Breakfast doesn’t get much easier than this Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal! Whip up a batch and store it in the fridge or freezer for a quick and easy breakfast throughout the week! Great option for the whole family! {Gluten-free, vegetarian & no-sugar added}
I’ve done a whole bunch of breakfast experimentation with our one-year-old over the past several months and by far, this Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal ranks number one.
When I open the fridge in the morning to grab his piece of baked oatmeal, his face lights up with the biggest grin I’ve ever seen.
While most adults would light up when they saw a big juicy hamburger or a slice of fudgey chocolate cake, he goes ecstatic for peanut butter banana baked oatmeal.
Yup, that’s my boy.
Another sign that he adores this baked oatmeal is the speed at which he shovels it into his mouth. These are not tiny little bites, my friends.
These are I’m-going-to-shove-this-whole-piece-into-my-mouth-in-case-it-suddenly-vanishes kind of bites.
Which, in all honesty, is actually kind of refreshing considering he’s currently going through a phase where he’d rather whip most foods onto the floor rather than put them into his mouth.
Just because.
I’m not quite sure what he expects to happen once the food goes flying over the edge of his tray, but all I know is that it’s a phase that makes pretty much every mother on the planet cringe as she watches all of her hard work get whisked away onto the dining room floor.
It’s actually quite devastating.
So, of course, I was thrilled at his enthusiasm to pile the baked oatmeal into his mouth rather than in a heap on the floor.
But our little guy isn’t the only one who loves eating this for breakfast. As a mama, I love it too.
Benefits of Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
First of all, it’s SUPER easy to make. In fact, after making it only a few times, I’ve got the ingredients list memorized. I don’t even require the recipe anymore.
Aren’t those the best types of recipes?
It can also be made in advance and stored in the fridge or freezer, which basically means breakfast-on-demand.
No more shuffling around in the cupboard trying to find that box of cereal or hovering over the stove to fry up an egg. It’s all just sitting there waiting patiently in the fridge to be eaten (or devoured in the case of our little guy).
So let’s talk about how easy it is to whip up this breakfast miracle.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
- First, you’ll want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grab an 8×8 square or 7 x 5 inch rectangular baking dish. I’ve made this baked oatmeal in each of these types of baking dishes and it turned out equally good each time.
- Next, you’ll want to spray the dish with cooking spray or use your preferred method to grease the pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the baked oatmeal with the exception of two of the bananas.
- Slice the remaining two bananas into quarter inch slices.
- On the bottom of the greased dish, evenly distribute half of the banana slices. Pour half of the oatmeal mixture over top and smooth out with a spatula.
- Next, evenly distribute the remaining banana slices on top of the oatmeal layer. Top with remaining oatmeal mixture.
- Place in the oven to bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Serving suggestions
Now this is the fun part because you can jazz up that slice of baked oatmeal however you’d like. Personally, I like to serve it warm with a drizzle of natural peanut butter and additional freshly sliced banana.
For easy drizzling, I recommend putting some peanut butter (preferably the natural drippy kind) into a medium-sized ziploc bag.
Cut the corner off with scissors and using your hand, ease the peanut butter out of the hole and drizzle over the baked oatmeal.
Pretty fancy, right?
Alternatively, you could serve it cold or at room temperature if that’s what floats your boat.
It tastes good either way.
You could also top it with another type of fruit such as fresh berries, some of this low sugar strawberry jam or even add a little drizzle of maple syrup. The options are really endless, so feel free to get creative!
Can you freeze this Baked Oatmeal?
Definitely! The baked oatmeal lasts for up to a week in the fridge, but beyond that, I would recommend freezing it. Sometimes I even freeze it as soon as it’s cooled if I don’t have the fridge space to store it.
You can either cut it into pieces and freeze it in individual freezer bags if you’d like to take it for a quick pre-portioned breakfast or snack.
Alternatively, you can store it in a freezer-friendly container with each piece separated with parchment paper so that it doesn’t all stick together.
Once again, totally flexible.
I recommend freezing it for no longer than 3 months, but I seriously doubt it will last that long.
Allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight or pop it in the microwave until warmed through.
Easy peasy!
It makes such a great breakfast for those busy mornings (which is basically every morning, amirite?!)
So yeah.
It’s basically good for every single morning for the rest of your life.
What’s even better, is that the whole family can enjoy it from baby to grandma, so no need to go and make any special meals.
That’s my kind of breakfast!
More healthy breakfast recipes
- Healthy Oatmeal Muffins {4 Different Ways}
- Banana Protein Pancakes
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins
- 6 Mason Jar Overnight Oat Recipes
- Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats use gluten-free, if necessary
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups preferred milk*
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 4 very ripe bananas
Optional Add-ins:
- 1/4 cup maple syrup** if you prefer a sweeter baked oatmeal
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 inch square or 7x5 inch rectangular baking dish.
- Combine the rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl.
