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.
Jko says
Really gummy. I followed the recipe cooked it for 1 hour 20min. The flavors were good but the texture was off.
Jessica Reddington says
Great recipe! I followed it as directed and it made 20 muffins. Baked at 350 for 20 minutes.
Catherine says
Great recipe! I had to use GF flour (store bought premix one) as I ran out of wheat flour and it worked really well
Dolores Turnwall says
l love banana bread and will definitely try this recipe. I may add some nuts.
Celia says
Hearty. Moist! Delicious! I love this, doubled it first time I made it. Thank u!!!
Jennifer Hamilton says
It tasted so bitter 😞 and I followed the recipe exactly. Personally I think it was probably the vegetable oil and the amount of baking powder. I think butter or margarine would have worked better in place of the oil… and only a tsp of baking powder
Neil Logan says
Very good recipe. I only had three super ripe bananas. I added some chopped dates and chopped pecans. I substituted vegetable oil with coconut oil and I substituted regular milk with almond milk. I needed to bake an extra 20 minutes (a total of 80 minutes) to get the center fully done. It holds together well. Not too sweet. Very tasty and filling. Thanks.
Lemar says
Delicious! I didn’t have brown sugar so I substituted it with just sugar, used one cup all purpose flour and one cup whole wheat, halved the oil and only one teaspoon baking powder. It came out great and cooked in 50 minutes. Really delish breakfast! Thank you!
Leesa says
I subbed gluten free flour for the all purpose flour and used certified gf oats, and this was the best gf banana bread I’ve ever made!
Diane Merritts says
Hi,
I have been looking for a banana bread recipe that I can make for breakfast. This one comes very close. However, I changed it a little to make it healthier (in my view). I changed the brown sugar to 2/3 cup and added in 1/3 cup molasses. I used water instead of milk and I used whole wheat flour instead of white. I had to bake it a little longer, about another 10 minutes.
Super good! Thanks for all your testing.
Sam says
Delicious. Worked perfect substituting plain flour and baking powder for Self raising flour and putting the oven on 160degrees celcius for about 50mintues
Jeanette says
The result turned out great! My substitutions:
1. Used while wheat flour
2. Added a cup of chopped walnuts
3. Added half a cup of flaxseed
4. After pouring it into the prepared, lined pans, sprinkled the top with rolled oats.
Mary L says
This is my favorite banana bread. I made muffins this time. I baked at 375 for about 22 minutes, making 2 dozen.
Alexis says
Made this twice now and it turned out great both times! I think people had issues because their loaf pan wasn’t big enough. The first time I made it at my sister’s and it fit in her bigger loaf pan, but at home I had enough extra to make 6 muffins as well. Loaf pans are a bit weird because the internal volumes can vary a lot even if they say they’re 9×5. Just remember never to fill your loaf pan more than 3/4 full! This recipe makes great muffins and bread, no alterations needed.
Anna says
I made this into muffins and it was awesome! I only had 3 bananas and so I added 1/2 cup applesauce and doubled the baking soda. Preheated to 415 then put them in and turned down to 375. About 20 min later they were perfect!!!! Thank you
Susan says
After reading all the other comments I chose to double the recipe and use just one tablespoon of baking powder. I only had enough bananas for three cups of mashed instead of four (for the double recipe). I used a double portion of each of the other ingredients, baked them in three 9×5 loaf pans. They are perfect and wonderful. Great consistency and flavor.