Best Raisin Bran Muffins Recipe: Easy Breakfast Cereal Muffins (2024)

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.

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.

💭 Tips & 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

🥡 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.

📖 Recipe Card