Easy Overnight Oats Recipe

Looking for an effortless, nutritious and delicious breakfast? You need to try this  easy overnight oats recipe.

I’m usually not into oats and oatmeal, but this is pretty much the only way I can have oats. Or in oatmeal raisin cookies.

This healthy effortless breakfast idea takes 1 minute to make and you can easily customize it to your taste.

Often times I skip breakfast, which is not good at all, but I’m either in a hurry or I’m too lazy to make one. But if I make oatmeal the night before and keep it in the fridge, I’m sure I’ll have breakfast, since all I need to do is add some fresh fruit to it. I topped my oats with some chia seeds and hemp hearts. Feel free to add your favorite nuts. 

Oats are rich in fiber, proteins, vitamins and minerals, which makes them healthy for your gut and perfect for breakfast.

Overnight oats

What are overnight oats? It is basically a “no cook” oatmeal. Instead of cooking oats on the stove top or in the microwave, you combine them with milk (I use nut milk) and leave in the fridge for the oats to soften and absorb the milk. They may soften for as little as 2 hours, but for 6-8 hours (or overnight) you’ll get better results.

These easy overnight oats are usually consumed cold, but if you’d like to you can try warming them up.

The two main ingredients involved in the preparation of these oats are – Old fashioned oats and milk (I used almond milk).

Then you add a sweetener. I recommend liquid sweetener like agave nectar or Stevia extract, but even granulated sugar can be used.

How to make overnight oats?

1. In a jar (that comes with a lid) combine the oats and nut milk. I usually use equal amounts of oats to milk, so the ratio is 1:1, which makes my breakfast have great texture.
2. The thickness depends on how much milk you add, but I don’t like mine too thick, I prefer soupy texture and you can tell from the photo.
3. I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats, but even steel cut oats could be used as a substitute. I love my overnight chia pudding and that’s why, I also added 1 tsp of chia seeds to the oats.
4. Add the sweetener to the jar. For sweetener I only used 1 tsp of agave nectar, since I prefer my oatmeal not too sweet. You can also use maple syrup or honey.
5. If using Vanilla extract, add 2 drops to the jar.
6. Close the lid. Shake 1-2 times and refrigerate overnight.

Toppings:

I’ve shared with you the basic overnight oatmeal recipe I usually use, but there are certain things you can add to yours to make them taste different.

Any nut butter – peanut, hazelnut or almond will be a great addition. Jams of all sorts will add fruity flavor to your breakfast.

Fresh fruit like sliced bananas, kiwi, berries or apples will add extra vitamins, texture and freshness to this breakfast.

You can add nuts and seeds if your choice like – chopped peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds or hemp hearts. Don’t forget chia seeds to give you more energy.

More breakfast ideas:

A different kind of healthy breakfast bowl – this Acai Bowl made with Acai powder tastes refreshing. This Asparagus, mushrooms and mozzarella frittata is perfect for a healthy weekend breakfast for the family. For a restaurant quality breakfast choose these Baked eggs in ramekins. You may also want to try this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal from Running to the kitchen. It is the perfect for fall meal prep option. These Sweet Crepes from Cooktoria are quick and simple to make, just make sure you follow the step by step instructions.

Original recipe posted in September 2014. Updated in October 2020.