I really can’t get enough of baked oatmeal. It’s great for meal prepping my breakfast, it’s hearty, delicious, and there are endless flavor possibilities. This time I made use of a couple ingredients that have been lingering in my kitchen: frozen bananas and unsweetened shredded coconut. I tossed the two together with the usual ingredients, subbed rich coconut milk for the dairy milk, and ended up with an ultra rich, lightly sweet Banana Coconut Baked Oatmeal. This one is a winner, friends!
What Is Baked Oatmeal?
If you’ve never tried baked oatmeal before, let me explain a little bit what this wonderful breakfast dish is like. This sweet breakfast casserole is not crunchy. It’s basically oats baked in a custard. It is just like bread pudding, except you’re baking oats in the sweet custard mixture instead of chunks of bread. It’s soft, moist, and rich.
Save Those Leftover Bananas!
Banana bread is the most common use for leftover bananas, but they’re also great for making baked oatmeal! Mashed banana keeps the baked oatmeal soft, moist, and sweet. So, anytime you have leftover bananas, go ahead and peel them and then toss the peeled bananas into a freezer bag and save them until you have enough to make a batch of this banana coconut baked oatmeal (or banana bread baked oatmeal).
What Kind of Coconut Milk is Best?
Make sure that you get canned coconut milk for this recipe, not the type of coconut milk that is sold in a carton as an alternative to dairy milk. Canned coconut milk is much thicker and has a much stronger coconut flavor than the boxed dairy milk substitute. I used Goya brand, but Thai Kitchen brand is also a great choice. If the coconut milk you buy has a large chunk of solid coconut cream on top, make sure to whisk that into the liquid part well before trying to stir it into the baked oatmeal mixture.
Banana Coconut Baked Oatmeal
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1.5 cups mashed ripe bananas* ($0.68)
- 1 large egg ($0.27)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.08)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla ($0.14)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.03)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut ($0.31)
- 1 13.5oz. can coconut milk ($2.17)
- 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats ($0.51)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Coat the inside of a 2-3 quart casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, baking powder, salt, and shredded coconut until evenly combined. Add the coconut milk and whisk until smooth again. Add the rolled oats and stir with a spoon until combined.
- Pour the oat mixture into the prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerate until ready to eat. Pairs well with cold milk poured over top.
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Notes
Nutrition
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Banana Coconut Baked Oatmeal – Step by Step Photos
These are my sad frozen bananas that were getting a bit old. To freeze them I first peel the banana, break it in half (because it fits in the blender easier that way), wrap each half in a fold-top sandwich bag, then store them all in a freezer bag. These were getting quite brown, so I decided to thaw them and use them in this recipe. You need about 1.5 cups mashed bananas, which will be 2-3 larger bananas, or 3-4 smaller bananas. If you have slightly less than 1.5 cups, you can make up the difference with apple sauce or even yogurt.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Place the mashed bananas in a large bowl along with one large egg, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk until the ingredients are evenly combined.
Add one 13.5oz. can of coconut milk and whisk again until smooth.
At that point it will look a little something like this. The color will depend on how dark your bananas were (mine were quite dark).
Add three cups of old-fashioned rolled oats and stir with a spoon until everything is evenly combined. Old-fashioned, or “thick” rolled oats, give the best texture. Quick oats will work, but the overall texture of the final product will be uniform and probably quite a bit more mushy. Steel cut oats won’t work with this recipe because they take longer to cook and require more moisture.
Pour the batter into a 2-3 quart casserole dish (coat with non-stick spray for easy cleanup).
Bake the oatmeal in the fully preheated oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes it should be lightly browned on top and slightly spongy in texture.
Spoon the warm Banana Coconut Baked Oatmeal into bowls and serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to eat. I like to pour cold milk over mine. :)
The shredded coconut gives the oatmeal such a great texture!
I freaking love all Beth’s baked oatmeal recipes. My big change is I make them all in muffin tins. Perfect for freezing and portioning.
Love these oats they are so tasty! I’m having to cut eggs out of my diet – any suggestions on how I could make these egg free?
I’ve had success using flaxseed in place of eggs for baking recipes. For one egg substitute, mix 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal with 2 1/2 tbsp water. Stir and let rest for 5 minutes to thicken. Then add it to your oats just as you would the egg :)
I have all of your baked oatmeals on rotation at our house and I have to say, this one is my absolute fave!!! So delicious. Thank you for all of your baked oatmeal recipes!!
Yum! I subbed a finely chopped pineapple for half the banana, and it tastes like a Pina colada in my breakfast bowl! ;) (I live in a tropical country right now, where pineapples cost about $1, so it’s still a budget byte!!) Thanks for the great recipe.
Can leftovers be frozen?
Absolutely! Just make sure to freeze them in portions, as you should only thaw them out once. XOXO -Monti
This turned out delicious! I was a little skeptical after trying it right out of the oven because the texture was different than expected, but the next morning it had cooled and was TO DIE FOR! It has become not only a tasty breakfast I paired with fruit and Greek yogurt, but also a healthy dessert when I want something lighter and slightly sweet.
Can you substitute regular dairy milk for the coconut milk? Just a matter of availability.
Yes. :) The oatmeal will have less coconut flavor, but it will work.
Seriously so delicious!!! I added dark chocolate and pecans I had on hand because why not and it turned out wonderful!!!
I was skeptical, but I see why this has a perfect 5 star score. It is FREAKING DELICIOUS. I used sweetened coconut because that’s all I had, and baked for an extra 5 min since my dish was kind of deep. Served warm with almond milk– so. good.
My kitchen smells like an island vacation! Delicious. Although I usually follow recipes exactly as written, this website has gotten me more comfortable in using ingredients I already have in the pantry and fridge. I wanted to use my staples and also make the recipe lighter. I had great results using almond/coconut milk in the carton, and sweetened coconut. I used the exact quantites of my substitutions. If you follow WW, one serving is about 7 points.
Holy mother of oatmeal batman! This baked oatmeal is fantastic. I made a few changes to the recipe you might want to consider:
-replaced 2 TBSP of brown sugar with an extra 1/2 cup of mashed banana (same sweetness, more fiber)
-swapped 1/4 tsp of nutmeg for 1/4 tsp of cinnamon (I love cinnamon in baked goods)
-reduced shredded coconut to 1/4 cup (I love the added punch of coconut flavor, but I’m not as keen on the texture)
-used quick oats in place of rolled oats (I prefer a smoother texture)
-reduced amount of oats to 2 cups (quick oats tend to absorb liquid more quickly)
-baked in an 8×8 baking pan in an oven set to 375 for 35 minutes (compared to my previous attempt at 45 minutes, reducing the baking time locked-in more moisture)
The final product is luscious, creamy baked oatmeal—like banana bread that keeps you full past breakfast and holds up to a spoon. I served it with a few blueberries spattered over the top and a drizzle of cream. Insanely delicious.
Whether you make your own changes/additions or not, give this recipe a go! I promise you, you won’t regret it.
could this gi in a crock pot overnight?
I’ve never tried that, so I’m not sure how that method would work.
hi, your recipes are a lifesaver, thank you! I would love you even more if you were a little more environmentally conscious and invest once in reusable zip lock baggies rather than the disposabe ones. It would save you $ in the long run.
My whole family loved this! I used 1/4 cup pure maple syrup instead of brown sugar because that is what I had available. Will definitely make again.
This was my first foray into baked oatmeal, and it was so good! Just the right amount of sweetness, and a great texture. I now look forward to breakfast!