As I was editing all of the recipes for 55 Knives, there were a bunch that caught my eye, but this was one that is so simple and yet so delicious that I just had to share it with everyone even if you didn’t buy the book.
Normally, when I make oatmeal I add in lots of butter, brown sugar, and other healthy stuff. It’s delicious but also kind of weighty if you know what I mean. Of course, it’s possible to make oatmeal in an extremely healthy way also, I just tend toward the other end of the spectrum when I do it.
I love this version of oatmeal because it tastes much more decadent than it actually is. It’s healthy. It’s really flavorful and, as with any oatmeal, you can pile on toppings and customize it to your liking!
I learned this recipe from, hands down, the expert on everything oatmeal-related, Kath from Kath Eats. She’s been writing her site for years and it’s really an awesome resource if you need some great ideas for meals. I especially go to it first when I’m looking for a delicious oatmeal situation. I mean… just check out her Tribute to Oatmeal!
Ok. Let’s make it.
Banana Whipped Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 Cup rolled oats
- 1 Cup lowfat or skim milk
- 1 Cup water
- 1 large very ripe banana
- Pinch of kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- Toppings: Any dried fruits, any nuts, brown sugar, any nut butter at all, go crazy.
Instructions
- Get the milk and water simmering over medium heat in a small saucepan.
- Slice the banana thin and add the banana and oats to the pan.
- As the oatmeal cooks, whisk like crazy to mix the banana in with the oatmeal. The banana should disappear. Add a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla at this point.
- After about 7-8 minutes, the water should be evaporated. Add the dried fruit about a minute before the oats are done.
- Serve immediately and top with whatever toppings you choose!
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
The basics for this dish are pretty standard.
Before you start cooking, think about your add-ins and toppings also. Just because you want to serve the oatmeal as soon as possible and you don’t want to be fiddling with this stuff.
For this version, I went with some dried cherries, pumpkins seeds, brown sugar, and almond butter. I literally just used stuff I had left over in my pantry. This recipe is a great use of leftover nuts and stuff that you have.
They only thing I would say is don’t use instant oats. You want something with some weight to them to absorb some of the banana mush. I use normal rolled oats and they work fantastically.
As far as the banana goes, the riper the better in my book. I like mine to be right on the borderline between getting mushy. It should smell really ripe!
Chop it up into pretty thin slices which will help with the whipping part.
Add your milk and water to a medium saucepan and and get it going over medium-high heat. When it’s just starting to simmer, add your oats and also the banana slices.
Then get out your favorite whisk (What? You don’t have more than one whisk?) Just start whisking like crazy. As the oatmeal cooks, the banana will whip up into almost a creamy consistency and basically disappear. It’ll start smelling really good.
Add your dash of vanilla and pinch of salt now!
After about 7-8 minutes, all the liquid should be absorbed. I also added in my dried cherries about a minute before the oatmeal was done so they would plump up a bit and get hot. I also added a pinch of brown sugar because I’m crazy like that.
The final product was really creamy and delicious.
Divide the oatmeal evenly between two bowls, top with your desired toppings, and serve. I’m telling you that if you make this for someone and don’t mention that you did the banana thing, they’ll be blown away by the taste and while it’s really creamy and a bit sweet, it’s actually hard to identify the exact flavor.
It’s a really awesome breakfast.
There are literally thousands of variations you could make on this dish and trust me… once you make it, you’ll want to try all of them.
Start to finish this probably takes 15 minutes to cook and it’ll kick your day off right!
Mark
Hi Nick!
This recipe really, really appealed to me this morning — so I ran out and picked up a couple of bananas and tossed in some diced green apple, brown sugar, cinnamon and a few peanut butter chips I had left over in the pantry.
Please forgive the heathen that I am, but this lacked the natural sweetness that I was really hoping for. I had to toss in too many dashes of brown sugar to get it where I wanted it; I'm sure some of this had to do with the fact that the bananas were not very over-ripe, but I was still disappointed. It's possible that it's just me; I've never been a huge fan of oatmeal but this looked far to good and wholesome to pass up!
Nick
Hmm… I think the ripeness factor is definitely an issue. Ripe bananas are a lot sweeter than unripe bananas.
Brown sugar fixes everything though ;)
Kath
Mark,
You gotta use a really ripe banana – brown spots required!
Sheila Viers | Live
Isn't Kath great?! Last year her banana oatmeal recipe inspired me to do a 30-Day (+) Oatmeal Challenge, where I made a different oatmeal recipe every single day. Super fun!
My favorites were carrot cake with cream cheese "frosting" and tiramisu. Here's the link if you want to check it out: http://bit.ly/30day-oats
Jason Sandeman
Alas, Oatmeal is no longer in my future. I did eat a fair bit of it though, and I have a tip for those of you who cannot eat your bananas fast enough. I peel them, throw them into a yogurt container, and then when it came time to make my oatmeal, I would just cut off the amount I needed for the recipe. I got a super ripe banana every single day.
Also, imagination is the key. Ground flax seed, wheat germ, nutella, peanuts, 90% chocolate and sun-dried cranberries were some of my favorites!
Kath
Glad you like it Nick!!
Rebecca S.
Wow! Yum! I made it this morning for breakfast and ended up having the other serving for lunch. I actually had the same ingredients that you had so I added almond butter, dried cherries and some brown sugar. So good!
Gretchen
I read Kath almost daily, and I love the recipes for oatmeal (and just about everything else!)… that's actually how I came across this post. My favorite hands down is the pumpkin oatmeal. Many times I use steel cut oats and mix all of my ingredients together the night before and set in the fridge. I also use a rice cooker so I can have it going while I get ready in the mornings. I just stir it a few times and let the cooker do it's thing. I now eat oatmeal most every morning… it's soooo good!
olive
This looks like a great camping breakfast! rolled oats are light enough to carry, some powdered milk, bananas, toss in your trail mix, and voila! I'll be sure to try it out on the trail and let you know how it goes.
janet
I loved this healthy variation on oatmeal. thanks so much for sharing. :)
I wrote about it here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/whippe…
Karen
I have to pack my sons breakfast for him each morning and was wondering if this can be made the night before and eaten the next morning? Also, can this be frozen? BTW, this is the first time I've visited your site and I LOVE all your recipes! Can't wait to start cooking tonight! :)
Nick
So the thing about oatmeal is that it's really the best right away. I would say that you could keep it in the fridge for a night without a problem, but cold oatmeal isn't really the tastiest thing on the planet. If he has access to a microwave he could nuke it for a minute though without a problem probably.
I think I wouldn't bother freezing it. By the time you de-thaw it, reheat, etc, you could've just made a fresh batch. I think freezing it, you would see a pretty big drop in quality also.