Say hello to one of my favorite breakfast inventions, ever! >> overnight oats. Perfectly yummy and filling, packed with protein and fiber — all in the amazing flavors that a girl can dream up. I love it for particularly busy mornings, when I need something that I can grab on my way out and eat in the car, or at my desk (which I try not to do very often!). Cold out of the fridge or heated up with a bit of extra almond milk, it’s totally and completely customizable, and doesn’t really even require a recipe.
So here’s my “formula” (I use that term loosely, because let’s be honest — this is another non-recipe recipe) for great overnight oats:
MAKE YOUR BASE
Step 1: Pour your oats and liquid of choice into a bowl or jar. Your oats to liquid ratio should be 1:1 — I typically stick with a ½ cup of quick or rolled oats and a ½ cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk as the base for my overnight oats, which fits perfectly into an 8-ounce mason jar with all the tasty mix-ins.
You can use any type of liquid you prefer really — water, dairy milk, almond milk, soy milk, half and half or even juice. Rolled oats definitely need to be soaked overnight, while quick oats could get you to overnight oats awesomeness in just 30 minutes.
Step 2: Stir in your favorite flavor combinations and sweetener of choice! I’ve listed several of my favorite mix in combos below, just in case you were wondering — but the only limit is your imagination. I typically mash half of a banana into all of my overnight oats for the creamy-smooth texture and light sweetness. And something crunchy — like pecans, walnuts, or toasted coconut — because texture is everything.
Step 3: Cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator (or for at least 30 minutes if using quick oats).
Step 4: In the morning, top with more fresh fruit, granola, coconut, a dollop of almond butter (or all of the above!) and enjoy.
ADD YOUR MIX-INS
You can definitely make several of these ahead of time — they keep well covered up in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The seven flavors above are a few of my favorite overnight oats variations, making an ordinary morning sooo much better with their dessert-like goodness.
I can feel it, it’s an overnight oats kinda week. Make a couple of your favorites, or all seven if you’re like me and can’t decide!
FIND MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Can I heat this up or do you have to eat them cold? Maybe a silly question 🙂
You can definitely heat it up! I’d recommend stirring in a little extra almond milk (or your milk of choice) — a tablespoon or two — before heating it up. The oats soak up all the milk called for in the recipe overnight. Adding a little extra will help make the heated version creamier.
How long would you recommend heating it up for?
Hey Kim! I suppose that would depend on your preferred method. Microwave is always easy, I heat mine up in 30 second intervals stirring in between until it’s hot (typically 90 seconds total). It doesn’t take too long, even on the stovetop, as the oats are already softened and the liquid absorbed. Just be sure to add some more milk — maybe 1/4 cup — so that the oats don’t dry out too much when heated.
Hi can I use gluten free oats as I cant have any other kind
Sure! I’ve not used certified gluten free oats before, but I would think the results will be pretty consistent.
Unless I’m mistaken, the gluten free oats are the same as normal oats but weren’t processed in a plant that processes other grains as many factories tend to.
I lOVE Overnight Oats! And your non-recipes sound amazing! I’m guilty of enjoying overnight-oats as a tasty treat, rather than having them as part of a nutritional breakfast. With that being said, To the lady that asked if she could heat them up??…. I wanted to give away my little secret… BUTTER! Yes! I always cut off a generous pat of cold stick butter and plop down into my little jar of oats. When I have everything added I put the lid on and set it back in the fridge overnight. Come morning, I grab my little pre-made jar of goodness, take off the lid, and I use the microwave to zap some warm life into my treat. The butter melts, the syrup sweetens, all the toppings are having a party, and when I take that first bite,…. Mmmm …. Mmmm… Mmmm….. My morning just got a little better.
Great ideas on the oatmeal combinations! Thanks for sharing…. I just wanted to pass along my butter idea.
How long can these be kept in the refrigerator?
Hey Sarah! I’ve kept them for an entire work week without any problems.
Do you add the liquid at the beginning of the week or the night before?
If I’m just prepping a couple of days worth, I’ll add it then — but for a whole week, I’ll prep the dry ingredients in advance and then add the wet the night before or do a couple of days at a time.
English is not my first language, so I’m having some troubles understanding the difference between quick and rolled oats. When I go to the supermarket, I usually buy “oat” and there is only two kinds available: small and big. I made oatmeal a couple of times, and I cooked it with unsweetened rice milk and water for about 15-20 minutes. I’ve also used your trick to add ½ small banana, mashed to make it sweeter. I don’t really feel the need to add sweeteners or sugar or anything like that, fruit is enough for me to make it perfect.
I don’t know if I can use these recipes with the oat I find here, since I’m not sure if it will be too much for it to spend the whole night in the refrigerator. What’s the worse thing it could happen?
