Low Fat Banana Bran Muffin Recipe

These moist banana, bran and date muffins each contain about six grams of fat. They are great for breakfast on the run. For best results, use very ripe bananas.

Preparation time: about 30 minutes (excludes baking time).

Makes 8 muffins.

We use a 20ml tablespoon and 250ml measuring cup for all of our recipes.

80g (1 cup) All-Bran (wheat bran breakfast cereal)
172g (2/3 cup) mashed very ripe banana
80g (1/2 cup) chopped dried dates
85g (1/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
32g (1 tablespoon) golden syrup
166ml (2/3 cup) skim milk
40ml (2 tablespoons) oil (we use a mild-flavoured oil, such as sunflower)
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
1 large egg (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
50g (1/3 cup) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 degrees Celsius fan-forced). If you are not using a fan-forced oven, adjust the oven rack to the middle of the oven.

Place All-Bran, banana, dates, brown sugar and golden syrup in a medium bowl. Add the skim milk, oil, vanilla and egg and stir to combine the ingredients, ensuring that you break up the egg yolk.

Set mixture aside for 10 minutes to allow the bran to soften and swell.

You will need a muffin pan with 1/3-cup capacity holes. The muffin pan can be lined with baking paper squares or muffin cases.

If you wish to use baking paper squares, cut eight pieces of baking paper each about 13cm square. Grease eight muffin pan holes, and line the holes with the baking paper squares. The paper extends above the sides of the muffin holes and supports the muffins as they rise.

If using muffin/patty cases, line eight muffin pan holes with 115ml capacity cases (we used cases that were 4cm high and measured 5cm across the base and 8cm across the top).

In a large bowl, stir self-raising flour, plain flour and bicarbonate of soda together until well combined. © exclusivelyfood.com.au

Add bran mixture to flour mixture and gently fold ingredients together until just combined. Don't overmix the batter as this will result in tough, chewy muffins.

Divide the mixture evenly among the eight prepared muffin holes. The batter should nearly reach the rim of each hole.


Bake for about 20 minutes, until a fine-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out without any batter attached (moist crumbs are okay).

Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about five minutes, and then serve or place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at cool room temperature or in the refrigerator, or tightly wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. © www.exclusivelyfood.com.au

Each muffin contains approximately 1030kJ, 42g carbohydrate, 6g fat, 5g fibre, 5g protein, 215mg sodium, 26g sugars. Average muffin weight 94g.