Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal

I have a special place for quick breads like banana bread. Rarely has a recipe let me know and they're always well received by others. This combines my usual breakfast with one of my favorite quick breads.

I lightly topped each square with peanut butter

I wanted to switch up our routine and make baked oatmeal instead of my usual big pot of oats. I had made a batch of sweet potato pecan baked oatmeal but it turned out a little too savory for what I wanted. DH voted on this variation next. I won't be making this on a regular basis (there's something comforting about only really needing oats and liquid, although I add chia, cinnamon, and ginger.) This is a middle ground between healthy and dessert.


You can definitely play around this recipe. I used a whole bunch of bananas because our freezer is over-flowing with soup and green beans (Olive has been on a diet for most of the year, green beans fill out her meals without adding too much calorie density.) Most standard recipes call for 3 very ripe bananas, so somewhere in-between my 8 and the standard 3 should be good. I've given other suggestions for alterations at the bottom. Alternatively, add more fruit, different fruit, swap out mashed bananas for applesauce and add more dominate fruit in - blueberries? strawberries? mango?

You Need:
2.25 T ground flax
578g/ ~4 cups coconut milk, unsweetened
204 g / 1 cup steel cut oats
140 g/ 2 cups old fashioned oats
2 g/ 1/4 t xanthum gum
26 g/ 4 T hemp seed
4 g/ 1 t baking powder
4 oz dark chocolate, chunked or chips (optional)
40 g/ 7 T walnuts, toasted and chopped
4 g/ 1 T cinnamon
1 g/ 1 t ginger, dried or grated
1/2 t nutmeg, ground
1 pinch salt
38 g/ 1/2 cup peanut flour
2 g/ 1 t vanilla extract
8 RIPE bananas, mashed
60 g / 1/4 cup maple syrup (optional)

1. Mix the ground flax with 16 g/6 T milk, let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine dry ingredients
3. Add the wet ingredients, mix thoroughly
4. Pour into greased casserole, place casserole on a baking sheet.
5. Bake until set, about an hour (
6. Let cool before cutting.

Options and Alterations:
- I like the texture of a mixture of steel cut and old fashioned, if using just steel cut, I would let the mixture sit overnight before baking and if using just old fashioned I would cut back on the liquid but about 1/2 cup, maybe more.
- I wanted a subtle peanut flavor but if you want a serious peanut butter and chocolate bread, then increase it by 1/4-1/2 cup, keeping an eye on how liquid-y the batter is (it should be like loose cement.)
- This originally included rum extract but I don't think it was really necessary and just competed with the other flavors, if you do want to add a bit, add no more 1/2 teaspoon.
- Walnuts could probably be increased unless you are like DH and dislike too much nuts in your baked goods (unless it's your birthday cake of course.) Any nut would really okay here, macadamia nut would be really nice.
- Some people like coconut flakes in their banana bread, throw some toasted flakes in if it floats your boat, I'm personally not a fan. It's a texture thing.
- I like adding protein to my breakfasts so I did include peanut flour for flavor and protein and hemp seeds for an extra bump. If you want to substitute peanut flour and hemp seed with a flavored protein powder, it might work but I don't guarantee it.