Can I make the porridge without banana in the oats?

Yes. The mashed banana in the oats brings sweetness and creaminess, so without it add 1 more tablespoon of maple syrup and a splash more plant milk. The caramelized banana then stays as the topping. If you do not like banana at all, stir 2 tablespoons of apple sauce or a grated pear into the hot porridge instead.

Which cocoa should I use for chocolate porridge?

Unsweetened cocoa powder, the kind you bake with, not drinking chocolate powder, which is mostly sugar and tastes of very little cocoa. If you like it more intense, use 1 heaped tablespoon or let a few extra pieces of dark chocolate melt into the hot porridge. Raw cacao works just as well and tastes slightly fruitier.

How do I caramelize the banana without it falling apart?

Use a banana that is ripe but still firm, not one with brown spots. Halve it lengthwise, let the coconut oil get hot, melt the sugar in it and lay the halves in cut side down. Turn them once after 1 to 2 minutes, then take them straight out of the pan. Do not stir and do not fry them for too long, otherwise they soften and break.

Can I make the porridge ahead or reheat it?

The porridge keeps tightly sealed in the fridge for 2 days. To reheat, add a splash of plant milk and warm it in a pot or the microwave until creamy again. Always caramelize the banana fresh, it turns mushy once cold. If you want to save time in the morning, mix the oats, cocoa, cardamom and chia seeds in the pot the evening before.

Is this chocolate banana porridge gluten-free?

Oats are naturally gluten-free but often get mixed with wheat during growing and processing. If you have celiac disease, use oats that are explicitly labeled gluten-free and a gluten-free granola. All the other ingredients are gluten-free by nature.

31 AUGUST 2026

Chocolate Banana Porridge with Caramelized Banana

Name: Chocolate Banana Porridge with Caramelized Banana
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 50 gr (1.8 oz.) fine rolled oats; 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) plant milk; 1 ripe banana; 1 Tbsp cocoa powder; 1/2 tsp cardamom; 1 tsp chia seeds; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 pinch salt; 1 to 2 Tbsp maple syrup; 1 to 2 bananas; 1 Tbsp coconut oil; 1 to 2 Tbsp brown sugar; 2 Tbsp granola; 20 gr (0.7 oz.) dark chocolate; 2 tsp vegan chocolate spread

By Verena Frei

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Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 20 min
Servings: 2 servings

What can I cook tonight?Tap what you have at home and I will show you what fits.e.g. withplant-based milkoatsbanana

Hello lovelies,

as soon as the mornings turn cooler again, porridge is back on our table, and my chocolate banana porridge with caramelized banana is the kind the children get up early for without being asked. In the bowl there are fine rolled oats, a mashed banana, a spoonful of cocoa and a pinch of cardamom, and on top goes a second banana, fried in coconut oil and brown sugar until golden. Everything is vegan, everything is ready in 20 minutes.

Chocolate banana porridge from above with a spoon, caramelized banana and banana slices

Chocolate for breakfast sounds like a sin, but here it is mostly cocoa and banana, and most of the sweetness comes from the fruit. If you prefer the cold version you may already know my chocolate overnight oats with chia seeds, which are stirred together the night before; this porridge is the warm answer to them for autumn mornings.

The cardamom is my little trick. It gives the cocoa a quiet, almost oriental note and suits banana the way cinnamon suits apple. My creamy apple cinnamon porridge with caramelized apples works on exactly the same principle, except that there the fruit in the pan is the apple.

Close-up of the caramelized banana with chocolate spread and granola on the chocolate porridge

The oats can be swapped, by the way. With millet flakes the porridge turns out a little finer and naturally gluten-free, like my millet porridge with fresh orange, which I cook whenever someone at the table cannot have oats. The cocoa gets along with both equally well.

Chocolate banana porridge from the side in a white bowl with a spoon

If you love the banana and chocolate combination as much as we do, you can take it on the road too. My banana chocolate granola bars for on the go are made from almost the same ingredients and travel far better in a backpack than a bowl of porridge.

Caramelized banana half with dark chocolate on the chocolate banana porridge

Ingredients for the chocolate banana porridge with oats, bananas, chia seeds and dark chocolate

I hope this porridge makes the darker mornings a little brighter for you. And when there is more time at the weekend, the same mood turns into fluffy chocolate pancakes for Sunday breakfast here, which the children like at least as much.

Yours, Verena

TIPS

Verena's notes

Tip from my kitchen: fine rolled oats make the porridge really creamy, with coarse oats it takes 2 to 3 minutes longer and stays chewier. Start with half a teaspoon of cardamom, it is strong, and add more at the end if you like. The banana for the topping should be firm, an overripe one dissolves in the hot sugar. With 2 caramelized bananas the porridge properly fills 2 people, with 1 banana it is more of a big bowl for one hungry person. The chocolate spread is a luxury and can go, then use a few more pieces of dark chocolate instead.