Chunky Monkey Vegan Oatmeal Bake
Well people, this is the era of pantry cooking and using what we have on hand, as horrible as it is, I think it is a time of growth and change for all of us. I think food waste should be at a minimum and creative uses for what we have will have us reaching for things we wouldn’t normally. This oatmeal bake is a perfect example of this, have some bananas that aren’t great for a snack anymore? Out of eggs? No problem, this bake uses flax eggs, which if you are anything like me, you bought once on a whim and have barely touched it since.
This is my fourth oatmeal bake on the blog and I wanted it to be craveable, vegan, and packed with protein. The flavors of chunky monkey are always fun for every age, bananas, chocolate and nuts. I have been asked several times to see how to incorporate protein powder to them and how it should be integrated. I used some Vegan vanilla protein powder that I had on hand and I loved how it turned out. This is a very pantry-heavy breakfast: oats, almond milk that can be shelf stable, coconut milk from the can, flax for the binder, walnuts from the freezer, and bananas that you didn’t get to in time. It freezes great and it was honestly a hit with 3/4 of my family (my oldest wasn’t even willing to try it). This is easy enough that you could swap ingredients for what you do have on hand because I know that we all grabbed different things in the craziness.
Chunky Monkey Vegan Oatmeal Bake
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 packet or 3/4 cup vegan vanilla protein powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tablespoons ground flax seed
1 cup almond milk
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup mini vegan chocolate chips
Topping: 1 banana thinly sliced, whole walnuts, mini chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 375 and spray a 13x9 baking dish with oil.
- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients: oats, chia seeds, protein powder, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- Using the same bowl, combine bananas, flax seed, almond and coconut milks, vanilla, and maple syrup. Using an immersion blender or a hand held mixer, combine together to make a smooth mixture. Sprinkle in the chocolate chips and stir.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry in the baking dish and carefully stir until all combined.
- Top with banana slices, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center does not jiggle. Cool completely before slicing.
To Freeze - cut into individual portions and wrap each portion in cling wrap, then place into a labeled freezer bag. Heat up in a microwave for 1-2 minutes from frozen or thaw overnight in the fridge.
Here are all the dry components: oats, chia, baking powder, cinnamon, chopped walnuts, salt, and vegan protein powder (which is totally optional)
All mixed up and ready for the baking dish.
Bananas, along with the milks, maple syrup, vanilla, and flax on top. The flax acts as a binder in this bake.
I like using my immersion blender for this, making it all smooth and cohesive. Best part is I just used the same bowl as the dry ingredients, so less dishes!
stir in those chocolate chips if you so choose.
Stir the wet into the dry until all combined and there are no pockets of dry mix.
Make it pretty if you want with another sliced banana, walnuts, and a sprinkle of chocolate chips. Its ready for the oven.
