Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups (gluten-free, dairy-free option)

Filled with sweet banana and plenty of chocolate flavor, these healthy Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups are what breakfast dreams are made of. They’re great for meal prep and for kids too!

Have you ever tried oatmeal cups?

I got into them last year. My kids aren’t big fans of baked oatmeal, but they love my oat flour based muffins. So I figured I might as well try making baked oatmeal in cup form instead.

Spoiler alert: It worked. And now it’s my favorite way to eat oatmeal too.

You know the best piece of baked oatmeal is the corner piece, right? It’s a little extra cooked around the edges, which is just the way I like it. No mushy oatmeal for this texture eater! I tend to avoid the middle pieces of the baked oatmeal pan, that are a little softer than others.

But do you know what oatmeal cups do?! They take the BEST piece of baked oatmeal and turn it into EVERY piece of baked oatmeal!

The texture of oatmeal cups are killer. They’re a little more firm, with no mushy center pieces to avoid. They’re also much more portable and easily portioned for you already! Huge win-win for busy school mornings with kids. Grab one and go!

You know how to make baked oatmeal cups the BEST oatmeal cups though?

Make them Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups of course! 🙂

Filled with sweet banana flavor and rich, sweet chocolate, and healthy oats, these oatmeal cups are for people who would like to eat dessert for breakfast. But, want a healthy breakfast still. So, you can have your Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups and eat them too! 😉

Trust me when I say, you’ve GOT to try these oatmeal cups!

Let’s chat about chocolate banana delicious details first.

Just like banana bread, you’ll need those brown, spotty, overripe bananas for the sweetest Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups. Otherwise, they’ll be lacking in banana flavor. This recipe takes about 2 large bananas, or 2 1/2-3 smaller bananas.

Other than the banana, these oatmeal cups are also sweetened with a little white sugar (or coconut sugar) and a handful of chocolate chips.

If you want to make these even healthier, you can omit the chocolate chips entirely, use less chocolate chips, or use dark chocolate chips in their place.

Other than that the ingredients for these oatmeal cups are pretty simple! You likely already have most of them.

You’ll need butter, vanilla, eggs, milk, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and rolled oats.

To be sure these are gluten-free, make sure to use certified gluten-free rolled oats. I do not recommend using quick cooking oats, or the texture of these oatmeal cups will be different. If you don’t need them to be gluten-free, you can use regular rolled oats too.

To make these Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups dairy-free, use coconut oil (or a dairy-free alternative stick), almond milk (or another similarly textured dairy-free milk), and dairy-free chocolate chips (or just omit them!).

You could also try making these vegan, with all of the dairy-free adjustments (above) and with two flax or chia eggs too (1 tbsp flax/chia seed and 2.5 tbsp water per egg, let sit till gelled).

Either way, you’ll be left with a sweet, healthy, perfectly portioned breakfast for your whole family. Lightly microwave them the next morning for about 20 seconds to get your chocolate chips a little melty again if you prefer (it’s my favorite!).

You can make these inside cupcake liners too so they’re easily grab and go. Just be sure to use high quality cupcake liners, and spray them with a little non-stick spray too if you’d like. I’ve found that cheap cupcake liners always get stuck to whatever I bake.

Or, if you have time for a plate, add some extra topping’s too! A spoonful of peanut butter is INCREDIBLE on these. More sliced banana on the side is also delicious. Or, both, for the ultimate chocolate peanut butter and banana flavor combination.

These sweet and healthy Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal Cups are a breakfast that I crave! Who doesn’t love waking up to chocolate?! My kids love these too, my son gave them a “two thumbs up,” so I’d call them kid approved. 🙂

After you make them, let me know what you think too! Take a picture and tag me on Instagram, or leave a comment and rating, below. I love to see and hear from ya’ll! It makes my day.

And if you need more healthy yet chocolate-based breakfast recipes, check out my Chocolate Banana Oat Muffins, Double Chocolate Pumpkin Oat Muffins and Chocolate Oat Pancakes.