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.
This is my go to when I have ripe bananas, it truly tastes like banana bread… it is magical!
So glad you’ve been loving this recipe, Jaclyn!! 🙂
Hi Brittany! Sorry this is a question instead of a comment – hoping to try this tonight (and many other soon). Can you add the Fiber count to the nutritional info on this recipe (Banana Bread Overnight Oats)? Thanks so much!!
Hey Sherie – I just added the fiber count! 🙂
AMAZING – MUST TRY!! I made this last night and enjoyed it this morning and I was in banana bread heaven LOL. I love the texture of the mashed bananas and all the flavour! Everything about it!! Yum yum. Thanks for all of your incredible recipes Brittany 💛
Yay!! I’m so glad these overnight oats were a hit, Lauren! Thank you so much for the review. I really appreciate it!!
This is so delicious…my favorite so far. It’s just like eating banana bread for breakfast! I savored every mouthful and was quite sad when I had my last spoonful!
Woo!! This makes me so happy to hear, Susannah! I’m so glad these overnight oats were a hit! Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
I made these overnight oats when I went camping and they were the perfect early morning breakfast! I ate them while watching the sunrise 🙂
Woo! I’m so glad you loved these overnight oats, Samantha! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
I was admittedly very skeptical about the recipe. I’ve tried other overnight oat recipes and was, frankly, unable to eat them. Not the case with this one! Oh my gosh, so delicious! I cannot encourage you enough to try this, even if you’ve had a bad experience with overnight oats before. The toppings put it over the top. (Pun intended)
I packed them before leaving for my daughter’s softball tourney and had a perfect healthy breakfast the next morning.
Yay! I’m so glad these overnight oats were a hit, Jodi! Thanks so much for making them and coming back to leave a review. I really appreciate it!
This is a question before I make them! When using the extra milk vs yogurt, do they come out very runny? Thanks!
They shouldn’t turn out to be super runny when using extra milk instead of yogurt. Let me know how these turn out for you, Kathy!
I love these over night oats! I leave out the yogurt because of dairy allergy, but they’re still delicious. I think the almond extra is what really makes this recipe special!
So glad you loved these, Courtney. Thanks for the review. I so appreciate it!
I thought banana bread would be a boring flavor but this is one of my new favorites. I halved the recipe for 1 serving but used only 1/2 banana and no walnuts. I thought a whole banana would be too much but next time I think I would use more for the stronger banana flavor. The almond extract gives it such a unique flavor, don’t skip it!
So glad you loved this flavor, Molly! Thanks for making it and for the review. I so appreciate it!
Can I add protein powder to this recipe?
Definitely! I’d start with one scoop and you shouldn’t have to add more liquid, but you can if you prefer.
Yes, you can!