Delicious raisin bran muffins are an easy-to-make breakfast treat made with the classic raisin bran cereal we all know and love. The tasty cinnamon muffin surrounds bran flakes and tender bites of raisin and is perfect with a touch of honey or a pat of butter. You can even make a large batch and store the extras for an on-the-go meal on busy mornings.
Try my favorite muffin recipes, like my raspberry white chocolate, banana cinnamon, pumpkin zucchini, and strawberry yogurt muffins.
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These lightly spiced breakfast muffins are a fantastic combination of muffins and breakfast cereal. Even if you're not a fan of bran cereals or lightly sugar-coated wrinkly raisins, the cereal makes a fabulous muffin.
My family loves these muffins with a touch of extra spice, some butter melting on each half, and a spoonful of honey dripping from each bite. Of course, they are also easy to customize to suit your family's tastes.
🧁 What is a Raisin Bran Muffin
A raisin bran muffin is made with Kellogg's Raisin Bran or Post Raisin Bran cereal. Other brands, like Malt-o-Meal and Cascadian Farm, also make raisin bran cereal, and other varieties, like Raisin Bran Crunch and Raisin Nut Bran, are equally wonderful.
This vintage recipe photo on the right shares the original recipe from Kellogg's cereal. I have modified it to omit the shortening and use a one-bowl method for mixing my muffin batter.
Making these healthy cereal-based muffins is super easy. You just need a quick batter and a few options for how moist you would like your cereal to be before baking.
🥘 Ingredients
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon are combined to make these tasty muffins. Use more cinnamon if desired, or add in a pinch of allspice.
- Wet Ingredients - Milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and cooled melted butter are added to the dry ingredients to make your batter. Buttermilk (or buttermilk substitute) is a favorite swap-out for the milk and adds a tangy flavor.
- Raisin Bran Cereal - The cereal is added as the last ingredient and can be baked so that the flakes are a crispy part of the muffins or allowed to soak until soggy. My family loves the muffins baked after the batter has already come together after refrigerating for a full day!
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🧂 Substitutions
Some tasty stir-in ideas to try:
- Dehydrated fruits (Like my banana, pineapple, or apple)
- Fresh apple slices or grated apple
- Chopped nuts like walnuts or almonds
- Oats
- Dates
- Or your favorite warm baking spices (cloves, mace, allspice, ground cardamom, ground ginger, apple pie spice, or pumpkin pie spice).
Substitutions that you can easily make with these raisin bran muffin ingredients:
- Greek Yogurt - Reduce milk to a half cup of milk and add a half cup of Greek yogurt.
- Applesauce or bananas (can be substituted for the eggs, butter, or sugar) - Use half the amount of butter, or 2 tablespoons, and add 2 tablespoons of applesauce or mashed bananas. Replace 1 egg with ¼ cup of applesauce or mashed bananas. Substitute the ¼ cup of sugar with ¼ cup of applesauce or mashed bananas.
- Whole Wheat Flour - You can swap the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour or combine both.
- Brown Sugar - Substitute the white granulated sugar for light or dark brown sugar or combine both. This will enhance the sweetness of the muffins.
🔪 How To Make Raisin Bran Muffins
These muffins are easy to prepare and foolproof. You will need a muffin pan, a large mixing bowl, a silicone spatula, and measuring utensils.
This recipe will yield ten muffins.
Mix The Batter
Step 1: Preheat. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC/Gas Mark 4). Line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners or coat it with non-stick cooking spray. *You may want to hold off on preheating if you want to let the batter sit, allowing the cereal to get soggy before baking.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (1 cup (125 grams) of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup (50 grams) of sugar, 2½ teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of cinnamon) then make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Step 3: Add wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients (1 cup (237 milliliters) of milk, ¼ cup (57 grams) of melted and cooled butter, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract) into the well. Mix just enough to combine.
Step 4: Mix in cereal. Add 2 cups (118 grams) of Raisin Bran cereal. Stir to combine, then either allow the batter to sit for up to 45 minutes before baking if desired, or bake immediately.
Portion & Bake
Step 5: Portion. Pour the batter into the paper muffin cup-lined muffin tin, filling each muffin liner between ¾ and full.
