Receta Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread

by Renee@MKA

Today, I'm sharing my new favorite banana bread recipe with you! This Weight Watchers inspired recipe for Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread is enhanced with the goodness of oats for better-for-you banana bread full of banana flavor and a great chewy texture! It just might become your new favorite banana bread too! I know there are a gazillion banana bread recipes out there and you probably have your favorite recipe already...but, so did I! That is, before I met this better-for-you Weight Watchers inspired recipe. I have to confess, I'm not a huge banana fan. I do like having them around the house for a quick bite when I'm hungry though. I'm very picky about their degree of ripeness when I eat them out of hand though. In my opinion, if the bananas have any brown spots, the only thing they are good for is banana bread or muffins.  So, as you can guess, I almost always have bananas that are too ripe to eat out of hand (in my opinion) laying around. I still love this recipe for Easy Banana Bread, but now that I'm back on the Weight Watchers wagon, I was looking for something a little more program friendly.  That's when I found the recipe for Banana Oatmeal Bread on their site. The first time I made it, I made no changes to the recipe or the technique, and while the flavor was awesome, there was just something about the texture I didn't care for. The second time I made it, I ground up the oats into a "flour" and added some vanilla and a little cinnamon. The second loaf had just the right texture...a little chewy, but not dotted with big hunks of oats. I had a keeper! Believe it or not, this bread actually tastes better the next day! Tips for making Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread Do use a food processor or a high speed blender to grind the old fashioned oats into "flour" for a better texture Use a food processor or high speed blender to puree your bananas! I think mashing bananas this way gives breads and muffins they are used in a deeper banana flavor, plus it's so easy!  If you have enough will power, wait and enjoy your Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread on day two. After the bread has cooled to room temperature, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap or foil and allow it to sit a day. The bread will become more moist and flavorful the next day! It will also be very easy to cut into 10 portions once it sits.  Walnuts are optional!  I used them in my bread, but you can leave them out if you want a lower point/calorie bread.  Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread A great way to use up ripe bananas in a better-for-you banana bread packed with the goodness of oatmeal! Ingredients 1 cup old fashioned oats 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 3 large, ripe bananas, cut into chunks 2 large eggs 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 1/4 cup cooking oil (corn, canola, etc) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) Instructions Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9" nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a food processor or blender, add the 1 cup of old fashioned oats. Process until the oats are half their size or less. Add in brown sugar, flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Pulse to combine. Dump dry mixture into a large bowl. In a food processor or blender, add the bananas. Process until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, and oil. Pulse to combine. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Fold in until just combined. Fold in the walnuts, if using. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool in pan, on rack, for 10 minutes, then cool on rack. Wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap and store in cool, dry place or in refrigerator. The flavor tends to get better the next day. Yield: 10 servings Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins. Cook time: 00 hrs. 50 mins. Total time: 60 mins. Recipe inspiration from Weight Watchers Printable Recipe Don't forget to pin Easy Banana Oatmeal Bread to your Pinterest boards!  Like what you see?  Follow RKA on all these social networks!! Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and Instagram