Breakfast/ Sweet Breakfast Ideas

Banana Oatmeal

19 June 2023 | Last Updated: 16 October 2023 By Aleksandra

This banana oatmeal is creamy and naturally sweet. It makes a filling and delicious breakfast to start your day. Top it with your favorite berries and nuts for a really tasty and nutritious morning meal.

Banana oatmeal topped with sliced bananas, blueberries, and raspberries in a white bowl.

Ingredients

Below you will find information about the ingredients and how to prepare the recipe. For the measurements and detailed instructions scroll down to the printable recipe card.

Here´s what you need to make this easy recipe:

Labeled ingredients for banana oatmeal.
  • Bananas – this is a perfect recipe to use ripe and not-so-pretty bananas. The more ripe the bananas are, the sweeter your oatmeal will be.
  • Milk – you can use any milk in this recipe – either cow milk or plant-based milk such as almond milk or oat milk.
  • Oats – you can use old-fashioned oats or quick-cooking oats for this recipe. For quick-cooking oats, you need to cook your oatmeal for about 3-4 minutes and not 10-12 minutes. I prefer using old-fashioned oats because they have more texture.
  • This recipe has a high milk-to-oats ratio because this is what we prefer – I like when my oatmeal is not too thick – the oatmeal should still be pourable when I add it to my bowl. If you want thicker oatmeal, add 1/2 cup less milk.
  • This oatmeal is already pleasantly sweet with just mashed bananas but we like it extra sweet so I´m adding maple syrup. You can omit it if you´d like a less sweet oatmeal. You could also add fewer bananas.
  • Coconut oil makes the oatmeal a little bit more creamy and adds a touch of coconut flavor. You can omit it if you don´t have it on hand.
  • I always add a pinch of salt to any sweet recipe – it boosts the sweet flavor.
  • Vanilla and cinnamon are added for flavor – you can omit them.

Step-by-step instructions

A collage of 4 photos showing how to prepare banana oatmeal step by step.

Add milk, oats, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to a medium/large heavy-bottomed pot.

Bring to a boil then cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently (to prevent burning at the bottom of the pot) until oats are soft and almost all the milk has been absorbed. At this point, your oatmeal will be a little bit too runny, but this is ok – it will thicken considerably while cooling. Take the pot off the heat.

Mash bananas with a fork. Add bananas and coconut oil to the oatmeal and stir until combined. After a minute or so, your oatmeal should have a perfect creamy, thick, but still pourable consistency.

Pour your oatmeal into bowls and top with your favorite toppings (my favorite for this oatmeal are a couple of chopped walnuts, 1-2 chopped cubes of bittersweet chocolate, and fresh berries).

Enjoy!

Toppings for banana oatmeal

  • banana slices or fresh berries
  • chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, flaked almonds) or shredded coconut
  • a drizzle of nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter)
  • chopped bittersweet chocolate or chocolate chips

See here our 50+ oatmeal topping ideas.

Storage

You can store the oatmeal in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

We always eat this oatmeal right after making it but if I plan on saving it for the next day, I will bring it once again to a boil after adding the bananas.

This recipe calls for adding bananas after the oatmeal has been cooked to preserve some of their nutritional value which is partially lost after cooking the bananas. It is also a way to cool your oatmeal quicker (by adding cold bananas to a very hot oatmeal).

Fresh bananas in the oatmeal will store better until the next day if they have been cooked.

This banana oatmeal makes a great make-ahead breakfast.

More delicious oatmeal recipes

SEE OUR ALL OATMEAL RECIPES

An overhead photo of banana oatmeal topped with sliced bananas, blueberries, and raspberries in a white bowl.

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Banana Oatmeal

This banana oatmeal is creamy and naturally sweet. It makes a filling and delicious breakfast to start your day. Top it with your favorite berries and nuts for a really tasty and nutritious morning meal.
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Banana oatmeal in a white bowl.
Print Recipe

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5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 8 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 3 servings
Calories 627kcal
Author Aleksandra

Ingredients

  • 4 cups (960ml) milk of your choice
  • 2 cups (200g) old-fashioned oats
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup optional
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 medium bananas
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil optional

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Instructions

  • Add milk, oats, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt to a medium/large heavy-bottomed pot.
  • Bring to a boil then cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring frequently (to prevent burning at the bottom of the pot) until oats are soft and almost all the milk has been absorbed. At this point, your oatmeal will be a little bit too runny, but this is ok – it will thicken considerably while cooling. Take the pot off the heat.
  • Mash bananas with a fork. Add bananas and coconut oil to the oatmeal and stir until combined. After a minute or so, your oatmeal should have a perfect creamy, thick, but still pourable consistency.
  • Pour your oatmeal into bowls and top with your favorite toppings (my favorite for this oatmeal are a couple chopped walnuts, 1-2 chopped cubes of bittersweet chocolate, and fresh berries).
  • Enjoy!

Notes

  • We always eat this oatmeal right after making it but if I plan on saving it for the next day, I will bring it once again to a boil after adding the bananas. This recipe calls for adding bananas after the oatmeal has been cooked to preserve some of their nutritional value which is partially lost after cooking the bananas. It is also a way to cool your oatmeal quicker (by adding cold bananas to a very hot oatmeal). Fresh bananas in the oatmeal will store better until the next day if they have been cooked.
  • This recipe has a high milk-to-oats ratio because this is what we prefer – I like when my oatmeal is not too thick – it should still be pourable when I add it to my bowl. If you want thicker oatmeal, add 1/2 cup less milk.
  • This oatmeal is already pleasantly sweet with just mashed bananas but we like it extra sweet so I´m adding maple syrup. You can omit it if you´d like a less sweet oatmeal. You could also add fewer bananas.
  • Coconut oil makes the oatmeal a little bit more creamy and adds a touch of coconut flavor. You can omit it if you don´t have it on hand.
  • Calories = 1 serving (1/3 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
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