Hey Silvia, the grain on rolled oats is a bit thicker than quick oats, so they take a bit longer to cook (or soak up the milk). The Kitchn explains the different types of oats really well here >> http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-steelcut-138355.
If the oats you’ve used before take between 15-20 minutes to cook, I bet they are rolled oats or steel cut oats. Both are totally fine to use in an overnight oats recipe due to the length of soaking. And it’s great if you don’t want to add any additional sweeteners! That’s totally up to your personal preference.
This is the first time I tried overnight oats and I did a kind of apple pie take. I used unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened applesauce, apple peels (that I keep and freeze when I make real apple pie), cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, a teaspoon or less of molasses and topped with chopped almonds and a touch more molasses. Super yummy! Thanks for the tips.
Apple pie overnight oats sounds delish! I’ll have to try that, too 🙂
Do you do everything the night before or just the oats part?
Hey Paul, I typically do everything the night before to save time in the morning and to let the flavors meld together for a while.
Awesome! Thank you for your help. These look awesome. I was just think nuts etc might go soggy. Will be trying these next week. Very excited
Overnight oatmeal is a life saver, breakfast ready in the morning.. I love it!!
Fantastic recipes. I’m in love with the blueberry muffin one. Another favourite of mine is using coconut milk and adding fresh diced mango along with your base recipe of banana and syrup.
Hi! Can you use steel cut oats or Irish oatmeal with these recipes?
Hey Shelley — I haven’t tried myself, but I believe that if you soak them overnight it shouldn’t be a problem at all!
These are great ideas! I’m allergic to bananas, do you have any suggestions for a replacement?
Hey Rachel! That’s a really great question. Bananas give these oatmeal recipes a creamy texture and a bit of sweetness. They don’t have a real natural replacement, but I think that I would try substituting a couple tablespoons of applesauce and increasing the milk by a couple tablespoons for added creaminess. The applesauce will add a bit of tang and depth of flavor that you would have gotten from the banana without overpowering the other flavors. Good luck! Let me know how it turns out 🙂
You can try adding 1/2 – 1 tbsp of chia seeds instead of the banana. In liquid, chia seeds develop a jell-like coating which helps thicken up the oat mixture, and also gives it a silky texture.
Not sure if it’s been tried but I’ve done grated apple adds sweetness and oats add creaminess
i just made 4 of these, and I can’t wait to try them! I have a pretty big sweet tooth, so this seems like a perfect way to calm my cravings. Thanks for sharing!
Hey Abby — Yes! I hope you love them! They really are a great alternative to sugary cereals or pastries in the morning 🙂
got a rough idea of the calorie count on the these? thanks
Hey Elizabeth — thanks for reaching out! I typically try not to count calories, focusing instead on the types of foods I’m eating like the whole grains, fruits and healthy fats. But I also know that having nutrition information is super helpful for lots of people! My Fitness Pal has a pretty slick nutrition facts counter (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator) — you just plug in the ingredients and it generates nutrition info for you, no sign up required 🙂
Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jaenell. I am always looking for quick, easy, make ahead recipes! I will do these organically . I wonder if a dry sweetener, like organic sugar, would work. Have you tried? I’m thinking it would be thicker. Also, I love honey…..have you tried any recipes with honey instead of maple syrup? TY
Hey Kris — Yes! I’ve also used organic sugar and brown sugar in these oatmeal recipes, and it’s worked out really well. I’ve never used honey in them, but I bet that would be great — I’ve got a little raw organic honey bear in my pantry that could use some lovin’ too 🙂
Thank you for explaining the recipe breakdown and using the 1:1 ratio. I have looked at so many recipes over the last few days and they all require yogurt. I can’t wait to try your recipes!!
For sure! Simpler is always better in my kitchen 🙂 I hope you enjoy them!
Thank you for this wonderful post, what a great idea for breakfast that requires little time in the morning but does not sacrifice taste and nutrition!
I liked these recipes so much I featured them on my blog, check it out here-https://delightfullyalexis.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/weekend-web-wonders-4/
Hey thanks for the mention, Alexis! That’s so sweet of you 🙂
I just some of these. I made banana walnut, blueberry hazelnut, and strawberry banana. I loved the blueberry one and can’t wait to try the others! I added a half a scoop of protein powder and a splash of extra milk to each one to add some protein as my diet is severely lacking in protein. I was afraid a full scoop would make it too thick. It worked out great in my opinion. This may be the first step in achieving a healthy diet plan!
That’s so great, Jen! I love the idea of adding in some extra protein — I’ll have to try that 🙂
These look great but they all list banana as an ingredient. I really don’t like bananas. What can I substitute???
Thanks for reaching out, Nancy! I think that chia seeds would be another great option to get a creamier consistency in these recipes — maybe try adding a tsp of chia seeds and a couple extra tbsp of milk.
