Banana Cinnamon Mug Oats
Warm, sweet, and heavy-lidded. The bowl that tells your body the day is over.
4 min
Silent
Microwave
One thing to wash
Serves 1
Vegetarian
Oats at midnight are the opposite of a guilty snack — warm, plain, and quietly sedative. Mashing half the banana into the oats before microwaving makes the whole thing sweet and custardy without sugar; the other half goes on top so you get both textures. This is what to make when you're hungry but what you actually need is to sleep.
You’ll need
-
Banana
1, half mashed in, half on top No banana? A big spoonful of jam stirred in instead — different, still good. -
Oats
half a cup -
Cinnamon
a generous shake -
Milk
most of a cup No milk? Water works; it's just leaner. -
Honey or maple syrup
optional
a drizzle
Salt, pepper, oil, and water are assumed — if the salt is missing too, we can’t help tonight.
The way through
- In a big mug or small bowl: half a cup of oats, most of a cup of milk or water, and half the banana, mashed in with a fork.
- Microwave 90 seconds. Watch through the door around the one-minute mark — oats boil over the moment you stop paying attention. If it starts climbing, open the door, let it fall, resume.
- Stir. If it's thicker than you like, add a splash more milk.
- Slice the remaining half banana on top. Cinnamon over everything, honey if you want it sweeter.
Night-kitchen noteUse a vessel twice as big as seems necessary. Oats don't simmer in a microwave, they attempt escape.