Banana Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal {Gluten-Free + Vegan}
This quick and easy Banana Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal will keep you fueled and full of energy throughout the day. It can easily be made ahead for a quick take-and-go breakfast option.
How many of you are sticking to your New Year’s diet? It’s a good thing I didn’t resolve to stick to a regimented diet. Elimination and starvation never goes over well with me. As soon as you tell me I can’t have something, I almost alway want whatever it is I’m told I can’t have.
I’m not all that different from a 2-year old when it comes to dieting. In order to avoid temper tantrums, I avoid the subject altogether. It’s the right thing to do.
Instead, I go with a more manageable and realistic approach: I eat real food. Real, good-for-your-body food. I take the everything-in-moderation approach rather than the you can’t-eat-shit approach. In other words, if I want a mini Reese’s cup, I’m going to eat a mini Reese’s cup, and I’m going to savor the flavor of sweet peanut butter coated in milk chocolate and not feel a damn bit guilty about it.
You know what I don’t feel guilty about…this Banana Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal. It’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup and the two half dead bananas that were rotting away on my counter. Brown bananas are so gross but great for baking. I won’t peel and eat a super soft brown banana, but I will make things like Banana Muffins with Walnut Streusel and Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Cookies.
My great grandmother loved squishy, over-ripe bananas. She would wait until the peel was completely brown and the inside was mushy. The mere thought makes me gag. She would have loved this oatmeal.
While I won’t pick up a banana and eat it on its own, I will stir them into oatmeal. I love that this recipe can be made in advance for an easy on-the-go breakfast option. You can even divide the oatmeal into individual jars to make mornings even easier.
I like to top this Banana Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal with toasted coconut flakes, sliced bananas, toasted pecans, and an extra drizzle of maple syrup. While, technically, this isn’t banana bread, it sure does taste extremely similar, only so much healthier.
Banana Bread Steel Cut Oatmeal
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 3 cups water
- 2 and 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1 and 1/2 cups steel-cut oats, gluten-free
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon grated nutmeg
Toppings
- Toasted pecans, chopped
- Toasted coconut flakes, preferably unsweetened
- Banana slices
- Maple syrup
Instructions
- Bring water and almond milk to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- Add the salt and oats to the pot; stir to combine. Turn the heat down to medium-low and allow the oats to cook until tender, about 25-30 minutes.
- Once the mixture has thickened and the oats are tender, take the pot off the heat and stir in the mashed banana, vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, maple syrup, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Serve immediately topped with toasted pecans, banana slices, toasted coconut flakes, and a drizzle of maple syrup (optional).
- If you're making the oatmeal in advance for an easy take-and-go breakfast option, divide 1-cup servings into separate airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Top with the recommend toppings the morning you're going to serve.
Notes
- If you don't have vanilla bean paste, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- This recipe will work with regular steel-cut oats as well.
