Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
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Published Jan 12, 2022, Updated Jan 21, 2024
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This banana bread baked oatmeal is studded with walnuts and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. It tastes just like banana bread in oatmeal form and is perfect for meal prep. Vegan + gluten-free.
How have I not thought of this flavor combination before?! I love banana bread and I love baked oatmeal so this is a match made in heaven for me!
Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Who doesn’t love banana bread? Get the flavors of banana bread + the nutrients of baked oatmeal for a well-rounded breakfast.
- It’s made in one bowl! Only one dish to clean? Sign me up.
- It can be meal prepped for healthy breakfasts all week long or made for a fancy brunch.
Here’s What You Need
- old fashioned rolled oats – my fave brand is Bob’s Red Mill gluten free old fashioned rolled oats.
- baking powder – helps the baked oatmeal rise.
- ground cinnamon – the perfect spice pairing for this baked oatmeal… a necessity for banana bread!
- sea salt – to bring all of the flavors together.
- unsweetened almond milk – any dairy-free milk works but I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You can make your own following my homemade almond milk recipe.
- maple syrup – pure maple syrup is the perfect natural sweetener to use for baked oatmeal in my opinion!
- flaxseed – instead of an egg we’re using ground flaxseed to help bind the dish together. If you only have whole flax you can easily grind them up. Place the whole seeds in a food processor and blend until a gritty flour consistency is reached, about 60 seconds.
- coconut oil – make sure you’re using extra virgin coconut oil. I’ve purchased several different brands of coconut oil before, but Nutiva organic extra virgin coconut oil is my favorite.
- pure vanilla extract – a flavor enhancer.
- ripe bananas – can’t have banana bread without bananas! You’ll need 4 bananas, 3 of them mashed and 1 of them sliced. Make sure your bananas are ripe!
- walnuts – I love the addition of walnuts for added healthy fats, texture and flavor. You can swap for a different nut of choice or omit if you’d like.
How to Make Baked Oatmeal
Start by prepping a square baking dish with cooking spray or by coating it with coconut oil. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add in the milk, maple syrup, ground flaxseed, coconut oil, vanilla, mashed bananas and walnuts. Stir well until all of the ingredients are combined. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with sliced bananas. Bake at 375ºF for 45-50 minutes. The oatmeal is done when the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
What to Serve with Baked Oatmeal
I find that I either make baked oatmeal for a fancy brunch or just as meal prep for healthy breakfasts all week long! Either way, it could be a meal on its own but if you want to serve it with some sides, here are some ideas that pair well:
How to Store and Reheat
This baked oatmeal is a great meal prep recipe. You can store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. When freezing, I recommend cutting the oatmeal into portions, wrapping each in plastic wrap and placing the portions in a large freezer bag. The individual servings make it easier for reheating.
To reheat the entire pan of baked oatmeal: cover with foil and reheat in the oven at 350ºF for about 20 minutes or until warm.
To reheat individual portions: set oven or toaster oven to 350ºF and bake for 5-10 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave for 1 minute. Once warm, add your toppings and enjoy!
FAQs
Baking powder is a rising agent and helps lighten the texture of the baked oatmeal. It prevents it from becoming too dense or heavy. That said, if you don’t have baking powder or simply want to skip it, you certainly can.Â
If you don’t need this recipe to be vegan, you can swap the flaxseed for 1 regular egg. You could also use chia seeds or skip the binder altogether. I’ve found that the baked oatmeal still turns just fine without using the egg or flaxseed.
You can skip the coconut oil or swap it with another oil, melted butter (or ghee) or even applesauce or more mashed banana.
Yes, you can totally make baked oatmeal ahead of time. See below for my suggestions on how to prep this recipe in advance.
You can use steel cut or quick/instant oats for baked oatmeal, but you need to follow a recipe that calls for those oats because the liquid ratio is different. I do have an apple cinnamon baked steel cut oatmeal recipe I would suggest if you’re looking for a recipe that calls for steel cut oats.Â
I’ve added a scoop of protein powder without adding in more liquid and it turned out just fine! If you’re adding more than one scoop of protein powder you might want to add more liquid.
This recipe is a bit soft, but shouldn’t be too soggy. Make sure the mashed bananas aren’t overly ripe or that could add extra liquid. If yours turns out gooey or soggy, you might need to cook it longer.
Can You Make Baked Oatmeal Ahead of Time?
Yes, you can totally make baked oatmeal ahead of time. There are a couple of options that work really well.
OPTION 1: BAKE AND THEN REHEAT BEFORE SERVING
- Prepare baked oatmeal as the recipe suggests. Once baked, let the oatmeal cool, cover the baking dish and place in the fridge. You can do this 1-2 days in advance. When ready to serve, take oatmeal dish from fridge, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes. For individual portions, set toaster oven to 350°F and bake for 5-10 minutes or reheat in the microwave for 1 minute.
OPTION 2: PREP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN WITHOUT BAKING
- Mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl, cover and let sit out on the counter until morning.
- Mix together all the wet ingredients in another bowl, cover and store in the fridge until morning.
- In the morning, simply mix the wet and dry ingredients together, pour oatmeal mixture into your prepared baking dish and bake as recipe suggests.
More Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal
- Pear Baked Oatmeal
- Gingerbread Baked Oatmeal
- One Pan Baked Oatmeal
- Cherry Baked Oatmeal
- Protein Baked Oatmeal
- Cauliflower Brownie Baked Oatmeal
- Almond Joy Baked Oatmeal
Be sure to check out all of my baked oatmeal recipes as well as all the popular oatmeal recipes here on EBF.
Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 medium bananas, 3 mashed (about 1 ¼ cup) and 1 sliced
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped and divided
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add in the milk, maple syrup, flaxseed, coconut oil, vanilla, mashed bananas and walnuts. Stir well to combine.
- Carefully pour oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with banana slices.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the top is nicely golden. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Portion and serve. Drizzle additional maple syrup on top, if desired and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I love all of your baked oatmeal recipes. They are easy to follow and so fun to mix up. I make a different one almost every weekend. I added some chocolate chips on the top of this recipe.
Ah, this makes me so happy to hear, Angela! I am so happy that you enjoy the baked oatmeal recipes. Adding chocolate chips is always a delicious and special addition. Thank you for coming back and leaving a review + star rating, I so appreciate it.
I’ve probably made almost all of the EBF baked oatmeal recipes at this point (so great for make-ahead kid-friendly breakfast) but this one might be my favorite! It’s just got the best warm and nutty flavors from the cinnamon, vanilla and walnuts. I usually skip the sliced bananas on top and add fresh ones instead when I serve it. Love adding a dollop of Greek yogurt too. So good!!
Ah yay! I am so excited to hear that you are loving this recipe and that it turned out great. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I really appreciate it!
Hi Brittany
I made this version of your baked oatmeal today instead of your baked pear version which I absolutely love. I liked the change but felt it wasn’t as flavourful as the other. Perhaps it is because I am a young senior (decreased taste buds??) but I even sprinkled extra cinnamon on top with a little golden monkfruit as well. I think I was expecting a stronger banana flavour and mine were extra ripe. I am wondering if it might turn out too mushy if I add more bananas and offsetting this would be adding more oatmeal to prevent it but that would defeat the purpose of achieving more flavour. Perhaps there is banana flavored food colouring but that might be an unhealthy addition??