Simple Banana Oatmeal

This simple banana oatmeal is my go-to breakfast on cold winter morning. The ripe bananas naturally sweeten this beauty and give it a lovely depth of flavor.

When the idea for my simple banana oatmeal came to me, I was looking for a way to sweeten plain oats that didn't involve a gallon of maple syrup 🙂

I figured if I use ripe bananas for smoothies and banana bread, then I should do the same for oats- and that's exactly where the recipe inspo for this simple banana oatmeal came from. I added a ripe mashed banana to plain oats and water as it cooked one morning and now I can never go back. The ripe banana and cinnamon gives this oatmeal a unique and natural sweetness, plus added minerals, so it can't compete with the prepackaged stuff.

Top this goodness with whatever fits your fancy. I enjoy peanut butter (powdered pb tastes great too), berries, maple syrup, nuts/seeds, coconut, and sometimes a square or two of dark chocolate (which gets all melty and delicious). For more banana and oat breakfast combinations, check out my easy banana oat pancakes!

Home Cook Hacks:

1. You can boil water, place oats, bananas, and seasonings into the pot, add the water, and let the oats sit while you do other things. They'll do their thing, start to cook, and then when your ready to eat, simply heat the oats up and cook until they reach your desired consistency, add toppings and voila- fresh hot oatmeal that you don't have to stand over the stove and stir for 10 minutes 🙂
2. If using frozen berries (which I often do) set the berries out in a container to thaw while you prep your oatmeal. Then when it's time to eat, add them to the oatmeal and they will continue to de-frost without cooling off your oatmeal too much (beats stewing the berries and having one more dish to clean up!)

Banana Oatmeal

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• Author: Emily Marrs
• Prep Time: 2 minutes
• Cook Time: 13 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 3 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1-2 very ripe bananas (more bananas = sweeter oatmeal )
• 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 2 ½ cups water (using boiled water speeds up cooking time)
• ¼-½ tsp ground cinamon
• 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)

To Serve

• peanut butter (or any nut butter)
• berries (fresh, frozen, stewed)
• seeds (I used chia/pumpkin)
• coconut flakes
• maple syrup (or other sweetner if desired)
• really anything you desire 🙂

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a pot over medium-medium high heat. Mash banana with a fork (or potato masher) and mix well - doesn't have to be perfect, as it heats up the banana will soften and mix into oatmeal.
2. Heat until mixture starts to bubble, stirring frequently to prevent the oatmeal from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
3. Continue cooking, stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes until oatmeal becomes the consistency you desire. If large chunks of banana remain, you can mash them a little more while stirring before serving.
4. Top with berries, nut butter, seeds, and maple syrup!

Notes

This will last in the fridge a day or two and can be reheated. Anything over that, the banana starts to go off and it doesn't taste the best.

You can boil water, place oats, bananas, and seasonings into the pot, add the water, and let the oats sit while you do other things. They'll do their thing, start to cook, and then when your ready to eat, simply heat the oats up and cook until they reach your desired consistency, add toppings and voila- fresh hot oatmeal that you don't have to stand over the stove and stir for 10 minutes 🙂

If using frozen berries (which I often do) set the berries out in a container to thaw while you prep your oatmeal. Then when it's time to eat, add them to the oatmeal and they will continue to de-frost without cooling off your oatmeal too much (beats stewing the berries and having one more dish to clean up!)