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Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups

How are you doing with those new year’s resolutions?

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups presented in a stack on a plate from themerchantbaker.com

For those of you who have resolved to eat a good healthy breakfast each day, here’s an idea for you…Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups! Remember that Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal recipe I shared last year?

Well, this is another version of that, but this one is banana and it comes in a cute little cup form.

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cup leaning on another on a plate from themerchantbaker.com

Call it portion control or grab and go; cups work so well for this recipe. While they are not muffins per se, they sort of look like a cross between a muffin and a chocolate chip oatmeal cookie.

My kids love muffins and chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and that just leads to loving these as well.

Raw Baked Banana Oatmeal Cup batter in a cupcake tin ready to be baked from themerchantbaker.com

My son is all about having “real” food for breakfast. I’ve talked about it before, but he is just not down with having cereal or oatmeal for the first meal of the day. As he’s gotten older, the groans have gotten quieter, but I can always see the disappointment in his face if breakfast isn’t what he was hoping for.

Part of it is that I’ve spoiled my kids with hot healthy breakfasts and part of it is that I hit the wall on eating cold cereal for breakfast before they were born. So I didn’t serve it often. They grew up eating hot healthy breakfasts instead. Sometimes I treat them with splurgey choices, but most days, there’s a lean protein and whole grain carb on the table each morning.

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups fresh out of the oven in a cupcake tin from themerchantbaker.com

My daughter will happily eat both hot and cold cereals, but I prefer it when we eat the same breakfast. These cups work for everyone. They’re great for the oatmeal lovers like my daughter and me; we’ll eat oats any way I make them.

For my husband and son, who would prefer something other than oatmeal, these cups flirt with muffin-dom just enough to appeal to them.

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cup being taken out of a cupcake tin from themerchantbaker.com

Baking up some oatmeal is a much healthier option than opening up a sugar laden packet of flavored oatmeal; and because you can make it ahead, you won’t have to wait for the water to boil if you’re making the stove top version.

You can store these in the refrigerator and eat them cold, or heat them up in the microwave and eat them warm, as is, or just like oatmeal, with milk and toppings.

They are especially good warm because the mini chocolate chips get all melty and delicious. I think the flavor is best when they’re warm.

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups are a welcome option whether I serve them for breakfast or offer them up as an after school snack. That’s the great thing about baking up oatmeal in a muffin pan, it looks like a fun thing to eat.

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups being presented on a plate from themerchantbaker.com

When I have some ripe bananas hanging around, I might make Banana Bread Snack Cake or Whole Wheat Buttermilk Banana Nut Muffins. When I’m looking to get a head start on a warm, hearty, healthy breakfast option, I make Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups.

Who knew oatmeal could be so cute? Okay, maybe cute isn’t the right word… but hey, I didn’t hear a groan or see a single disappointed face when I set these babies down on the table earlier this week #chocolatechipsforthewin

Eating a good healthy breakfast every day?

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups split open to show the inside texture from themerchantbaker.com

That’s one resolution that just got easier.

Check out the pumpkin spice version of this delicious baked oatmeal. In this recipe, I just baked it all in one pan!

An image showing pumpkin spice baked oatmeal from themerchantbaker.com
Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups

Yield: 12 "cups"

Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups. A hearty and healthy oatmeal that you can make ahead. Baked in individual cups so they're easy to grab and go!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup mashed ripe banana
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups milk, I used skim
  • 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper liners. (see notes below)
  2. In a large bowl combine oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.
  3. In a separate bowl whisk together mashed bananas, oil,eggs and vanilla until well combined. Whisk in milk.
  4. Pour milk mixture over oat mixture and stir well to combine. The batter is going to be very liquidy and appear like it's not holding together. It's not supposed to; just stir until everything is well combined. It's going to look very soupy.
  5. Use an ice cream scoop or a ladle to fill the prepared muffin cups all the way to the top. Try to insure each cup is filled pretty evenly with oats and liquid. You don't want to end up with a cup that is mostly liquid without a good amount of oats.
  6. Sprinkle the tops with chocolate chips and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until set and just lightly brown on the edges. (Baking time may be slightly longer if you use paper liners)
  7. If you didn't use liners, allow the cups to cool completely for easiest removal then reheat to serve warm. Or, if you used the liners, allow to set for about 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan.

Notes

*To store, allow to cool completely, then place in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, reheat in microwave. It took about 1 minute to heat up two cups in a 900 watt microwave oven.

*This recipe is lightly sweetened to allow for adjusting to individual tastes at serving. If you like a sweeter oatmeal, increase sugar to 1/4 cup, remembering you can always add more later. (The recipe, as written, is sweet enough for me and for my family, especially with the added natural sweetness of the banana)

*This recipe can also be baked in a 9" square pan that's been lightly greased or sprayed with cooking spray. Increase baking time to 30-35 minutes or until set. (Update 2-16-16, bake time was based on baking in my regular electric oven. I just made a pan and baked it in my convection oven, converted the temp down to 325 and they baked up in 25 minutes.)

*Update 4-23-16: A helpful reader mentioned that her cups baked up a little moister than she expected. After detailing how she made them, I suspect that it might be because she used paper liners. Paper liners act as insulation between the "batter" and the pan. The oatmeal will get more direct heat without the liners. They are a nice option for easy removal and easy clean up, and you can definitely still use them. Just know that your baking time may have to increase for them to set up properly.

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Dayna

Tuesday 25th of January 2022

Turned out great! I used chocolate chips in the mixture too just to make sure the kids will like and eat them, and they did! I only had half cup of milk so then I used whipping cream and water for the rest of the amount ;) and they turned out delicious! I also used quick oats. Thankyou for the perfect recipe :D

Ramona

Tuesday 25th of January 2022

You're so welcome, Dayna! Glad the kids loved them too!

Rachel

Saturday 24th of July 2021

I made the recipe as written just divided into 2 square nonstick dishes instead of cupcake pans. (I don't like cleaning cupcake pans) Made one with chopped pecans and blueberries on top, the other with mixed chocolate chips. I baked at 325 for 40 minutes.

Ramona

Monday 26th of July 2021

Hey Rachel, when I'm not making cups, I make a full pan of baked oatmeal. You can check out my Big Batch Baked Oatmeal for a great base recipe that you can customize however you wish. If you go to that post, you'll see that we have similar tastes in toppings :)

Bernadette

Wednesday 3rd of March 2021

Thank you for this recipe! I used 2 1/2 cup steel cut oats added 1/2 cup extra milk...after I blended everything all together let sit in the frig for 2 hours., so the steel cut oats could absorb some of the liquid. I cooked them at 330 degrees for 45 minutes and using big muffin tin. I read some tips on switching regular oats with steel cut . They turned out great, thank you

Ramona

Thursday 4th of March 2021

Hey, Bernadette! Thanks for sharing your tips. I love steel cut oats and have always wanted to adapt this recipe for them. I'm glad it worked so well :)

Laurie

Monday 7th of September 2020

Where can you see the nutrition information on these?

Ramona

Monday 7th of September 2020

Hi Laurie, I haven't calculated the nutrition, but there are many food calculators available on the internet that you can use. Here's one you can try to see if it gives you the information you need. https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076

Michelle

Sunday 26th of May 2019

I enjoyed them but the kids (ages 7-11) did not. They threw them in the garbage.

Ramona

Tuesday 28th of May 2019

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed them, Michelle, even though the kids did not. It's really just oatmeal, even though it looks like a muffin. They might have been expecting something else. Perhaps they would have enjoyed them better broken up in a bowl with additional sweetener and milk. Thanks for the feedback.

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