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This banana baked oatmeal makes a hearty and filling healthy breakfast! It’s great for serving a crowd or a flavorful bake you can make ahead and enjoy all week.
The first time I made banana baked oatmeal, I assumed I’d probably enjoy it. But after the first bite, I loved it even more than my classic baked oatmeal recipe! This golden-brown pan of oatmeal is sweet, hearty, and feels like a treat: even though it’s made with wholesome plant-based ingredients.
The secret is using very ripe bananas, which add natural sweetness and act as a binder: so you don’t need eggs! It’s great for serving guests, but I like to meal prep breakfast and make a big pan to eat off of it all week! You can even cut it into “bars” for quick snacks, too.
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The best baked oatmeal recipe. So easy to make and tastes great. It will become my go to re baked oatmeal recipe. I spread Greek yogurt on top before eating, instead of a nut butter.” -Lee
Ingredients You’ll Need
A few ripe bananas on my counter inspired this recipe. Usually I make something like banana bread or banana muffins, but this time I wanted something wholesome that would work for a meal. My, did it turn out delicious! It quickly skyrocketed to the top of my favorite easy breakfast recipes. The ingredients you’ll need are: :
- Rolled or old fashioned oats: Do not substitute steel cut oats, as they have a much different texture! Instead, go to Baked Steel Cut Oatmeal.
- Ripe bananas: Make sure they are very ripe: as in, brown or even black on the peels. It is crucial for this recipe to get the sweetness and binding quality you need.
- Pecan pieces: Pecans work well flavor wise, or substitute other nuts like walnuts or almonds/
- Cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla: These add nuance and accentuate the sweet flavor.
- Baking powder: This helps create the texture.
- Milk of choice: Use your preferred dairy free milk for fully-plant based; I like using oat milk or almond milk.
- Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup (never pancake syrup); or you can substitute honey or agave syrup.
Why Bananas Make This Baked Oatmeal Work
Typically a baked oatmeal recipe calls for egg to help bind together the texture. But when you use mashed bananas, they act as a binder! In fact, banana is a common vegan substitute for egg in baking recipes. You can use this formula in other baked goods: substitute 1 mashed ripe banana for 1 egg.
The other thing mashed banana does here aside from texture: it adds big banana flavor and a natural sweetness!
Expert Tips for Perfect Banana Baked Oatmeal
After making this recipe more times than I can count (and including it in my most recent cookbook), I’ve picked up a few tricks:
- Grease your pan well. I use coconut oil or a neutral oil and make sure to get into all the corners.
- Don’t skip the resting time. After baking, let the pan sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the oats to set properly. The texture improves even more as it cools.
- Serve it with toppings. To me the flavor on its own tastes a little bland, but top with a few banana slices, a slather of nut butter and maple syrup, and it tastes incredible. Plus it looks beautiful!
How to Serve It
There are lots of ways to top baked oatmeal! I consider this banana baked oatmeal to be a healthy breakfast: it’s vegan, oil free and relatively low sugar. So I like to keep my toppings wholesome too!
- Nut butter and bananas: Swirl together almond butter and peanut butter, then top with banana slices and a hint of maple syrup. Use sunflower butter for nut free.
- Maple syrup: A tiny drizzle of maple syrup is all you need for a little sparkle.
- Blueberry compote: Try topping with blueberry compote (also vegan).
- PB&J: Why not add a swirl of peanut butter and strawberry jam?
Make Ahead Tps
Keep in mind for this baked oatmeal recipe: there’s not really a good make-ahead option. Do not make the entire pan in advance and refrigerate overnight! Overnight oats call for this, but don’t try it here because the oats will absorb all the liquid and be too dry when baking. Here are two make-ahead options:
- Minimal prep: You can mix up the wets and dries separately and store in separate containers (with the wets refrigerated), then pour them together in the morning and bake. It still takes 45 minutes to bake.
- Bake in advance: Make up a pan on a Sunday night, then refrigerate it for eating off of throughout the week. You can refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week, and re-warm them in a 300F oven or the microwave. Or, just eat them right out of the fridge like I do!
Dietary Notes
This banana baked oatmeal recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can reduce or omit the maple syrup entirely since the ripe bananas provide plenty of natural sweetness. I prefer the touch of maple syrup, but some readers have commented that it’s still delicious without it. You could also substitute honey if you don’t need it to be vegan, or try agave nectar as another option.
