Banana Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal with Sweet Banana and Nutty Pecan Flavor!

We could all use a few more healthy recipes right? Especially for breakfast, our most important meal of the day! I always appreciate creative ways to use up a ripe banana beyond just banana bread, too. There are so many things I love about this Banana Pecan Baked Oatmeal, like for instance the fact that it almost tastes like dessert for breakfast while still being healthy. Another thing I really love about it are the heart-healthy Fishers Pecans in this, which not only offer nutritional value, but they give it a wonderful crunch. This oatmeal needs the Fishers Pecans! Here they offer the perfect flavor and contrast to the soft, almost bread-pudding-like texture of the oatmeal (plus don’t bananas and pecans just go together?). I think there are many people who don’t like the texture of a bowl of oatmeal, to some it may seem like breakfast “mush” but to those I say—try this oven-baked version! It has more structure, as you can see it can actually hold a shape. Rolled oats help it feel thick and filling, but less gooey in the pan. I baked this thinking I was going to be the only one that would eat it but my whole family loved it, kids included! You’ll never see my husband sitting down to a bowl of oatmeal, but he gladly polished off a generous serving of this. Toasted pecans will call to nut lovers everywhere!

I made this a few times trying to get the perfect consistency, the first batch came out somewhat “gloppy” for my liking but this batch was perfect. If you want to get more uniform squares you’ll need to let it cool a bit, I do however prefer to just serve up large spoonfuls of it while it’s just hot from the oven.

Substitutions for this Baked Oatmeal

There are several substitutions you could do here based on what you have on hand, like brown sugar for maple syrup, almond milk for milk, almonds or walnuts in place of the chopped pecans, or melted butter for coconut oil – some of those substitutions just won’t be as healthy (but I say, a little butter never hurt anyone).