Oatmeal seems to be all the rage these days and we love being able to whip this recipe together and have these treats ready to go for the week ahead. The kids love ’em and so will you!
What are Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Cups?
While they may look like muffins, oatmeal banana cups are not a traditional baked item. Rather, we use mashed bananas as the base and mix it with rolled oats and several other tasty ingredients. They’ll bake in the oven for about 30 minutes which will cook the oats and bring all the flavors and ingredients together for a delicious treat. There’s no milk (except for the chocolate chips), no eggs, no flour. I like to call them a cross between a granola bar and a bowl of loaded oatmeal.
Ingredients
Our recipe starts with rolled oats and bananas. Make sure to use regular rolled oats and not instant oats. We’ll need 1.25 cups of mashed bananas which winds up being about 3 regular sized bananas. You’ll want to use bananas that are over-ripe and getting brown spots on the outside. This doesn’t mean the bananas are going bad, rather, it means there’s sweet magic happening inside and the bananas are getting sweeter! They’ll also be much easier to mash when they’re nice and soft and over-ripe.
The mashed bananas will then be mixed together with some vegetable oil, water, honey and vanilla. Once all these ingredients have been mixed together (by hand), we’ll add them to a large bowl with the oats, cinnamon and salt. Finally, we’ll fold in some frozen raspberries for the final touch.
Equipment Needed
We like to make our recipes easy and that also means using easy kitchen tools and equipment. For this recipe we need:
12-cup muffin tin Large mixing bowl Medium mixing bowl Potato masher (or a fork will do) Muffin/cupcake liners (optional)
Preparation
Start by using a medium bowl and mashing those bananas. It helps to break them into several pieces and then just start mashing. Using a potato masher will make the job easy, but you can also use a fork. You don’t need to mash them completely smooth. Just get the chunks out as best possible. Then you’ll add the water, oil and vanilla to the mashed bananas and mix well until everything is well incorporated.
In a large bowl, add the oats, salt, cinnamon and mini chocolate chips and mix together. Now add the banana mixture to the large bowl with the oats and mix it all together well with a large spoon. Finally, add the frozen raspberries on top and gently fold them in. The raspberries will break up a little which is fine. We just don’t want to mash them in.
Add the paper or foil liners (if using) to the cups of a muffin tin. Or, spray the cups with some non-stick cooking spray. Now start filling the cups with the batter. We’ll have the perfect amount of batter to fill all 12 cups in the muffin tin. Don’t worry if they’re filled to the top. We won’t be using any rising agent so we don’t have to worry about it all puffing up.
Bake and Chill
Place the filled muffin tin in an oven preheated to 375°(F) for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes are up, remove the tin from the oven and let cool on the countertop or stovetop for about 15-30 minutes. Once the muffin tin is cool to the touch, we’ll want to chill the whole thing in the fridge for at least an hour. This will help bring all the ingredients together so they don’t fall apart.
Enjoy warm or cold
Keep your oatmeal breakfast cups stored in the fridge. When ready to enjoy, just grab and go. But, you can also heat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make them nice and warm and gooey. Oh they’re SO good this way! You can also add some additional fresh berries to a plate for extra delight!
Storage
Your oatmeal cups will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 7 days. You can also freeze them! Wrap them individually in plastic wrap (when cooled), and then place in a freezer zip-top bag for 2-3 months.
