Blueberry Banana-Nut Oatmeal is quick, easy, filling, and full of heart-healthy oats. Make then enjoy in minutes, any morning of the week!
Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by the oatmeal pouch variety pack you were given to choose from for breakfast each morning as a kid?
I still have problems stomaching anything apple-cinnamon flavored. LOL.
That said, trust me when I tell you that each whippy, perfectly-sweet and healthy bowl of Blueberry Banana-Nut Oatmeal will instantly change your mind about what oatmeal can and should be.
Homemade Oatmeal in Minutes
Full of heart-healthy oats and vitamin-rich berries and nuts, there’s no denying that loaded oatmeal is an awesome way to start the day. Unlike the aforementioned oatmeal packets though, homemade oatmeal doesn’t have the texture of paste, which helps!
This particular combination of blueberries, bananas, and nuts is just lovely, and all the ingredients are metabolism-boosting and full of fiber and antioxidants. The blueberries get warm and bursty when sprinkled over the hot oatmeal, and banana naturally sweetens each bowl so you can get away with adding very little extra sugar.
I’m going to show you how to make oatmeal on the stovetop and the whole cooking process takes about 6 minutes. You can make this oatmeal recipe in the microwave to shave a few minutes off the cooking time, but I love how thick and creamy the texture becomes after stirring it constantly in the saucepan while cooking.
Let’s do this!
How to Make Homemade Oatmeal
Start by adding certified gluten-free old fashioned oats into a small saucepan.
Old fashioned oats are oats that have been steamed then flattened. Steel cut oats are chopped whole oats that have a great texture once cooked, but they take awhile to get there. Quick-cooking oats easily become gummy (they’re inside those oatmeal pouches!). For these reasons, old fashioned oats are my choice for stovetop oatmeal.
Next add equal amounts of water and milk. I use unsweetened almond milk, but use whatever you’ve got in the fridge for drinking.
Finally, thinly slice 1/2 banana into the saucepan then turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture begins to simmer.
Once simmering, start breaking up the banana with a spatula and stir constantly until the oats have absorbed most of the liquid and are cooked and creamy, about 3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat then stir in brown sugar or pure maple syrup plus a dash of vanilla. You could use less sugar if your banana is super ripe!
Pour the oatmeal into a bowl then slice the remaining banana half on top with fresh blueberries and chopped nuts. These photos show walnuts, but use what you love best.
That’s all she wrote — I told you it was easy! I hope you give these perfectly-sweet, nourishing, and healthy oatmeal bowls a try sometime soon.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup certified gluten-free old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup milk, any kind, I use unsweetened almond milk
- 1 small banana
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, or pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 1 Tablespoon chopped walnuts, or almond or pecans
Directions
- Add oats, water, milk, and 1/2 the banana thinly sliced into a saucepan then turn heat to medium. Cook until oats begin to simmer then stir constantly until oats are cooked and creamy, 3 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat then stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Pour into a bowl then top with remaining 1/2 sliced banana, blueberries, and walnuts.
Notes
- This recipe doubles well — reheat the second portion in the microwave the following day with a splash of milk.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I eat oatmeal for breakfast every morning! I do overnight oats, though. 1/3 cup of oats, 1 mashed banana, 1 and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tbsp. brown sugar, about 1 tbsp. honey, 1 tbsp. peanut butter, mix all that, add 1 cup of milk, and mix well. Let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Warm in the microwave in the morning. I like “runny” oats, so this is just thick enough for my liking. As you can tell, I like it sweet!!
Yum! I have never made oatmeal with milk before trying your recipe. I have been converted and I am sure I can’t go back to just water! I used silk very vanilla soy milk and less brown sugar and it was AMAZING! You saved me from my breakfast rut! :) can’t wait to try other fruit combos with this cooking method!
Ate this last night for dinner and again this morning for breakfast. It was delicious! I substituted pecans for walnuts only because it was what I had on hand, otherwise I had everything. Now I feel ready to tackle my day- thanks for the recipe!
Oh I SO relate to the burned-tongue-sourpatch-kids syndrome. Ouch! This is a perfect cure though!
You are so right – blueberries are the best in oatmeal!
We LOVE oatmeal around our house. So going to try it cooked with the mashed banana. I also add ground flax seed and cinnamon. So yummy. And, if you can get your hands on Coach’s Oats, try them-that’s all we eat now!
I actually look forward to waking up because of oatmeal. Love your combination. And there are so many. In the winter, I take frozen strawberries and blueberries and microwave them until warm and a bit syrupy and then put the oatmeal on top and cover with milk and nuts. Or I’ve carmelized diced bananas with a bit of butter and brown sugar for a topping. And kids (or husbands for that matter) will have no idea if you sneak in a bit of flax seed, oat bran and/or almond meal as it boils. Thanks!
Sour Patch Kids take me back to watching movies in theatres when I was younger!
I love oats and they’ve been my typical breakfast for the past couple of years. So good! Steel cut are my favorite as well – so I can have them during the week, I soak them over night so it doesn’t take as long to cook them in the morning. If I’m doing 1/2 cup oats, I’ll soak them in a 1/2 cup of water in the fridge over night and then cook them in another 1/2 cup of water in the morning. Works great and they’re done in a few minutes!
Steel cut oats are doable in the morning if you soak them overnight. Cuts the cooking time by 1/2! Give it a try. Also love April Bloomfields version combining the 2 types of oats into a porridge on http://www.food52.com.
Sometimes I like to quickly toast my oats in the pan before I add my liquid. It makes it taste nutty.
What a great idea! I would love that toasty-nutty flavor, but would never have thought to do that.
Also, guilty on the salt & vinegar potato chips tongue burn – ouch!
your pictures are extra clear – like the bowl of oatmeal is in front of me……did you get a new camera or new setting…love it!!
I’m so happy to see a breakfast recipe! That was my very favorite part of your blog when I started reading about 3 years ago. I still make overnight oats a few times a week.