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Oatmeal banana bread is the perfect recipe for a quick, simple and light breakfast. Read on for step-by-step directions!
Out of all of our quick bread recipes, banana bread recipes are my absolute favorite. Our chocolate chip banana bread is a readers’ favorite and for a super moist banana bread I always go to my zucchini banana bread. This oatmeal banana bread is another winner because it’s a relatively healthy recipe with a familiar flavor profile.
Table of Contents
Why this recipe works
I love this easy banana bread because it uses less flour. In place of flour, it contains one cup of old fashioned oatmeal. Because of this, the banana bread is very light, fluffy and has an amazing taste. If you’re looking for a gluten free banana bread, you can check out our almond flour banana bread and for oil-free banana bread, check out our banana bread with applesauce.
A slice of this bread toasted and served with some nut butter pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee. Nothing beats a delicious homemade banana bread, right?
The ingredients
To make this bread, you need the following ingredients:
- Vegetable oil: You can also use canola oil or sunflower oil.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs: It’s best for them to be at room temperature.
- Bananas: Make sure your bananas are ripe enough. The more brown spots they have, the better!
- Greek yogurt: This would make your banana bread moist and tasty. You can also use buttermilk or sour cream.
- All purpose flour
- Old-fashioned oatmeal: Be sure not to use quick oats for this recipe.
- Baking powder and baking soda
This recipe uses vegetable oil instead of butter and also includes old fashioned oatmeal and Greek yogurt which makes the banana bread pretty moist and tender.
A little note: Have all the ingredients at room temperature. This will help the ingredients to combine well.
Choosing the best bananas
When it comes to making any kind of banana bread, it’s important to use bananas that are not green. You need bananas that have black spots on them but are still a bit firm. You don’t want bananas that are brown inside because those will affect the texture and the bread will not be as fluffy.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix vegetable oil and sugar until combined.
- Add in eggs one after another and mix, following by adding mashed bananas and vanilla extract.
- Add in Greek yogurt and mix well.
- Whisk in flour, old fashioned oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle more oatmeal on top.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out with little to no crumbs.
Pro tip: Always let the banana bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then take it out of the pan and let it cool completely before slicing. Because of the bananas and reduced flour, this bread will be moist and very tender. Therefore, make sure it’s cool before you slice it so it doesn’t crumble.
Variations
This recipe is very versatile and easy to modify. Here are a few of our favorite additions:
- Chocolate chips: Add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to the banana bread batter after you mix in the dry ingredients.
- Walnuts: Add 3/4 cup walnuts to the batter with the dry ingredients and you’ll have a little bit of crunch in every bite.
- Coconut: 3/4 cup shredded coconut added with flour and old fashioned oatmeal makes this banana bread extra delicious!
Storage and freezing
Store banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days and in the fridge for up to a week. Heat the slices in the microwave for 10 seconds to serve them warm.
Banana bread freezes well. To freeze, slice the banana bread and wrap each slice in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to avoid freezer burn. You can freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, unwrap the banana bread slice and place it on a plate. Reheat it in the microwave for one minute and 30 seconds or until it’s heated through.
Notes and tips
- It’s very important that you use the ripest bananas you can find. The darker the skin of the banana, the riper it is. Ripe bananas are easy to mash and make the bread very moist.
- You will need old fashioned oats and not quick cooking oatmeal. Old fashioned oats give texture to the bread.
- You can use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt in this recipe. Feel free to choose either regular or light sour cream or yogurt.
More Banana Bread Recipes
Dessert
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Breakfast and Brunch
Double Chocolate Banana Bread
Dessert
Healthy Pumpkin Banana Bread
Breakfast and Brunch
Banana Bread Muffins with Walnuts
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get a free e-Cookbook!
Easy Oatmeal Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Coat a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk vegetable oil and sugar until incorporated.
- Add in eggs one by one and mix well.
