This easy vegan banana bread baked oatmeal will be your new favorite breakfast prep! It’s delicious, simple, and filling for all!
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This deliciously easy vegan banana bread baked oatmeal is going to be your new go to breakfast recipe.
If you have never had baked oatmeal before, then you don’t even know what you are missing. Even if you swear you don’t like the texture of traditional oatmeal, we would encourage you to give this recipe a try because the texture differences by simply baking it will wow you!
It uses simple pantry staples so the ingredients you likely already have on hand, so you never had to worry about running out for anything.
No matter the time of the year, this vegan baked oatmeal recipe will be a hit!
Why You’ll Love Vegan Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
No Mushy Texture
One of the biggest complaints about oatmeal is that the texture is mushy; however, with baked oatmeal, that’s not a concern. Baking allows for it to crisp up on the tops and edges and perfect cook the oatmeal itself. If you love oatmeal cookies, you’ll love baked oatmeal as well.
Lots of Flavor
Most of the time, we hear that people aren’t fans of oatmeal because they lack flavor and they aren’t sure how to fix that. This vegan banana bread baked oatmeal has all the flavor you could want inside of it! Thanks to the banana, nuts, and optional chocolate chips, you have a really great balance of flavor that you’ll love.
Vegan Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Ingredients:
Gather Your Ingredients
Full recipe amounts and instructions below in the printable recipe card:
- ripe banana – you want to use a ripe banana as it will taste sweet and enhance the flavor of your baked oatmeal dish. Using unripe bananas will give you a more earthly taste that you aren’t looking for in this particular dish; however, they are great for topping once the dish is cooked
- dairy free milk – you can use any non-dairy milk for this recipe, such as almond, oat or soy milk. The milk helps us with not only texture and getting that oatmeal to the perfect consistency, but also with flavor
- maple syrup – we are using this liquid sweetener to not only help with the liquid to oat ratio, but it also give us a better sweetness that we love
- almond butter – almond butter has a distinct flavor that really enhances this recipe a lot and so that’s why we love using it in this dish
- vanilla extract – using vanilla not only adds more flavor to the dish, but it also helps bring out the flavors of the other ingredients
- rolled oats – sometimes you will see this say rolled oats and other times old fashioned. You just want to make sure that you are not using quick oats for this recipe
- ground flax seed – you can use pre-made ground flax or grind up your own whole flax seed if desired. The purpose of the flax in this recipe is to act as a binding agent, similar to how eggs would work in a non-vegan recipe
- cinnamon and nutmeg – these are our warming spices and really bring out that classic banana bread flavor. You can use store bought ground varieties or you can freshly grate them yourself
- salt – a flavor enhancer and while you don’t need a lot, you will definitely be able to tell the difference when making the other ingredients shine in each bite that you take
- baking powder – used as a leavening agent, it will help the oatmeal rise a bit and also helping since we don’t use eggs in the recipe
- pecans – we love having a little crunch and while most banana bread recipes use walnuts, we love the texture and taste that the pecans provide in this recipe
- vegan chocolate chips – while not technically a classic banana bread ingredient, we do love the balance that the chips give to the overall dish and who doesn’t love chocolate! We use semi-sweet for this recipe
Substitutions and Variations:
ripe banana – if you sub this ingredient, you won’t have that classic banana bread flavor; however, you can use unsweetened applesauce or pureed sweet potato
maple syrup – other liquid sweeteners like agave or date syrup could be substituted for this recipe. You just want to make sure you are replacing the same amount of liquid ratios so the oats cook properly
almond butter – any nut butter will work, but may alter the taste, such as peanut butter, cashew butter and more
pecans – other nuts like walnuts, almonds, or peanut could also be used
vegan chocolate chips – if you are looking for the chocolate flavor without as much sweetness, try adding dark vegan chocolate chips instead
Step by Step Instructions!
Mash a medium size ripe banana by using the back of a fork and firmly pressing down. Repeat until the entire banana is mashed. You want to make sure there there are no large chunks when you are finished.
Pour in your dairy free milk. Then, add maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla. Whisk well to combine. You want to make sure that there are no clumps from the almond butter inside of your wet batter before moving on, so really make sure to whisk well.
Into the same bowl, you’re going to add in your rolled oats. Then, the remaining dry ingredients – flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine, making sure that you get the spices evenly distributed.
You can add your pecans above with the dry mixture or add them here when adding in your vegan chocolate chips. Whisk together evenly.
Pour your batter into your prepared casserole dish and then make sure to pat it down so it’s evenly distributed. We like putting more chocolate chips on the top so they are more spread out.
Then bake your recipe on 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 40-45 minutes. When it’s finished, it should be golden brown on the edges.
Frequently Asked Questions:
For the almond butter, you can replace with any safe nut butter or sun butter that you can have, just noting to be mindful of the taste variations in whatever you use. For the pecans, you can just omit them. Lastly, use a Top 8 Free safe vegan chocolate chip brand.
Once it has cooled for a few minutes, you can cut the dish into 9 squares or other desired size. Serve as is or add options toppings like vegan whipped cream and fresh fruit to it.
Baked oatmeal can be eaten however you wish – some will prefer it warm, especially freshly out of the oven; while others will enjoy this dish served chilled.
Baked oatmeal should be store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! This dish is great for meal prepping. Since make and let cool completely, then cover tightly and store in the fridge. Eat within 5 days.
What other vegan oatmeal recipe ideas could I make?
If you love oatmeal recipes, then we have you covered! Check out some of our other delicious vegan oatmeal recipes:
If you want even more inspiration, check out our other vegan oatmeal recipes.
Pin this vegan banana bread baked oatmeal for later!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Vegan Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe banana (about ½ cup mashed)
- 1 ¾ cup dairy free milk (300g)
- ½ cup maple syrup (155g)
- ¼ cup almond butter (65g)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups rolled oats (aka old fashioned oats) (180g)
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅔ cup pecans, roughly chopped (75g)
- ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips + more for topping (55g)
Optional Toppings
- vegan whipped cream
- vegan yogurt
- maple syrup
- fresh fruit
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash a ripe banana with the back of a fork until no large chunks remain. To the same bowl, add dairy free milk, maple syrup, almond butter, and vanilla. Whisk well to combine, breaking up any clumps from the almond butter.
- Into the same bowl, oats, flax, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Then add pecans and chocolate chips and stir together evenly.
- Pour the oat mixture into the prepared baking pan. Using a spatula, gently pat down the oats to make an even top.
- If desired, sprinkle additional vegan chocolate chips across the top (another ¼ to ⅓ cup). Optional – add some turbinado sugar on top for a bit of crunch and extra sweetness.
- Place into the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the top is nice and golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
- You can serve as-is or with toppings of your choice. Can be served warm or chilled. Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Did you make and love this recipe?
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So yummy! This is my first recipe from your site. I watch your videos on YouTube and since I had one really ripe banana on my counter and all the other ingredients I would give it a try. The recipe is easy to follow. I had some after it came out of the oven. Oh, my…so good when warm! I had some later in the day when it was cool and that is good too! Do you think I can reduce the maple syrup a little bit for less sweetness without changing this awesome recipe too much?
Thanks for the work you put into this recipe, too!
Yes you can 🙂