Peanut Butter and Banana Baked Oatmeal {Freezer Meal}
After discovering how life-changing (well, close) Brownie Baked Oatmeal can be, I knew I had to try other forms of this make ahead oatmeal breakfast. Peanut Butter and Banana Baked Oatmeal did not disappoint.
Little people go crazy over this stuff. I mean it. Make a lot! I serve it with a little milk over the top.
One of my favorite parts of a simple recipe like this is that you can make two at one time and freeze it for later. As you probably know, Freezer Meals are our passion and specialty around here. So, I included Freezer Meal directions at the bottom of the recipe.
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PinDescription
Delicious and healthy! Make this baked oatmeal ahead of time for a warm and comforting breakfast the whole family will love. Double and freeze an extra one for later, too.
Ingredients
- 3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (Why eat flaxseed?)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup honey (I prefer raw honey)
- 1 cup milk (any kind will do)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter or almond butter, melted or softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ripe bananas, smashed
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flax, baking powder, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla and bananas. (Tip: I find it’s much easier to throw all of the wet ingredients into the blender instead.)
- Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
- Spread into the dish. Bake at 350°F until firm around the corners and still a little soft in the middle, about 20-25 minutes. If you like it a little crunchy on top, cook for a few minutes longer.
- Serve warm in bowls with milk poured over the top. We also like fresh berries on top. Enjoy!
Notes
Freezer Meal Instructions:
To Freeze: Prepare according to directions but freeze the baked oatmeal before baking. Wrap tightly in a few layers of plastic wrap and one layer of foil. Place in the back of the freezer for up to 3 months.
To Prepare: When ready to eat, thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and bake according to directions. You can also defrost in the microwave and bake.
I made this for my daughter after she had her daughter. I put it in a cake pan so it was thinner. Baked it the same amount of time. and it was more like a granola “cake”. She liked it this way because it was easy to eat like a granola bar while nursing the baby. Two days later, she had me make 2 more, and a month later she is making it too.
That’s great and thanks for the idea!
I love this recipe so much that I tried out a blueberry version yesterday. I used frozen blueberries instead of chocolate chips, and almond butter instead of peanut butter. And it turned out great! It just needed a little extra baking time to soak up to blueberry juices.
Thank you for sharing such a delicious and versatile recipe 🙂
Oh my goodness, that sounds amazing! I am totally trying this. Thanks, Sarah!
Looks like a great recipe. Just wondering…the recipe calls for 8×8 pan, but the pictures show 9×12 pan. Which is correct? Thank you.
Sorry for the confusion, but definitely make it in an 8×8 pan. If you double it, you can use the 9×13. We will update these images soon. Thank you for pointing out the discrepancy!
Hi Rachel – is the pan size correct now? It says 9×13. Thank you! Love your recipe and meal plan ideas!
Yes, it is. But if you want to bake it in an 8×8 or double it in the 9×13, you certainly can. It will just take longer. If you do that, follow this bigger batch recipe (that I make all the time and can highly recommend): https://thrivinghomeblog.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-baked-oatmeal-for-a-crowd
Just wondering if I could replace butter with coconut oil
Yes, absolutely. That would be delicious.
can you leave out the egg? My little one has an egg allergy and I think you just add more of other stuff but not quite sure what…
It would definitely be worth trying. The egg adds some lift and a little more moisture, so be sure to replace the moisture with more milk. Or, perhaps try the flax egg substitute method (just google it).
I was wondering if anyone has tried replacing the chocolate (crazy idea, I know) with dried cranberries or even fresh blueberries or other fruits.
Hi Jen, we have another very similar Baked Oatmeal recipe that is full of fruit that you might like. https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2012/03/baked-oatmeal-a-staple-in-our-home/
And Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal has to be my favorite: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/2015/07/apple-cinnamon-baked-oatmeal-recipe/
This came out great! My family (and my son’s friends) loved it and it lasted all of a day before it was gone. I added some brown sugar and unsweetened coca powder to make it sweeter and I had five bananas that I needed to use so I made a large batch and it tasted great. I think I should have cooked it longer because I tried to eat it with milk and it turned into mush but I just cut it into bars. Next time I’m going to try it with blueberries and bananas. Thanks for the recipe!
