If you’ve ever wanted to wake up to the smell of baking banana bread, but you didn’t want to do all the work to make it happen, this is the recipe for you.

I’ve been on a banana-bread kick lately (see: banana bread smoothie), and today I continued the tradition with this banana bread oatmeal. It ended up being the perfect breakfast because it’s cold and snowing in D.C. today. I curled up with a bowl of oatmeal on my most comfortable chair and I kind of felt like the cat that I’ve been cat sitting lately (except he gets more excited by fake mice).

I love slow cooker recipes because most of them just involve putting everything in a pot, giving it a stir and letting it sit. Then you can do productive things, like listening to music, using a head massager or whatever else you like to do in your spare time. In this case, you can even fall asleep.

But a word to the wise: I would spray or grease the slow cooker pot before adding all of the ingredients. My oatmeal turned out great, but some got stuck to the bottom and sides of the pot.

Another piece of advice: Consider drizzling a little maple syrup on top of the finished product. The oatmeal is delicious on its own–it really does taste and smell like banana bread. Cinnamon…nutmeg…caramelized banana. Does life get better?

But a drizzle of maple syrup will take in into pancake territory and up the sweetness factor.

Here’s a recommended track for oatmeal eating.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal (slightly adapted from The Lemon Bowl)

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
1 ripe banana – mashed
¼ cup chopped walnuts
2 cups almond milk
2 cups water
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
banana slices, walnuts or maple syrup – optional garnish

Directions

Spray a slow cooker pot with nonstick cooking spray, or grease it with oil.

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir until well combined.

Cook overnight on Low for 8 hours.

In the morning, stir oatmeal with a fork to loosen the steel cut oats and make sure everything is fully incorporated.

Serve warm with banana slices, chopped walnuts or maple syrup if you wish.