There’s an alarming trend in food these days. It’s as though we’ve run out of things to put a fried egg on because now trendy breakfast places are putting fried eggs on their oatmeal.
Are you into this?
I’ve always used a bowl of breakfast oatmeal as an excuse for brown sugar… essentially as an excuse to make dessert out of breakfast. For this reason, I simply cannot accept a friend egg and a sauteed green on my oatmeal. If I’m going to egg and green through breakfast, I’m going to need a potato reward.
To amp up the dessert value of our breakfast, I’m adding warm caramelized bananas, up with ground cinnamon and toasted pecans, to warm oatmeal. Honey-swirled greek yogurt is the cooling factor to this hearty steel-cut oatmeal.
All of the extra slicing and caramelizing makes this breakfast feel extra special. Sweet. Not savory. I’m sticking to my brown sugar guns.
Here’s a fine place to start breakfast:
• ripe bananas
• steel cut oats: coarse and hearty
• honey swirled Greek yogurt
• cinnamon spice and butter for caramelizing banana slices
In a small saucepan I melted butter with brown sugar, salt, and a touch of cream. Over medium heat the mixture comes together into a warm bubbling dream. It’s luscious. Just add thickly sliced bananas and toss to soften, coat, and warm through.
Thick tart yogurt meets pourable raw honey.
For me… one of the best things in life.
Steel cut oats soak up a good amount of water to soften. The mixture will still be thick, not very sweet, and honestly… a little moppy. That’s the best word I have to describe it.
Layered for breakfast. Softened oats, caramelized bananas with a bit of the caramel, a big dollop of yogurt, and a sprinkling of cinnamon and pecans. It’s delicious… sweet and just right. While the bananas caramelize you may be tempted to add a splash of rum and set the whole thing on fire but we’re still breakfasting and we’ve got to keep it right and tight. The sweetness is treat indeed.
Caramelized Banana Oatmeal Breakfast
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
For the Oats
- 3 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup steel-cut oats
For the Bananas
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
- good pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 diagonally sliced bananas
For the Topping
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- ground cinnamon
- coarsely chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
- Start by making the oats. In a medium saucepan, bring water to a simmer. Add the salt and stir in the oats. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered until the oats have absorbed most of the water, about 20 minutes. The oats will the thick and almost milky looking. That’s right! Set aside.
- To make the bananas, in a small skillet over medium heat, melt together butter, brown sugar, salt, and cream. Stir until smooth and just beginning to bubble. Reduce heat to low and add banana slices. Toss to combine and soften, about 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir together yogurt and honey.
- To assemble the breakfast, divide the oats between two bowls. Top with bananas, dollop with yogurt, sprinkle with cinnamon and chopped pecans. Enjoy warm!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
57 Responses
Please, oh please tell me what china pattern that is? It reminds me of my grandmother’s china, but with fresher colors. It’s gorgeous!
I made this for today’s snow day breakfast! No work, a nice bowl of caramelized banana oatmeal and binge watching The Daily Show under the blanket is a perfect day.
These look beautiful! Yum!
https://goo.gl/MB38qw
Banana & Oat Meal combination was awesome.
Oatmeal is one of my favorite go to hearty meals when I know I’m going to have a long day, but OH MY this sweet topping just took it up to a new high for me! This will be a staple in my breakfast routine.
I haven’t yet jumped on the savoury oatmeal train but I think I might try it at some point during the next few weeks! But in the meantime, I’d love to make this recipe. I usually have bananas on my porridge but I’ve never caramelised them before; I can imagine that it tastes truly decadent.
In other news, apparently Brussels sprouts donuts are a thing – now THAT is too much. https://www.foodandwine.com/news/brussels-sprouts-doughnut
We really have to draw the line!
Joy. This was incredible! This totally added a feeling of “extra special” to my mornings all week. Loved it!
xo
Lauren & typically-steel-cut-oat-hating-but-now-loving husband
Hahaha! That’s great!
caramelized bananas + thick greek yogurt sounds like the best oatmeal toppings ever! How come I never did this before? Swoon!
Yummy! Can’t wait to try this. The floral bowls are beautiful – who makes them?
They’re old china handed down from my grandparents. The back only says Made In Japan.
Then they are even more special if they came from grandparents. I have my grandmothers Noritake “Nancy” pattern. Makes me smile every time I see them.
Caramelised banana is so delicious and with porridge it’s simply beautiful!
Porridge/oatmeal should definitely be sweet! I usually have caramelised bananas on ice-cream (great with a dash of rum tossed in) but I can feel them moving up the ranks to breakfast…
I’m with you! No eggs on oats! I feel quite passionate about that. And equally passionate about desserting my breakfast. If you can’t get passionate at breakfast, you’re waiting till too late in the day.
This looks lovely. Can’t wait to try.
oh my goodness – this looks amazing!
I am a massive lover of oatmeal and banana, so this is the perfect combo. x
Izzy |https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
Oooo La La! Looks yummy :)
Hmmm looks yum!
x Annabelle
travelsandtea.com
Oh my goodness, Joy, this looks so delicious! I really want to make it soon :) I always love bananas! xxx
Egg in my oatmeal? No way. Caramelized bananas and oatmeal? 100% yes!