Any milk works well here. For a fully plant-based version, I love oat milk or almond milk. Regular 2% milk is great if you’re not concerned about keeping it vegan. Avoid coconut milk unless you want a strong coconut flavor. The milk choice won’t dramatically change the texture, so use whatever you have on hand or prefer.
Absolutely. Simply omit the pecans or replace them with pepitas for crunch. When serving, use sun butter instead of nut butter.
This usually happens if the bananas weren’t ripe enough or if the oatmeal was overbaked. Make sure your bananas are very ripe with brown spots. Also, check your oatmeal at 40 minutes: ovens vary, and you want the top golden and the mixture set but not dried out. Remember to let it rest for at least 10 minutes after baking, as it continues to absorb moisture during this time.
Easy Banana Baked Oatmeal
This banana baked oatmeal is the ideal healthy breakfast! It’s full of good-for-you ingredients and so delicious, everyone will want seconds.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 to 8 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ½ cup pecan pieces (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup mashed banana or 2 very ripe bananas
- 1 ¾ cups milk of choice (dairy, almond or oat)
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- For serving: Banana slices, almond butter or peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.*
- Grease an 8 x 8″ or 9 x 9″ pan with coconut oil or a neutral oil. In a medium bowl, mix together the rolled oats, pecan pieces, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and kosher salt.
- Dump the dries into the prepared pan.
- Mash the bananas. In the same bowl, whisk together the bananas, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla. Drizzle the milk mixture over the oats. Stir lightly with a fork to make everything gets evenly incorporated.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes (or more for the texture to fully set).
- Before serving, spread the top with almond butter or peanut butter (or a combination) and top with banana slices. Store leftovers refrigerated for up to 1 week: reheat in a 300 degree oven or microwave until warm.
Notes
*Make ahead instructions: do not make the entire pan in advance and refrigerate overnight because the oats will absorb all the liquid. You can mix up the wets and dries separately and store in separate containers (with the wets refrigerated), then pour them together in the morning and bake.
I made it exactly as the recipe states, cooked for 45 min and let sit and it was very soggy. What did I do wrong?
Hmm interesting, thank you for letting me know. Did you make any substitutions in this recipe? Did you use quick oats instead of Old Fashioned Oats at all?
I absolutely love trying new recipes, and have been looking for healthier breakfast options that are filling and good for my gut balance, with that being said, this was a great recipe!!! even though I did leave out the maple syrup (I just didn’t have any in my house) I bet the maple syrup would have made it even better, but even without it it was still very delicious, and I garnished it with a cream cheese and peanut butter mixture which was also amazing to add on top
Perfect just the way it is written! Very easy to throw together too!
this has such a satisfying texture — way more filling than i thought it’d be
The best baked oatmeal recipe. So easy to make and tastes great. It will become my go to re baked oatmeal recipe. I spread Greek yogurt on top before eating, instead of a nut butter.
We have 3 adults in our home, 1 is diabetic, 1 has heart disease and 1 with celiac so these are delicious and perfect. Thank you. This is so exciting to have all of our dietary needs met.
Made this recipe twice in two weeks. Love it! Thanks for sharing.
Do these freeze well?
Yes
Thank you for this recipe, looking forward to making it and would have to make ahead. Just a bit confused because it says, do not make the entire pan in advance and refrigerate overnight. But there is a bake in advance option for the week. So in this option wouldn’t the oats also absorb all the liquid once refrigerated and be too dry? How long can this baked oatmeal last outside the fridge in room temperature?
Hi there — sorry for the confusion! We suggest baking the entire recipe, then refrigerating the leftovers (versus the liquid and dry ingredients together, refrigerating overnight, and then baking it). Does that make sense? Regarding the question about room temperature — we wouldn’t suggest storing the baked oatmeal at room temp. However you can leave it out while serving for 1 to 2 hours without adverse effects: then refrigerate it for long term storage.
I made this in a group I run at work. It was a huge hit! We discussed ideas for what we could do different and adding fruit to the mix was high on the list. Our thoughts were raisins, dried cranberries, or dry cherries. I was wondering if I should then as a bit more liquid as the fruit would absorb so of it. What are your thoughts?
