Cinnamon Banana Overnight Oats (Dairy-Free)

Cinnamon banana overnight oats are a cozy -- and dairy-free -- bowl of comfort. You can stir it together in 2 minutes with just 5 simple ingredients before you go to bed: oats, almond milk, banana, cinnamon, and a dash of salt. Then grab it in the morning and top it with whatever your heart desires. It’s a satisfying breakfast packed with fiber to keep you full and protein to fuel your day. 

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Takes 2 minutes. Seriously, these take TWO minutes to make -- mash a banana, dump in oats, stir in some almond milk, add a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt. And when you get up in the morning, you’ll be so glad you set aside two whole minutes, because now you have something quick and hearty and tastes MUCH better than those flavored oatmeal packets. 

A way to use ripe bananas that isn’t banana bread. When my bananas hit the prime time -- that is, perfectly dotted with brown speckles -- it’s go time. If I have 3-4 bananas left, I meal prep a few days’ worth of overnight oats. More than that, and I slice and freeze them for future batches of super creamy nice cream. 

Primed for toppings. The best part of overnight oats is they’re a blank slate for whatever in the heck you want to put on them. For this cinnamon one, I added more bananas, dried cranberries, walnuts, and honey -- this just seemed like a cozy combo to me. But for sure add what you love. A few chocolate chips never hurt anyone, a stir of your fave jam or nut butter, fresh fruit -- no wrong answers here. 

Grab-and-go, healthy breakfast. Even if you’re not going anywhere but to your home office, it’s nice to be able to open the fridge and grab. And you don’t have to think about it -- it’s just sitting there all healthy and ready for you. 

Dairy-free. Many overnight oats recipes begin with a blend of oats and yogurt. This one skips over yogurt altogether. The mashed banana adds some moisture to help the oats expand, while adding yummy sweetness, fiber, potassium, and vitamins C and B6. 

How to Make Cinnamon Banana Overnight Oats

Mash one banana in a bowl. Add ½ cup oats (rolled or steel-cut, not instant), ½ cup almond milk, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Stir until completely combined. Cover and set in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. 

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In the morning, top your overnight oats with your choice of toppings. I like this one with more banana, dried cranberries, and walnuts with a drizzle of honey. 

So … what are overnight oats? 

If you’ve never tried overnight oats, you might be wondering what the heck they are and how they work. Overnight oats are a way to make oatmeal that does not require any heat. Instead, you soak the oats in liquid for 8 hours or overnight. During this time, the oats expand and they become as soft as if you had cooked them. You can eat them cold -- which seems weird, but it’s really not. They taste great cold, but you can heat them up, too. 

What to put in overnight oats? 

This dairy-free overnight oats recipe starts with a 1:1 ratio of oats to almond milk, 1 banana, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in each bowl. 

I keep the fun toppings for the morning. Because anything you put in at night will get softened overnight -- like nuts, ish. I add all the stuff in the morning so I can give my oats some texture and crunch. Here are some ideas for things you can add to your overnight oats: 

• Fresh berries: strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
• Fresh fruit: bananas, plums, peaches, pears, apples
• Dried fruit: cranberries, blueberries, raisins
• Nuts: pecans, walnuts, almonds, macadamias, pistachios
• Seeds: pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds
• Nut butters: peanut, almond, cashew
• Chips: dark, milk, or white chocolate, peanut butter
• Coconut flakes
• Sweetener: honey, maple syrup, brown sugar

What kind of oats to use in overnight oats? 

I prefer steel cut oats -- hands down -- over rolled oats. Here’s why, the steel cut oats are thick and chunky and expand overnight into hearty, chewy pieces that add texture and substance to your overnight oats. Old fashioned rolled oats are flat, so even when they expand, they don’t add the same kind of volume. But that’s just me -- lots of people love using rolled oats in their overnight oats because they become nice and creamy. 

I don’t recommend instant oats for overnight oats. Because they’re pre-cooked, then dried, they tend to break down and get mushy in overnight oats.

Hungry for more overnight oats recipes?

Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats

Peanut Butter + Jelly Overnight Oats

MY RECIPE ESSENTIALS

Snapware Glass Food Storage Containers

I'm not sure why mason jars seem to be the go-to for overnight oats. I find these much easier to work with with. They have nice wide openings for adding and stirring ingredients -- and adding in even more stuff in the morning. They have nice tight lids and are super stackable in the fridge and cupboard. I have 2 sets of these so I never run out.

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Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats

I like to buy these in big quantities because they're much less expensive this way -- and we go through a lot of them. I like steel cut oats in banana overnight oats because they give a nice chewy texture vs. rolled oats, which become quite soft. Both are good, it's just a matter of preference.

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