Easy and creamy Overnight Oats are the best make-ahead breakfast. There is no cooking required, just stir the ingredients together and refrigerate overnight to get a creamy and enjoyable bowl of oatmeal.
It’s easy to make several servings at once for weekly meal prep. You can add your preferred toppings ahead or when you’re ready to enjoy them.
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Overnight oats have become crazy popular over the past couple of years. I first discovered this from Chungah’s Meal Prep Cookbook and from Lisa of Downshiftology, who were both inspirations for this version that we make on our regular breakfast rotation.
We love make-ahead breakfasts from Overnight Cinnamon Rolls to French Toast Casserole and of course Freezer Breakfast Sandwiches. If you are a fan of breakfast meal prep, this Overnight Oats Recipe is a must-try!
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What are Overnight Oats?
Oats overnight is a method of preparing oatmeal with no cooking required. Rolled oats are combined with your milk of choice which softens the oats as they rest in the refrigerator overnight. Overnight oats are typically served cold but can be heated if desired. Here’s why we love it:
- Easy Meal Prep – they can be assembled several days ahead to enjoy throughout the week or to take with you wherever you go.
- Scalable – this recipe takes under 5 minutes to make and you can make 1 or 10 jars at once. It’s so easy when you set it up like an assembly line.
- Easy to digest – soaking oats rather than cooking them helps break down starches so your body can get the most nutritional benefit from the oats.
- Versatile – you can add just about any milk, any yogurt, and any sweetener. There are also dozens of toppings and add-ins you can try. See our favorites below.
- Save money – a single serving will probably cost about 50 cents to make, plus any toppings you want to add.
Ingredients for Overnight Oats
- Rolled Oats – also called old fashioned oats
- Almond milk – or you can use your milk of choice
- Greek yogurt – we use non-fat but whole yogurt would work
- Maple syrup – our go-to sweetener because it incorporates easilly (see substitutiosn below)
- Chia seeds – helps to thicken up the creamy base of the overnight oats
If using sweetened yogurt – you can skip the additional maple syrup since a flavored yogurt usually adds enough sweetness Flavored yogurt is also a great way to change up the taste of your overnight oats. Try blueberry, strawberry, or vanilla yogurt.
How to Make Overnight Oats
- Add ingredients to a mason jar. Stir to combine, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Add toppings – when ready to serve, add your favorite fruit, nut or seed toppings and enjoy.
Common Questions
Rolled oats are sometimes called Old Fashioned Oats. Rolled oats are essentially steel-cut oats that have been processed and rolled or flattened into oval disks for faster cooking.
Yes, you can absolutely use your favorite milk such as coconut milk, oat milk, hemp milk, or even dairy milk.
Oats are generally gluten-free, but be sure to buy rolled oats that are labeled “gluten-free” to ensure that your oats are not cross-contaminated.
Try liquid honey, agave, stevia, or your favorite sweetener.
Toppings for Overnight Oats
We love to use a variety of fruit toppings for overnight oats, depending on what is in season. Here are some of our favorite flavor combinations:
- Blueberry lemon: 1/4 cup blueberries + lemon zest
- Strawberry chocolate: 1/3 cup strawberries + mini chocolate chips
- Raspberry peach: 1/3 cup peaches or nectarine + raspberries
- Banana nut: 1/2 banana + chopped pecans
Have you discovered this amazing breakfast idea yet? I would love to hear about your favorite toppings for overnight oats in the comments below.
More EASY Breakfast Ideas
- Breakfast Quesadillas
- Green Smoothie Bowl
- One-Pan Breakfast Sandwich
- Breakfast Egg Muffins
- Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes
- Easy Breakfast Shakshuka
Easy Overnight Oats Recipe
Ingredients
For Each Serving of Overnight Oats:
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, old fashioned oats
- 5 oz almond milk, (just under 2/3 cup) or your milk of choice
- 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, fat free or whole yogurt*
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
Topping Combinations:
- Blueberry Lemon: 1/4 cup blueberries + lemon zest
- Strawberry Chocolate: 1/3 cup strawberries + mini chocolate chips
- Raspberry peach: 1/3 cup peaches or nectarine + raspberries
- Banana nut: 1/2 banana + chopped pecans
Instructions
- In a mason jar, add all of your ingredients: rolled oats, almond milk, yogurt, maple syrup, and chia seeds. Stir until well combined then cover and refrigerate overnight.
- To serve, add your favorite toppings and enjoy it out of the jar, or transfer to a bowl and sprinkle on your favorite fruit or nut toppings.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I made this last night, stirred in a tablespoon pumpkin butter and few sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice! Hello Fall!! Was an absolutely delicious breakfast!