- Add in mashed bananas, vanilla and Greek yogurt. Whisk very well to make sure everything is fully combined.
- Add in all purpose flour, old fashioned oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda to the wet ingredients and mix using a spatula or a wooden spoon.
- Pour the oatmeal banana bread batter into the prepare pan and sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoon old fashioned oatmeal on the banana bread.
- Bake in the oven for 50 -60 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the middle of the banana bread should come out with little to no crumb.
- Let it cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- You can use sour cream instead of Greek yogurt in this oatmeal banana bread.
- To make oatmeal banana nut bread, add 3/4 cup chopped walnuts to the batter after you mix in the dry ingredients.
- It’s best to have all your ingredients at room temperature.
- It’s very important that you use the ripest bananas you can find. The darker the skin of the banana, the riper it is. Ripe bananas are easy to mash and make the quick bread very moist.
- To make this banana bread recipe, you need old fashioned oats and not quick cooking oatmeal. Old fashioned oats give texture to the banana bread.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is such a great recipe! I wanted a no sugar added version so I just omitted the sugar in the recipe and made sure my bananas were really ripe. Will definitely save this recipe! Thanks!
Thank you Melissa. This is definitely a favorite over here, too! It’s so good!
My kids have been baking so much since being home. This was a keeper! We all loved it.
I have so many bananas on my counter right now it’s ridiculous! Printing out this recipe right now – so excited to make it!
Hi! I am not a Baker, I never do it! But decided to give this a go. I didnt have bicarb, so used a whole teaspoon of baking powder, but my bread didnt rise very much 🙁 smells great, and has cooked beautifully, but it’s only about 1.5 inches thick. What did I do wrong? I looked online and according to sources I found, 1 tsp of baking powder should be more than enough to rise a loaf. I’d appreciate any help! Thanks
Hi Annie, there are a few factors that could have contributed to the bread not rising:
1- Leavening agent: 1 tsp baking soda almost equals 1.5 tsp baking powder. So in total you need 2 tsp baking powder for this recipe.
2- Over mixing: If the batter is over mixed, it’s possible that it wouldn’t rise much.
3- Bananas: If the bananas are too ripe and mushy, the bread will not rise as much.
Hope these help!
I have this in the oven right now. I used a mix of Whole wheat flour and all purpose, but otherwise followed the recipe. I noticed there is no salt in the recipe. Is that on purpose?
Hi Loretta, yes, that’s on purpose. This bread is absolutely good without the addition of salt. But if you like, you can always add 1/4 tsp salt.
This bread is soooo good. I used melted coconut oil instead of the vegetable oil. I only used 1/4 cup sugar, since I still added mini chocolate chips. I also added 1 tsp. cinnamon. And I used the sour cream. I buttered my loaf pan and nothing stuck to it. I also used an insulated cookie sheet under my loaf pan when I baked the bread, this keeps the bottom of the bread from getting to brown.
This is a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
Glad to know you enjoyed it Renate!
I was looking for a recipe that used over ripe bananas and
oatmeal.This was the perfect recipe and sooo delicious.
Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome Linda! Hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe!
Super simple and absolutely delicious! I ended up using 3 frozen bananas and threw in 2 Tbsp of flax seed in with the dry ingredients and POW! This bread was sought after by all my friends who got to try it before it was gone. Going to be a staple in this household.
Thank you for the great bread base.
Love the idea of adding flax seeds! Glad to know you enjoyed this recipe!
Me, my boy and husband do love this bread very much. After three days, I am preparing another one. This time I may add a bit of chocolate to see how it will be. Thank you very much for sharing those wonderfull ways of making this bread
Glad to know you guys enjoyed it! Thank you!
Made this recipe today, but it took way longer than 60 minutes after an hour the bottom and sides are brown but the inside is not done, i knew as i was pouring it in the pan that the mixture was too much and i should have used a bigger pan .
Hi Rania, yes, a bigger pan would have worked better for this recipe.