Banana Bread Overnight Oats (Print Version)

A creamy, wholesome breakfast featuring oats, bananas, spices, and crunchy walnuts, perfect for make-ahead mornings.

# Components:

→ Oats Mixture

01 - 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
02 - 1 cup milk, dairy or unsweetened plant-based
03 - 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or non-dairy alternative
04 - 1 ripe banana, mashed
05 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
07 - 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
08 - Pinch of salt

→ Toppings

09 - 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
10 - 1 small banana, sliced
11 - Additional maple syrup or honey for drizzling, optional
12 - Pinch of ground cinnamon, optional

# Directions:

01 - In a medium bowl or jar, combine oats, milk, yogurt, mashed banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir thoroughly until well incorporated.
02 - Distribute the mixture evenly between two jars or containers.
03 - Cover containers and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight, allowing oats to soften and absorb all flavors.
04 - In the morning, stir the oats thoroughly. Add additional milk if a thinner consistency is desired.
05 - Top each serving with chopped walnuts, banana slices, maple syrup drizzle, and cinnamon sprinkle as desired.
06 - Serve chilled or at room temperature according to preference.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • You literally prep this in under ten minutes the night before, which means your future self gets to sleep an extra fifteen minutes.
  • It tastes like banana bread but feels nourishing, so you don't have that mid-morning energy crash.
  • The texture stays creamy and just soft enough without turning into mush if you nail the milk-to-oats ratio.
02 -
  • Don't skip the salt, even though it seems unnecessary; it actually makes the banana and cinnamon flavors pop instead of tasting flat and one-dimensional.
  • If you forget to add the toppings before refrigerating, the walnuts will absorb moisture and lose their crunch, so wait until morning to add them no matter how tempted you are to do everything the night before.
  • The texture changes slightly each day, tasting thicker on day one and creamier by day three, so these actually taste different depending on when you eat them.
03 -
  • Mash your banana really thoroughly so no chunks remain, because bigger pieces won't distribute evenly and you'll get some spoonfuls that taste more like plain oats than others.
  • Use truly ripe bananas with some brown spots on the skin, because they're sweeter and more flavorful than bright yellow ones, and you won't need to add as much maple syrup.
  • If you accidentally make these too thick, don't panic; a splash of milk in the morning fixes everything and takes about five seconds of stirring.
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