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These banana oatmeal cups are the perfect make-ahead breakfast, and they make for a great after school snack too. These low fat muffin cups are full of natural ingredients and are vegan and gluten-free. It’s so quick and easy to make a big batch to enjoy throughout the week.
What ingredients do you need for banana oatmeal cups?
- Old Fashioned Oats: If you have sensitivities to gluten, be sure that they are GF certified. Oats are incredibly nutritious and a great source of antioxidants.
- Baking Powder: A little baking powder helps to increase the volume of these oatmeal muffins and makes them lighter.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon adds a wonderful sweetness and flavor to these cups. If you don’t like cinnamon you can omit this.
- Vanilla Extract: If you can, use pure rather than imitation extract. It tastes so much better!
- Milk: I use almond milk to keep the recipe vegan, but you can use what you have. Use another plant based milk like oat or you can use dairy.
- Banana: The added banana helps to sweeten the cups but is also a great source of potassium and fiber, while helping to bind the mixture together.
- Maple Syrup: To keep these oatmeal cups vegan, I used maple syrup to sweeten them. If you are not vegan you can use honey if you prefer.
- Flaxseeds: Ground flaxseed mixed with liquid makes for a great vegan substitute for eggs to bind all of the ingredients together.
- Chocolate chips: These are optional, but I find the kids are much more likely to eat them!
How do you make oatmeal cups
Mix together all of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips) together in a large bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes before folding in the chocolate chips, if using.
Spoon the mixture into prepared muffin cups and bake until the edges are slightly brown. I always use parchment paper muffin cups because nothing sticks to them so they make clean up super easy.
The oatmeal cups don’t rise too much, so if you prefer bigger portions, you can fill 9 muffin cups of 12.
Tips for making oatmeal cups
- Allow the batter to set in order to activate the flaxseed. Flaxseed mixed with liquid creates a bind in vegan baking similar to eggs. Be sure to allow it time to activate before transferring to the muffin cups
- Use old-fashioned oats. These are the whole oat and will keep their shape when baked. Quick oats will soak up too much moisture and make the oatmeal cups dry.
- Use a ripe banana. Ripe bananas are naturally sweeter than unripe or just ripe. They also contain more antioxidants. If you have a banana that needs using up, this is a great recipe!
- Prepare your muffin tin before adding the batter. You can either spray the tin with oil or bake them in parchment paper muffin liners like I did. They will stick to the tin and will be really hard to remove if you don’t do this.
- Let the cups cool before enjoying them. When the banana oatmeal cups cool, they will firm up, when they first come out of the oven they will be too soft.
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- Make with Oath Overnight Oats: This is a brand I launched to create convenient packages of my oatmeal recipes. The Maple Roasted Almond overnight oats mix would make a great substitute for the rolled oats in this recipe.
- Add in some nuts. If you want to add some crunchiness to your muffins, try adding in some chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans.
- Top with almond butter. Smear on almond butter after baking for a creamy nutty addition. You could even top it with some chia seed jam or homemade Nutella!
Frequently asked questions
If you don’t have a muffin tin, you can bake the oatmeal in a casserole dish or sheet tray. Spread the mixture evenly and bake for around 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of your dish. You can then cut them into bars once they’ve cooled.
These healthy oatmeal cups are the perfect make ahead breakfast, they are so perfect for meal prep! Once they have cooled completely, store them in an airtight container and they will keep in the fridge for 5 days. Perfect to grab for breakfast on the go!
Yes, these oatmeal muffins freeze really well, I often make two batches when I make them! Let the cool and place them in a container with the layers separated by parchment. They will keep well for up to 3 months. Thaw them in the fridge overnight and you can warm them through in the oven or microwave.
These banana oatmeal cups are so simple and quick to make and make for the perfect portable breakfast or snack. They are great additions to lunchboxes and they are so yummy! Perfect meal prep for the week…if they last that long!
Be sure to check out these other recipes for healthy and easy breakfasts for kids!
More Oatmeal Recipes
- Baked Cranberry Pecan Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
- Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- How to Make Oatmeal
- Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Banana Oatmeal Cups recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then please come back to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Banana Oatmeal Cups
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups almond milk or other milk
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- ¼ cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin pan with nonstick spray or line it with parchment paper muffin cups.
- Place all the ingredients, except for the chocolate, together in a large bowl and mix to combine until well blended. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Then transfer batter into prepared muffin cups, filling all the way to the top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and top is set. If you notice the tops brown too quickly, tent a piece of aluminum foil.
- Cool oatmeal cups on wire rack for 5 minutes, then enjoy.
Notes
- You can use any kind of milk you like, dairy or non-dairy
- You can replace the maple syrup with any other liquid sweetener like honey or agave syrup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Joy to-go! Thank you for 10-star warm, healthy, handheld breakfast! I prepare the base recipe (oats, milk, spices & touch of vanilla) then add a little more oats and milk, allowing time for the milk to absorb (even overnight in the fridge). Then cut up dried apricots, raisins, pecans, fresh apple, the cinnamon, banana, a little pumpkin pie spice (TJ’s contains ginger), and a bit of orange zest is wonderful too. At the end, add the baking powder and salt, rest 5 min per recipe. I use 1/4 cup scoop and fill 20-24 muffin cups, depending on how much fruit I’ve added. Sprinkle a bit of Sugar in the Raw, pumpkin seeds or ginger snap cookies on top & bake. At night I take 2 out of the freezer for the next 2 mornings breakfast, 1 is sufficient for me. If you forget, you can pull it out in the morning a microwave it about 50 sec, depending on your microwave. I prefer them warmed, but they’re amazing either way, and the convenience of them! This recipe is very flexible and forgiving, make it your own put whatever you like. My toddler grandson eats them and doesn’t make a mess, doesn’t need a spoon.
Love your tweaks, Kristine!! So happy you love the recipe, thank you so much!
Could you swap flax seed for chai seed
Absolutely! I’d swap at a 1:1 ratio. I am excited for you to try these! You’ll have to let me know how you like them!