- Next, add milk, egg, vanilla, peanut butter, and maple syrup (if using). Stir to combine.
- Mash two of the bananas and fold them into the oatmeal mixture. Slice the remaining two bananas into quarter inch slices.
- Place half of the sliced bananas across the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread half of the oatmeal mixture over the banana slices. Evenly distribute the remaining banana slices over the oatmeal layer. Pour the remaining oatmeal mixture over the second layer of sliced bananas and spread it around with a spoon or spatula until evenly distributed.
- Place in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- To serve, top with a drizzle of peanut butter and additional banana slices, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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Hi Elysia,
your recipe looks amazing! Could I share this recipe on my website if I give you reference?
Hi Tina,
Thanks so much! If you’d like to share the recipe, you’re welcome to use one image and a link back to the recipe on my site. I appreciate you sharing!
So Tasty! Great way to start out a cool autumn morning!
Thanks so much Jennifer! It definitely makes a great fall breakfast! :)
Just made it for breakfast this week and it’s delicious!
So happy you enjoyed the baked oatmeal Alexandra! Thanks for stopping by to comment :)
Thanks for the recipe! We made this already once trying to use up an over abundance of bananas and now we’re making it again. We absolutely love it! Good work
That’s fantastic Valery! So happy that you’re loving this recipe! Thanks for taking some time to provide feedback! :)
Made this morning for my boys and they loved every bite! I was afraid the banana taste would be too strong but it was just right, and balanced very well with the peanut butter drizzle. Delicious. One note, I did add the maple syrup and that might have made it extra moist as I had to cook it for 7 min longer.
That’s awesome — glad the recipe was a hit! Thanks for the heads up about increasing the baking time with the maple syrup. I’ll add that note to the recipe!
Had this for breakfast for the second time this morning. A scrumptious way to use up bananas! My husband loves it!
Delicious! My whole family loves this recipe. Thank you!
So happy your family is loving this recipe! It’s definitely a favourite in our house as well! Thanks so much for taking the time to provide some feedback! :)
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
My pleasure :) We’ve kept it in the fridge for up to five days without an issue. You can always store any extra pieces in the freezer as well!
This looks so good! What a great breakfast meal prep for the whole family!
Thanks Suzanne! It definitely comes in handy for a ready-made breakfast on those busy mornings!
Have you tried this with Almond butter by chance?
You could definitely sub in almond butter for peanut butter! Let me know how it goes if you try it out! :)
I made this recipe, I’ve done a few things differently only cause I have allergies to some foods, this recipe is very delicious and filling… So easy to make as well… Thank you for sharing the love with food recipes.
Thanks for stopping by to comment Dawn! One of the great things about this recipe is that it’s so easy to modify. So glad you enjoyed the recipe and were able to adapt it to meet your dietary needs!
Can you use quick oats instead of rolled oats?
Yes, quick oats can be substituted for the rolled oats!
Made this a couple times already the past few days and it’s super tasty! My fiancé is obsessed. We didn’t even drizzle anything on top after but I think fresh bananas and peanut butter would be delicious so we will need to try next time :)
Thanks so much for the feedback Rochelle — so glad you and your fiance are enjoying the recipe! Definitely try it out with the extra banana and PB!!
Absolute heaven! I could eat this all day every day.
So delicious, right?! Thanks for the feedback! :)
I’m planning to make this tonight! Could you use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy?
Yay, hope you love it!! Yes, you can definitely use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. It would add a nice crunch factor :)
Hey what is the nutritional information on this recipe it looks yummy
I currently do not include nutritional information due to the inaccuracy of a lot of the nutrition software programs. If you’d like to get a rough idea of nutritional breakdown, you can plug it into a program such as myfitnesspal. Hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it out!
Hi I don’t have a 8×12, can it work?
Yes, it should still work! However, you may have to adjust the cooking time slightly depending on the size of your dish.
Can I use steel cut oats for this recipe?
I don’t think steel cut oats would work very well for this recipe since they have a different consistency than rolled oats. That being said, I haven’t actually tried it, so it would be interesting to see the outcome. Let me know if you try it out!
Just made this and It is so delicious. However, it was a mess
Coming out of the greased pan. Is there a trick to this? Do you leave it in the pan until it’s completely cooled?
So glad that you enjoyed the baked oatmeal, but I apologize that it was a mess coming out! I would definitely recommend allowing it to completely cool before taking it out of the pan since it firms up a bit while cooling. It should also firm up in the fridge as well. Hopefully this helps for next time!
The recipe sounds great. I definitely would like to try it. Do the bananas get mushy and brown when you freeze the extras?
Thanks Norma! Most of the bananas are incorporated into the oatmeal mixture, so I didn’t notice that they got brown or mushy when frozen. I would, however, hold off on adding any additional fresh banana slices to the top of the baked oatmeal until right before you’re ready to serve. Those would most likely go brown. Hope that helps!