Banana Nut Baked Oats (with soaked oats!)
These banana nut baked oats are a no brainer for breakfast. They’re quick and easy to whip together and store well in the fridge or the freezer for quick and easy breakfasts or snacks.
You make banana nut baked oats by first soaking the oats so that they are easier to digest. This step puts these banana nut baked oats over the top, knowing that they are nutrient dense and oh so good.
To start (soak the oats)
Soaking oats are simple step and important for making oatmeal easier to digest. Soaking grains is a traditional practice that helps to break down the anti-nutrients and harder to digest components of the grain, while at the same time, increasing the availability of highly beneficial nutrients. Soaking grains, and in this case, oats, increases the presence of phytase, and important enzyme needed to break down the phytic acid (an anti-nutrient) that is found in many grains. Phytic acid binds to minerals in the grain which inhibits the body from absorbing some important nutrients in these foods. It’s impossible to remove all phytic acid from the diet, but lowering it by properly preparing foods like grains can help increase increase nutrients in the diet. An acidic medium is needed to activate phytase and decrease phytic acid.
For this recipe, I used organic, gluten free, sprouted oats (One Degree). I soaked the oats in 2 cups of coconut milk and half a cup of yogurt. The yogurt is the acidic medium that will activate phytase and the banana nut baked oats easier to digest and more nutrient dense. Apple cider vinegar can also be used but the flavour at the end won’t be as creamy and may be a bit more tart. Stick with yogurt for this recipe. Soak for 8-24 hours, covered with a cloth in a warm area.
Ingredients
Rolled oats (not quick oats)
Pecans
Maple Syrup
Chia seeds
Ground flax seed
Coconut milk
Yogurt
Salt
Cinnamon
Bananas
Coconut oil
Vanilla extact
Eggs
baking soda
The tools
A 9x13 baking dish
A mixing bowl
blender or food processor
The steps
First, blend or process pecans in to small pieces - you don’t want a paste, just small pieces rather than whole pecans. If you have a whole flaxseeds, blend these until fine. Add ground pecans, flaxseeds, whole chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, maple syrup, baking soda and vanilla extract to a bowl and mix together. Add this mixture to the oats that have been soaking. Add eggs and mix everything together well, making sure there are no clumps sticking together.
Pour this batter for the banana nut baked oats in to a coconut greased baking dish and bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes.
Alternatives
You can use cows milk or any other milk for this recipe instead of the coconut milk. Just replace the liquid 1 to 1.
I have not tried this recipe with flax eggs but I believe it should work well. If you try it, let me know!
To make this nut free, you can use any other seed or leave them out altogether and add the same amounts of extra oats. Be sure to add this during the soaking process. You’ll have to increase the liquid in this step if you do this.
You can also substitute the maple syrup for honey.
Add or substitute any other fruit you like!
Banana nut baked oats
Serves 12
Prep: 10 minutes/ Rest time: 8 hours/ Bake time: 50-55 minutes
Ingredients
5 cups rolled oats
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 cups crispy pecans
2 tbsp. chia seeds
2 tbsp. flax meal
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. Sea salt
3 tsp. cinnamon (I use Ceylon or “true” cinnamon)
1 tsp. Baking soda
4 Bananas, cut in to 1 inch or smaller chunks (+ 1 to top)
8 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
Coconut oil (or butter) for greasing pan
Directions
Soak the oats by adding the oats to a mixing bowl with the coconut milk and yogurt. Stir well, cover with a cloth, and let rest in a warm area for 8-24 hours. You can skip this step if you are in a hurry but I don’t recommend it very often.
Preheat oven to 350F.
Blend or process pecans so resemble small pieces (but not finely ground). Blend flaxmeal if the flax is not already ground.
Add ground pecans, flaxmeal, chia seeds, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda to a bowl and mix together. Add this mixture to the soaked oats. Add eggs and maple syrup and mix everything together well, making sure there are no chunks sticking together.
Next, if you haven’t done so already, prep a 9x13 baking dish by greasing it well with coconut oil.
Add oat mixture to pan. Top with banana slices if desired and bake in oven at 350F for 50-55 minutes.
Let cool slightly before servings. Store in fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
