Banana Bread Overnight Oats

Name: Banana Bread Overnight Oats
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 240 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1/2 mashed ripe banana; 1/2 cup rolled oats (regular or gluten free); 1/2 cup milk of choice; 2 T chopped pecans or walnuts; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp cinnamon; Dash of sea salt; 1 T ground flax (optional); 2 tsp 100% pure maple syrup

Last Updated February 26, 2020. Published February 17, 2015 By Lorie 75 Comments

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Just like banana bread straight from the oven, but with barely any effort, these Banana Bread Overnight Oats are breakfast you can wake up to–literally, because they are waiting for you in the morning!

~Same recipe, photos updated January 2019~

So every time I post an Overnight Oats recipe here, I swear I say it is my absolute favorite. Well, this time I won’t say that, but I will say this is definitely my favorite today! Ha, see how I got around that one! I love my oats. Anyway I can play around with them and create a little something new it brings my taste buds much joy.

Why these Banana Bread Overnight Oats are The Best

I don’t like messing around in the morning but I also want a good hearty breakfast. These Banana Bread Overnight Oats are the answer. I take about 15 minutes on Sunday or Monday and prepare an entire week’s worth of single serving jars. In the morning, I pop them in the microwave and they are good to go.

I have also been having them as a mid-afternoon snack lately which really holds me over until dinner. Midday is the toughest time for me and it always has been. If I don’t get a good snack in then I am just a crank the rest of the day because I am exhausted. So my coworkers are grateful for these I assume!

Is Banana Bread your Comfort food?

Is there a food that brings back memories for you?

I feel like Banana Bread is one of those for so many of us. Whether it was Grandma’s recipe or time spent together with mom, there’s something about freshly baked bread–any kind really. Zucchini Bread was actually that for me.

Every summer I would help bake loaf after loaf with my mom, to the point that I pretty much had the recipe memorized. I can still remember the oil stained index card that my grandma had written the recipe out on. Sigh, food and memories really can be powerful, and it seems like baking traditions can be some of the fondest.

What is your favorite food memory?

There is nothing like the smell of banana bread baking in the oven. It brings with it a feeling of comfort. We certainly don’t all have time to just toss a loaf together with our hectic schedules, so why not have it as your oats? Make sure you have a pretty ripe banana for this recipe. Mine were not too brown at all and still had the perfect flavor.

You may not need any maple either if your bananas are super ripe as they will be much sweeter. I go back and forth on the maple–sometimes I just add a drizzle int he morning when serving. So go ahead and prep tonight so that fresh banana bread will be waiting for you when you wake up tomorrow!

If you love overnight oats as much as I do, check out my Overnight Oats Recipe Collection–the options are endless! Carrot Cake, Peanut Butter Cup, Blueberry Muffin and so many other flavors. Every time I think there are no other possibilities, I prove myself wrong!

What you Need to Make these Banana Bread Overnight Oats:

Oats! That obvious?? But what kind of oats is the question. I use rolled oats. I have also made these, adjusting the milk slightly to taste, with quick oats and have found they work really great when I want the same recipe but right now.
Really ripe bananas. This makes them super Mashable and sweet.
your favorite sweetener. I love love LOVE maple. That’s not everyone’s jam. Do you!
Nuts–I prefer pecans but others opt for walnuts. They taste amazing toasted if you have an extra few minutes.
Cinnamon–the more the better in my honest opinion!
Fun add-ins: flax meal for a bit more fiber, chia seeds, a dollop of yogurt when serving, and hey, more bananas! Some coconut might be great as well.

One last thing, I get a LOT of questions about what containers I use to make my overnight oats. I use these Ball Jars. I prefer the wide mouth. They only end up filled about half way for a serving. The wide mouth makes it much easier for prepping as well as spooning out–win, win, right? I am prone to dropping many an oat on the ground so the wider the mouth the better.

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