Caramelised banana bread overnight oats

Easy overnight oats recipe

If you’re keen to prep a delicious brekkie ahead of time and have one less thing on your morning to-do list, then you’ll want to learn how to make overnight oats. Creamy, softened oats flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon, sweetened with fruit and sprinkled with crunchy granola and nuts - it’s a luxurious breakfast you can have any day of the week if you make a batch on the weekend. And making it takes next to no time. We’ll show you how to make good overnight oats with a banana bread twist, guaranteed to become a regular in your kitchen.

But first, what exactly are overnight oats? The idea comes from Bircher muesli, which was first created in the early 1900s by Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner as a dietary meal filled with muesli, fruit and nuts. Oats are soaked in milk and yoghurt overnight so they’re softened and hydrated. The result is creamy, and when combined with toppings such as stewed or caramelised fruit and crunchy nuts and granola, it’s a hearty breakfast that’s good for you. It’s full of fibre and protein, making it a satisfying start to your day.

Our recipe is big on bananas and offers 3 tasty ways of enjoying the sweetness in the one dish - mixed in with the milk and yoghurt to soak the oats, in banana bread granola as well as caramelised.

Ingredients for simple overnight oats

The best overnight oats recipe starts with good-quality oats - 1½ cups (135g) of rolled oats will make 4 serves. To soak the oats you’ll need 1 cup (280g) vanilla yoghurt (you could also use natural or Greek-style yoghurt but using vanilla yoghurt adds extra flavour to the oats), ¾ cup (185ml) almond or soy milk and 2 small ripe bananas that have been mashed (for a sweet creamy hit) and ½ tsp ground cinnamon.

For the banana bread granola, you’ll need 2 cups (220g) of natural muesli, 1 small mashed banana, ¼ cup (60ml) honey or maple syrup and 50g of melted butter.

And then, of course, the caramelised banana is sliced and cooked in butter to make a garnish to top the lot. You’ll need some extra vanilla yoghurt, honey and pistachios to serve.

How to make overnight oats

Basic overnight oats start with combining the oats, yoghurt and milk in a bowl. For this recipe, add the mashed banana and cinnamon to the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to soak overnight in the fridge.

Meanwhile, to make the sweet and crunchy banana bread granola, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a roasting pan with baking paper. In a large bowl, combine the muesli, banana, honey or maple syrup and butter. Spread the mixture over the lined roasting pan and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, for 30 minutes or until golden brown and caramelised. Set aside to cool completely.

Then make your caramelised banana by melting the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the banana slices and cook, turning, for 1-2 minutes or until caramelised.

When you’re ready to serve, place some oats in a serving bowl and top with extra vanilla yoghurt and caramelised banana. Sprinkle with pistachio for crunch and savouriness and 2 tbs of the banana bread granola for more crunch and sweetness. Drizzle with honey and enjoy.

Now get cooking

That’s not all - we’ve got more tasty overnight oats recipes for you to try, starting with this berry good raspberry chia version. Adding peanut butter to overnight oats is a game-changer. Check out this peanut butter and raspberry recipe to see what we mean. And you’ll definitely jump out of bed for a bowlful of these blueberry and poppy-seed overnight oats. And try this make-ahead porridge for another tasty and easy breakfast.