Banana Mango Overnight Oats

May 18, 2019 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

One of the greatest selling points of overnight oats are their nearly endless array of flavor varieties. What makes them so valuable as a breakfast option is that you never know when inspiration for a new flavor will come to you.

Case in point, these Banana Mango overnight oats. I wish I had some wonderfully inspirational story featuring warm island breezes, or being bitten by a radioactive mango… but it’s none of that. I think this one was just as simple was walking through the fresh fruit section of a local grocer, seeing the mangoes and wondering “What could I do with those?”

I’m glad I did, because the triple threat of banana, mango and coconut, with the kick of using agave as the sweetener in this one… leads to an oats recipe quite different than most of my other favorites — something always appreciated when you value variety!

The seven ingredients in Banana Mango Overnight Oats

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 yellow mango, peeled sliced and chopped
1 banana, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
2 tbsp light Agave nectar
1 cup, old fashioned oats
4 tsp ground brown flax
1 1/2 cups, unsweetened original almond milk

Prep The Oats Base

Before dealing with the fruit, it’s best to get the four portions of oats ready to go. For each of these, combine 1/4 cup of oats, 1 tsp of flax and 1/4 cup (plus 2 tbsp) of almond milk. Mix well and then set aside these four containers.

Prep The Fruit Mixture

Peel and slice the mango into small pieces. Mangoes can be a difficult fruit to works with, so don’t be overly concerned if the size of your pieces vary considerably. If you’ve never worked with mango before, there are several good videos on Youtube about the proper way to cut a mango. But basically it comes down to peel or don’t peel. I’m a peeler.

Next, chop the banana in to small pieces. I normally slice my bananas and then quarter each slice, but again, as long as you’ve got it cut down into small pieces, you’re fine. Add the banana to the mango.

To the banana and mango add the flaked coconut. I do believe that flaked coconut adds more, from a texture standpoint, than shredded coconut. That being said, I also believe that one of the great things about making overnight oats is that you can make something delicious with whatever you’ve got around the house. So if all you have is shredded coconut, that’ll be fine. If it’s sweetened, however, be sure to note any increase in sugars and calories.

To the fruit mixture add the light Agave nectar and toss to coat. Similar to the note about the flaked vs. shredded coconut, you can substitute another sweetened here if you’d like – maple syrup or honey for example. I just think Agave works best in this recipe.

Chopped mango
Mango, banana and coconut
The fruit, tossed lightly with Agave

Time To Eat!

Spoon the fruit mixture evenly on top of your four oat bases, seal the jars and refrigerate for a minimum of 4-5 hours but preferably overnight.

To serve, heat for 60 seconds in the microwave and then mix well and enjoy. I prefer to decant into a small bowl to mix and eat, but that’s personal preference.

I also am a strong proponent of warming overnight oats, but of all the oats recipes I’ve made, this is the one I’ve considered trying cold… although I still haven’t brought myself to do so yet. If you do so, let me know how it is in the comments!