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!
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.
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.
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?
If you try these banana bread overnight oats, be sure to leave a comment and star rating letting me know how it turns out. Your feedback is super helpful for me and other EBF readers who are planning to try the recipe.
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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 :).
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.
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!
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 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!