Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe

This oatmeal banana bread recipe is easy to make, tastes great and has the power of oats! Seriously, if you are trying to sneak more oat fiber into your family’s meals, this is a delicious way to do it. This recipe creates a wonderful dessert-like banana bread and it includes a cup of old fashioned oatmeal (oat flakes).

Delicious Oatmeal Banana Bread 

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 5 from 22 votes Featured Comment Barbara “What a sweet way to add more oat fiber into my diet! This banana bread was fantastic. My family really liked it.”

Oatmeal banana bread is perfect for breakfast, dessert or even a quick snack. However, be aware that this is a more “adult friendly” banana bread due to the oats (which add a slight crunch to the banana bread).

Key Ingredients – Ripe Bananas & Oat Flakes

Banana bread with oatmeal takes me about 10-15 minutes to prepare and clean up (excluding the baking time, of course). Please be aware that this is an oven-baked banana bread recipe. It is not made with a bread machine.

Ingredients – Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe 

• 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas (ripe)
• 8 Tablespoons – Butter (softened) – If you prefer not to use butter, you can use 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of a neutral flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn oil).
• 2 – Large Eggs
• 1/4 Cup – Milk – You can use dairy milk or non-dairy milks such as plain soy milk or plain oat milk.
• 1 Cup – Granulated White Sugar
• 1 Cup – Oatmeal (old fashioned oat flakes) – Dry flakes. Do not pre-moisten the flakes.
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.

Instructions – Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).
• Mash bananas with a fork.
• Soften butter in a microwave for 20-25 seconds.
• Stir mashed bananas, eggs, milk, butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
• Mix in the oatmeal flakes (in order to moisten the flakes).
• Add the remaining ingredients. Stir until fully mixed.
• Pour batter into a nonstick bread pan.
• Optional – Sprinkle some oatmeal flakes on top of the batter in order to make the banana bread look more “oatmealy”.
• Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes at 325 F (163 C).
• Take out of oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
• After 10 minutes, remove the banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the banana bread and the bread pan walls if the banana bread is stuck in the pan.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.

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Tips – Oatmeal Banana Bread Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as walnut banana bread, Greek yogurt banana bread and blueberry banana bread.

• Use RIPE bananas for the best taste. Ripe bananas are soft and usually yellow with small black spots. Hard yellow/green(ish) bananas are too starchy and have less banana flavor.
• Use EXACTLY 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best results. The use of “3” bananas may leave your banana bread too dry or too wet. Why? Because bananas vary in size.
• FYI – 3 medium-sized bananas usually equals roughly 1 to 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). In addition, 3 large-sized bananas usually equals roughly 1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). Of course, banana sizes can vary greatly… and my version of medium and large-sized bananas may differ from yours!

• Stir in the oat flakes before adding the flour to the batter. This keeps the “internal” oat flakes from being too dry.
• Use DRY oat flakes. Do not pre-moisten the oat flakes or you will be adding too much liquid to this recipe.
• The addition of the oatmeal flake “sprinkle” on top of the batter before you bake is purely optional. It mainly helps the aesthetic value of the bread. No need to add these final oat flakes if you want a plainer/simpler look to your banana bread… or you want to hide from your kids that this banana bread has oats in it!
• Optional – If plain oatmeal banana bread is too boring, you can add a cup of raisins, chopped walnuts, blueberries or cranberries to make your banana bread even tastier! Stir them in after the batter has been completely mixed.
• Optional – Or if you prefer sweeter oatmeal banana breads, you can add a cup of chocolate chips.
• Visitors – What do you like to add to your oatmeal banana bread? Chopped walnuts? Dried fruit? Chocolate? Please leave your suggestions & tips in the comment section below.

• For the 1/4 cup of milk in this oatmeal banana bread recipe, you can use either dairy milk or non-dairy milks such as plain soy milk or plain oat milk. The milk is included in this recipe for flavor but also to help “hydrate” the dry oat flakes.
• Optional – If you prefer not to use butter (e.g. you want to make a dairy-free banana bread), you can replace the butter with 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of a neutral flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn oil).
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild”, “light” or “extra light” olive oil as it would have the least flavor impact on the banana bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin and virgin olive oil have stronger flavors and are more likely to negatively impact the taste of your banana bread.
• A number of my visitors like to use avocado oil in order to make their banana breads. Avocado oil has a neutral flavor and is high in monounsaturated fats. However, as you are probably aware, avocado oil is usually significantly more expensive than corn oil.
• Visitors – Do you prefer to use butter or vegetable oil to make your oatmeal banana bread? Please post your butter versus oil thoughts in the comment section below.

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your banana bread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container. Using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your banana bread.
• Old flour can affect the taste of banana bread. Old flour can spoil and taste bitter, sour, musty, etc. Banana bread made with old flour does not taste great!
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life and avoid spoilage (e.g. exposure to moisture, pests and dust).
• Flour (if stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to banana bread collapses, etc.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick or long wooden skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick. If batter is sticking to the toothpick then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 2 or 3 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a tooth pick.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people (including me) like to use a digital bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is fully baked. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 to 205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked.
• It takes roughly 10-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc. I like to use an inexpensive hanging oven thermometer (that you can place inside your oven) in order to see if my oven has been preheated to the correct temperature.

• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior bread ratios (thus the need for different baking lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.
• My recipes are based on using a metal bread pan and NOT a glass bread pan. Glass bread pans bake faster than metal bread pans. If you use a glass bread pan for my recipes, you are more likely to overbake your banana bread (e.g. burnt crust).
• Remember this is a more “adult friendly” banana bread due to the oats (which add a slight crunch to the banana bread). It is also not extra sweet because this banana bread lacks chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, etc. Your kids are more likely to prefer Bread Dad’s Chocolate Chip Banana Bread or Butterscotch Banana Bread.
• If you like baked goods with oatmeal, you should try my recipe for soft No Butter Oatmeal Cookies.

• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your banana bread for more than 1 or 2 days (depending on your home’s temperature & humidity), you will need to freeze it. Please read Bread Dad’s How To Freeze Banana Bread for more details.
• Problem with sinking middles? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.
• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Always wear oven mitts when dealing with a hot bread pan, oven, etc.
• For more easy banana bread recipes (e.g. blueberry, cranberry, chocolate chip and eggless), please visit Bread Dad’s main Banana Bread Recipes section.

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Questions – Banana Bread with Oatmeal

Is oatmeal a source of fiber?

Oatmeal is a source of “soluble” fiber. For more information on the difference & benefits of soluble and insoluble fiber, you should read this WebMD article.

According to the Mayo Clinic, soluble fiber “dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium”.

Can I use instant oatmeal versus old fashioned oatmeal to make oatmeal banana bread?

If you are out of old fashioned oatmeal, you can use instant oatmeal instead in order to make oatmeal banana bread. However, be aware that instant oatmeal is more processed than old fashioned oatmeal and comes in much smaller flakes. In addition, instant oatmeal often comes with extra sugar and flavorings. Try to use a plain instant oatmeal without sugar if you need to substitute instant oatmeal for the old fashioned oatmeal in this recipe.

Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
2. Wikipedia, Oat
3. Wikipedia, Oatmeal

Related Recipes

1. Blueberry Banana Bread
2. Cranberry Banana Bread
3. Easy Banana Bread – Classic banana bread
4. Eggless Banana Bread
5. Flaxseed Banana Bread – Fiber
6. No Butter Banana Bread

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