Postpartum · Breakfast

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Squares

Name: Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Squares
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 180 g rolled oats; 3 very ripe bananas, mashed; 2 large eggs; 400 ml whole milk; 2 tbsp ground flaxseed; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp cinnamon; 2 tbsp maple syrup; 60 g walnuts, chopped; a pinch of salt

Banana-bread-flavored baked oats cut into squares that freeze and reheat one at a time - the batch-bake that feeds two weeks of mornings.

Bake this on a good day and future you gets a real breakfast on the days that are not. Oats, banana and flax make the slow, steady sort of fuel that suits long nights and one-handed mornings, and each square goes from freezer to plate faster than the kettle boils.

Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Squares - Banana-bread-flavored baked oats cut into squares that freeze and reheat one at a time

Easy

Vegetarian FiberCalciumIron

Ingredients

for 2 people

180 grolled oats
3very ripe bananas, mashed
2large eggs
400 mlwhole milk
2 tbspground flaxseed
1 tspbaking powder
1 tspcinnamon
2 tbspmaple syrup
60 gwalnuts, chopped
a pinch ofsalt

Open this recipe in the interactive app to scale servings, switch to oz and cups, and tick ingredients off as you cook.

Per serving (approx.): 420 calories · 13 g protein · 52 g carbs · 18 g fat · 7 g fiber

Method

Before you start. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) baking dish with parchment.

Wet. Whisk the eggs, milk, mashed bananas, maple syrup and ground flaxseed together in a large bowl for about a minute, until the mixture is smooth and evenly colored with no streaks of egg.
Dry. Stir in the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and most of the walnuts until everything is coated. Let the bowl stand for 5 minutes so the oats begin to drink up the liquid.
Bake. Pour the mixture into the lined dish, level the top and scatter over the remaining walnuts. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden on top and firm and set in the middle when pressed.
Portion. Cool the bake fully in the dish, then lift it out and cut into squares - about 9, scaling with your servings. Stack them between sheets of parchment to freeze. Microwave one from frozen for about a minute.

Worth knowingOats and flax again - the lactation kitchen's favorite double act - in a format that survives freezing, reheating and being eaten standing up.

Is this safe while breastfeeding?

Yes - this fits normal postpartum eating, with nothing here to limit while breastfeeding. It is worth saying plainly: oats and flax carry their lactation-kitchen reputation, but the feeding trials have been null - supply follows how often the baby feeds, not what the baker adds - so enjoy these as food rather than function. If coffee is part of the morning ritual, guidance while breastfeeding is to stay under 200 mg of caffeine a day, though some US guidance allows around 300 mg.

Substitutions & allergens

Fortified oat or soy milk swaps for the whole milk - removes dairy.
Pumpkin or sunflower seeds replace the walnuts crunch for crunch - removes nuts.
Certified gluten-free oats make the whole tray gluten-free - removes gluten.
The eggs can become flax eggs (extra ground flax bloomed in water) - removes eggs; the squares set a little softer.
Honey or soft brown sugar stands in for the maple syrup.

Storage & reheating

Cool the tray, cut it, and refrigerate within 1-2 hours; refrigerated squares keep for 48 hours, per FSA chilling guidance. For anything beyond that, freeze the squares between parchment on baking day, exactly as the method suggests. Reheat a square only once, until steaming hot in the middle - the microwave-from-frozen minute counts as that one reheat - or defrost it in the fridge and eat it within 24 hours.

Checked against the public guidance we follow - see our sources & editorial standards.