Basic Overnight Oats

I’ve been making Overnight Oats for many years. At first, I started because it was a cool breakfast to eat in the summer months when it’s HOT as soon as your feet hit the floor and you just want to sit in the nude and eat cold food. What? Oh, that’s just me? Oh well.

And then, my kids fell in love with them so I found myself making them all the time. 

Overnight oats are really convenient. I can mix them up while I’m cooking dinner, and then they’re ready to go the next morning!

My usual method is to make small, individual servings for Barry to take to work in mason jars. And then I fix large bowls for the rest of us who are at home – and just portion out bowls the next morning. That method works really well for me. 

So any time you see a single serving recipe, just multiply it and make a really large bowl full. I’m going to give you some basics so that you can adjust to fit your family’s need. 

A few things to note about Overnight Oats:

Can you eat them hot? Sure thing! You can easily heat them up on the stove in a pot…but we like to eat them cold. Either way works!

Can you make them dairy free? Sure! Use your dairy-free yogurt and milk!

How about gluten-free? You betcha! Just use certified GF oats! 

How about adding extra protein? We use Greek yogurt with ours to help with this, but I will also add protein powder, nut butters, or hemp seeds/nuts for that extra protein kick. 

Rolled oats work better than quick oats. Quick oats get really soft and a weird texture. Go for the old fashioned rolled oats. You’re welcome.

How long will they keep once made? I’ve been able to make large batches of these a week ahead and they still work great! If you plan to add REAL FRESH FRUIT, then you want to add that right before you serve it, if you’re not eating that serving the next day. Otherwise, it gets a little watery.

Below is a good base recipe to use for one serving of overnight oats. Multiply by the amount of folks you want to serve. And you can add tons of toppings and different mix ins. 

Print Recipe

Basic Overnight Oats

Prep Time5 minutes mins

resting time8 hours hrs

Total Time8 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2-3/4 cup milk of your choice vary based on desired thickness of oatmeal
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1-2 tbsp sweetener
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients.

  To this base mixture, just add whatever extras you want as your "flavor".

  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

  Wake up to happy oatmeal! 

Notes

Some favorite flavors we make:

• Peanut Butter and mashed banana
• Cherry Almond (chopped cherries and slivered almonds)
• Apple Cinnamon (chopped apple and cinnamon added)
• Chocolate PB (cocoa powder added and some peanut butter stirred in…you can also use chocolate chips)
• Blueberry Lemon (add frozen blueberries the night before and lemon extract or Lemon Vitality oil)