Award-Winning Oatmeal Banana Bread (+ Vegan Substitutions)
You are going to go nuts over the flavor and texture of this brilliant Oatmeal Banana Bread. The recipe is easily adjusted to make Vegan Banana Bread, plus it’s an Award-Winning Banana Bread Recipe!
Why We Love This Award-Winning Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe
Is there anything more comforting than warm soft banana bread?
I have made a lot of banana bread variations over the years, but this is the recipe we always come back to… Hearty Oatmeal Banana Bread.
It involves simple ingredients, no-fuss preparation, pure banana-oat flavor, and a decadent texture.
One of my friends even won an award using this oatmeal banana bread recipe!
The combination of ripe bananas and oats creates a lovely tender, yet rustic, texture. The oats soak up and hold the moisture from the bananas, so the bread doesn’t dry out quickly.
The sweet earthy flavor of bananas, grains, and spices is simplistic and alluring. This is truly a recipe you will keep and reuse.
Banana Oat Bread can be served at room temperature, or warm, slathered with butter. It makes a marvelous breakfast or midday snack!
What You Need To Make This Recipe
- All-purpose flour – Or GF baking mix
- Quick oats
- Light brown sugar
- Very ripe bananas
- Unsalted butter – Or vegan butter or coconut oil
- Eggs – Or vegan egg substitute
- Milk – Or nut milk or soy milk
- Vanilla extract
- Apple pie spice – Or pumpkin pie spice blend
- Salt
- Baking powder and baking soda
How To Make Oatmeal Banana Bread From Scratch
Prep the Pan. Set out a 9X5 loaf pan. Cut a strip of parchment paper 9 inches wide. Then fold it to fit down into the bottom and long edges of the pan. Spray or grease the pan and paper.
Smash. Smash the bananas and measure out 1 ½ cups. You can do this with your hands or in a small bowl with a wooden spoon.
Mix it up. Set out a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, apple pie spice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Then mix in the mashed banana, melted butter, eggs, and milk. Stir again until smooth. (There’s no need to separate the wet ingredients from the dry ingredients in this recipe.)
Bake! Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with extra oats if desired. Then bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted deep into the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to rest in the pan for 15 minutes. Then lift is out by the edges of the parchment paper.
Get the Full (Printable) Award-Winning Banana Bread Recipe + Video Below!
How to Make Vegan Banana Bread
Our oatmeal bread recipe is so versatile! Although it includes animal products (like butter and eggs) the recipe is very easy to adjust for dietary needs.
For a dairy-free version, substitute nut milk and plant-based butter spread for the dairy.
For vegan banana bread, you can swap the eggs and dairy for vegan butter, nut milk, and flax eggs or a store-bought vegan egg substitute.
You can also make a gluten-free banana bread variation by swapping the wheat flour for a good gluten-free 1-to-1 baking mix. As-is, our oat bread recipe is already nut free!
Recipe Tips & Variations
- You can add loads of different ingredients to add sweetness and texture! Try adding chocolate chips, pecans or walnuts, shredded coconut, dried fruit, pineapple chunks, coffee granules, or shredded zucchini or carrots!
- Many banana bread recipes feature cinnamon. If you like the taste that cinnamon adds to banana bread, go ahead and add one teaspoon!
- If you can’t wait for days for your bananas to turn dark brown, quick-ripen them by popping the bananas in a 350 degree F oven for 5-8 minutes. They will get very dark and very ripe!
Frequently Asked Questions
Well, no, not really. Although this banana bread recipe includes healthy bananas and oats, it also involved a decent amount of butter, sugar, and white flour, making it more like cake than bread.
Therefore, it does have more fat, carbs, and calories than standard sandwich bread or french bread. Think of our banana oatmeal bread as more of a decadent breakfast or snack that a health food. *wink*
For a healthy banana bread recipe, try my high protein banana bread instead!