Step 6: Bake. Bake at 350ºF (175ºC/Gas Mark 4) for 16-18 minutes, or until the muffins are lightly golden on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffins.
Step 7: Cool. Remove the muffins from your oven and allow muffins to cool in the muffin tin. Cool for about 10 minutes before serving warm. Cool completely before storing.
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Make mini muffins. This recipe will make about three times as many mini muffins. Reduce the baking time and begin checking for doneness after 9-10 minutes.
- Have fluffy muffin tops. For the maximum height of your muffins, bake them at 400°F (205°C/Gas Mark 6) for 5 minutes to cause the leavening agent to activate quickly. Then, reduce the temperature to 350°F (175°C/Gas Mark 4) for the remaining baking time. Also, space the muffins out so that every other cavity is empty to allow them room to expand.
- Let the batter rest. I prefer to let the batter rest so that the cereal becomes soggy, which helps it to distribute throughout the muffins. You can also bake them immediately, but they will be crunchier. It is up to you!
🙂 😀 Testimonials
Very good flavor and I like the versatility of the recipe! We sampled our muffins 10 minutes out of the oven and were both of us saying, "This recipe is a keeper!"
Marcia
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🥡 Storing & Reheating
Baked muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 - 2 days. If you keep any remaining muffins refrigerated, they will last another 8 - 10 days beyond those first two days.
Freezing
You can freeze the baked muffins or even the unbaked batter. Baked muffins can be frozen for up to 3 months.
For the batter, use the paper muffin liners and flash-freeze the muffins. Remove the frozen batter and transfer it into an airtight storage bag to bake fresh daily.
Add a few minutes to the baking time when baking the muffins directly from frozen.
Baking Fresh Muffins Daily
Your mixed muffin batter can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Portion the batter into a mug or ramekin and microwave for 1 minute to make your muffins fresh each morning.
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📖 Recipe Card
Raisin Bran Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups Raisin Bran
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg (beaten, at room temperature)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled - or use cooking oil)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350℉ (175℃) and line a muffin tin with paper muffin liners or coat with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup sugar, and ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the cooled, melted ¼ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup milk, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Mix the ingredients just enough to incorporate the dry flour into the wet ingredients.
- Add the 2 cups Raisin Bran cereal, stir to combine. Allow the muffin batter to sit for up to 45 minutes if you want the bran flakes to take on the moisture from the batter. *These muffins are the only time I will ever argue that soggy cereal is best!
- Portion the muffin batter out into your prepared muffin tin, filling each muffin liner between ¾ and full. Bake at 350℉ (175℃) for 16-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the baked muffins and allow to cool in the muffin pan for 10 minutes. Serve warm for best results.
Sunny says
Easy delicious recipe. Great instructions. I used dark brown sugar. Family enjoyed. Already a keeper after one bake.
Marcia Rigamonti says
Very good flavor and I like the versatility of the recipe! We sampled our muffins 10 minutes out of the oven and were both of us saying, "This recipe is a keeper!"
Terri says
Great morning wake up muffin.
Jess says
These are fabulous! I’m going to make them again and wondering if I can use a high heat method at the beginning to get fluffier tops without burning the muffins?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Here are my top 2 hacks for fluffy muffin tops: A) Yes, use the high heat method cooking at 400F for the first 5 minutes to get the leavening agents to react quickly, then reduce the temp to 350F for the remainder of the baking time. B) Try skipping every other muffin cup so the muffins have lots of room to spread out. Hope that helps, enjoy!
Donna says
I tried this recipe with a few substitutions.
I used brown sugar rather than white. Half all purpose flour and half graham pastry flour. And a light tasting olive oil rather than butter.
I added a quarter cup each of homemade applesauce and whole grains hot cereal (uncooked). Along with the cinnamon, I added half a teaspoon of ginger. I used an organic brand of Raisin Bran. It has less sugar.
I baked this in a small loaf pan for about 35 minutes. A loaf pan was so much easier. I really don’t like filling cupcake tins. I always make a mess.
So I ended up with Raisin Bran Bread. Very yummy.
This is such a good basic recipe to play around with.
Laurean Reynolds says
Thank you, Angela! I'm trying to increase my fiber, so I added a handful of oats, walnuts, and dates. The recipe accommodated the additions well. I had Vietnamese cinnamon, so that and a bit of allspice really made them taste spicy. Very happy to find this recipe. It's a versatile and delicious keeper.