So glad you enjoyed this for breakfast! Thank you for your review.
I typically don’t like oatmeal especially cooked makes me sick for some reason but tried this overnight oats recipe and fell in love with it! Doing on repeat!
That is awesome news! Thank you for your review, Mariya. Happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe.
I’ve tried several overnight oat recipes before and didn’t like them because the consistency was pasty or something. This was creamy and delicious, and almost, dare I say, refreshing? 😁
Thank you for your awesome feedback, Lezlie. Great to hear that you finally found an easy overnight oats recipe that you love!
Perfect! Thank you for sharing!
What’s the size of the jar you used in the picture? It looks different than the ones you linked in your recipe (a bit smaller perhaps?). Thanks!
Hi there, here’s an amazon affiliate link to the jars that I use.
Love this recipe, easy and so delicious 😋
Thank you, love your recipes!
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Mavi! I’m glad you love my recipes!
Hi Natasha! I tried your recipe and my husband loves it! Is there a way to make a chocolate version of it? I tried some recipe I found but the cocoa didnt mix well and the liquid separated and oats sunk to the bottom! Thanks!
Hi Lea, I honestly haven’t tested that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes.
Try the chocolate almond milk, it is delicious on it’s own.
Oh that’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Natasha. What could I replace yoghurt with? I just can’t handle it.
Hi Gina, you could either use flavored yogurt or leave it out. Yogurt adds protein and also adds a nice creaminess to the overnight oats, but you could add something like a smashed banana or just add a little more almond milk instead of the yogurt, although the overall product wouldn’t be quite as creamy.
Nice . Is it light to digest with all these fibres ?
Yes, it is!
How long will they keep in the refigerator? If I am meal prepping, can I make a weeks worth?
Hi Michelle, it’s best to enjoy these within 5 days of making them.
Natasha, if you add greek yogurt to the regular milk, you will get prostokvasha
As always, yummy, yummy in my tummy :-). Next time I’ll add a dash of vanilla. Thanks for a delicious start to my morning.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Eva!
Love the addition of chia seeds. I usually make this with rolled oats or chia but never thought of mixing them. Hubby grudgingly eats the chia pud so this is a great way to get it into his system 😬
Thanks! Love your recipes ❤️
You’re welcome! Hope you love it.
Can you use Steele cut oats? What can you do to make this more carb friendly? And what size mason jars?
Hi Chris, We used rolled oats here. Rolled oats are essentially steel-cut oats that have been processed and rolled or flattened into oval disks for faster cooking. I can’t say that it will work for overnight oats properly. YOu’d have to soak them for some time to work without them being chewy or dense.
We sometimes mix half and half rolled and steel cut oats because it gives variety to the texture.
That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing. Is it quick-cooking steel-cut oats?
Yes you can use Steele cut oats. That’s what I used and it was excellent!
Did you cook them first then placed them overnight in mason jar? Thank you
Probably a duh question, but I am brave & humble.
Do you heat the oatmeal in the canning/glass jar prior to eating? I don’t like cold oatmeal.
Also, I love these screw-on plastic lids from Amazon. They come in colors or all white. Very handy if you don’t want to use metal rings that come with mason jars.
Hi, that is a great question. You absolutely can serve it warm, just heat it up and stir together. Heat just until warmed through. Thanks for the tip on the jar lids. I have a couple of those but for smaller jars. I don’t know why I didn’t think to look for them.
Can I use steel-cut oats?
Hi Mike, We used rolled oats here. Rolled oats are essentially steel-cut oats that have been processed and rolled or flattened into oval disks for faster cooking. I can’t say that it will work for overnight oats properly. YOu’d have to soak them for some time to work without them being chewy or dense.
I’m here for Anything that makes mornings easier and healthier! These overnight oats were just perfect!
YES! We love easy morning recipes! I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Lisalia!
I’ve been wanting to try these for a long time and when I saw that you made them, I knew I had to try them because I love all of your recipes!
This was no different than the rest. It was SO good, thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jessica!
Can I use the i minute quick oats instead of rolled oats for this recipe?
Hi Madhavi, I haven’t tested that but I suspect it could work well with quick oats. The texture would be a little different though. If you experiment, let me know how it goes.
Oh yeah, I love overnight oats! I had never thought to do chia seeds before. Such a great addition, and almond milk to make them a bit more healthy. Love this recipe! 🙂
Thank you for the wonderful review, Matt!