Peanut Butter Banana Protein Overnight Oats

 
While creating the recipe for these mini cupcakes (←‰ ohmygoodness those are so amazing… and positively addictive!), I bought humongous bunch of bananas in case I needed to test the recipe three or four times to perfect it. Since they turned out really well after the first round, I ended up with a few extras that started to turn rather speckly on the counter after a couple of days. I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them…  

My dad subscribes to my blog’s email updates and reads every singe one before opening the newspaper in the mornings, and he recently told me that he loved the look of my banana bread protein overnight oats. He started trying to eat a little healthier the week before, trading his nightly chips for a handful of nuts and his morning store-bought granola for oatmeal, so I offered him one of the last ripe bananas.
 

 
That evening, just a couple of days before Easter, we stood in the kitchen together while I walked him through the recipe. He hates measuring anything (he much prefers the “eyeball method”—that’s why he’s a great cook and leaves most of the baking to me!), but he still pulled out his own kitchen scale to make sure he added the right amount of each ingredient.

The following morning, I walked into the kitchen to find the empty jar soaking in the sink, and when Dad arrived home from work, he carried in a huge bunch of bananas from his car. Success!

While he waited for those bananas to ripen, we tried other overnight oat combinations. He enjoyed my apple pie recipe, and he even tested a tropical version of his own with Trader Joe’s apricot mango Greek yogurt. After each breakfast, he reported that those banana bread oats were still his favorite! But because we both enjoy trying new things, we decided to come up with a slightly different flavor combination with the then-ripened bananas…
 

 
These Peanut Butter Banana Protein Overnight Oats! My dad loves peanuts and snacks on them nearly every day, so it sounded like the perfect breakfast for him. And we were right! These healthy oats are full of sweet banana flavor with the perfect amount of warm peanutty taste—and nearly 19g of protein!
 

 
For those of you who haven’t tried any of my overnight oat recipes before, they’re incredibly easy to make! Simply mix together all of the ingredients in a mason jar or tupperware container, put on the lid, and refrigerate them until morning (or at least 8 hours). Then grab a spoon and dig in!

So yes—they are meant to be eaten cold! While the oats sit in the Greek yogurt overnight, they soften as much as if you had cooked them on the stove or in the microwave. In other words… They’re perfect for quick, lazy, and healthy breakfasts!
 

 
You can use either old-fashioned oats or instant oats in this recipe. No, instant oats aren’t the ones sold in those individual flavored brown paper packages! They’re also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats, and they’re sold in large canisters right next to the old-fashioned oats. However, do not substitute steel-cut oats; those do not soften enough and remain slightly crunchy.

For the peanut butter flavor, you’ll use peanut flour. Peanut flour is made from finely ground partially defatted peanuts, so it has the same flavor as peanut butter but a lot fewer calories—and a higher protein content! This is the brand that I buy (and I always purchase it online from Amazon!) because it only contains peanuts. This brand is another good option, and it’s easier to find in grocery stores. Other brands of peanut flour contain added sugar, which we’re trying to avoid in this clean eating recipe, so double check the label before you buy.
 

 
Ready to make your own? And when you do, remember to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking. I’d love to see your overnight oats!

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