Hi! These look wonderful, I can’t wait to try them once the school year starts back up! I am wondering if you can make these all up front and leave them in the fridge, or if the consistency would get messed up by the end of the week? I’m a big fan of Sunday meal prep for the whole work week!
Also (silly question) do you mash up the banana separately and put it in, or just put all the ingredients in and just mash it all together while you mix?!
Thanks!
Hey Lauren! You can definitely make these ahead. I’ve made 5 in advance for the work week before and they’ve still been great by Friday 🙂 The jars I have are pretty small, so it’s difficult to mash the bananas with everything together — so I’ve been mashing them in a bowl and then divvying it up among the jars.
These sound great, but I’m allergic to banana. Can you recommend something else to add in place of the banana to get the creamy/sweet effect? I can’t ever seem to find just the right additive to make up for the missing banana texture.
That’s a great question, Leslie. I find coconut milk to be super creamy and slightly sweet — you could try subbing that for the liquid in the recipes. Chia seeds are also great for adding that silky texture to oatmeal. Try adding a tsp of chia seeds with an extra tbsp or two of whatever liquid you choose. After a few minutes, the chia seeds will form a gel and thicken up the oatmeal.
These sound so yummy. I made one before work today to have in the morning. The banana nut bread one. I’m so excited for it. I may try the carrot cake one next!
How long do you microwave them for in the morning in a glass mason jar?
Thank you for sharing!!
Hey Lindsey — You should be able to microwave like normal in a glass mason jar, as long as the metal rim and top are off. When I heat up my overnight oats, I like them pretty hot — in my microwave that takes about 1.5 minutes, but my microwave is pretty old so yours might differ a bit… Try 30 second increments, stirring in between, until you get to the temperature you like 🙂
Can I use steel cut oats for the overnight combination?
You sure can!
Oo I’ll have to try some of these! I’ll also add a couple tablespoons of fat free vanilla greek yogurt. My go to is cocoa powder as a mix in, then topped with fresh banana slices! Heaven!
How do you cook them in the morning?? Micro or stovetop?
Hey Michelle — The beauty of overnight oats is that they don’t require any cooking in the morning! But if you prefer to eat them hot, I’d recommend microwaving 🙂
Thanks for this! I’ve never made overnight oats before. My sister’s mentioned them before, but I wasn’t inspired to try making it until just now 🙂 This should be perfect for my husband to have for breakfast (I usually get something ready for him the night before), and for me and my toddler.
Can you list the nutritional facts for these? How many calories, carbs, ect. ?
Thanks
Hey Sarah — thanks for reaching out! I typically try not to count calories, but I also know that having nutrition information is super helpful for lots of people! My Fitness Pal has a pretty slick nutrition facts counter (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator) — you just plug in the ingredients and it generates nutrition info for you, no sign up required. 🙂
Hi! Do you need to place the oats raw or do we have to cook them as per instruction on the pack? Thank you!
Hello! I actually use plain quick oats, rather than the flavored oatmeal packets. If you use the flavor packets, I bet you could still use them raw!
I just came across this on Pintrest and am so glad to have it. I made these years ago and it was delicious but had lost the “recipe” and couldn’t remember the radio of liquid to oats. Heading to the kitchen now to make next weeks’ breakfast. Thanks!
What can I use instead of almond butter?
Hey Karleen — You can really use whatever you like! If you still want the creamy texture and added healthy fats, you could substitute another nut butter like peanut, cashew, sunflower etc.
Does the banana turn brown if I make the banana nut bread recipe the night before? So excited!
Hey Danielle — The banana didn’t turn brown overnight for me!
Thank you so much for posting this! I have my first batch in the fridge now! Quick question though, I used a 8oz mason jar, but was barely able to fit the oats and liquid in. So I figured I’d add the rest in the morning. How do you make it all fit when doing 1/2 cup oats and 1/2 cup liquid?
Hey Jennifer — Getting everything to fit in a small-ish jar can be tricky, but I’ll add 1/2 of the liquid and stir to incorporate, and then add a bit more, stirring again, until it’s all mixed in.
Another choice beside maple syrup??
Hey Stephanie — I bet that honey, agave nectar, or regular / brown sugar would work out well. If you do opt for a dry substitute, I’d recommend adding a dash more liquid to make up for it.
Hey everyone,
Just as wee answer to people having slightly ‘wet’ mixtures. I add a 1/2tbsp of Chia seeds overnight and it makes everything gloopy and lovely.
Some lovely flavour ideas on here!!
Kate x
do you have to use bananas? Do not eat them. What can you substitute?
Hey Lou — you don’t have to use bananas. You could sub a tbsp of chia seeds mixed with 2 tbsp water, or greek yogurt to achieve the creamy consistency from the banana.
Would avocado work like the banana to add creaminess? I understand that is a lower glycemic option than banana.
