This recipe is sponsored by The Quaker Oats Company.
All opinions are my own.

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Caramelized Banana Oatmeal!

… with some chocolate chips, because shouldn’t every banana creation ever to touch your lips include at least a few little morsels of chocolate goodness? Answer: yas.

So this is called Caramelized Banana Oatmeal, but friends. I am not about to leave you without options here. You can do your caramelization thing by either ACTUALLY caramelizing the bananas in the oven (kind of like roasting), or you can be a short-cut-lover like me and make a quick little pan sauce / glaze beauty to caramelize your bananas for you.

I don’t want to be bossy, but this is what you’d be missing if you didn’t go the pan sauce / glaze route.
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There are a bunch of things I like about this oatmeal, but at the top of the list is the no-refined-sugar thing. Don’t get me wrong – this can be as sweet as you want it to be (hi sweeeeet!), and with those already-sweet banana pieces simmering in a coconut oil and real maple syrup cinnamon glaze, they are going to get REAL SWEET. In a carameliz-y type way that is almost other-worldly. It’s like a whole new more classy look/taste for our basic bananas, and you are going to never want to eat a banana any other way after tasting this natural caramel candy.

I like to mash up half the bananas with the oatmeal to sweeten naturally while avoiding the brown sugar situation — which is usually that I dump straight from the container, get a little too much, and then don’t even try to correct it because I adore brown sugar. The rest of the bananas? On top, duh. Cause we like pretty food around here, and those caramely-soft bananas with some chocolate chips, maybe a few coconut flakes, maybe a shmear of peanut butter, and definitely a sprinkling of sea salt? It all works in a very big way, both visually and flavorfully.

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One last thing:

The Bring Your Best Bowl contest. Have you heard of it?

This week I got to try three brand new finalist flavors that are competing for a place on the permanent Quaker shelf, and they are all unique and delicious and interesting to the max. But of course, I definitely have a favorite. The flavors are:

Lemon Ricotta Pancake
Apple Cheddar Rosemary
Vanilla Chai

My second favorite is vanilla chai served with milk and a touch of brown sugar. And my first favorite is vanilla chai again, but this time with the saucy caramelized bananas mixed in. Put on your fancy pants, kids. Things are getting legit.

Want to try, too? Look for these flavors in your regular breakfast aisle at the grocery store (or just learn more about them online, from the comfort of your PJs) and then go vote for the one that you want to become a permanent part of your breakfast life. Which should be VANILLA CHAI, okay?

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Caramelized Banana Oatmeal

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 cup rolled Quaker oats
3 bananas, sliced into rounds
¼ cup coconut oil
¼ cup real maple syrup
sprinkle of cinnamon
dash of vanilla
sea salt, chocolate chips, and other desired toppings

Instructions

Cook the oatmeal according to package directions. For extra awesome creamy oatmeal, cook it in milk!
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, and vanilla, and let it bubble around for a little bit to get incorporated. It should be lightly foamy and bubbly.
Add bananas and simmer for a few minutes on each side until soft and plump.
Remove from heat. Stir half of bananas into oatmeal, and reserve the other half for topping. Add other desired toppings, and mwah! Delicious.

Notes

I found that I did not need all the cinnamon caramely sauce in the pan for serving with my oatmeal, but it was the right amount for simmering with the bananas.

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Thank you to our friends at Quaker Oats for sponsoring this post!