Heartier than normal banana bread, this Banana Oat Bread makes the perfect breakfast bread! Just sweet enough with great texture, this bread is the best way to start the day.
Serve a slice of this Banana Oat Bread up with some Egg Muffins and a Smoothie Bowl for a delicious and healthy breakfast!
For some reason, I have a hard time picking one banana bread recipe as a favorite and just sticking to it.
Maybe it’s because I have been blogging for so long, and it has just become habit to keep trying new things.
Or maybe it’s because there is not one banana bread recipe that is perfect for every circumstance.
You need a good, traditional Banana Bread. And how about Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips for when you are craving something that will really stand out. You also need Brownie Mix Banana Bread that tastes more like dessert than a bread. And a recipe that makes the perfect banana bread for an after school snack, like this Peanut Butter and Jelly Banana Bread. That’s just the tip of the iceberg – there really is a reason for banana bread under every circumstance.
I’d call this Banana Oat Bread the perfect breakfast banana bread. The oats give it a heartier texture that I think makes it perfect for breakfast. It’s a recipe that will stick with you for a bit and give you the energy to make it through your morning.
And while it is sweet, it’s not overly sweet. Let’s also not forget to mention the amount of bananas in this bread, as well. All those bananas make a perfectly moist banana bread.
My kids all loved this banana bread version, and I’m sure I ended up eating my weight in it over the last week!
Ingredients
- Brown Sugar: I like the deeper flavor that the brown sugar brings. I use light brown sugar.
- Oil: I use vegetable oil, but feel free to sub in another neutral oil. You could also use melted butter.
- Milk: I use 2% milk.
- Eggs: I always use large eggs.
- Bananas: This recipe uses 4-5 very ripe bananas. You need 2 cups of mashed bananas, which is about 460 grams.
- Flour: I have only used all-purpose flour, but feel free to experiment with other flours of your choice.
- Oats: I use old fashioned oats.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: I like to use the combination of baking powder and baking soda in this recipe to give this bread some extra lift, since the oats make it more dense. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of baking powder, which I’ve never had an issue with, but some people say that it made their bread bitter. Make sure you are using double acting baking powder. And again – feel free to experiment with less.
- Salt: The salt balances the flavors.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: I love the warmth of both of these spices. You can always use one or the other, or substitute 3/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to change it up.
How to Make Banana Oat Bread
WET INGREDIENTS: In one bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, milk, and eggs. Once combined, stir in the mashed bananas.
DRY INGREDIENTS: In another bowl, mix the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
COMBINE: Combine both the wet and the dry ingredients and mix everything together just until it is combined.
BAKE: Transfer the batter to a prepared loaf pan and transfer to the oven until the loaf is baked through.
Tips for the perfect banana bread
- Make sure those bananas are ripe! I like to wait until they are almost all the way black on the peel, ensuring that bananas are super sweet.
- Make sure you are using a true 9×5-inch loaf pan. Many loaf pans are just smaller than this, but you need the full 9×5-inch pan. If you are not sure if your pan is large enough, measure out 8 cups of water and add it to the pan. It should fit the full 8 cups. If in doubt, though, use 2 pans, or use one pan and make the remaining batter into muffins.
- Don’t mix the batter any more than you have to. The less you mix, the more tender your bread will be.
- Keep an eye on it as it is baking, as you’ll want to cover it with foil once it starts to brown. If you don’t cover it, by the time the loaf is finished baking, the edges will be quite dark.
- All ovens cook differently, so start checking your bread around 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will also be fairly firm and not jiggly at all.
More recipes that use those overripe bananas
Banana Cheesecake Cookie Bars
Banana Split Cupcakes
Peanut Butter Banana Bran Muffins
Frosted Banana Cake
Banana Brownies with Peanut Butter Banana Frosting
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Banana Oat Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups mashed ripe bananas, about 4-5 medium bananas
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. You can also line the pan with parchment paper and then spray that with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, vegetable oil, milk and eggs. Mix until combined. Stir in the bananas.
- In another bowl, combine the oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredient to the wet ingredients all at once and stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Transfer to the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. You will probably need to cover the top with foil about halfway through the baking time to avoid over-browning the loaf.
- Let the loaf cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
Deb Marlow says
Not sure why, but mine tasted almost bitter. Will be throwing it out. I made muffins and the consistency was ok, but taste just wasn’t for me or my husband. I am positive the brown sugar and other ingredients were included. 1 tablespoon of baking soda does seem more than usual.
Deborah says
Hi Deb – the recipe only calls for 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda – the 1 tablespoon is baking powder. That may have been why your muffins were so bitter.
L. Lotardo says
Hi I added an extra egg, a more oatmeal, honey and vanilla.Topped with chopped nuts and honey baked for 1hour, used 3 loaf pans. Yummy 🙂
Mary Liljequist says
I have made this twice and it is wonderful recipe. It took about 45 minutes in my overn to be fully baked. May be my oven – but please use caution when baking this the first time.
Janett says
Excellent recipe Thanks for sharing. I got tired of my old recipe and wanted to try something new. I used oat flour instead of AP. I also used muffin tins instead of the loaf pan. Turned out great! My grandbabies love it!!! And they are fussy eaters. I doubled the recipe and made 2 dozen and they were gone in two days. If they were home all day they would have been gone in a day LOL
Laura says
This is the best banana loaf recipe I’ve found. It’s easy and delicious! I have to stop myself from eating the uncooked mixture.
