Raisin Bran Muffins

Want a new way to enjoy breakfast cereal? Our raisin bran muffin recipe uses actual cereal as an ingredient to make deliciously moist, fluffy muffins. The addition of buttermilk means they’re even more amazing. And even better, they’re simple to make and they come together in about 25 minutes, including prep and baking times. Enjoy!

Ingredients for Raisin Bran Muffins 

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• Raisin bran cereal: The cereal adds both bran crunch and tasty raisins to the muffins.
• All-purpose flour: Standard all-purpose flour works well for these muffins.
• Sugar: Sugar adds sweetness while helping the muffins stay tender and moist.
• Baking soda: Baking soda helps the muffins rise.
• Eggs: Beaten eggs help bind the ingredients together; they also help the baked muffin stay together. Note that using room-temperature eggs when baking improves the texture of baked goods.
• Buttermilk: The acidity in buttermilk makes the muffins even more moist and fluffy.
• Vegetable oil: The oil makes the muffins moist.

Directions

Step 1: Mix the ingredients

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Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the raisin bran, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients just until everything is moistened.

Step 2: Bake the muffins

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Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds of the way with batter. Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center of one comes out clean, 12 to 16 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for five minutes before transferring them from the pan to wire racks to cool completely.

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Raisin Bran Muffin Variations

• Add dried cranberries: Turn these into cranberry raisin bran muffins by adding a cup or so of dried cranberries to the batter.
• Toss in toasted nuts: Add up to 1 cup of toasted nuts such as sliced almonds, or walnut or pecan bits, to the batter for protein and crunch.
• Add more raisins: If your raisin bran has too much bran and not enough raisins, feel free to add more raisins to your muffins!
• Drizzle them with glaze: Make a simple confectioners’ sugar glaze and drizzle it over the top of each warm muffin for an added treat.
• Stir in some cinnamon: Stir in 1 teaspoon or so of cinnamon to make these cinnamon raisin bran muffins.
• Add miniature chocolate chips: Mini chocolate chips will add a slight chocolaty note to every bite.

How to Store Raisin Bran Muffins

Store raisin bran muffins in an airtight container or zippered storage bags. They’ll last for several days kept at room temperature, or for a couple days longer in the refrigerator.

Can you freeze raisin bran muffins?

These muffins freeze quite well; just pack them into zippered freezer bags and press the excess air out before sealing. They’ll last in the freezer for several months.

Raisin Bran Muffin Tips

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What can I use in place of buttermilk?

No buttermilk? No problem! Replace the buttermilk with the same amount of plain yogurt and you’re good to go, or try one of these other buttermilk substitutes.

Could I use a different cereal?

Absolutely! Stick with a flake-style cereal containing dried fruit for similar results in this raisin bran muffins recipe. Cereals that also have sliced nuts in them work well as a variation too.

What else could I make that’s similar?

Try our contest-winning golden raisin bran muffins recipe, which incorporates bran cereal, unsweetened applesauce and golden raisins. For even more flavor, our bran banana muffins recipe features bananas, chocolate chips and pecans in addition to raisin bran.