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This banana baked oatmeal is the ideal healthy breakfast! It’s full of good-for-you ingredients and so delicious, everyone will want seconds.
Here’s the ideal healthy breakfast recipe, easy and full of irresistible flavor. In fact, we’re head over heels for it: Banana baked oatmeal! This incredible recipe is wholesome and filling, and it’s made with good-for-you ingredients: mostly oats and bananas. It happens to be a vegan baked oatmeal, but it pleases absolutely everyone. Serve it for guests or even better, make up a big pan and eat off of it all week! You can cut it into “bars” for quick snacks, too. Topped with a little nut butter and banana slices, it’s a decadently wholesome treat.
Ingredients in banana baked oatmeal
A few ripe bananas on our counter inspired this recipe. What to make with ripe bananas? Most recipes are banana bread or banana muffins…in short, treat food! We wanted something wholesome that would work for a meal. So we opted for a banana-based vegan spin on our healthy baked oatmeal. My, did it turn out delicious! It quickly skyrocketed to the top of our favorite easy breakfast recipes. The ingredients for banana baked oatmeal 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! It is crucial for this recipe.
- Pecan pieces or other nuts like walnuts or almonds
- Cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla
- Baking powder
- Milk (your preferred dairy free milk)
- Maple syrup
Banana substitutes for egg (and makes it vegan)
Here’s the fun thing: 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: it adds big banana flavor! So it doesn’t matter your dietary preferences. This banana baked oatmeal is full of beautiful sweet banana flavor and it makes for the perfect texture.
Types of milk for baked oatmeal
You can use any type of milk you like for this recipe! If you want to make it a fully vegan baked oatmeal, use your favorite plant based milk. Here are some options:
- Oat milk: Oat milk is becoming a popular and easy to find non dairy milk. Make sure to use unsweetened and unflavored.
- Almond milk: Almond milk is another popular choice.
- 2% milk: If you don’t care about being fully vegan, use 2%.
- Avoid coconut milk, as it can add strong coconut flavor. Soy milk is an option, but we don’t often use it in our cooking.
Toppings for banana baked oatmeal
There are lots of ways to top baked oatmeal! This banana baked oatmeal is a pretty darn healthy breakfast: it’s vegan, oil free and relatively low sugar. So we like to keep our toppings wholesome too! Here’s how we topped it, and a few more ideas:
- Nut butter and bananas: Swirl together almond butter and peanut butter, then top with banana slices. 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 instructions for baked oatmeal
Keep in mind for this vegan 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. The problem? The oats will absorb all the liquid and be much too dry. 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. We prefer this option…
- 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 300 degree oven or the microwave. Or, just eat them right out of the fridge like we do!
And that’s it! Let us know what you think of this banana baked oatmeal: we hope it’s as big of a treat in your house as it is in ours.
More banana recipes
This vegan baked oatmeal recipe is one of our best banana recipes (in our opinion, at least!). Here are a few more at the top of our list:
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or Sour Cream Banana Bread Deliciously decadent and moist.
- Healthy Banana Bread Muffins A fan favorite! Whiz up bananas and oats in a blender, and they come out perfectly fluffy.
- Easy Banana Muffins or Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Classic perfection.
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes or Go-To Banana Pancakes The coziest way to start the morning!
- Perfect Banana Smoothie The perfect banana smoothie recipe: frothy, creamy, and just the right sweet flavor.
- Chocolate Banana Muffins Wow is all we can say about these muffins! They’re dark chocolaty with a light crunch on top and a moist interior.
This banana baked oatmeal recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.
Banana Baked Oatmeal (Vegan!)
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.
Vegan breakfast recipes
This banana baked oatmeal is an ideal plant based and vegan breakfast idea! Here are a few more ideas we love:
- Homemade Acai Bowl The purple smoothie and confetti of toppings taste refreshing and tangy sweet. It’s the ultimate healthy breakfast!
- Breakfast Vegetable Scramble Use the tofu scramble variation for a delicious veggie-filled way to start the day.
- Classic Oatmeal, Steel Cut Oats, Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, Overnight Oats, or other Best Oatmeal Recipes Lots of delicious every day oatmeal recipes to start the day right!
- Healthy Granola Recipe Want a healthy granola recipe that’s actually good for you? Here’s the only recipe you need.
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!