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Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal (Backpacking Breakfast)

Rich, decadent spin on classic trail oatmeal — everything comes from a standard supermarket.

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Source: Andrew Skurka, andrewskurka.com/breakfast-recipe-banana-chocolate-oatmeal

Servings: 1 · Cook: ~10 min in the field · Per serving: ~128 g dry weight

Ingredients

Base (bag 1)

  • 43 g rolled oats (regular, not quick-cook)
  • 14 g whole milk powder
  • 14 g chopped walnuts
  • 14 g butter
  • Salt, to taste — critical, don’t forget it

Add at the end

  • 14 g chocolate chips (milk, dark, or semi-sweet)
  • 14 g dried cranberries (Craisins)
  • 14 g sweetened banana chips
  • Ground cinnamon, to taste

Method

  1. Pack — Solo: bag everything together except the chocolate chips (and optionally the butter). Double-bag or use a rigid container for the butter in hot conditions.
  2. Boil — Bring 240 mL of water to a boil.
  3. Cook — Add the butter, walnuts, oats, milk powder, and salt. Simmer 30 seconds (1–2 minutes if fuel allows — longer cooking makes rolled oats creamier).
  4. Rest — Cover and let sit 5 minutes. Add cinnamon to taste.
  5. Finish — A few minutes before eating, stir in the chocolate chips, cranberries, and banana chips so the chocolate melts into the oats.

Notes

  • Use regular rolled oats, not quick-cook — the author confirmed quick oats change the result (though one reader deliberately uses them to save fuel, at the cost of a mushier texture).
  • Banana chips: the recipe assumes sweetened chips. If yours are unsweetened, add sugar or honey.
  • Cleanup: up to 350 mL of water makes cleanup easier, but the melted chocolate will still need attention. Adding the chips to the pre-mixed bag also works, just messier.
  • Healthier / vegan swaps: cacao nibs for chocolate chips; dried blueberries or no-added-sugar cranberries for Craisins; coconut milk powder for the whole milk powder; coconut oil for the butter (fully vegan).
  • Cold-soak: possible, but the meal’s at its best cooked — the chocolate only melts with heat.
  • The fat from the butter, chocolate, walnuts, and whole milk powder balances the sugar for a slow-burn effect.

Nutrition (per serving, per source): ~641 kcal