Kevin
So glad to hear this! Great question. I think you could get away with adding 1/2 cup dried fruit without having to adjust the liquid quantity. Good luck!
We loved this!! Added peanut butter, banana slices, and cinnamon on top and ate a piece every day for breakfast for the week. Would love more baked oat recipes (trying pumpkin next!)
Trying to decide if it’s better to make these and refrigerate and then just reheat or do the make ahead version you suggested to take them for a group tomorrow?
Great question! Sorry if we didn’t get to you in time. We’d recommend making the entire recipe in advance and then refrigerating and reheating. Good luck!
This Banana Baked oatmeal is so delicious and good for a person whose on a diet and want to stay healthy.Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe,
i’am looking forward to see more such type of recipe.
I made these yesterday morning and I absolutely love it! It satisfies my sweet tooth in a much healthier way. I reduced the maple syrup and used unsweetened vanilla almond milk and it was amazing topped with peanut butter!
This was really quick. I added raisins and coconut and baked it for 45 minutes. Even though the tin was non-stick and greased the mixture stuck. Epic fail! Definitely line the tin with grease proof paper before adding the mixture. It needed 60ml oil. I expected it to be crunchy, but it was doughy and stodgy. Maybe that is how it is keant to be but in my opinion it could have done with another 25-30 minutes. I served it with Greek Yoghurt and a blueberry compote. Delish!
Hi
I’m excited to try this. Do you have directions for cooking it in a crock pot?
Thanks!
We don’t, sorry!
So good and it was super easy to make. We used frozen ripe bananas that we kept over the last few weeks, drained the water after thawing in microwave and it worked great. The kids even loved it! My older son added milk to his to make it like cereal.
I wrote a comment earlier but I meant to say I only added 1/2 tsp as instruction. I did NOT add a tsp.
Thanks!
It was good but very salty for some reason. I only added the tsp as instructed but it seemed the salt stayed at the bottom and the entire bottom tasted like I was eating pure salt. Any reason for this?
Hi! Were you using kosher salt?
Merci beaucoup pour la recette j’adore 🥰🥰🎉
SO easy to make, and OH SO yummy. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed!
I started making these every week for the last two months . They are amazing. I converted to whole food plant based diet so didn’t want to use the maple syrup. I used a little motts cup of unsweetened apple sauce. Then the next time I forgot the apple sauce. It truly doesn’t need the extra sweetener. I top with almond butter and either thin sliced apple or banana and they are amazing grab and go breakfast! Love this recipe ps I look after my 86 year old mom and this has been her never turned down breakfast with a cup of coffee. Which makes me love it even more!
Love this! We’ll have to try it with the applesauce option too :)
Are quick oats ok to use for this recipe? Thanks.
Hi there, good question! We’d recommend using Old Fashioned oats and not quick oats to get the best texture here. Thanks for asking!
Can I substitute the maple syrup with something else? I dislike maple anything. Really don’t want to use honey although I like that because of blood sugar issues and this is already pretty high carb.
You can use any other liquid sweetener, or you could try substituting in whatever sugar you like to use (coconut, etc). What is your sugar of choice to use?
Best baked oatmeal I have ever made! Absolutely delicious and super easy to make. I used almond milk and topped it with peanut butter. Reheats really well. Great for meal prepping ahead.
We enjoyed these baked oats for breakfast this morning. I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract because 1 tablespoon seemed like it must have been a typo? Also used a mixed 1/2 cup of almond chips, chia seeds and sunflower seeds since we didn’t have pecans. I used soymilk. Served with sliced apple, walnuts, yogurt, almond butter and coconut butter. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
We do a full tablespoon for extra flavor, but a teaspoon will work :)
Hey! I made this the other day. Mine looked…and was a lot less crunchy than I thought it was going to be. In your pictures it looks firm and crunchy. I wonder if I put too much liquid in it? It was still good and made the house smell amazing! Is it supposed to be more on crunchy side?
Hi! The top of ours gets just a little bit crisp but the interior is still a normal oatmeal softness.
I was surprised it was not more crunchy as well. For me it was a good surprise. Not what I expected but so much better as well.
I made 1.5 recipe for a 9×13 pan. I used oat milk. I think it’s very good!! Will make again!