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.
Tamika says
I am going to try this recipe! Did you use whole oats or quick cooking oats? Light brown sugar or dark brown?
YG says
So tasty! I added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 2 tbls of peanut butter 🙂 made it super tasty
YG says
I substituted the oil w/ unsalted butter(melted) used 1/2 cup
marie says
That is a lot of sugar. Especially as those bananas are already pretty sweet. Four tsp sugar per slice!
Deborah says
Feel free to play around with the recipe to see if it would work with less sugar.
Liza says
This came out great! I was feeling like a Fall treat, so I tried this recipe with a few tweaks. I like a heartier bread, so I subbed a combo of oat flour, wheat flour and GF flour for the AP flour. (Just throw rolled oats in your coffee grounder >> oat flour!). I added a couple Tablespoons of ground flax seeds, too. I reduced the sugar to ¾ cup of turbinado because I don’t like to be overwhelmed with sweetness. I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract because I just like it. I didn’t have enough ripe bananas so I added some plain canned pumpkin. This recipe makes a LOT of batter so I filled the loaf pan ¾ of the way and poured the rest into 6 muffin cups. Put both pans in the oven and the muffins were done in 15 mins. The loaf was done in 50 mins. The result was exactly what I wanted: Semi-healthy and not-too-sweet breakfast bread. Perfect texture for dunking into my coffee.
Zahra says
I made it today and I love it… no spilling out of loaf pan. Moist in the mid. A bit over brown at the base. That’s my oven probably. But great.
Barbara says
I looked at several recipes for Banana Oatmeal Bread and decided to try this one!
In just one word: FABULOUS! The only (minor) adjustment I made to the recipe was substituting oat milk for 2% milk and doubling the amount of cinnamon from 1/2 to 1 tsp. I greased a Pyrex 9×5 loaf pan and placed nonstick sprayed parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. I placed the loaf pan on a cookie sheet because the batter was filled to the top of the pan and it did spill over a little bit. I didn’t find it necesarry to put aluminum foil over the top and the top of the bread cooked to a beautiful golden brown after one hour and 15 minutes. Thanks for sharing this terrific recipe!
Teresa S says
We loved this recipe! As part of #plasticfreejuly, I was looking for an alternate to packaged granola bars that was easy to make. This fit the bill and the whole family love it! I will try a version with less sugar though, as I like a bit less sweetness, and the extra bananas we might not need all the sugar.
Neha says
The cake turned out to be wonderful! Thanks for the recipe!
Just that some of the oats did not cook and were left hard and clunky. Can I use coarsely powdered oats instead? And will that change anything else in the recipe or process?
Larissa says
Made this today and my whole family loved it! Followed the instructions exactly and the banana bread was moist, with just enough of the cinnamon taste and an amazing banana flavor. Highly recommend and it’s not difficult at all to make. I made two banana bread recipes the same night and this one was by far the winner!
LionnessK says
Recipe came out beautifully.
However, my observations from comments made are:
Persons overfill the pans, should only be 2/3 full.
People must use accurate measurements.
Ovens work differently because sometimes the thermostat needs calibrating, you have to know how your oven works.
Darker, coated pans cause cakes to brown faster so you will have to adjust the temperature.
I will recommend this recipe to my students.
PGJU says
I made this the first time around exactly as described because I am new to baking. It came out perfectly. I would like to add in carrots and applesauce next time. Do any experts have advice for me on what to use as far as measurement skills go to add these ingredients and what else I would need to reduce to make it turn out just as well? I can wing it, but I have read that winging it in baking is not a great idea. I really love this recipe and I am so grateful it was so easy for a novice like me!
Lindsay says
Delicious!
Cat B says
I made this over the weekend and it turned out beautifully! I reduced the over temperature to 325, as I was using a non-stick, black-coated pan. I would suggest adding 5 more minutes to the bake-time, just to ensure that the very center gets done. Other than that, it’s perfection! I may not want to make it any other way now!
Deborah says
I’m so glad you loved it!
McKenzie Baty says
I also veganized this recipe and made a few substitutions. Flax eggs and almond milk. Also applesauce for the oil and ww flour for the ap flour, and I halved the sugar. Then, because I am a nutty nut, I added walnuts. I absolutely loved it.
Jody White says
This bread was GREAT! I followed the instructions as given with 2 small modifications – I didn’t measure the bananas… just mashed up 4 whole bananas; and I added one spoon of sour cream for added moisture. It turned out perfect – nice and hearty. It look a little over an hour to bake in my oven, but was well worth the wait. I’m loving it plain or with a little bit of peanut butter spread on it! Thanks for the recipe!
Pam says
The best!! This is the banana bread recipe I have been searching for… it has the perfect texture and not overly sweet. Thank you!