Six Week Bran Cereal Muffins
Updated
Updated
These Six-Week Bran Cereal Muffins require such little effort with the most fantastic results. Bake up the batter all at once or store it in the refrigerator for up to six weeks, making as few or many muffins as you like! Great for on-the-go mornings!
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Must be sad to be a bran muffin. Always being passed up for their prettier, more popular blueberry muffin cousin. Always a bridesmaid, never the bride. But I am telling you, these Six Week Bran Cereal Muffins give any other muffin some serious competition, because they have so much going for them in ease, longevity, texture, and taste. And fairly low calorie!
Humble in appearance, but boy do they deliver. Soft and tender, slightly sweet and packed with bran flakes and whole grains, they are definitely not the dry, flavorless bran muffins you’ve imagined in your head. They are on my family’s extremely short list of favorite muffins. Great for on-the-go mornings, packed into a lunchbox, or after school snack!
What are Six-Week Bran Muffins?
I’ve been making this muffin recipe for years, originally given to me from one of my neighbors back in Minnesota. Esther (or Ethie, as her close friends called her) made the best food! Named Six-Week Bran Cereal Muffins because the batter can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six weeks. Allowing you to make as few or as many as you want at a time.
Six-Week Bran Cereal Muffins
Ingredients
- 5 & 1/3 cups bran flakes
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup wheat germ
- 2 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 5 teaspoons baking soda
- pinch kosher salt
- 4 cups low-fat buttermilk
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
Instructions
- Place bran flakes in the bowl of a food processor; pulse several times until you reach the consistency of breadcrumbs. Transfer to an extra large bowl. Add the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking soda, and salt to the bowl. Whisk until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, and eggs until combined and smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until evenly moist. (Do not over-mix.)
- Transfer the muffin mix to a 1 gallon (or larger) capacity container with a tight fitting lid. Label the container with the date the batter was mixed and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. (Or you can use the batter immediately, making as few or as many muffins as you’d like!)
- When ready to bake, give the batter a gentle stir before scooping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Line muffin tins with paper sleeves and fill the wells 2/3 full.
- Bake for approximately 15-17 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow muffins to rest in the tins for at least 5 minutes before eating and enjoy!
Notes
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- Use Raisin Bran cereal. I prefer just bran flakes, but if you can’t find them, or you want the additional sugar coated raisins as part of your mix-ins, use raisin bran cereal instead.
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- Add fruit. As you can see from the first picture, I will more times than not cook up 12 at a time, leaving some plain, and then add in fruit to a some, and mini chocolate chips to a few others. Just tuck in 5-6 blueberries (fresh or frozen), or ½ tablespoon of mini chocolate chips, to the batter of each muffin.
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- Convert these to mini muffins. You’ll need mini muffin liners. Reduce baking time from 15-17 minutes down to 10-12.
- FAQs. If you have questions about the batter, don’t miss the FAQs in the article below this recipe card.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
FAQ’s
- How does the bran muffin batter not go bad? I’m not a scientist and I don’t know for certain, but I think it has something to do with the buttermilk, which has the good kind of bacteria and live cultures added to ferment the milk sugars. To be honest, I’ve never kept the batter more than two weeks – we love these muffins so much that I make them way faster than the six-week mark. But Ethie (see above) used to make a double and sometimes triple batch of batter, storing it for the full six weeks and they were always delicious and nobody ever got sick.
- Do I have to let the batter chill for several hours before using it? The original recipe given to me called for adding the bran flakes to the batter whole, and then placing in the refrigerator for at least 6-8 hours before being able to bake up some muffins. I’m assuming this was to let the cereal soften. I never do this. Instead, I pulse the cereal in my food processor until they’re like breadcrumbs; this way I can store the batter for several weeks OR use it right away.
- Can I just bake all the muffin batter and freeze them instead? Absolutely! You can bake up a few muffins at a time or all of them. I often times will bake up the entire batch and store them, so they’re conveniently at the ready for busy mornings.
Proper Storage
- Counter. Baked muffins will last on the counter in a sealed container for 2-3 days
- Fridge. Baked and cooled muffins will last up to 7 days if kept in the refrigerator, although will start to dry out.
- Freezer. To freeze, let them cool completely, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, then transfer to a large resealable freezer-safe plastic bag for up to 2 months.
- Reheat. To reheat, place in the microwave for 30-60 seconds until warmed through.
More Muffin Recipes:
- One-Bowl Banana Muffins
- Easy Blueberry Muffins
- Snickerdoodle Muffins
- Pumpkin Spice Muffins
- Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!
I have added crushed pineapple to the 6 week muffins and I usually eat them with cream cheese. Try it, you may be surprised!
Anyone tried putting this mixture into tin cans and baking it into loaves? That’s the recipe I remember from my childhood ?
Haven’t made bran muffins in years, so I’ll take your word that these are moist, not dry. I’m willing to give this recipe a try.