I think I’ll accidentally forget to make oats and just put the bananas on some ice cream instead… oops.
Noo oops at all!
I’d try a savory bowl of oatmeal… I won’t kick any breakfast out of bed before at least getting a taste… but this looks so much better than any savory bowl could be. So nicely styled too. <3
I had egged oatmeal at a very trustworthy place and…fail. Never again. Give me all the brown sugar!
OH, YUM…I love a good bowl of oatmeal…no eggs added.
Did you know that another trend seems to be small eating establishments devoted totally to the serving of oatmeal for every meal? I recently read about a place that just opened in Somerville , MA… just outside of Boston… that has an exclusively oatmeal menu. Need less to say , there were lots of dishes with eggs and veggies and greens.
Personally, I will stick with the sweeter versions.
I have friends in Sommerville… hm, an all oatmeal restaurant!?
The place is located just outside Davis Square …22A College Ave.
The website link is: http://www.oatshopboston.com
The article I read was published in the Boston Globe Food section on 2/17/17
If you visit Boston on your next book tour, oatmeal could be in your future!
This sounds so good – I love oatmeal! x
Izzy |https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
This sounds yummy…gonna try it.
Love this recepieso much! Just tried it, and it is an amazing sweet alternative to many other porridges I have tried! Yum
I love how fast you whipped it up!
I usually switch between two breakfast options: 1, sweet oatmeal and 2, savory polenta. Polenta is lovely with almost any kind of cheese, greens, bacon, eggs….I tried savoury oatmeal once and, well, probably never again :)
I’ll always take a savory polenta with cream and cheese!
I can’t wait to try this! Fried eggs belong atop a hardy local Hawaiian favorite, loco moco. Rice, a hamburger patty, caramelized onions, the aforementioned fried egg, all smothered in brown gravy. So, so ono (Hawaiian for delicious)! Aloha Joy!
Yes yes yes yes yes.
“…I’m going to need a potato reward.” LOL! Exactly!
That’s what got me too!!! LOVE it!
I’ll put a fried egg on just about anything, but I’m with you — oatmeal is supposed to be sweet! Ironically nothing grosses me out more than sweet grits — one of my high school friends put grape jelly (!!!) in her grits, and my college dining hall put tons of sugar in theirs. It was SO bad! So I’ll stick to caramelized bananas for my oatmeal and eggs with my grits. ;)
I’ve been loving all the breakfast/ brunch recipes lately and I’m really looking forward to your new cookbook! :)
I’m absolutely with you!
Speaking of grits, can you teach us how to make dreamy, creamy, cheesy grits? I need more cheese grits in my life as a good southern girl. :)
Oooo…I’m going to be the contrarian here. I LOVE a good bowl of savory oatmeal…oats, some greens, a couple runny eggs, and some super rich caramelized onions! BUT…not for breakfast. Never for breakfast. Not even brunch. That falls SOLELY into the “breakfast for dinner” category for me.
Now this…this a gorgeous-looking breakfast oatmeal. Those bananas! <3
I can get on board with this!
No joke, there is something awesome about oatmeal for dinner with a little diced bacon and green onion – I can even sometimes convince myself it’s fried rice
The biggest lesson I’ve learned from brunch is there’s no end to things people will put eggs on. Thankfully, I haven’t seen eggs on oatmeal, but now I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Caramelized bananas are a much better option.
I’m fairly certain that any day that starts with caramelized banana is going to be a GREAT one. Yum!
This looks DELICIOUS!! Such a breakfast treat.
I don’t think I could do egg and oatmeal either…
Sounds fabulous! My kind of breakfast. I like eggs but I often have difficulty with the thought of eating them for breakfast, but Eggs Bennie for lunch, yes! I have noticed the Aussie touch of topping a hamburger with a fried egg has made its way onto Canadian menus. This is something else my stomach rebels at the thought of.
Absolutely delish! Forget the egg!
I’m so obsessed with oats at the moment, they’re such a great go-to for breakfast! I shared a baked berry and pecan oatmeal recipe on my blog recently and it’s one of my favourite breakfasts to date.
The Little Things x
Although I am firmly in the #putaneggonit camp, I have to agree with you Joy. Fried eggs have no business topping a bowl of perfectly good oatmeal. There are lines that should not be crossed.
Off to sautée some bananas for my oatmeal. Thanks for this brilliant rendition.
YUM! I have to make this! I’m with you. Tried savory oatmeal once and it made me sad. Brown sugar belongs with oatmeal. Eggs are happier with bacon and hash browns:)
I love porridge with caramelized bananas! Perfect breakfast indeed:)
I saw this and decided to make it for the guy in the house, who’s a bit sick. I hate bananas, so that goes to show I *sometimes* can be a decent girlfriend. I added apple to mine, giving it a similar treatment to the banana. Just the comforting breakfast Mondays demand!
Banana is good one to take in breakfast and I try to include it in my every possible meal.
Amitha
https://www.justphonecall.com/
Oh my!! This is everything a breakfast should be!!
Gemma
http://www.fadedwindmills.com