Banana Bread Baked Oats

If you love banana bread but don’t want a whole loaf – or you like it for breakfast but want something with less sugar – this banana bread baked oats recipe is just right for you. They’re like single-serve muffins but with a whole banana split between two servings, so you really get a big hit of banana flavour.

This is adapted from my plain baked oats recipe, which also uses banana, but this version calls for a bigger banana (not just for binding, but really for flavour here), less maple syrup, and a little more oats. The texture is a little softer and lighter, too, with the oats rising very significantly while baking.

You can add any number of mix-ins to this and several are outlined below with optimal amounts and how to add them. Banana baked oats are a little sweeter than the other versions I’ve shared but most of that sweetness is coming from the fruit, so it really tastes like banana bread!

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

You want a large, very ripe banana for the best results. The ideal weight is included in the recipe card but if you don’t have a scale just look for the biggest one in the shop. These are my notes from recipe testing and you can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Banana: the riper, the better. It should be at least spotty, not green at all, and ideally quite brown. Think the same type of banana you’d use for banana bread. Don’t use thawed frozen bananas for this, though, like you can for banana bread – there’s not enough sweetener added to cover the slightly unpleasant flavour that comes from freezing and thawing the fruit.
• Oats: rolled oats are best but quick-cook can work in a pinch. Steel cut oats are not appropriate for this recipe.
• Maple syrup: substitute honey if preferred but note that it’s sweeter than maple syrup. Use half the amount of honey if you don’t want to increase sweetness. I have tested omitting the maple syrup but it does affect texture, so note that the baked oats will be denser if you choose to leave it out.
• Vanilla extract: a little vanilla adds some depth and interest, making it taste more like banana bread. If you don’t have vanilla make sure to include another spice like cinnamon.
• Oil: like the syrup, omitting oil can make the oats dense and rubbery. Substitute another oil (I like olive oil here) or use butter if preferred.
• Egg: the egg binds and acts as a physical leaving agent, rising in the oven. I haven’t tested this without eggs.
• Baking powder: don’t mix this up with baking soda, which adds a bitter flavour. Baking powder provides lift and omitting it will make the baked oats dense.
• Add-ins: mix in a couple tablespoons of (mini) chocolate chips, blueberries, chopped nuts, or seeds. Add a half teaspoon of cinnamon or a quarter teaspoon of cardamom, nutmeg, or cloves.

How to Make Banana Baked Oats

I prefer to make this with an immersion blender and a blending container (pictured is a large weck jar, my preferred container) rather than a standing blender. I find that standing blenders have a bit of trouble mixing a smaller amount like this. It does work but you have to scrape down the sides. A bullet blender would be a good option too.

Step 1: add all of the ingredients apart from any optional mix-ins to a blender or blending container. If you layer the wet ingredients below the dry ingredients, it mixes more easily.

Step 2: blend until very smooth and the oats have broken down. This mixture will be a little smoother than plain or chocolate baked oats, more like standard cake or pancake batter in appearance. Stir in any mix-ins after blending, apart from spices, which should be added with the dry ingredients.

Step 3: pour into the greased ramekins. I always place the ramekins for baked oats in another tin or on a baking sheet because they’re hard to remove from the oven after baking, and it’s much easier to lift a larger container rather than the small dishes.

Step 4: bake for about 20 minutes. Banana baked oats rise a lot while baking and will fall slightly when they come out of the oven. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Related: Banana Porridge

Expert Tips for the Best Oats

• Use a very ripe banana: for the best flavour and sweetness, use a banana that’s spotty and brown. If needed you can use a banana and a half, if the ones you have are small.
• Don’t skip the oil: omitting the oil makes baked oats rubbery and unpleasant. There are lots of oil-free breakfast options (try yogurt chia pudding!) but this isn’t one of them. It’s a small amount but it makes a big difference.
• Do skip toppings: adding heavier toppings like banana slices before baking the oats will make for a lopsided rise when baked. Mini chocolate chips or finely chopped chocolate are fine, but it’s best to mix them in anyway for the lightest texture.
• Make it in the microwave: instead of baking, pour the mixture into microwave-safe ramekins and microwave for about 90 seconds. Leave enough space in the ramekins for the oats to double in size. The texture isn’t nearly as good in the microwave but it is faster.
• Multiply the recipe: this makes enough for two smaller servings, but the recipe can be increased to suit your needs. If you hover (desktop) or tap (mobile) on the pink number beside ‘servings’ in the recipe card, you can slide the scale there to automatically adjust amounts. This only works for the gram measurements so keep that in mind! The baking time will stay the same but you’ll need to use more ramekins.
• Use a toaster oven: it’s a bit silly to use a full-sized oven for two servings, especially if you have a huge oven. A toaster oven works just as well and needs a lot less energy, so if you have one, go for it!

• More Breakfast Recipes

Strawberry Overnight Oats

Chocolate Baked Oats

Baked Oats

Strawberry Chia Pudding

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