Quick + EASY Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal is a hot, wholesome, homemade breakfast that’s ready in a matter of minutes…flavored with cinnamon, sweetened with honey, and topped with crunchy peanuts!

If you enjoy wholesome banana-boasting breakfasts, you'll also love Banana Baked Oatmeal, Banana Breakfast Cookies, or Soft-Baked Banana Oatmeal Bars!

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal is my favorite kind of breakfast. It's wholesome, yummy, and quick and easy to make. And even more importantly? It's sooo good.

So good, in fact, that the first time I ever made this recipe, my extremely picky then-3-year-old requested to eat the leftovers for dinner. And then she asked for the same thing for breakfast the next day. So given that this healthy oat breakfast is loaded with fiber, calcium, protein, and potassium, I guess it would be an improvement over the cheese quesadilla, grilled cheese sandwich, and/or cheese pizza (are we sensing a theme here?) that she traditionally requested on a daily basis.

So what makes this Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal good enough that my food-rut daughter has always been willing to trade her beloved carbs and cheese for it? Well -- in case you're not already privy to the fact -- bananas and PB get along swimmingly! In fact, this recipe is actually a spin on my Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats.

So if you already know that you enjoy peanut butter oatmeal or banana oatmeal, I highly encourage you to combine the two and give this one a try!

Ingredients

It takes just a few minutes and a few basic ingredients to elevate an otherwise boring (sorry) oatmeal breakfast into something special:

• Milk. I use whole milk, but skim milk, 2%, or your favorite non-dairy substitute will work as well.
• Oats. This Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal recipe was developed for speed using quick oats, but you could certainly adapt it to using regular/old-fashioned rolled oats. Just keep in mind that the stovetop cooking time for rolled oats will be about 5 minutes, as opposed to a minute or two for quick oats.
• Banana. Mashed. The browner, the better!
• Peanut butter. Use creamy or crunchy...whatever floats your boat. You could also opt to swap in your favorite nut (or non-nut) butter, such as almond butter or sunflower butter.
• Ground cinnamon, pure vanilla extract, and salt. These ingredients are the difference makers for flavor that pops.
• Honey. Optional, depending on the sweetness of your banana and/or how sweet you prefer your final oatmeal.

Then, to add even more flavor and texture, feel free to garnish your bowls with sliced bananas, chopped roasted peanuts, and even more cinnamon!

How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

Have I mentioned how quick and easy it is to make this peanut butter oatmeal with banana?

1. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring milk to a boil.
2. Stir in the oats.

3. Reduce heat to a simmer and let cook for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and cover for a few minutes.

5. Stir mashed banana and peanut butter into the oatmeal, followed by cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. If more sweetness is desired, stir in honey, to taste.

6. Garnish with sliced bananas, chopped peanuts and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve hot and enjoy!

Warm...filling...delicious!

Tweak the Sweetness

If your banana is nice and sweet, this oatmeal might be perfect for you as-is.

But if you'd like it a tad sweeter, feel free to squeeze in a bit of honey.

I find that 1 tablespoon stirred into the pot gives this oatmeal a quality not unlike Baby Bear's porridge (AKA, juuuust right)...but how much you prefer to add is up to you. 🙂

Tweak the Recipe

I happen to think this Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal is perfect as-is. But it's easy to adjust it if you prefer plain peanut butter oatmeal or plain banana oatmeal instead...simply omit the opposite ingredient!

Making It Ahead of Time

I used to solely consider this Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal a hot, fresh breakfast to be whipped up in the morning a matter of minutes. But in the many years that I've been making it, I've determined that it also works beautifully as a healthy oat breakfast that can be made ahead of time and then simply reheated all week long!

As written, this recipe yields two servings. So sometimes, I'll double or even triple the recipe in a big pot (I flat-out multiply all of the ingredients by my decided number and it works just fine). It does take a bit longer to bring a larger amount of milk to a boil, but the difference is negligible. After the oatmeal is done, I'll allow it to cool a bit, transfer it to an airtight container, and then pop it in the fridge.

To reheat, simply plop your desired amount of Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal into a bowl, top with a splash of milk, and then microwave for about a minute. Stir, taste, and determine if the oatmeal needs more milk or more heating time to achieve your preferred consistency and temperature.

And that's it! Peanut butter oatmeal is good. Banana oatmeal is great. But Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal can't be beat!

Seriously, friends, making a pot of this deliciousness for breakfast doesn't take much longer than pouring a bowl of cereal. But it's so much healthier, tastier, and more filling. Plus, a little birdie told me that it even makes for a good brinner if you don't feel up to cooking a full-fledged meal one night...or, you know, if you just don't feel like battling a preschooler over cheese quesadillas yet again. 😉

More Peanut Butter Recipes

• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
• Slow Cooker Thai Chicken with Peanut Sauce
• Easy Homemade Peanut Butter Cups
• Peanut Butter Granola
• One-Minute Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
• Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

Quick + EASY Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal is a hot, wholesome, homemade breakfast that’s ready in a matter of minutes…flavored with cinnamon, sweetened with honey, and topped with crunchy peanuts!

By Samantha Skaggs

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Calories: 401kcal

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Ingredients

• 1 ¾ cups milk
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1 large ripe banana, mashed
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 to 3 teaspoons honey, optional
• sliced bananas, chopped peanuts and cinnamon, for serving

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring milk to a boil, watching carefully so that it doesn't boil over. Stir in oats, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cover for a few minutes. Stir in mashed banana, peanut butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Stir in honey, to taste, if desired. Top with sliced bananas, chopped peanuts, and additional cinnamon before serving.

Notes

• The oatmeal will thicken up while it sits covered off the heat before stirring in the other ingredients.
• This recipe may be doubled or tripled.
• A batch of Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal may be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. To reheat, put a serving in a bowl, splash with milk, and heat in the microwave for one minute, then stir. If necessary, stir in additional milk or microwave for a bit more time.
• This recipe may be made with regular (old-fashioned) rolled oats, but it will require a cooking time of closer to 5 minutes (as opposed to 1-2 minutes for quick oats).

Nutrition

Calories: 401kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 151mg | Potassium: 780mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 444IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 295mg | Iron: 2mg

Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

Post originally published on January 18, 2016, and updated on August 16, 2020, and September 11, 2023.