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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Banana Bread Overnight Oats
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
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar that can be sealed and stir well.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Serve hot or cold.
- Garnish with some sliced banana or more nuts if desired.
Nutrition
I plugged the ingredients into a calorie counter. Not sure if you aware but it’s over 400 calories…of course the type of milk used will affect the count a little but for me a diabetic it’s a lot of calories for this breakfast
Always make any modifications based on your own needs for sure!
I just made a double batch. I can’t wait to try this in the morning. I used to eat a lot of overnight oats but got out of it, so this is perfect for moi! Thanks for the great recipe!
Hope you love these Yolanda!! They are my FAVE!
Who doesn’t love banana bread!? This is so much easier and less time consuming too compared to baking a loaf of bread in the morning there is no excuse someone couldn’t make this!
Agree!
You had me at. banana! I need to share this with my mom, she is the queen of everything banana!
My sis hates bananas. I don’t get it!!! ?
Overnight oat recipes are super popular lately and these flavors sound like absolute perfection!!
They are seriously the most popular on my site. This flavor especially!
You are the QUEEN of delicious overnight oats – these were so yummy!!
You are so sweet ?
This is the one I come back too time after time! It’s very adaptable. I sometimes use a whole smallish banana, almond milk, I sub chia seed for the flax sometimes, honey for the syrup. Walnuts would be great! I like mine heated. It is great for mornings when I’m on the run!
Yay! I love hearing my fave is someone else’s as well!!!!! ??
I just have to say that love this recipe. I have made other overnight oatmeal and it’s always been bland and gross to me but this is perfect. I will probably use a little less milk because I like mine thicker but I definitely love the taste in this.
Kari! Thanks so so much for literally making my day!!!
Has anyone ever tried freezing overnight oats? I am a teacher and looking for some ideas that I can prepare now, when I am on holiday, so I just need to pull them out fo the freezer either the night before or in the morning and heat up in the term time…mostly for me, but maybe the kids could be prepared too.
This is a great question!I read up on it and found a few forums where people have said they have frozen them with no issue. I may try this soon to see and report back!
This is my favorite overnight oat recipe! Thank you for a delicious and nutritious breakfast. My daughter and I love it 🙂 We follow the recipe and add the flax.
Yay!!! Thanks so much for sharing—this one is my absolute favorite overnight oats recipe of all!!! ❤️
By far my most favorite overnight oats I have had!
Thanks so much Stephanie! This is my absolute favorite so that means so much!
My family and I love this!! Thank you for sharing such an awesome recipe!
So so glad to hear this Manikka! This is my FAVORITE recipe ever! Thanks so much ❤️
So delicious! Thank you for this great recipe!
Thanks so so much Mary! Glad you love it as much as we do!
This was my first time trying overnight oats, and it was so good!! I added milk to it in the morning because that’s my personal preference but it was amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing Kelsey! These are hands down my very favorite and have been for years!
Can you use steel cut oats?
Hi! You can. They will be much harder and chewier but if you like that texture then it’s ok!
I have tried so many overnight oats recipes over the years (honestly lost hope I’d ever find one I really liked) and none compare to this! This recipe is soooo yummy! My partner and I tried last night & plan to use our last ripe banana for this same breakfast again tomorrow. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe! Tastes just like banana bread mmm =) I know we’ll come back to this again and again. I like mine cold, he likes his hot.
This may help someone else in the same situation: we didn’t have vanilla extract, so we used vanilla flavored coffee creamer in equal amounts. Turned out perfectly!
Thanks so so much for sharing Ellie!! This is hands down my very favorite overnight oats of all time! Oh, and now I am going to be using a splash of my vanilla coffee creamer as well, so thanks!!
I’m definitely gonna make this but I neeeed to know where you got those jars. I’ve been hunting and I cant find them. Lol
Hi!!! These are my favorite jars! A touch on the small side but so cute. I got them from World Market but this is the actual jar: https://weckjars.com/product/762-jelly-jar/