Hey Amy — absolutely! I think that avocado would work really well — though I would wait until just before you’re ready to eat to add it, so that it doesn’t turn brown on you.
All those combinations look yummy! A question: I just want to know how many calories are for each version of the mixes? Thanks!
I haven’t done a calorie count on each one, though the mix-ins are fairly consistent so I don’t think that total calories would change too much between them. The base, including the banana, comes in around 200 calories — so I expect that each version is between 250-300!
Tried the Blueberry muffin and the flavor was good but the texture was raw and chewy, like eating undercooked rice! I followed the recipe exactly so I’m not sure why the oats are still so chewy. Not good!
Sorry to hear that, Abbigail. With enough liquid and soaking time, oats typically soften up nicely and get really creamy. At least 30 minutes of soaking for quick oats if you’re in a rush (which I often am!), though overnight is preferred for these recipes. If you use rolled or steel cut oats, the end result will be a rougher texture.
I tried steel cut. I’ll switch to rolled oats for tomorrow’s. Thanks for the quick response!
Thanks for such creative flavor combinations. I about passed out when I saw the Almond Joy flavor 🙂 I’ve found that after sitting overnight in the refrigerator these can be frozen with no reduction in quality. I just pull one out of the freezer and pop it in the refrigerator the night before and they are ready to eat cold or heat up as usual the next morning. Since this discovery, I make a month’s supply at a time, assembly line fashion. In only 20 minutes breakfast for an entire month is prepared! FYI: I enjoy a chewy texture and a nutty flavor so I use old fashioned oats and about a tablespoon of steel cut oats instead of quick oats. Works great.
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Looks yummy. What is the ccalorie count?
Hey Bonnie — thanks! These recipes each come in around 300 calories.
I mad the Blueberry Muffin recipe but I used all steel cut oats, ate it cold and it was fantastic.
Glad to hear it! 🙂
I put yogurt in mine also. Pureed pumpkin, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, milk and oats. Yums!!
Do you have an idea of calorie count?
Sure! Each flavor combination comes in around 300 calories or less.
Thanks!!
Hi, I had steel cut oats mixed with vanilla yogurt, raisins, shredded carrots, cinnamon and topped with hazelnut butter and sweet apricot kernel butter. That is delicious!
hi i was wondering if i can mix yogurt in with this to help thicken it up. i am just unsure how much to add in, any suggestions?
Hey Elaina, I’ve made overnight oats with yogurt a couple of times before. Depending on the consistency you like, I’d recommend reducing the liquid by half and replacing it with the same amount of yogurt. You can always add more liquid in the AM if needed!
Has anyone tried adding Quinoa to the mixture? If so, please give directions. Thanks,
I make one just now and I can’t wait to try it.It’s my first time.Mine is with different ingedients.I used honey,cinnamon,apples,raisins and yoghurt instead of banana.I want to put in some walnuts.Thanks for the isparation and the great recipe!
Has anyone made these up in batches? How long will they stay in the fridge? I’d like to make 4-5 at a time for the week. Thanks
Great way to start your day!!!
Do you know what the calories are for each of these. Although they all sound very appealing, I am counting calories and I wouldn’t want to overdo it.
Hey Lisa — each flavor is around 300 calories 🙂
Would these be good for a diabetic to eat? They sound really good…. Looking for something different for breakfast..
Bananas really upset my stomach. Also, the flavor and texture of a banana is not my favorite.
I’m wondering if these will taste as good without banana. And what canot I use to replace it?
Thanks for reading guys.
This is awesome! Yummy, good for you eating. Who says fast food can’t be good for you. Thank you… sharing this with many.
Oh… and in case you want to correct it. There is a typo in step one. You have ‘radio’ instead of ‘ratio’.
Blessings,
jl
Thanks for pointing that out!
Can I use oat meal? I dont want to waste the packs I have but I am tired of their favors so they are sitting in my pantry. Also I am a student so I try to meal prep so I don’t spend money eating unhealthy food
Hey Jessica — why not try jazzing up the oatmeal packs you have in your pantry with some additions like extra nuts, fresh or dried fruit, coconut, nut butters to freshen them up and make them more interesting!
Have you tried oatmeal (already cooked) topped with extra virgin olive oil and a bit of sale. Delicious and healthy. Don’t know how this might translate to overnight, but going to try it.
I’ve never tried that before, but it sounds delicious! I’ve been enjoying savory oats with a fried or poached egg on top lately, so this sounds right up my ally 🙂
Greatest idea ever for quick oatmeal breakfast. Will try many of them soon.
I think I did mine little different, after reading some of the comments I think I was supposed to layer the ingredients in the mason jar…oops I just took all the ingredients put them in a big bowl..mixed everything up..then placed it in the mason jars. Which is the correct way . iOS is one way better than the others?
Either way works fine!