Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Baked Oatmeal
Baked oatmeal is a make-ahead breakfast from the American Midwest, and soaking it overnight before baking is a small change that makes a real difference: the oats hydrate fully in the cold soy milk overnight, so the finished bake is creamy at the center instead of dry, and all that is left in the morning is to slide it into the oven. Peanut butter and banana are a pairing that needs no introduction, and here they do double duty as the fat and the sweetener, with a few dates backing up the sweetness and ground flaxseed standing in for the egg that would otherwise hold it together. Raisins add pockets of concentrated sweetness through the bake. Cut it into squares and it keeps in the fridge for the week, good warm or cold.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rolled oats
- 2 cups Unsweetened soy milk
- 3 Bananas, 2 mashed for the batter, 1 sliced for topping
- 1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter
- 2 tbsp Ground flaxseed
- 3 Medjool dates, pitted, chopped
- 1/2 cup Raisins
- 1 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
Method
- Whisk the ground flaxseed with 6 tbsp (90 ml) water in a large bowl and let it sit 10 minutes until thick and gluey. This is the egg of the dish: the gel that holds the bake together once it sets.
- Mash 2 of the bananas well and whisk them into the flax gel along with the soy milk, peanut butter, chopped dates, and cinnamon until smooth. Peanut butter, banana, and dates do the three jobs an egg-and-butter bake usually needs help with: richness, binding, and sweetness.
- Stir in the oats and raisins until every oat is coated. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours. The cold soak lets the oats fully hydrate before they see the oven, which is what keeps an overnight bake creamy at the center instead of turning dry the way a same-day version can.
- In the morning, heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Pour the soaked mixture into a baking dish, smooth the top, and shingle the remaining sliced banana over it.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until set and firm at the center and the banana on top has browned in spots. Let it cool at least 10 minutes before cutting, since the set firms up as it cools.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 300 calories, 9 g protein, 7 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
