Read my review of "Not Just For Goldilocks! Your classic porridge bowl...rebooted!" and make this mouthwatering Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Baked Oatmeal with a deliciously crusty exterior, a soft, creamy, chocolatey, oaty interior, crunchy roasted hazelnuts and soft, sweet baked banana.
Photo courtesy of Jo Hodson
A whole book FULL of oatmeal recipes is my idea of breakfast heaven and that's exactly what you get with Jo Hodson's new book "Not Just For Goldilocks! Your classic porridge bowl....rebooted!"
When she asked if I would like to review it, I jumped at the chance as I eat oatmeal a lot and I am always on the lookout for new recipes to change it up.
I woke up and was checking my email in bed (yes, I am addicted to my phone) and found this beauty of a book in my inbox.
Photo courtesy of Jo Hodson
Talk about perfect timing! All of the recipes look fab but the Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Baked Oatmeal really caught my eye, so I hopped out of bed and whipped it up right away, leaving it to bake while I showered and got ready for the day.
When I returned downstairs the whole house smelled delicious and the Choc Banana Hazelnut Bake looked fantastic. It tasted as good as it looked. With a deliciously crusty exterior, a soft, creamy, chocolatey, oaty interior, crunchy roasted hazelnuts and soft, sweet baked banana. Breakfast couldn't get much better.
My only complaint would be that it said it served two but I ate the whole thing myself. Perhaps the serving sizes are a tad on the small size, or I just eat too much? Let me know what you think when you make it, which I highly recommend you do as it is delicious.
Photo courtesy of Jo Hodson
Rich chocolate, creamy banana and toasty hazelnuts make the perfect flavour combination. Regardless of portion sizes I recommend you double the recipe as you will want to eat it more than once! It warms up well the next day or you can just eat it cold.
Later in the day I also made the Choc Porridge Squares ready for packed lunches and snacks throughout the week. They are so good with peanut butter spread on top! Simple to make and a great healthy snack which conveniently freezes well too.
With well over 50 other recipes in the book you will be spoilt for choice. All of them are dairy free, egg free, wheat free, sugar free and vegan and there are options for low carb, fat free, gluten free, grain free, high protein and ketogenic diets.
They all look so good that I am slowly making my way through the book, page by page. Some of the recipes that I can't resist and will be making are:
Coconut flour porridge (next on my 'to make' list!)
Matcha tea porridge
Sweet potato porridge
Lemony blueberry porridge
Pear, carrot & ginger porridge
Pumpkin, orange & pecan porridge
Raw buckwheat porridge
Pear & courgette (or zucchini as we call them here in Canada ) porridge
Creamy quinoa porridge
Triple grain porridge
Plus other porridge spin-offs such as
Apple & ginger oat bake
Overnight oat cookies
Bakewell oat muffin
PB&J oat smoothie
I think my breakfasts are well and truly covered for the foreseeable future!
As well as recipes such as the ones listed above, there are topping ideas and recipes, tips, nutritional information and handy conversion notes. All of the recipes are quick and easy with minimal prep time, short ingredient lists and very easy to follow instructions. I love that the measurements are in cups too which surprised me as Jo lives in England where cup measurements aren't often used. The book is laid out well with easy to read text and great photos of each dish. There are traditional type recipes using ingredients that you would easily associate with oatmeal, interspersed with inventive recipes containing ingredients that I would never ever have thought to use with oatmeal such as turmeric, tofu and cauliflower. They might sound strange but believe me, the recipes look and taste great.
Jo has kindly offered to let my readers have 20% off their purchase of "Not Just For Goldilocks". Visit this link to purchase and use the code GOLDILOCKS20 at checkout to get your discount. The code is good until the end of November 2015.
You can find the recipe for theChocolate Banana Hazelnut Baked Oatmeal below. Leave a comment to let me know if you enjoyed it as much as me and share your pictures with me on Instagram or Twitter. I am @avirtualvegan on both. Use the #avirtualvegan on Instagram so I don't miss anything.
If you are hungry for more oatmeal after trying Jo's Choc Banana Hazelnut Bake then be sure to try my Pear & Walnut Oatmeal with Salted Chocolate Sauce .
Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 45g | 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground flax seeds
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 handful roasted hazelnuts (or raw)
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 medium banana (half mashed, half sliced)
- a few drops of stevia or 1 - 2 tablespoons of syrup to taste
- 120mls | 1/2 cup non dairy-milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl, add the mashed banana and sweetener to the milk, then mix all into the dry ingredients. Arrange the sliced banana on top of the mixture once spooned into a pie dish. Drizzle a little syrup on top as desired.
- Use a medium pie dish- approx 20cm diameter (the mixture should be approx 2cm deep). Bake at 180C for approx 30 mins until the top is golden and banana lightly browned at the edges
Rochelle says
That looks delicious but would you mind sharing the grain free version?
A Virtual Vegan says
There isn't actually a grain free version of this in the book. I think it would probably work if you subbed the oats with coconut flour or ground almonds though. I have some coconut flour so might give that a try at some point. If it works out ok I will post it.
Rochelle says
Ok, thanks. I'll give it a try with almond flour or meal.
Sina @ Vegan Heaven says
Yummy! This looks so delicious! I love how easy the recipe is! :-)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Sina!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Howie...Who couldn't be sold by the combo eh?
spabettie says
this looks wonderful! I love hazelnuts, great addition!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you! Hazelnuts and chocolate make everything better! ?
Gin says
I can imagine how awesome it was to leave this baking and come back to a kitchen filled with chocolate scented breakfast goodness! Sounds lovely :)
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Gin...You can't beat cooking smells filling the house! Who needs air freshener??? ?
The Vegan 8 says
What a cute book name! I love chocolate and hazelnut and have a "Nutella" baked oatmeal coming. I love oats so much and eat them nearly everyday. What a great recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
It is a fab recipe and you can't beat oats for breakfast. They keep you full for so long and are so incredibly good for you! I look forward to seeing your "Nutella" baked oatmeal...another one for my oaty breakfast rotation!
Jac -Tinned Tomatoes (@tinnedtoms) says
Great flavours. I was amused at the egg free comment though, if anyone is making porridge with eggs then they are doing it wrong!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Jac. It's a baked oatmeal/porridge and non vegan versions typically use egg to set it. Also some of the other recipes are for oatmeal bars, slices etc which would typically use eggs, hence the egg free statement.
Levan @ Crazy Vegan Kitchen says
YOU HAD ME AT
CHOCOLATE
BANANA
and HAZELNUT
ohmygodsomebodysmackmenowineedthisinmylifeicantevenpressthespacebarandusepunctuation! :D
Amazing!
A Virtual Vegan says
Lol you are so funny Levan and if you carry on typing like that I might just smack you as you made me go cross eyed trying to read it!! ?
Vanessa @ VeganFamilyRecipes.com says
This sounds so delicious! I love anything with roasted hazelnuts! Yum!
A Virtual Vegan says
Me too!
veggiesdontbite says
This sounds delicious! So many great flavors. And I'm loving the cookbook name!
A Virtual Vegan says
I love it too!
Linda @ Veganosity says
That sounds so good! What a great theme for a cookbook.
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes it is. I am sure it will be very popular.
Danielle Omar MS RDN (@2eatwellRD) says
This looks awesome for a weekend breakfast...excited to whip it up!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Danielle and yes it makes a great weekend brunch!
Jenn says
Breakfast is pretty much my favorite thing ever so I love the idea of a book dedicated just to porridge!! Fantastic! This Chocolate Banana Hazelnut Bake looks and sounds so delicious!
A Virtual Vegan says
Thanks Jenn and yes I agree with you about breakfast!
Lucie says
Oh wow! I love oatmeal so much, this is totally the perfect book for me :D The baked oatmeal looks incredible, at firs I thought it was some luxurious pie
A Virtual Vegan says
It does look kind of like a pie in that photo!
Kelly Page (@TastingPage) says
I can totally see how you ate both servings in 1 sitting. It's not your fault as this looks amazing. I need to try it!
A Virtual Vegan says
Make sure you make double! ?
whippedgreengirl says
Looks amazing! I love seeing what treats you are posting next!!! Thanks for sharing & pinning :) Angie - AKA WhippedGreenGirl.com
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you and you are very welcome! Loving your pumpkin seed oil face serum recipe too!