Gluten-free Oat Bran Muffins (Sugar-Free with Vegan Option)

These Healthy Oat Bran Muffins are a healthy way to get more fiber into your diet, plus they taste amazing!

You'll love the richness and the flexibility of this recipe. They taste great with a little sweetener included, but they're amazing without it as well. Either way, this recipe is a surefire winner.

While I like to have my kids eat veggies for snacks as much as possible, I try to have other healthy snacks on hand as well.

While we really love these “Almond Joy” Bars, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, Raw Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Bean Fudge, and Chocolate Truffles, we love these oat bran muffins for many reasons.

And I hope you will too.

In our household, we go back and forth between making these oat bran muffins sweetened and unsweetened.  Either version is delicious.

You really can't mess up this recipe.  In fact, the last time I made them I added too much liquid and added no sweetener or vanilla or cinnamon.

I had to cook them a bit longer since they were more moist, but my kids said that they tasted better than usual!  And with no sweetener – imagine that!

This recipe is a revised version of one found on Whole Approach, a sadly now defunct website.  That site was such a support to me when I first started dealing with what we thought was systemic candida in our household.

You can, of course, make them like real muffins, but I'm often too busy to clean out those muffin tins so I either make them with a cookie scoop as in the photo above or just spooned onto a cookie sheet or baking stone and baked free form.

Basically, they end up like homemade muffin tops done that way :-).

They're simple but have a very pleasant heartiness that is truly very appealing and satisfying.

In fact, once I made both these and my Baked Oatmeal Cake (which I consider to be a really yummy treat) and my youngest asked for these instead of the cake pretty much every time he wanted a snack.

How to Serve

These vegan oat bran muffins are great plain, with Homemade Nut Butter or seed butter and sometimes a little sweetener like a bit of yacon syrup.

They're also great with just butter or any kind of spread.

In order to counteract the phytates in the oat bran, I typically plan to make these a day or half a day in advance and soak the bran overnight first.

Recipe Notes and Substitutions

• Multiple Batches: Baking multiple batches at once is a great way to save time. In the case of these muffins, double or triple the recipe and mix the oat bran and liquids in a bowl (and sweeteners, if using), then add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar or about 1 teaspoon of vitamin C powder to the mix and let it all soak for at least 7 – 12 hours. Then proceed with the recipe.
• Baking Powder: If you would like to make your own baking powder, see my Aluminum and Corn-Free Baking Powder.
• Egg Substitute: My Powdered Egg Replacer is a great option for a homemade egg substitute.
• Sweetener Options: This recipe was developed to work for the candida diet and initially called for vegetable glycerin as the sweetener. You can use another liquid sweetener if you like. Other low-carb options are keto honey, liquid allulose. You can also use a granulated sweetener, but you'll want to subtract about 1/8 cup water from each batch. See my post on How to Substitute Sweeteners for more information. This sugar-free maple syrup works great. This Sugar-free Simple Syrup is another great liquid sweetener option.
• Coconut Oil: Butter, organic ghee, or organic palm shortening can be substituted for the coconut oil.
• THM: For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe is a crossover.

Recipe Variations

Here are some great ways to make variations on this oh-so-flexible recipe.

Add the following to 1 batch:

• Pumpkin Puree (15 oz–adds 1 carb to each muffin)
• Applesauce (1.5 cups–adds 1.5 carbs to each muffin)
• Banana (1 cup–adds 2 carbs per muffin)

Other possible add ins:

• Chocolate Chips
• Coconut
• Nuts
• Dried Fruit

More Healthy Treats

Looking for other “sure to satisfy” recipes (all with special diet options)?  How about:

– Baked Oatmeal Cake (mentioned above)
– Pumpkin Snickerdoodles (my boys love these!)
– Soft Pumpkin Cookies (these taste interestingly like the Enjoy Life Brand)
– Super Quick Whole Grain Drop Biscuits
– Buckwheat Crepes (these are even great for “on the fly” sandwiches!)

Oat Bran Muffins (gluten free with sugar-free option)

These Oat Bran Muffins are great with or without added sweeteners. The recipe is very forgiving and super filling so you aren't tempted to overeat!

5 from 9 votes

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Course: Breads, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan

Keyword: gluten-free oat bran muffins, Oat Bran Muffins, sugar-free oat bran muffins

Prep Time: 12 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes minutes

Servings: 11

Calories: 175.5kcal

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups uncooked oat bran
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-2 teaspoons salt (I use 2 teaspoons but start with 1 and increase to taste.)
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (omit for unsweetened version)
• 2 eggs or equivalent
• 3/4 cup filtered water
• 1/3 cup vegetable glycerine (or other liquid sweetener. Omit for unsweetened version. See Recipe Notes for other sweetener options)
• 1/16 teaspoon stevia extract
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (omit for unsweetened version)
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 cup nuts (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425 °F.
• Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
• Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
• Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.
• Let the batter soak overnight or for 24 hours if desired, for better digestibility.
• Add nuts if using.
• Put into greased muffin tins (mini or regular size) or for a simpler option, simply place on a prepared cookie sheet or baking stone.
• Bake for 10-20 minutes until the middles are pretty well set.

Notes

• • Multiple Batches: Baking multiple batches at once is a great way to save time. In the case of these muffins, double or triple the recipe and mix the oat bran and liquids in a bowl (and sweeteners, if using), then add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar or about 1 teaspoon of vitamin C powder to the mix and let it all soak for at least 7 – 12 hours. Then proceed with the recipe.

• • Baking Powder: If you would like to make your own baking powder, see my Aluminum and Corn-Free Baking Powder.

• • Egg Substitute: My Powdered Egg Replacer is a great option for a homemade egg substitute.

• • Sweetener Options: This recipe was developed to work for the candida diet and initially called for vegetable glycerin as the sweetener. You can use another liquid sweetener if you like. Other low-carb liquid sweetener options are keto honey or liquid allulose. You can also use a granulated sweetener (either low-carb or not), but you'll want to subtract about 1/8 cup water from each batch. See my post on How to Substitute Sweeteners for more information. A sugar-free maple syrup will work well.
    This Sugar-free Simple Syrup is another great liquid sweetener option.

• • Coconut Oil: Butter, organic ghee, or organic palm shortening can be substituted for the coconut oil.

•  

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 175.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 28.8g | Protein: 4.9g | Fat: 7.4g | Saturated Fat: 4.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.19g | Cholesterol: 33.9mg | Sodium: 422.6mg | Potassium: 135.81mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 0.5g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1.4mg | Net Carbs: 25g

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

What is your favorite kind of muffin?