Banana Baked Oatmeal
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Looking for a delicious and healthy breakfast option? Look no further than this tasty Banana Baked Oatmeal recipe! Like our Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oats, it’s made with ripe bananas, oats, peanut butter, and a handful of other simple ingredients. This freezer-friendly dish is the perfect way to start your day.
“Fan favorite at our house! We eat on it throughout the week! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “- Kristin
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Oatmeal is incredibly good for you. It’s a whole grain loaded with fiber and keeps you full longer.
- It’s kid-friendly. Kids love the peanut butter and chocolate combination.
- It’s a great meal to take new moms.
- It’s freezer-friendly. Like most of our make-ahead breakfast recipes, Banana Baked Oatmeal can be prepped and frozen before baking.
- It’s a great recipe to use frozen bananas or overripe bananas. Here are more ways to use over-ripe bananas if you need ideas!
Ingredients Needed
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – Quick oats work fine as well but will make the dish a bit denser.
- Ground flaxseed – Why eat flaxseed?
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Honey
- Milk – Any kind will work, so it’s easy to make this recipe dairy-free.
- Peanut butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Banana – The riper, the better.
- Dark chocolate chips – Mini chocolate chips are a good substitution.
Variations and Substitutions
- Dairy-Free Option: Use plain dairy-free milk in the recipe.
- Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten-free” on the package.
- You can use 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the banana.
- You can use quick oats instead of old-fashioned oats in the recipe.
- Because this recipe is so easy, it works great to double and freeze like we do in our 1 Hour Freezer Prep Sessions.
- Top with nuts like sliced almonds or chopped pecans for additional protein and crunch.
How to Make Banana Baked Oatmeal
Combine Dry Ingredients
In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flax, baking powder, and salt.
Combine Wet Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, and mashed bananas.
Pro Tip!
I find it’s much easier to throw all of the wet ingredients into the blender instead of mixing by hand.
Combine Dry & Wet Ingredients
Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
Bake the Oatmeal
Spread into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350°F until firm around the corners and still a little soft in the middle, about 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.
How to Freeze Baked Oatmeal
We are big fan of freezer meals. In fact, we’ve worked hard to create valuable freezer meal resources for you–including two cookbooks, a library of 1 Hour Freezer Prep, and an index of tried and true freezer meal recipes.
Here’s the best way to freeze baked oatmeal:
Freeze For Later:
Assemble the baked oatmeal but don’t bake it. Tightly wrap the dish in a few layers of plastic wrap or foil (or a tight-fitting lid) and freeze.
Prepare From Frozen:
Thaw completely using one of these safe methods. Bake according to instructions.
Baked Oatmeal FAQs
Yes, you can prep baked oatmeal (unbaked) ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. Thaw and bake per instructions.
You can also fully cook and cool the baked oatmeal ahead of time and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just rewarm individual portions in the microwave. Our readers have told us that they freeze fully cooked, individual portions of baked oatmeal in the freezer, as well, and rewarm in the microwave.
While you can use quick oats in baked oatmeal, it’s best to use rolled oats because they give the dish a heartier texture. Quick oats or instant oats can result in a denser, mushier result.
Baked oatmeal can be made gluten-free or dairy-free with these substitutions:
Dairy-Free Option: Use dairy-free milk in the recipe.
Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten-free” on the package.
Yes, this recipe will also work in a smaller dish. Just cook it 10-15 minutes longer or until it’s set in the middle.
Want More Make Ahead Breakfast Ideas?
Foolproof make-ahead breakfast recipes that will help you start the morning the right way.
More Baked Oatmeal Dishes You’ll Love
If you enjoy baked oatmeal as much as our families do, give a few of these others a try. They all work well to freeze before baking, as well.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Banana Baked Oatmeal
Delicious and healthy! Make this Banana 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
- 1 cup milk (any kind will do, even dairy-free)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 ripe bananas, smashed
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350°F degrees. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish.
- Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flax, baking powder, and salt.
- Wet Ingredients: 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.)
- Combine: Stir wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix well.
- Bake: Spread into the dish. Bake 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: Serve warm in bowls with milk poured over the top. We also like fresh berries on top. Enjoy!
Freeze For Later: 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.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours and bake according to directions. You can also defrost in the microwave and bake.
Notes/Tips
- Dairy-Free Option: Use plain dairy-free milk in the recipe.
- Gluten-Free Option: Make sure your oats say “gluten free” on the package.
- You can use 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of the banana.
- You can use quick oats instead of old fashioned oats in the recipe.
- Because this recipe is so easy, it works great to double and freeze like we do in our 1 Hour Freezer Prep Sessions.
- Top with nuts like sliced almonds or chopped pecans for additional protein and crunch.
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)