Em L. says
Made these exactly how the recipe said except I used whole wheat flour instead of all purpose (I was out of all purpose) and they came out wonderful!!! 10/10 I’m definitely making these a staple in my house!!!
Sandra W. says
Having a difficult time subscribing . I fill out the form, but don't get a confirmation email from you in my email box.
Any suggestions for me??
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hello Sandra, is this the same email you used? I'll check the subscriber list (I'm in the middle of making some changes to our emails). Thanks!
Sandra W. says
Well, now, you've done it! Found this site and copied the butter substitute article; now , I'll have to get a 3-ring binder for this and other hint pages from other sites to keep them all in one place.
I did fill in the "subscribe" box, but didn't get a return email for confirmation. Should I do it over, or wait?
Thank you so much for taking the time to post everything. Going to make the bran muffins for my son & me. They look so delicious too!
Sandra W.
Janet says
This is a great recipe as is and as a starter. Just finished my second batch and great results again. I add a bit more vanilla and cinnamon, a tablespoon of flax meal, a scoop of protein powder, and second time some chopped apples and walnuts. So versatile and easy.
Stuck says
I came looking for a way to use the big bags of Malt O Meal raisin bran that you can get cheap from Walmart. I got bored with the taste (decent, but not as good as the name brand) and wanted to find a way to use it up. Man, not only were these *entirely* acceptable as a raisin bran muffin, it's causing me to continue buying the stuff just to make these muffins on the regular. It was so EASY to make, and they came out fantastic for a snack to keep around the house.
I *was* concerned about the "Serve warm for best results" thing. I want them on a moment's notice in the middle of the day! Grab and go! Well in my personal opinion, y'all could do away with the "Serve warm for best results" thing, because I ate the Dickens out of these at room temperature until they were no more. Delicious.
As for people who complained about the lack of flavor, have you ever even eaten raisin bran before? It's not like it tastes like a chocolate sundae. What did you expect? It's raisin bran, and these muffins taste like raisin bran muffins. Perfect! If you want different flavor, make something different. (Cinnamon and nutmeg cover pretty much all the baking I care about.)
Excellent, excellent recipe, and I had to be sure to thank you.
Bill Nunamaker says
For those who don't feel like these are flavorful enough, you can substitute brown sugar, and also replace half of the butter with low fat cream cheese or low fat sour cream. This really amps up the flavor.
Cattoy says
I swapped buttermilk for milk and applesauce for part of it, as well as for part of the butter. Threw in some apple pie spice. Also subbed a bit of wheat flour for regular and added a handful of old-fashioned oats. WOW. Amazing. Such a great basic recipe to play with. Thanks!
cooknwoman says
Thank you Angela! Is it possible to freeze the batter in silicone cupcake liners? Or, do I need to bake then freeze? I was hoping for fresh baked each day 😅
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Actually, what I do to freeze muffin batter is use the paper muffin liners and flash freeze the muffins. Remove the frozen batter and transfer into an airtight freezer storage container or freezer storage bag to bake fresh daily. Add a few minutes to the baking time when you're baking the muffins directly from frozen. Thanks for asking!
Lynn says
Prepared batter last night and baked this morning. Nice and moist muffins. Substituted applesauce (had on hand) for the 1 egg ($$) as suggested. Also the cereal was on sale. Great recipe- a keeper. Thank you!
Anonymous says
The muffins out pretty good. They could use a little more flavor.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Agreed, but it's based on the original recipe. Add a little more cinnamon or try apple pie spice for a tasty variation. Enjoy!
Heather says
Hi, sounds like a great recipe. Do you think All Bran cereal can be substituted for raisin Bran. Then add your own raisins at the end?
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, I totally think that should work just fine. Enjoy!
Karen says
These are the best muffins I have ever eaten! Thank you!!! Thank you!!!
Anonymous says
Wonderful!
Sonja says
Hello... either I need some new glasses or you left out when to put the egg in.:)
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Well, you don't need new glasses 🙂 I missed it and have added it in now, thank you for bringing that to my attention!!
Sherry says
They turned out wonderful
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed them too!