Very. The darker and softer the bananas are, the more flavor and sweetness they lend to the bread! Also, the squishy texture makes the bread ultra moist and luxurious. Banana oat bread is a great way to use up the black bananas sitting on your countertop!
You can store any leftover banana bread in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days! Reheat for a few seconds in the microwave and slather on some butter!
Absolutely! Be sure to wrap it well with plastic, then with foil. If the wrapping is tight, you can freeze the bread for 3-6 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before serving!
Looking for More Bread Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
- Sweet Irish Soda Bread
- Easy Garlic Bread
- Crock Pot Yeast Rolls
- Croatian Lepinja Bread
- Hawaiian Luau Bread
- Zucchini Parmesan Bread
- Socca Flatbread
- Focaccia Bread with Olives and Garlic
- Kahlua Banana Bread
Award-Winning Oatmeal Banana Bread (+ Vegan Substitutions)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (or GF baking mix)
- 1 cup quick oats
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 3 very ripe bananas (1 ½ cups mashed)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice (or pumpkin pie spice)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set out a 9X5 loaf pan. Cut a strip of parchment paper 9 inches wide. Then fold it to fit down into the bottom and long edges of the pan. Spray or grease the pan and paper.
- Smash the bananas and measure out 1 ½ cups.
- Set out a large mixing bowl. Add the flour, oats, brown sugar, apple pie spice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Then mix in the mashed banana, melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with extra oats if desired. Then bake for 45-60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted deep into the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to rest in the pan for 15 minutes. Then lift is out by the edges of the parchment paper. Wait until the loaf is fully cooled to cut.
I made this today and it is delicious! Very moist, not overly sweet. I added chopped walnuts. Perfection!
Delicioso!! Just made it. I used coconut oil instead of butter, also added coconut chips and a cramberry and pecan mix that I already had. Love it.
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I swapped oat flour for the flour and date purée for the sugar. It was delish!
Perfect
Haha, got distracted and forgot to add the sugar – was surprisingly sweet! Made some cinnamon butter with powdered sugar and vanilla.
Also couldn’t get my loaf pan (packed up for a move) so baked in a square pan. Slices kind of like biscotti. So sliced the bread, slathered on some of this butter and toasted in the oven. Was delicious for breakfast!
It seems delicious!
A question! If i dont have quick oats what can i use instead? Roled oats works too!?
Hi Moises,
Old fashioned oats will work. Happy Baking! :)
I enjoyed making it and eating it. Delicious indeed
We enjoyed it We’re diabetic so subbed Travia brown sugar sub and it was great
Will definitely make it again and again
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever made without a store bought mix. I added lots of walnuts. Thank you!
The very best banana bread I have ever eaten in my 68 years! I was going to share the loaf with my family, but nah 😄 I am trying now to figure out how to turn this sane recipe into Oatmeal Apple Bread.
This makes beautiful moist and tasty loaf. Looks pretty too with the oats sprinkled on top. Made as is with no changes.
This recipe is delicious, my teen sons and their friends all loved the bread I made.
One question, I am not super experienced at baking quick breads but have baked cookies my whole life. In those recipes, like in this one, the dry and the wet ingredients are first mixed together in separate bowls and then combined. But in those recipes, sugar is usually combined with the wet ingredients rather than with the dry. I worried the packed brown sugar would not easily mix with the flour and oats, so I mixed it into the egg, milk, banana etc, and that worked great.
This is really amazing!! Love the vegan substitution!
These turned out amazing! I added chopped walnuts to the recipe and baked them in a muffin pan for 25 minutes, instead of a loaf. The recipe yields 12 regular size muffins. Thanks for the great recipe. My family LOVES them!
Can I substitute with regular oats? It’s all I have. :///
Hi Chris,
If you are referring to old-fashioned oats, yes you can! Happy Baking! :)
This is so good! My only problem is I wish I doubled the recipe, it’s all gone already!
Not usually a fan of oatmeal banana bread, but the texture in this is impeccable.