Do you have a hard time getting your kids/spouse/significan other out of bed in the morning? Just pop a batch of this in the oven and problem solved! About 20 minutes into baking this your house will be filled with the smell of hot, chocolatey BROWNIES!

Does it taste like brownies? Not exactly, but it sure did cure my chocolate craving (a very rare occurrence for me). Brownies are loaded with sugar, butter, and eggs, whereas this recipe only has a 1/3 cup of sugar, two eggs, and no butter. It is breakfast, after all. Think of this as brownie's lighter, healthier, more meal-like cousin.

If you *do* prefer a more brownie like oatmeal dish, you can up the sugar to 1/2 cup (this is still only about 1.5 Tbsp per serving), use whole milk, and maybe add in a little melted butter before baking. Since I'm not very into sweets in the first place, I made mine simple and light. It still had tons of chocolatey-ness, but I didn't feel like I had just stuffed myself on dessert. That's a win-win for me!

Other fun add-ins that you can try: coconut, walnuts, almonds, peanut butter (heat it in the microwave and stir it in), marshmallows, or even chocolate chips. I have no doubt that I'll be experimenting more with this in the future! :D


(The chocolate bar/chocolate piece is a garnish, not needed for the recipe!)

Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal

Total Recipe cost: $3.59
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Cost per serving: $0.60
Prep time: 10 min. Cook time: 45 min. Total: 55 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
3-4 large	bananas	$1.29
2 large	eggs	$0.32
1/2 cup	unsweetened cocoa powder	$0.32
1/3 cup	brown sugar	$0.11
1 tsp	vanilla extract	$0.28
1/2 tsp	salt	$0.05
1/2 tsp	baking soda	$0.02
1/2 tsp	baking powder	$0.02
2 cups	milk	$0.75
2.5 cups	old-fashioned oats	$0.43
TOTAL		$3.59

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, mash 1.5 cups of bananas (about 3 large or 4 medium bananas).

STEP 2: Combine the mashed bananas with the eggs, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla extract, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk together until smooth. Add the milk and whisk again. Make sure there are no clumps of cocoa powder.

STEP 3: Stir the oats into the milk/chocolate/egg mixture. Coat the inside of an 8x8 inch casserole dish or large pie pan with non-stick spray. Pour the oat mixture into the pan. Slice the last banana and place the slices over top of the oat mixture (this is an optional garnish).

STEP 4: Place the oats in the oven and bake for about 45 minutes. Cut into 6 pieces and serve warm.

Step By Step Photos

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mash 3 large bananas (or 4 medium) so that you have about 1.5 cups total after being mashed. I just mash mine right in my liquid measuring cup so I can see how much I have and add more as needed.



Put the mashed bananas into a bowl and add the eggs, brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.


Whisk it all together until smooth. It seriously looks like brownie mix at this point!


Next whisk in the milk. Make sure there are no clumps of cocoa powder.


Lastly, stir in the old-fashioned rolled oats.


Coat the inside of a casserole dish (8x8 inch or a large pie dish) with non-stick spray. Pour in the oat mixture. Slice the last banana and carefully place the slices on top. This is really just a garnish and therefore optional. They look nice right after baking but get a little not-so-pretty after a couple days of refrigeration (FYI).


Bake the oatmeal for 45 minutes or until the center is slightly puffed up and no longer liquidy. It sure looks and smells like a big huge brownie when it's finished!


I like to pour milk over mine but it would be amazing with vanilla soy milk or vanilla yogurt! Yeah... I think I'm going to have to make a rocky road version! Peanuts, chocolate, and marshmallows - YEAH!