Chunky Monkey Baked Oatmeal Cups are full of whole grain oats, chocolate chips, banana and walnuts. They pack protein from the eggs and are SO easy to make.
You can either let them sit overnight or bake right away. Perfect for meal prep breakfasts, as they are great to make ahead and also freezer friendly.
Kids absolutely love them, and they’re great as a grab and go breakfast for busy school mornings!
You’re late this morning. (As you are pretty much every morning).
For some reason, even though you get up hours before you need to head out of the door, you’re always running behind.
And as you’re running out the door, kids in tow, you throw a cereal bar at each of them.
Wait. Stop. Cereal bar?
Sigh.
Deep down you know a cereal bar isn’t going to get them through their busy morning.
And, hint hint: It’s not going to get you through your busy morning at work, either.
No matter how many cups of coffee you down.
You either end up super cranky mid-morning. Or with a chocolate bar in hand.
And your kids? There’s a few options, too.
Mommy guilt for sending them off into their day with a few sugary carbs? Notes from school or day care about irrational behavior?
“But they’re kids, they always behave irrationally…” 👈🏻 at least mine do 😬
Snide comments from their care-giver along the lines of “She was SO hungry at snack time, I had to give her more food!” cough cough. (This really happened to me with my toddler.)
Now… What if there was a solution to your busy morning, running-on-empty-calories problem?
Well, guess what, mom. I have one for you:
A make ahead, freezable, easy and filling breakfast recipe.
Ever heard of baked oatmeal cups?
If you haven’t, prepare to be amazed.
These are almost too simple to put together. I have been making baked oatmeal for years, but I never got around to sharing my recipe. They are actually quite similar to one of my earliest recipes, Chocolate Zucchini Coconut Muffins, just so you don’t think I’m making up stuff.
You can double-batch them to make 24 (!!) individual servings, all at once.
OK, maybe 24 oatmeal cups make 8 servings at my house… Or just 6 even 🙈
They are full of nutritional goodness: Whole grains and fiber from the oats. Protein from the eggs and milk. Fat from… The fat, I guess.
Goodness from bananas, nuts and dark chocolate.
Yes, there’s chocolate chips in there and I’m totally calling this recipe 100% healthy, because the soul needs to be fed, too, to feel healthy all around. Also, I’m obsessed with all things chocolate chip banana, as you can see in my current easy weekend brunch favorite, my Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Waffles (which would freeze beautifully, too, by the way).
So, instead of randomly throwing a cereal bar or a single apple at your kids tomorrow morning… Invest 10 minutes of your time right now to prep these oatmeal cups.
You can either bake them right away and eat them at room temperature, or you can prep them and let them stand in the fridge overnight.
Having these ready to go will make you feel like Awesome Super Mom, and knowing your kids are sent off into their day with their bellies filled with an energising breakfast will make your own day all the better.
And go on, grab two for yourself – YOU deserve to ditch the 10am chocolate bar cravings and crankiness, too ❤️
Watch the Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Baked Oatmeal Cups recipe video here:
Get the printable recipe for these Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Baked Oatmeal Cups here:
Banana Chocolate Chip Walnut Baked Oatmeal Cups
An easy freezer-friendly meal prep breakfast (overnight or instant!) for busy families. Made with oats, eggs, chocolate chips, mashed banana, milk and nuts.
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch nutmeg optional
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup mashed bananas about 2 large
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil or any other mild oil
- 1/4 cup liquid honey
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
Whisk together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using) and salt in a large bowl.
Whisk together all remaining ingredients (EXCEPT chocolate chips and walnuts) in a large measuring jug.
Pour wet into dry ingredients, stir well and fold in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Divide mixture between muffin cups, gently shake them to level out. Either cover and refrigerate overnight or bake right away for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
Recipe Notes
If refrigerating overnight, baking time increases by about 5 minutes.
To freeze, pack the completely cooled oatmeal cups into single serve freezer bags or into freezer containers without touching. To defrost, simply take out however many you need and leave them on the counter overnight.