Banana Bread Overnight Oats
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Published Nov 05, 2018, Updated Jun 03, 2024
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These banana bread overnight oats offer all the flavor of banana bread served up in a mason jar. They’re so easy to prep ahead of time.
Somehow out of all the overnight oats recipes that I have posted before I don’t have a banana bread overnight oats recipe!? As much as I love my healthy banana bread recipe, I find this hard to believe, but it’s happening today!
Ingredients Needed for Banana Overnight Oats
- old fashioned rolled oats – rolled oats are the best for overnight oats. Instant/quick oats and steel cut oats don’t work well because they don’t absorb liquid the same way rolled oats do
- bananas – you can’t have banana bread overnight oats without bananas!
- almond milk – I like using unsweetened vanilla almond milk, but any type of milk will work
- Greek yogurt – yogurt gives overnight oats an extra creamy texture while adding a bit of protein. I personally like using plain Greek yogurt since it’s the highest in protein and lowest in sugar. To make this recipe vegan or dairy-free you can use a non-dairy yogurt or skip the yogurt all together and use additional milk
- maple syrup – pure maple syrup is the perfect natural sweetener to use because it’s liquid so it blends in nicely with the oat mixture and I personally love the flavor. Honey or another natural liquid sweetener will work here. If you want to reduce the sugar in this recipe, feel free to use a sugar alternative like stevia or monk fruit
- vanilla extract and almond extract – these aren’t must-haves, especially the almond extract, but they add such a nice flavor so if you have them use them
- sea salt – a pinch of sea salt is the perfect flavor enhancer and brings out the nutty flavor of the oats
- cinnamon – adds a touch of spice!
- walnuts – banana bread with walnuts is my fave and I love the added crunch the walnuts add to the oats
The best part about overnight oats is that the oats absorb everything, so the flavors turn out to be well-rounded and balanced. I like to add flavors like vanilla or cinnamon and sweet components like fruit, honey or maple syrup. For this recipe I went with bananas (because banana bread…), vanilla and almond extract. The almond extract isn’t 100% necessary, but it gives the oats that “quick bread” flavor that makes the oats taste even more like banana bread. Cinnamon is optional since traditional banana bread recipes don’t add cinnamon, but I like it in banana bread and in these oats!
So next time you’re craving banana bread, but don’t have the time to bake a batch or want to have a healthier, lighter version, I hope you whip up a batch of these delicious banana bread overnight oats! They’re perfect for an everyday breakfast or snack, but could also make a fun brunch… single serve overnight oats in mini mason jars anyone?! Who wants to come over for brunch?
More Oatmeal Recipes to Try:
- Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Berry Baked Oatmeal Bars
- Baked Oatmeal Recipes
- Protein Oatmeal
- Blended Overnight Oats
- Vanilla Overnight Oats (MUSH Copycat)
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Banana Bread Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, or your favorite milk
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt, or coconut yogurt
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- pinch of sea salt
- pinch of cinnamon, optional
- 1-2 Tablespoons walnuts
- toppings: additional banana slices, maple syrup, nut butter
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except the walnuts in a container and stir until well combined. Seal with a lid and place in the fridge overnight (or at least a couple hours).
- Remove from the fridge in the morning and stir. You’ll notice that the oats soak up a lot of the liquid, so you may want to add a little more milk before serving.
- Top oats with walnuts and any other toppings you like. Enjoy cold.
- Overnight oats will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge in a sealed container.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t know why I’ve not commented yet, I make these every week and swear by them. I add some of my own preferred ingredients (protein powder, chocolate chips, chia seeds). The proportions are the main thing I come for, they always make just the right consistency, even with the extra ingredients I add. Love this recipe so much – I also don’t know why I’ve not tried more from the website but I will do now. Thank you!
Oh yay, this makes me so happy to hear! I’m so glad you love this recipe, Louise. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Could I use quick oats instead of rolled oats?
Hi Dom -Instant/quick oats don’t work well because they don’t absorb liquid the same way rolled oats do. Hope that helps!
So far I have tried the Banana Bread Oats, Peach Oats, and Apple Pie Oats. They are all FANTASTIC. I didn’t think I would like the cold oats but these recipes changed my mind. I even put the nuts in the mason jar at night and the are still good in the morning.
Ahh this is the best, Sharon! I am SO glad you are loving these overnight oat recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
Will bananas turned brown soaking after 3 days?
Hi! No, you shouldn’t notice the bananas turning brown in the oatmeal because they are all mashed up. I would recommend if you are adding sliced bananas to the top, to add those right before you are ready to eat. Enjoy!
Very good recipe! I cut the amount of almond extract in half because it’s so strong, but it’s a nice touch🙂
Happy to hear you enjoyed these overnight oats, Alana! Sorry to hear the almond extract was a bit strong, but cutting the amount was the perfect decision. So happy it worked out! Thanks for the review :).
This was pretty good, I made it last night following the recipe exactly and added 2 tablespoons of almond butter. This is the first overnight oats recipe I’m seeing without chia seeds, too, have you tried it with them?
It IS quite calorie dense, however. One full recipe is a little over 1k calories.
Hey Jasmine, I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe. I have tried chia seeds, you can definitely add those in! Did you have just one serving of this recipe? It should make 2 servings at around 350 calories each.
hi! my wife and i made these recently and absolutely loved them! my favorite was the peach, she loved the banana bread. we made 5 each and were wondering how long these will last in the refrigerator in the case that we don’t eat 1 serving every day?
They should last about 5 days in the fridge!
I rely on overnight oats a lot and love the idea of making a banana bread flavored version! Thanks for sharing!
Let me know how it turns out for you, Kelly!
Hi Brittany,
I am planning to make these oats for meal prep; however, my concern is that the banana will turn brown and not taste very good after a few days. I was hoping to prep four days worth of oats at once. Your recipe states that these last for about 5 days. Have you had any issues with the taste of the oats after that many days? Additionally, could I use kefir instead of the milk/yogurt combo?
Thank you in advance!
Sophie
I haven’t had any issues with the bananas in these oats when making them for meal prep. I’m sure using kefir would be just fine – you’ll have to let me know if you try it!
Great! Thank you for letting me know. I plan to make these within the next week and I will get back to you.
Thanks again!
Keep me posted on how they turn out, Sophie!
Loved this recipe. I used vanilla oat milk and left out the extracts and they still turned out wonderful. Can’t wait to add those next time 🙂
Yay! So glad this recipe was a hit, Kim! Thanks so much for trying it and coming back to leave a review and star rating. It means so much to me!