Every morning around 6am my alarm clock goes off. It starts quietly and gets progressively louder and more annoying if I try to fall back to sleep. I’m usually in the middle of some random dream and I think about it for a few minutes as I try to will myself back to sleep.
If my alarm clock fails to rise me, it has no choice but to resort to other methods: walking up the length of my body, kneading my stomach and chest with sharp nails (ow!), purring – inflected as if it’s a question, and shooting laser beams through my eyelids to will them open. No matter what, do not open your eyes. I repeat: Do not make eye contact with the alarm clock!!!
If you do, it’s over.
Meet my alarm clock – highly reliable with a 0.000001% fail rate.
[This is Sketchie’s “I’m HUNGRY and haven’t had breakfast yet AND I happen to hate you right now” face. I snapped this while we were away over the long weekend. Sketchie was particularly unhappy that we slept til about 7:30 that morning!! gasp]
After 5 or 10 minutes of playing dead, I give in and stumble downstairs ever so slowly as Sketchie rubs his head along the staircase railing. He has now morphed back into Happy Cat and he’s prancing along to his feeding spot.
After I feed him, he ditches me and goes back to sleep (how nice), leaving me alone until Eric gets up.
I notice the morning feels a bit chillier than usual and make my first batch of hot oatmeal in a long time. The weather is dreary and creamy peanut butter oats sound like the perfect solution!
To add a fun twist to this bowl, I partially caramelized a ripe banana in the pot before cooking the oats with a tiny bit of non-dairy butter. This was just to intensify the flavours a bit more. Then I swirled in half the peanut butter and cooked the oatmeal as normal for about 8-10 minutes.
The result is a creamy bowl of oats lightly sweetened with banana and highlighted with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. It smells heavenly! On top, I added more peanut butter, a good dose of cinnamon, nuts, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. It was just about perfect.
1 year ago: Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto
Early Morning Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
Yield
1 serving
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 large very ripe banana, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp non-dairy butter or coconut oil
- 1/2 tbsp natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2-1 tsp chia seed (or ground flax)
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
For toppings
- heaping 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
- nuts
- cinnamon
- pure maple syrup
Directions
- In a medium-sized pot over medium heat, cook the banana and non-dairy butter or oil for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in 1/2 tbsp peanut butter, and add the oats, chia, milk, spices, and a pinch of salt. Whisk well until combined.
- Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, stirring often for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
- Scoop into a bowl and top with peanut butter, nuts, cinnamon, and maple syrup.
I can’t talk about Sketchie waking me up in the morning without sharing this classic Simon’s Cat video!
Amazing recipe!! I’ve never liked oatmeal so much as I do now. Also impressed with how healthy and filling it is. This has become a weekly morning tradition in my house, it wins hands down with everyone. Thank you!
I made this today with a frozen banana. The banana got quite soft and mixed in with the oatmeal. It was very tasty and filling, but I’m sure it would be even better with a fresh banana! A treat for breakfast!
Just made this and am eating it with my daughter right now! So good…I can see this as a breakfast staple come the colder months!
I just broke all of the rules and made this while it’s 90 degrees outside. This is hands down, the tastiest oatmeal I have ever had! Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe!
This morning I woke up and looked outside and it was raining! I was reminded of the “banana pancake” song from Jack Johnson but instead of banana pancakes, I made peanut butter banana oatmeal with my 5 year old sister… We had so much fun cooking and listening to Jack Johnson songs! My other sister is allergic to almonds, so we replaced the almond milk with cashew milk and because my mom hates using peanuts because it’s so unhealthy, I used cashew butter! It was a dream! Thank you so much!
Beautiful!! The oatmeal, which I will be making in a minute, and the kitty!!
Could you leave this in the fridge and leave it as “overnight” oats? :)
It’d be great to make it the night ahead and to eat it on the go!
I can’t see why that wouldn’t work! Let me know if you try it out :)
I just made your pb banana oatmeal and it is absolutely delicious! I have to admit that I used cow’s milk instead of almond milk, but it turned out perfectly. Thanks!
One of the best bowl of oatmeal I’ve ever had! Great idea of caramelizing the banana. :)
this is so delicious! Thank you so much for the recipe (and the story to it).
The smells during making this dish are so nice for starting your day right – I put on some nice music and the waterkettle for some coffee – it felt like life could not be any better. I followed your suggestions for topping the oatmeal with peanut butter, some peanuts and cinnamon and as a little berry-extra, I tossed in a couple of dried cranberries and goji berries. They gave a nice sour touch to the sweetness of the banana.
Thanks again for the recipe and congrats to your wonderful website – it’s always a pleasure to read!
Just wanted to give you a gold star! I just made a variation of this with apple and sunflower seed butter instead of the PB/banana and it was also amazing. Topped with apple pie chia seed jam! Feels amazing after a run. :) Thanks!
Just made this & it is wonderful! A healthy & super easy supper. Will make again & again.Good way to use overripe banana.
I just made this this morning and let me say HEAVEN in a bowl! Perfect fuel for a chilly morning and with a golden retriever at my feet it’s perfection!
I didn’t have peanut butter or peanuts so I tried it with almond butter and walnuts. Oh my goodness!!! What a breakfast treat… amazing.
YUM! It’s like eating a bowl of peanut butter cookie batter!! I put in 1tbsp of PB, because PB is the best food on earth. This is delicious! Thank you.
I had this for breakfast this morning and it was so good, it was easy to forget it’s actually home made. The perfect amount of banana, peanut butter and cinnamon. thanks!
This was super yummy! Enjoyed it this morning! Just found your blog and this was the first recipe I have tried. Can’t wait to try others!
I made this for breakfast today and personally, I think that the peanut butter taste should be stronger. It was a very interesting and creative idea and I really enjoyed making it!
So simple but so good!
Thank you for teaching me how to elevate plain old oatmeal to next level goodness with still all healthy ingredients! I love your blog & recipes so much!
xo
I just made it this morning on a whim. Delicious!!!! So creamy and hearty. I used coconut milk instead of almond. PB and pecan bits on top, yummmmmm!