regular or nondairy, any fat content.
- Applesauce: This helps the muffins be nice and moist without a ton of added oil.
- Vegetable oil: I prefer oil in my muffin recipes for a neutral flavor and moist recipe.
- Cocoa powder: Unsweetened cocoa powder makes it nice and chocolatey (not Dutch process).
How to make Chocolate Bran Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place bran cereal and milk in a medium bowl. Make sure all the bran is underneath the milk; set aside to soak at least 10 minutes while mixing the remaining ingredients.
- Place sugar, applesauce, oil, egg, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir or use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Stir in cocoa powder.
- Add the bran cereal mixture to the sugar mixture along with the flour and stir or mix until combined.
- Fill muffin cups then bake for about 20 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for at least 10 minutes before removing the wrappers.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Expert Tips + Diet Variations
- Any kind of milk is okay to use–any fat content, regular milk, or nondairy.
- You can substitute sugar-free sweetener for the sugar to make these sugar free muffins. (I use equal amounts Swerve Granulated but amount used will differ for other brands)
- For a more traditional mouth feel, omit applesauce and increase oil to ¼ cup.
- For a lower-fat muffin, omit the oil and increase applesauce to ¼ cup (will change the texture slightly.)
- For lower cholesterol, use 2 egg whites in place of the 1 large egg (will slightly change the texture).
- You can use half and half all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour or substitute all the AP flour with 1:1 Gluten Free flour to make gluten-free muffins.
FAQs
Yes! I love adding some mini chocolate chips to the mix.
Should be thick, lumpy, and have no bubbles. It’s ok if your muffin batter is a little dry and you see some flour in there.
Poke a toothpick in the muffin and it should come out clean, free of any crumbs or batter.
Yes. You can freeze these bran muffins for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Bran Muffins Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (123g) All Bran Cereal
- 1 ¼ cups milk nondairy, nonfat, or 2%
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (33g) unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ cup (40g) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
- ¾ cup (93g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (170g) chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and spray them with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place bran cereal and milk in a medium bowl. Make sure all the bran is underneath the milk; set aside to soak while mixing remaining ingredients.
- Place sugar, applesauce, oil, egg, salt, and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Stir or use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Stir in coco powder.
- Add bran cereal mixture to the sugar mixture along with the flour and stir or mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips if using.
- Fill muffin cups ¾ full. Bake 18-24 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before removing wrappers or they’ll pull off some of the muffin.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe Notes
- Any kind of milk is okay to use – any fat content, regular milk or nondairy.
- You can substitute sugar-free sweetener for the sugar (I use equal amounts Swerve
- Granulated amount used will differ for other brands)
- For a fluffier muffin, omit applesauce and increase oil to ¼ cup.
- For a lower-fat muffin, omit oil and increase applesauce to ¼ cup (will change the texture slightly.)
- For lower cholesterol, use 2 egg whites in place of the 1 large egg (will slightly change the texture).
- You can use half and half all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour or substitute all the AP flour with 1:1 Gluten Free flour to make gluten-free muffins.
Cant say Ive tried t his yet and probably wont because I have a feeling theyre going to taste like All Bran fiber…plus I dont want to buy an entire box just to use a little bit. But if youre trying to eat more protein in the morning, 3g of a carb muffin isnt going to do the trick. Try a protein shake – either homemade or EAS Carb Control makes good ones with only 100 calories and 17 g of protein with no like 1g or less of sugar – comes in chocolate, strawberry, vanilla. Quest Protein Bars are another great choice…They come in a variety of flavors from breakfast friendly banana nut muffin to sweets like chocolate chip cookie dought, white chocolate berry and apple pie…and lunch like peanut butter and jelly. These are probably the healthiest bars out there…They are all 200 calories or less, have about 20g of protein with 17 grams of fiber. How many of these muffins would you need to eat? Otherwise, egg white omelettes are the way to go – if you must buy something like Egg Beaters…They have a SW flavor that adds onions and peppers or you can add fresh veggies like mushrooms or spinach…Or make a fritatta and then youll have a few portions for the next few days…Very simple too. If you must bake some treats, try almond meal/flour to avoid the carbs. Do you need treats? Sure. Do you have fun baking and coming up recipes? It sounds like you do. But lets be real…If youre trying to make serious changes to your diiet and youre really trying to boost your workouts with nutrition and eat more protein, a 3g muffin with chocolate chips isnt going to cut it. The full nutritional profile for the recipe isnt listed, but the options above are going to be quick and give you a much bigger boost – and fill you up more in the AM. You can easily eat 200 or fewer calories with the items above and get a lot more protein so youre not starving by lunchtime. Even if you want to eat one of the higher protein oatmeals in the morning, mix in a little whey protein power for a boost – you can use chocolate there too
So I’m trying to lose weight for our cruise this summer. Breakfast is the worst meal for me. I either eat cereal and I’m hungry like 30 minutes later or I eat 3 (homemade, but small) biscuits which does keep me full longer but not very nutritious. I am not a big protein fan, and I hate eggs! Ugh! If I don’t stay fully eat junk! So I’m going to try these…
I loved them – 2 and I was full for awhile! 🙂
I made the muffins, but I used regular almond milk (30 calorie per serving kind) and I didn’t have the bran, so I used vanilla lean protien powder…still only 102 calories and amazing! Thanks for this recipe…I was trying to use things I had in the house, so I had to alter, but I bet yours are better…I much prefer chocolate almond milk!!! 🙂
Perfect! I hardly ever make recipes as written. I’m glad you like them!
hahaha, I’m laughing so hard at your… “ammendments… to your typical daily meals. So would’ve done that!
Hee hee, I’m horrible. 🙂 Thanks Katie!
Oh thank you for this! I laughed right out loud at the bit about checking your body fat. I went Paleo last week and was semi-furious about gaining a tiny bit after all was said an done. Of course there was that huge slap of Costco chocolate cake that I had last night… and the donuts on Saturday morning… Paleo smaleo! Anyways, these muffins look great – I’ll have to buy bran cereal when I’m at the grocery store next.
Ha! I couldn’t do Paleo!! Thanks Emily!
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