You use the cocoa powder trick in your house too! My son will eat anything if it looks and smells like chocolate. I’ll have to try your suggestion. Thanks for leaving a comment!
I made another 2 batches today and I was wondering do these have to be refrigerated after I cook them? Thanks
No, you don’t. It will last longer if you do, though. (Mine is usually gone in a day anyway!)
This looks awesome! I was just wondering if I could use ground chia seeds in place of ground flaxseeds, since I already have chia seeds on hand?
Definitely! That’s the beauty of this recipe…it’s easy to swap out ingredients for what you have on hand. I’ve also used wheat germ and almond meal in the place of the flaxseed.
How long should I bake this if in a muffin tin? Same amount of time?
Depending on your muffin tin size, I would begin checking it at 10 minutes.
Question-do you store leftovers of this in the fridge after you bake it or leave it out and cover it? Do you think it would freeze well after it has been cooked? Thanks again!
Oh my goodness this was so good. My very picky 2 year old tore this up! I substituted 1/3 cup brown sugar for the honey so that I could feed this to my 8 month old. I also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. This is way better than ole plain cooked oatmeal in my opinion. Thanks so much!
This recipe sounds really good, however, one of my kids is allergic to eggs. Have you or anyone you know tried the recipe subbing the eggs for something else, like applesauce?
I haven’t made this without eggs. It is a leavening and binding agent, so you would need to replace it with something that does that. A quick Google search brought up this site: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/vegetarianvegan101/f/eggsubstitute.htm
Have you ever used regular rolled oats for this recipe? That’s what I have, wondering if it would work or not…Thanks!
Yep, I sure have. Works great!
My kids, who “hate” oatmeal, LOVED this! I’m now going to try the Brownie version – sounds delish!
Yah! We love hearing that kind of feedback.
Have you ever baked this in muffin pans and then put them in the freezer? I was just wondering if that would work like some of the other freezer muffins. Thanks!
P.s. I’ve made 7 of your freezer recipes and love them so far!!
Sure have. They work fine like that. I need to do it again, in fact. I’m so glad to hear you’ve had success with other freezer recipes on our site!
Thanks! I’m going to try them tomorrow!
Is this recipe freezer-friendly?
Yes, absolutely, Julie. I mix it up in the casserole dish and freeze it before baking it. When you’re ready to bake it, thaw it in the fridge for a day and then bake. Or, if you bake from semi-frozen, just know that it will take longer to get done in the middle. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the heads up, Kristin! I fixed the recipe. You’re right–the only sweetener is honey.
I see in direction section you wrote first 4 ingredients through brown sugar. I don’t see brown sugar as an ingredient? Am I missing something? Made this this am and it is super yummy!!!
Hello, just found your blog and I just made this recipe (using only 1/4c of honey since 1/2 seemed like it would be too sweet) and I was skeptical when putting it in the oven as the recipe seemed very liquidy. After 40 min the edges were browning so I took it out, let it cool, and just now cut into it. The center is still somewhat mushy???? We just ate the edges which taste good so I popped it back in the oven. Just wondering if anyone else had this experience? Thanks!
Hi Laura,
Sorry it didn’t turn out right. Did you use a 9×13 pan or an 8×8? The 9×13 turns out fine for me when I bake it for 20-25 minutes. I usually use the Brownie Baked Oatmeal for our gang, though, so you might give that one a try. It has less liquid in it and may work better for you.
Rach,
Just made this for the first time this morning. Me and the kids LOVED it! I only had two bananas but that was plenty. I added a handful of mini choc chips too!
Thanks for Sharing!
Kelly Gilion
Are those chocolate chips or raisins? Both sound good! Thanks for this recipe, hopefully I can get my non-oatmeal eating husband to eat oatmeal, because cereal is imported and soooooooooo expensive in China. I love your blog! I found it randomly and was like oh my word I know her! -Julie Hamilton (Wishau)