Overnight Oats

Creamy, healthy, and delicious, these easy overnight oats are perfect everyday breakfast goodies. They take less than 5 minutes to prep and have endless flavor combinations.

I cannot imagine my breakfasts without oats or oatmeal. From oatmeal pancakes to oatmeal waffles and oatmeal breakfast cookies, you can make anything with oats! 

And when you don’t feel like putting in an effort but still want to enjoy a healthy and filling breakfast, you can make this simple overnight oats recipe.

Table of Contents

1. What are overnight oats?
2. Ingredients Needed
3. How to make basic overnight oats
4. Tips to make the best recipe
5. Flavor and recipe variations
6. Storage instructions
7. Frequently asked questions
8. More delicious ways to enjoy oatmeal
9. Easy Overnight Oats (Recipe Card)

What are overnight oats?

Instead of cooking oats with liquid on a stovetop or a microwave, oats are soaked in milk for a few hours. They absorb the liquid, become soft, and can be enjoyed uncooked.  

When you let them soak overnight, you get overnight oats! The fun part is adding the toppings, and that is where you can be super creative! Here are some reasons why I LOVE this for breakfast:

• Healthy and filling. Naturally high in fiber and whole grains, once you add some yogurt and milk, it becomes a protein-packed powerhouse breakfast to keep you going until lunch.
• Perfect for meal prep. These oats are a dream breakfast. Spend five minutes the night before, and enjoy a wholesome breakfast in the morning. I like to prep a big batch every Sunday (or my protein oatmeal), so my weekday mornings are simple and slow.
• Easy to customize. Like protein overnight oats, the flavor possibilities are endless (Hello, tiramisu overnight oats or Snickers overnight oats!). See my flavor ideas section for some inspiration.

Ingredients Needed

Easy overnight oats require a handful of everyday ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Oats. I recommend using rolled or old-fashioned oats for this recipe. Instant oats are a little too soft and actually aren’t as nutritious.
• Chia seeds. They add extra fiber, texture, and proteins to this recipe.
• Salt. To balance the sweet flavors.
• Yogurt. Adds a creamy element and also helps to soften the oats. If using Greek yogurt, it packs in over 15 grams of protein alone!
• Milk. It helps to soften the oats.
• Sweetener. On their own, overnight oats can be a little bland, so I like to drizzle a tiny bit of honey or maple syrup. You can use granulated sugar, but it takes more to sweeten them.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How to make basic overnight oats

Step 1- Mix the ingredients: Combine oats, chia seeds, milk, yogurt, salt, maple syrup, or honey in a mason jar or cereal bowl. 

Step 2- Refrigerate overnight: Cover the jars/bowls and refrigerate them for at least two hours. If possible, refrigerate overnight. 

Step 3- Add toppings and enjoy: Remove the oats from the refrigerator, mix the ingredients, add your favorite toppings, and enjoy your oats.

Tips to make the best recipe

• Adjust the consistency: Oats will soak up and expand overnight. Add a little milk to your oats if you find them too thick.  
• Adjust the sweetness: Now, these oats are a blank canvas, and do need some sweetness to them. As mentioned above, I like a drizzle of maple syrup or honey, but you can use other sweeteners, too, like sugar or brown sugar.  
• Stir everything well: Chia seeds tend to clump up if not stirred thoroughly. They make pockets, and you won’t get a creamy pudding-like texture. I recommend mixing them with the oats before adding any liquid.

Flavor and recipe variations

The beauty of this bowl of oats overnight is that they are so easy to customize or adapt to suit your dietary preferences.

• Make it vegan. Use plant-based milk and non-dairy yogurt (I love coconut yogurt). Also, use maple syrup instead of honey if you are strictly vegan.
• Make it gluten-free. Use certified gluten-free oats or an alternative, like quinoa flakes.
• Pack more protein. Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder, or swap out the Greek yogurt for cottage cheese.
• Add a crunchy element. I love topping off my oats with chopped nuts, homemade healthy granola, or some mixed seeds.
• Use steel cut oats. Try steel cut overnight oats instead.

Storage instructions

To store. It is safe to eat refrigerated overnight oats for up to five days. In my opinion, they taste the best during the first three days.

To freeze. I rarely freeze my overnight oats. But you can do so by distributing them in single-serve portions and freezing them for up to two months.

Frequently asked questions

More delicious ways to enjoy oatmeal

• Oatmeal smoothie– Thick, creamy, and so easy to customize.
• Oatmeal banana bread– My family LOVE a slice of this bread for breakfast.
• Blueberry oatmeal– Fruity and wholesome.
• Blueberry baked oatmeal– An almost dessert-like way to enjoy oatmeal.

Recipe originally published May 2020 but updated to include new information for your benefit.