Banana Bread Oatmeal
Got a few over-ripe bananas that you need to use up but don’t really feel like whipping up a bread or cake? This Banana Bread Oatmeal is the perfect solution for you! Grab those bananas and turn them into a delicious, warm, creamy, wholesome and nutritious breakfast cereal.
Here’s another of my favorite things to do with those overripe bananas that can practically always be found sitting on my counter. Cuz yeah, as you may recall, despite my not really caring for bananas, I can’t resist buying a bunch practically every time I hit the grocery store, just so I can let them ripen and turn them into Banana Bread, or well, this delicious oatmeal!
I’m a huge fan of eating cereal in the morning, and oatmeal totally qualifies as my favorite! And since I also happen to like banana bread so much, well this one is like a match made in heaven. I like to make a big batch on a day off and enjoy some of it fresh out of the pot, and then eat the leftovers throughout the week, either reheated or just plain cold, as an addition to my boxed cereal. Not only do the cold oats add a very agreeable soft and chewy texture to my morning bowl of goodness, but they also add tons of flavor and nutritious wholesomeness.
All the taste of a freshly baked banana bread in the wholesome goodness of a creamy bowl of oatmeal… Want in on this? Read on!
Start by bringing 8 cups of salted water to the boil, over high heat. Nothing complicated here, but be sure to use a large enough pot as the water will foam up once you add the oats and it could overspill if the pot was too small.
While the water is heating measure your grains and seeds!
For this particular recipe, I used 2 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (not the quick cooking type), and about 1/3 cup of pearl barley, 1/3 cup of millet, and 1/3 cup of flax seeds. Feel free to change things up, though, and use your favorite grains here. Any combination of slow cooking grains, or even seeds, will work. Think rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, teff, farro, freekeh, sorghum, spelt… let your imagination run wild!
Once the water has come to a roaring boil, add the rolled oats, barley, millet and flax seeds (or your own combination of grains) to the pot and stir; bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to bring the oats to a slow simmer.
This is when you want to keep a close eye on things to be sure that nothing boils over, especially during the first minutes after you add your oats to the pot…
Cover the pot and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom from time to time to prevent the oatmeal from attaching, until the grains are tender and the liquid has practically completely evaporated.
While that’s happening, mash your over-ripe bananas and chop your dates and walnuts…
I usually use 2 or 3 bananas, depending on how many I have that need to get used up. It’s really not an exact science: the more bananas you use, the more banana flavor you’ll get! So use as few or a many as you like —or have!
Stir those right into the cooked oatmeal, along with the vanilla extract and ground cinnamon…
Kill the heat and let the oatmeal stand covered for about 5 minutes, or until your cereal has reached the desired consistency — the longer it sits, the thicker the oatmeal will get.
Serve hot, garnished with your choice of toppings. Here, I opted to go with a dollop of Cashew Yogurt, a few slices of bananas, a handful of chopped walnuts and a splash of unsweetened almond milk.
Store your leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for up to a week. You can then enjoy them cold or reheated. If you wish to reheat your oatmeal, stir in a little bit of milk or water into the oats to loosen the cereal and reheat on the stovetop over low heat.
Banana Bread Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup pearl barley
- 1/3 cup millet
- 1/3 cup flax seeds
- 8 cups water
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2-3 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup pitted dates, chopped
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Pour the water and salt into a medium stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat. Be sure to use a large enough pot as the water will foam up once you add the oats and it could overspill.
- Once the water starts to boil, add the rolled oats, barley, millet and flax seeds to the pot and stir; Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to bring the oats to a slow simmer
- Cover the pot and simmer for about 30-35 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan from time to time to prevent the oatmeal from attaching, until the grains are tender and the liquid has practically completely evaporated. At that point, stir in the mashed bananas, chopped dates and walnuts, vanilla extract and ground cinnamon, then kill the heat and let the oatmeal sit covered for about 5 minutes, or until it has reached the desired consistency — the longer it sits, the thicker the oatmeal will get.
- Serve hot, garnished with your choice of toppings.
- Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and can then be enjoyed cold or reheated. To reheat, stir in a little bit of milk or water into the oats to loosen the cereal and reheat on the stove-top over low heat.
Nutrition
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2 Comments on “Banana Bread Oatmeal”
great post thanks
Love bananas, love this recipe.. great post indeed.