Banana Chai Latte Oatmeal

Yes, my friends, that would be steamed milk you see. (Soy milk. I'm in a soy milk phase right now.)

Some of you might remember my concept for "flooded" oatmeal. In truth, I had grand plans for that concept. I was going to whip it out fairly regularly with creative twists and blah, blah, blah. However, I needed the foam. I didn't want warm milk. I wanted steamed milk. With foam. Without the foam, the flood just wasn't doing anything for me.

In my mind, I decided I wouldn't return to the idea of flooded oatmeals until I had a milk frother. Deep down, I knew that was a dream that would never come true. I would be foam-less for the rest of my life. However, that all changed on December 24, 2013.

You guys, my brother bestowed upon me the most excellent electric milk frother for Christmas. WHAT.

My life will never be the same.

Before making this recipe, I actually didn't expect much from the oatmeal itself; I was too busy fantasizing about the foam. :) However, I must say that this is my favorite chai-themed oatmeal to date. I didn't think I'd like the banana aspect, but I did! As it turns out, banana goes beautifully with chai--better than pears or apples. I still can't believe how fast I ate this.

Obviously, I'm aware that not many people own a milk frother. If you don't have one, you can either skip the "latte" aspect of this recipe entirely (trust me, the Banana Chai is delicious on its own), or you can simply warm up some milk in the microwave or on the stove. Some people say you can try to whisk it or use an immersion blender to create foam...but that's never worked for me, so I'm not going to suggest that.

Banana Chai Latte Oatmeal

by The Oatmeal Artist

Prep Time: 2 min

Cook Time: 8 min

6058579

Ingredients (serves 1)

• 1 cup milk of choice, or water
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (I use Country Choice Organic)
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 rounded tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• pinch of cloves
• pinch of salt
• milk for "latte" flood (optional)

Instructions

1. Bring milk (I actually used all water for this recipe) to a boil, add oats, and reduce heat to medium. (If you'd like to add a teaspoon of flax or chia seeds, do so now.)
2. Mash up banana and add to the oatmeal.
3. Once more of the liquid has absorbed, add vanilla extract, spices, and salt. Stir. Steal a taste and see that it suits your preferences--everyone has specific tastes for chai. Add more spices as you see necessary (I added a dash more cinnamon because I'm a sucker for it).
4. When you're pleased with the consistency of the oatmeal, transfer to a bowl.
5. If creating the optional flood, steam milk of choice according to your appliance's directions. I filled up my Verismo Milk Frother to the minimum line with regular soy milk, added a drop of vanilla bean paste for good measure, and steamed with the frothing wand for 90 seconds. You can also just heat up milk in the microwave or on the stove; it just won't have the foam.

Powered by Recipage

**You can also find hundreds of other oatmeal recipes (as well as tons of other meatless recipes) on my Pinterest account!  You can also like The Oatmeal Artist on Facebook. Thanks!