Creamy banana porridge (banana oatmeal) made with mashed banana, flavoured with warming cinnamon spice, and topped with sliced banana and crunchy walnuts!
A healthy, quick, and easy breakfast that will keep those hunger pangs at bay until lunchtime! You might also like my easy overnight Weetabix recipe!
Not to be confused with Jamaican green banana porridge popular in the Caribbean, this easy banana porridge made with sweet yellow overripe bananas and rolled oats is a popular breakfast recipe in the UK!
It's a warming, filling, and hearty breakfast - perfect on a cold morning!
👩🍳 Love porridge? Try my easy biscoff porridge too!
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✔️ Why you'll love this recipe!
Here's why this is the best banana porridge recipe!
- Filling oat based breakfast.
- Warming for chilly mornings.
- Only 6 simple ingredients.
- Creamy porridge recipe.
- Loved by the whole family.
- Takes less than 10 minutes to make.
🛒 Ingredient notes
- Bananas - you'll need one mashed banana that cooks with the oats, and one sliced banana to top the porridge bowls.
- Oats - use ordinary rolled oats, but not quick cook or jumbo oats.
- Milk - I use semi-skimmed milk but you could also use a plant based milk instead such as oat milk.
- Cinnamon - for gentle warming spice. You could use a teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.
- Maple Syrup - to help sweeten the porridge. You could also use honey or brown sugar.
- Walnuts - for the topping.
🔪 How to make banana porridge
The recipe card with ingredient quantities and detailed instructions can be found at the bottom of the post
One: Place the oats, milk, mashed banana, and cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil on a medium heat.
Two: Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for 5 minutes (stirring often) until the porridge is cooked and creamy.
Three: Spoon the porridge into bowls and top with maple syrup, sliced banana, walnuts.
💭 Expert tips
- Over ripe bananas have natural sweetness, so you may find you don't need the maple syrup at the end of cooking.
- Cut the calories and use water instead of milk.
- The amount of porridge this recipe will make will serve 2 adults or 3 children. It can easily be doubled.
- Make the porridge in a slow cooker.
🍴 Serving suggestions
Serve the porridge for breakfast with fresh fruit and juice. My kids also enjoy a bowl before bed in the winter.
Try different porridge toppings. Here are a few of our favourites;
- Fresh Fruit and Berries.
- Stawberry Coulis.
- Blueberry Compote.
- Nuts and Seeds.
- Jam.
- Golden Syrup.
- Chocolate Chips.
- Peanut Butter or Almond Butter.
- Caramelized Banana.
Why not have a go at making Nutella porridge for a special weekend treat? Banana and Nutella go really well together.
🥡 Storage
- To Store. Porridge is best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat the porridge in the microwave with a splash of extra milk to help loosen it.
- To Freeze. The porridge can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost fully in the fridge before reheating as above.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Oatmeal and porridge are essentially the same thing – it's what you get when you add milk or water to oats and cook them.
Yes! Simply replace the cow's milk in the recipe for a plant-based substitute such as oat milk, coconut milk, or almond milk.
Yes, porridge can be made in the microwave. Reduce the cooking time to 2 minutes and 30 seconds and reduce the quantity of milk by one quarter. Make sure you use a large microwaveable bowl to prevent spillages.
Oats are a complex carbohydrate, and provide slow-releasing energy throughout the morning to keep those tummies full until lunch. Porridge contains carbohydrates, protein (especially when made with milk), fibre, as well as zinc, magnesium, iron and B vitamins.
😋 More breakfast recipes you might like!
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Recipe
Easy Banana Porridge
Ingredients
- 125 g Rolled Oats
- 650 ml Milk
- 2 Bananas 1 mashed, 1 sliced
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- 2 tablespoon Walnuts
Instructions
- Place the oats, milk, mashed banana, and cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil on a medium heat.
- Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook for 5 minutes (stirring often) until the porridge is cooked and creamy.
- Spoon the porridge into bowls and top with maple syrup, sliced banana, walnuts.
Notes
- Overripe bananas have natural sweetness, so you may find you don't need the maple syrup at the end of cooking.
- Cut the calories and use water instead of milk.
- The amount of porridge this recipe will make will serve 2 adults or 3 children. It can easily be doubled.
- Make the porridge in a slow cooker.
- Fresh Fruit and Berries.
- Stawberry Coulis.
- Blueberry Compote.
- Nuts and Seeds.
- Jam.
- Golden Syrup.
- Chocolate Chips.
- Peanut Butter or Almond Butter.
- To Store. Porridge is best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Reheat the porridge in the microwave with a splash of extra milk to help loosen it.
- To Freeze. The porridge can be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost fully in the fridge before reheating as above
Eliza
What a great recipe! Love the flavors you combined of bananas, oatmeal, cinnamon and walnuts, plus a splash of maple syrup! Perfect comforting breakfast and a perfect way to start the day.
Kris
So creamy and comforting! Will definitely make again. Thank you!
Anjali
I made this for my kids for breakfast this morning and it was a total hit!
Sara
We loved this recipe, so simple yet delicious.
Jamie
I love this combination of cinnamon and bananas! It's such a comforting dish as well!