Delicious Banana Nut Toddler Overnight Oats Make Breakfast Dessert
Creamy oatmeal! Using cottage cheese (high protein!) in novel ways! Sticking quinoa and chia seeds into more things! Bananas! It’s all here, and in a package that could function just as well as a treat as breakfast–I often serve it as a snack, in fact. This one is pure dopamine dynamite, ticking off all the requisite first-meal-of-the-day boxes: creamy and unctuous, sweet and indulgent, wholesome and filling. Be sure and make enough for yourself and/or others, as you’ll be eating as much of it–if not more–than your child.
(Fair warning: this is an overnight oats dish, so you’ll need to do a few minutes of prep the night before–I recommend doing so while prepping dinner–so the grains can bathe in the mix while you and your family sleeps; you can make the rest of the dish in five minutes right after, or you can wait to do so in the morning. We've organized the ingredients and instructions accordingly.)
- ½ cup Quinoa
- ½ cup Oats (I use old-fashioned)
- 1 cup Cottage cheese, small curd
- 1 cup Almond milk (or other plant milk)
- 2 Bananas
- Chia seeds
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- 1/2 cup Almond milk (or other plant milk)
- 1 cup de-shelled Walnuts, cashews, or pistachios
- 1 ripe Banana
- Honey or maple syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Prepare the quinoa per the directions on its packaging but allow to heat an additional two minutes past suggested cook time to ensure softness. Allow to cool.
- While quinoa cools, add the plant milk, cottage cheese, 2 banana, a blip of vanilla extract, and a few dashes of cinnamon and cardamom to a blender jar and blend until smooth.
- Once quinoa has cooled, empty it, the oats, and two handfuls or shakes of chia seeds into a large bowl; sift to mix. Pour blender contents over the oats-quinoa-chia mixture and stir until the grains and seeds are completely submerged and integrated; store overnight, or for at least four hours.
- For nut cream: place your chosen nuts, almond milk, banana, another shot of vanilla extract, and a generous drizzle of honey or maple syrup into your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. If mix is still loose or liquidy, add more nuts–or, if lacking those, yogurts–and blend again until thick. Store in fridge until ready to serve.
Plate a few spoonfuls of the oats on your child’s plate/bowl; pour nut cream all over top. Feel free to add berries, banana slices, and/or any other fruit your child prefers.
Lacking quinoa, or the thought of cooking another pot of grains just a total drag? Drop it and double the oat quotient. Or, drop the oats altogether and just make an overnight pudding of equal parts quinoa and chia seeds in coconut and almond milk, subbing out the banana for soft fruits. Chia pudding is but a couple of subs away: cut the quinoa and oats, double the chia, and add a full cup of coconut milk and half a cup of yogurt. Pumpkin puree can be added to any of the above.
Brad (the Dad) is the founder and Chief Recipe Officer of New Dad's Kitchen. His own cooking/feeding journey started humbly during his son's infancy, preparing and managing his son's bottle intake in order to support his wife; it has since blossomed into a full-on passion to feed his child and family delicious and healthy meals that can satisfy both a toddler and his very tired parents.
