Nutty Date Oatmeal

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This nutty date oatmeal is made with hearty steel cut oats, banana slices, dates and walnuts. It’s delicious and can be prepped the night before for a quick, low effort breakfast.

If you’ve been following along for a while you’ll know that I love medjool dates. They’re basically nature’s caramel and I am obsessed with adding them to just about everything, including oatmeal.

An overhead photo of a bowl containing salted date nut oatmeal. A spoon rests in the bowl.

Why You Need to Make This Recipe

  • It’s the perfect breakfast for those of us that crave something warm and sweet but still want it to be on the healthy side.
  • All of the sugar in this oatmeal comes from the dates and bananas so it’s 100% naturally sweetened and the fruit provides a good amount of fiber, vitamin and minerals!
  • Prep the oats the night before and then mix in the extra ingredients in the morning for a quick, low effort, delicious breakfast!
Ingredients measured out to make nutty date oatmeal: medjool dates, sea salt, almond butter, cinnamon, steel cut oats, walnuts, banana and water.

Ingredients Needed

  • steel-cut oatmeal – make sure you grab gluten-free oats if needed. I prefer Bob’s Red Mill organic steel cut oats.
  • water – I find that these oats are creamy enough when made with water!
  • banana – I used a full banana but if you are watching your sugar intake, you can certainly use less of the fruit or skip the banana all together.
  • medjool dates – the dates add a caramel flavor and slight sweetness to the oatmeal that is absolutely delicious! I highly recommend medjool dates for this recipe, but if you have chopped dates on hand and want to use those, that’s fine.
  • cinnamon – the perfect spice pairing.
  • sea salt – brings all of the flavors together and really balances the sweet ingredients.
  • optional toppings – almond butter, chopped dates, chia seeds and hemp seeds.

How to Make Date Oatmeal

Collage of four photos showing the process to make nutty date oatmeal: adding steel cut oats and water to a pot, stirring in banana, dates and cinnamon, and cooking until thick.

This recipe uses steel-cut oats that takes one extra step to make! I recommend the overnight cooking method which is really simple and makes for quick reheating. You’ll prep the oats the night before and simply add the banana, dates, cinnamon and salt the next morning.

Start by placing just the oats and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Make sure you watch carefully so the water doesn’t boil over. Turn down the heat quickly and allow the oats to simmer for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, cover and let sit at room temperature overnight.

In the morning, uncover the saucepan and stir in the banana slices, chopped dates, cinnamon and sea salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and stir frequently until the oatmeal is fully cooked and creamy.

An overhead photo of a bowl containing salted date nut oatmeal. A spoon rests in the bowl.

Variations and Tips

  • Stovetop – if you forget to cook your oats the night before, you can cook them on the stovetop for longer in the morning. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add in the oats. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the ingredients in and simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes.
  • Low sugar – you can reduce or omit the banana to make this oatmeal lower in sugar. The dates will provide enough sweetness!
  • Gluten-free – oats are naturally gluten-free but are one of the most common foods to get contaminated during processing. Make sure you grab gluten-free steel cut oats if needed!

More Oatmeal Recipes to Try

Need more inspiration? Be sure to check out all of my medjool date recipes as well as the full collection of oatmeal recipes here on EBF!

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4 from 14 votes

Nutty Date Oatmeal

This nutty date oatmeal is made with hearty steel cut oats, banana slices, dates and walnuts. It's delicious and can be prepped the night before for a quick, low effort breakfast.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Resting Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 12 minutes
Servings: 2

Ingredients  

  • ½ cup steel cut oats
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 ripe banana, sliced
  • 2 medjool dates, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼-½ teaspoon sea salt
  • almond butter, chopped dates, chia seeds and hemp seeds (for topping)

Instructions 

  • Place oats and water into a saucepan and bring to a boil, watching carefully so the water doesn’t boil over. Turn down heat quickly and allow the oats to simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cover with a lid and let stand overnight at room temperature.
  • The next morning, uncover the saucepan and stir in banana slices, chopped dates, cinnamon and sea salt. Bring oats to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently until the oatmeal is cooked and creamy, about 5-7 minutes. Portion the oatmeal into bowls. Dress with toppings of choice. I used almond butter, chopped dates, chia seeds and hemp seeds.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 453mg | Potassium: 333mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 22g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: date oatmeal
Did you make this recipe?Mention @eatingbirdfood and tag #eatingbirdfood!

About Brittany

Hey there, I’m Brittany, the creator of Eating Bird Food, cookbook author, health coach and mama of two littles. Here you’ll find quick and easy recipes that make healthy fun and enjoyable for you and your family!

More about Brittany
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Recipe Rating




28 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was my first time trying steel cut oats and I’m in LOVE! I made a single serving with 1/4 banana and added vanilla extract + a teaspoon of almond butter on top. Super tasty, filling, and the overnight cooking method is brilliant.

  2. Hey Amy – So sorry to hear that your oats had mold on them in the morning. I’ve never had any issues or heard of anyone else having the same problem with the oats the next morning. Did you use water or milk to cook the oats? And did you leave the lid on overnight?

  3. 5 stars
    I don’t usually comment on recipes, but I felt the need to do it this time because the rating is skewed because of the bizarre “green slime” incident, which I think you could try to recreate 10,000 times and never succeed.

    This recipe is great! Steel-cut oats can be hard to eat without heaping mounds of sugar on top, and the combination of dates and bananas (I use overripe ones kept in the freezer) make for a decadent treat that is still packed with nutrition and low in sugar. I add a little dollop of almond butter at the end, and it complements the other flavors nicely. I haven’t tried it with hemp or flax seeds, but I will be sure to do so in the future.

    1. Ahh thank you so much for the review, Derek. I really appreciate that!! So glad you loved this recipe. 🙂

  4. 5 stars
    Boxing Day breakfast!! Made with rolled oats directly in the stovetop. I used 4 small dates and 1 banana for two portions. Topped with a few chopped walnuts and a sprinkle of chia seeds. Delicious!! Thanks for the recipe. Need to detox from processed sugar so hoping this eases me in ha ha.

    1. YUM! I couldn’t agree more, and this recipe is perfect for getting back on track. Thank you so much for sharing your review & star rating, I really appreciate it.

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