Banana Baked Oatmeal

I’ve been hoarding this recipe for months, and it feels sooooo good to finally get it out! In September, I was ready for a breakfast change-up and started making these super easy baked oatmeals. I pretty much became obsessed with them. First of all, oatmeal is just plain yummy. It’s warm and comforting and full of hearty goodness. It’s like waking up to a big hug in a bowl. And this banana baked oatmeal reheats beautifully, so if you make a pan of it over the weekend, you can have a good, healthy breakfast all week long. Total no-brainer, right?

I wanted this oatmeal to taste like biting into a warm slice of banana bread, so I added a full cup of mashed bananas, plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, and toasted chopped walnuts sprinkled on top. Mmm mmm… this stuff is good! This recipe feeds about six hungry mouths, but if you don’t eat it all at once, just pop it in the fridge and then microwave the next day. You can pour some milk in the oatmeal, if it seems a little dry when reheating. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients needed

Banana baked oatmeal is made with good-for-you, nutritious ingredients and tasty add-ins, like mashed banana, maple syrup and cozy spices. Here’s what you need to make it:

• Mashed banana. This recipe is a great way to use up over-ripened bananas! For perfectly sweet oatmeal, use bananas with plenty of brown spots.
• Eggs. This recipe uses 2 eggs to provide structure and bind all of the ingredients together. I haven’t tried using flax eggs, but I think it would work fine. I did have a reader let me know that my almond joy baked oatmeal worked great without any eggs at all and this is a very similar recipe.
• Milk. I typically use either unsweetened vanilla almond milk or cashew milk in this recipe, but any milk variety will work great.
• Maple syrup. To naturally sweeten the oatmeal. Honey would work great as a substitute.
• Vanilla extract. For warmth and flavor.
• Oats. The base of this baked oatmeal uses old-fashioned rolled oats. Use gluten-free oats if you’d like. However, do NOT use quick oats or steel cut oats because the texture will not be good.
• Baking essentials. We’re adding in baking powder and salt to give this baked oatmeal a little lift and ensure it bakes properly.
• Spices. A mix of ground cinnamon and nutmeg gives the oatmeal a warm, cozy flavor.
• Nuts. Totally optional, but I really love the addition of toasted walnuts or pecans sprinkled over the top of the oatmeal before baking.

How to make this recipe

Banana baked oatmeal is so simple to throw together! It’s really just a matter of stirring the ingredients together in one large bowl, pouring the mixture into a pan and baking it up!

For full, printable instructions, reference the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

1. Prep. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed banana, eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
3. Add the dry ingredients. Stir in the oats, baking powder, spices and salt with the wet mixture until fully combined.
4. Bake. Pour the banana oatmeal into your baking dish. Top with chopped walnuts or pecans, if desired. Place the oatmeal in the oven and bake until just set and golden brown, about 35 minutes.
5. Serve & enjoy! Remove the oatmeal from the oven and let it cool for about 5 minutes. Cut it into squares for serving. Top with maple syrup, chia seeds, greek yogurt, almond butter or you can even serve it in a bowl with a splash of milk.

Variation options

Baked oatmeal is a super versatile breakfast! Feel free to swap some of the ingredients listed with your favorites. Here’s some ideas:

• Sweetener. Instead of maple syrup you can use honey, coconut sugar or brown sugar.
• Dairy free. Make this recipe dairy free by using a non-dairy milk, like almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk or cashew milk.
• Fruit. Want to try an apple version of this recipe? You will LOVE my apple cinnamon baked oatmeal!
• Spices. Feel free to leave out the nutmeg and only use cinnamon, if that’s what you have on-hand. You could also add other spices like allspice, cloves and/or pumpkin pie spice.
• Fun mix-ins. Any of these extras would be super tasty baked into this oatmeal – chocolate chips, shredded coconut, walnuts, pecans, or raisins. I would use about 1/2 to 1 cup of any of these or a combination.

Frequently asked questions

Serving suggestions

I typically just eat the oatmeal on its own – it’s plenty satisfying. I love it warm with an extra splash of milk. So good! But it does pair well with a variety of breakfast sides. Below are some tasty options:

• Hash browns or breakfast potatoes
• Fresh fruit or fruit salad
• Yogurt
• Bacon, sausage, or ham
• Eggs

BAKED OATMEAL TOPPINGS

Baked oatmeal is pretty amazing served with just a splash of milk or a drizzle of maple syrup, but here are some other fun topping ideas:

• chopped pecans or walnuts
• fruit – blueberries, banana slices or raspberries
• yogurt or whipped cream
• vanilla ice cream
• nut butter – almond butter, peanut butter or Nutella
• shredded coconut

Store, reheat and freeze

To store this banana baked oatmeal in the refrigerator:

Before storing, allow baked oatmeal to cool completely, and then cover the pan with aluminum foil or plastic wrap before transferring it to the refrigerator. It will stay good covered in the refrigerator for up to about 7 days, and you can reheat individual slices in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. For a make ahead breakfast that’s ready-to-go, store individual slices in separate glass meal prep containers.

To freeze & reheat this baked oatmeal:

Once the baked oatmeal has completely cooled, cut it into 6 individual servings and wrap each serving in plastic wrap, then tinfoil and place in freezer bags. When you’re ready to eat it, unwrap the oatmeal and place it on a microwave-safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals for 1-2 minutes. If you wrap and freeze the entire baked oatmeal for later, reheat it in the oven, covered with foil, for 20-25 minutes at 350ºF.

I hope you guys love this recipe as much as my family does! It’s simple, hearty, wholesome, perfectly sweet, healthy and delish! Awesome for busy mornings!

If you try this banana baked oatmeal recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and if your family loves it as much as mine does, be sure to give it a five star ⭐️ rating! Also, tag @kimscravings on Instagram with a picture of your creation. It’s so fun to see what you’re baking! Be sure to subscribe to our mailing list to receive more healthy delicious recipes straight to your inbox.