Banana Bread Overnight Oats
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Published Nov 05, 2018, Updated Oct 11, 2022
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These banana bread overnight oats offer all the flavor of banana bread served up in a mason jar. They’re so easy to prep ahead of time.
Somehow out of all the overnight oats recipes that I have posted before there isn’t a banana bread overnight oats recipe!? As much as I love banana bread, I find this hard to believe, but it’s happening today!
Ingredients Needed for Banana Overnight Oats
- old fashioned rolled oats – rolled oats are the best for overnight oats. Instant/quick oats and steel cut oats don’t work well because they don’t absorb liquid the same way rolled oats do
- bananas – you can’t have banana bread overnight oats without bananas!
- almond milk – I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any type of milk will work
- Greek yogurt – yogurt gives overnight oats an extra creamy texture while adding a bit of protein. I personally like using plain Greek yogurt since it’s the highest in protein and lowest in sugar. To make this recipe vegan or dairy-free you can use a non-dairy yogurt or skip the yogurt all together and use additional milk
- maple syrup – pure maple syrup is the perfect natural sweetener to use because it’s liquid so it blends in nicely with the oat mixture and I personally love the flavor. Honey or another natural liquid sweetener will work here. If you want to reduce the sugar in this recipe, feel free to use a sugar alternative like stevia or monk fruit
- vanilla extract and almond extract – these aren’t must-haves, especially the almond extract, but they add such a nice flavor so if you have them use them
- sea salt – a pinch of sea salt is the perfect flavor enhancer and brings out the nutty flavor of the oats
- cinnamon – adds a touch of spice!
- walnuts – banana bread with walnuts is my fave and I love the added crunch the walnuts add to the oats
Overnight Oats Ratio
The base “recipe” for overnight oats is so simple! The hardest part is getting the right ratio of oats to liquid, but if you follow my recipes you’ll be set!
I aim for a 1:1 ratio of rolled oats to milk, plus half as much yogurt. So for 1 cup of oats, I use 1 cup of milk + 1/2 cup of yogurt (or an additional 1/2 cup of milk). This seems to give the oats the perfect consistency, not too thick, but not soupy. For the liquid, I usually go for non-dairy milk like almond milk, but you can use whatever milk you have on hand and if you really want to experiment you can try using different liquids like fruit juice.
How Long Do Overnight Oats Need to Soak?
Given the name, you’d assume overnight oats need to soak overnight, but you can actually make them in 2-4 hours if you’re in a rush. While it does take some time for the oats to absorb the liquid, they don’t necessarily have to be soaked overnight. I recommend at least 8 hours for true overnight oats, but there have been mornings where I decide I want overnight oats for breakfast even though I didn’t prep them the night before. When this happens I’ll make them the morning of and let the oats soak for just 2-4 hours. With this quick soak, they’re not as soft as overnight oats that have soaked longer and they’re a bit more liquidy, but they’re still delicious.
Can You Eat Overnight Oats Hot?
Short answer, yes! You can definitely warm up overnight oats, but the whole point of overnight oats is to eat them cold like muesli. Even if you think cold oats sound strange, I recommend giving it shot before you write them off. Of course, if you simply can’t do the cold oats you can always heat them up. Just pop the overnights oats in your microwave, cooking in 30 second increments until the oats are warm throughout and enjoy.
The best part about overnight oats is that the oats absorb everything, so the flavors turn out to be well-rounded and balanced. I like to add flavors like vanilla or cinnamon and sweet components like fruit, honey or maple syrup. For this recipe I went with bananas (because banana bread…), vanilla and almond extract. The almond extract isn’t 100% necessary, but it gives the oats that “quick bread” flavor that makes the oats taste even more like banana bread. Cinnamon is optional since traditional banana bread recipes don’t add cinnamon, but I like it in banana bread and in these oats!
So next time you’re craving banana bread, but don’t have the time to bake a batch or want to have a healthier, lighter version, I hope you whip up a batch of these delicious banana bread overnight oats! They’re perfect for an everyday breakfast or snack, but could also make a fun brunch… single serve overnight oats in mini mason jars anyone?! Who wants to come over for brunch?
More Oatmeal Recipes to Try:
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Berry Baked Oatmeal Bars
- Easy Protein Balls
- Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Protein Oatmeal
- Blended Overnight Oats
Banana Bread Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, or your favorite milk
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, or coconut yogurt
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- pinch of sea salt
- pinch of cinnamon, optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons walnuts
- toppings: additional banana slices, maple syrup, nut butter
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the walnuts in a container and stir until well combined. Seal with a lid and place in the fridge overnight (or at least a couple hours).
- Remove from the fridge in the morning and stir. You’ll notice that the oats soak up a lot of the liquid, so you may want to add a little more milk before serving.
- Top oats with walnuts and any other toppings you like. Enjoy cold.
- Overnight oats will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Loved this recipe. I used vanilla oat milk and left out the extracts and they still turned out wonderful. Can’t wait to add those next time 🙂
Yay! So glad this recipe was a hit, Kim! Thanks so much for trying it and coming back to leave a review and star rating. It means so much to me!
Hi Brittany,
I am planning to make these oats for meal prep; however, my concern is that the banana will turn brown and not taste very good after a few days. I was hoping to prep four days worth of oats at once. Your recipe states that these last for about 5 days. Have you had any issues with the taste of the oats after that many days? Additionally, could I use kefir instead of the milk/yogurt combo?
Thank you in advance!
Sophie
I haven’t had any issues with the bananas in these oats when making them for meal prep. I’m sure using kefir would be just fine – you’ll have to let me know if you try it!
Great! Thank you for letting me know. I plan to make these within the next week and I will get back to you.
Thanks again!
Keep me posted on how they turn out, Sophie!
I rely on overnight oats a lot and love the idea of making a banana bread flavored version! Thanks for sharing!
Let me know how it turns out for you, Kelly!
hi! my wife and i made these recently and absolutely loved them! my favorite was the peach, she loved the banana bread. we made 5 each and were wondering how long these will last in the refrigerator in the case that we don’t eat 1 serving every day?
They should last about 5 days in the fridge!
This was pretty good, I made it last night following the recipe exactly and added 2 tablespoons of almond butter. This is the first overnight oats recipe I’m seeing without chia seeds, too, have you tried it with them?
It IS quite calorie dense, however. One full recipe is a little over 1k calories.
Hey Jasmine, I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. I have tried chia seeds, you can definitely add those in! Did you have just one serving of this recipe? It should make 2 servings at around 350 calories each.
Very good recipe! I cut the amount of almond extract in half because it’s so strong, but it’s a nice touch🙂
Happy to hear you enjoyed these overnight oats, Alana! Sorry to hear the almond extract was a bit strong, but cutting the amount was the perfect decision. So happy it worked out! Thanks for the review :).
Will bananas turned brown soaking after 3 days?
Hi! No, you shouldn’t notice the bananas turning brown in the oatmeal because they are all mashed up. I would recommend if you are adding sliced bananas to the top, to add those right before you are ready to eat. Enjoy!
So far I have tried the Banana Bread Oats, Peach Oats, and Apple Pie Oats. They are all FANTASTIC. I didn’t think I would like the cold oats but these recipes changed my mind. I even put the nuts in the mason jar at night and the are still good in the morning.
Ahh this is the best, Sharon! I am SO glad you are loving these overnight oat recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!