Rupa says
I made this yesterday (modified a bit), and it turned out great! Here are my modifications:
*Replaced half the bananas with finely shredded zucchini
*Halved the sugar (I used white sugar, because that’s all I had)
*Replaced half the AP flour with whole wheat flour
*Added 1/2 cup of raisins
*Baked in a 8×8 square pan until fork came out clean (~35-40 min). The bread rose to a level I’d expect, but didn’t overflow like some folks experienced.
The level of sweetness was perfect for our family, and tasted plenty sweet to me. Next time, I’ll try reducing the oil a bit (seemed like a lot for the amount of bread made). A wonderful, hearty breakfast bread!
Amanda Ortiz says
Is it possible to leave the brown sugar out completely or sub it for a half cup of honey?? I always sub oat or almond flour so im familiar with the difference in that ratio. I also typically use honey or no sugar in my recipes.
Deborah says
I have not tried this recipe subbing the sugar for honey, so I’m afraid I couldn’t say if it would work or not. Sorry!
areN says
I’ve got a hands on at this recipe and it comes out stunning! I substituted most of the ingredients with what are restricted to my health and then tried to experiment too at the same time… I need to reduced the sugar measurement into a quarter…I’ve experimented the milk into a half a greek yogurt of it’s amount…got used half of melted butter and half corn oil in the measurement given…I’ve reduced banana into 1 1/2 cup or 3 pieces large sizes…I’ve omitted the nutmeg and replaced 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract…i made the rolled oats into 1 1/4 cup…I’ve poured it into a muffin trays and filled up 1 dozen (12 pcs.), topped it with sliced cashew nuts (but next time I’m planning to put a chunky peanut butter filling), then i baked it for 50 minutes only @ 180°C…
The result is satisfying though it’s a lil’ too dense (maybe because of the yogurt)… this type of muffins can last for 5 days without refrigeration…
Thanks for this key recipe…I’ll keep this on my treasure book…Honestly, kitchen is just another place to discover great wonders so adding up extra adventures in any recipe is a bliss… it’s always a trial and error, there’s no actual room for a mistake for those who never gives up…🤗
Marian Beshara says
The best recipe!
I substituted 1 whole wheat flour cup for 1 cup quick oats. Added chia seeds & 1 cup of walnuts.
Cooked for 1 hr 15 mins.
Been making it regularly now. Thanks alot.
Deborah says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Anjel says
Split the batter in two pans and you’re set! I added some brown sugar and oats to garnish. Lovely bread!
Jessica Jo says
I made this bread today… but I adapted it to be gluten free and vegan… and it turned out amazing!!! I used GF oats, GF baking flour, agave syrup instead of brown sugar just because I didn’t have any on hand, egg replacement powder stuff, and water instead of milk since I didn’t have any nut milk on hand (I only used 1/4 cup to compensate for the agave adding a bit of liquid!) It’s sooo yummy and although I’m sure different from the original recipe, I had to tell you how well it was able to be adjusted to fit my dietary restrictions! I will absolutely be making it again!
Pat says
I made this today and the only change I made was to bake the batter in two greased and floured 4×8 loaf pans for one hour (turning the pans halfway through the baking time). Perfectly baked. A very good recipe. Thank you!
Terri says
I made this last night and it turned out fine. I didn’t make any substitutions. The dough did rise out of the top of the pan and mushroomed a bit but it was delicious. It just wasn’t a “pretty” loaf for giving. I made it for my kids to eat at breakfast and they loved it.
Theresa says
Can you sub in Oat flour for the AP flour?
Deborah says
I’m afraid that I don’t know much about oat flour, so I couldn’t say one way or another. Sorry!
Dona says
I did not add the baking soda coz I didn’t have any. Turned out fine. I baked in a lined 7×7 pan. Would reduce the sugar a little bit next time. Nice and easy recipe
Jessica says
Is 1 tablespoon baking powder correct?
Deborah says
Yep!
Sabrina says
I follow the exactly instruction, mine came out very wet and supper sweet. Very disappointed
Deborah says
I’m so sorry it didn’t turn out well for you. I’m not sure why it was wet – hopefully the next one will turn out better for you!
Mack says
I followed the recipe but it needs more than an hour of cooking. Took closer to 1.5 hours to cook completely after I added the foil halfway. It slowed down the cooking on the bottom.
Crystal | Beat Bake Eat says
This looks so delicious!
Katrina says
Hello,
I just made this recipe, following it exactly step by step. My loaf has expanded well out of the loaf pan, and made a giant mess. It’s also still pretty jiggly in the middle (going on 75 minutes in the oven). I have no idea what happened.
I was just going over the recipe again, and was wondering if 1 tablespoon of baking powder is correct? I thought that seemed like a lot when I was adding my dry ingredients together, but now I’m wonder if that’s what went wrong.
catherine spychal says
should be 1tsp of baking soda – realised it was an error and my bread has turned out really well, pretty much to the recipe at 180 degrees centigrade for 55mins
Deborah says
The measurements are correct, but it if worked well with 1 teaspoon that’s great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!