Overnight Oats
Published 12/27/2023
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You can’t go wrong with overnight oats for breakfast! Our famous overnight oats recipe is made with just a few ingredients and there is no cooking involved. You need oats, chia seeds, Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and milk.
Here at Fit Foodie Finds, we are known for overnight oats. Heck, we’ve been posting about them since 2010 and have over 30 variations on the site! So many of you love our overnight oats recipes and rightfully so! They’re thick, creamy, and taste like dessert.
This is our guide to overnight oats. In this post, we’ll teach you how to make overnight oats and how to flavor them, too! We have a base recipe that we swear by and have tested 8 simple flavor variations so that you don’t get bored.
My 1-year-old, Gus loved EVERY version of these oats and if he could talk, he’d tell you his favorite flavor is the peanut butter and jelly (he even had seconds!).
What do you need for overnight oats?
To make the most basic (and easy) overnight oats recipe you really only need oats and liquid. However, our famous overnight oats recipe calls for a few more things to give it that dreamy + creamy texture!
- Oats: we’ve tested this recipe with both rolled oats and quick-cooking oats and they both work great. Rolled oats will give you more of a “bite” and quick-cooking will be creamier.
- Milk: feel free to use any kind of milk with this recipe. We prefer almond milk, but cow’s, soy, oat, etc. work too!
- Chia seeds: chia seeds are our secret weapon for thick overnight oats. As chia seeds sit in liquid, they expand and become gelatinous. DO NOT skip the chia!
- Greek yogurt: Not only does Greek yogurt add protein, but it will make your oats taste like cheesecake. Feel free to use a plant-based yogurt if you’re looking to keep things vegan.
- Vanilla: you can’t go wrong with vanilla. We almost always add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to all overnight oatmeal recipes!
- Honey/maple syrup: these are our preferred all-natural sweeteners, but you can also use agave or even brown sugar.
How to Make Healthy Overnight Oats (2 Steps)
- Mix: Add all ingredients for your overnight oats in a bowl or jar and stir until combined.
- Soak: Cover and let the oatmeal soak in the fridge overnight (or for at least 2 hours).
Do I have to let me oats sit overnight? The longer you let your oats soak in the liquid, the thicker they will be. We recommend at LEAST 2 hours, but overnight is optimal.
Oats too thick or too thin?
- Too thick: add more milk and mix to thin things out.
- Too thin: add more oats and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Make them Blended Overnight Oats!
If you love a smooth and creamy overnight oats recipe, then blended overnight oats are for you.
- Add all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender.
- Blend on high for about a minute. This will pulverize the oats and make them super creamy.
- Transfer the overnight oats into an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- In the morning, you can eat as-is, or add a splash of milk to thin things out a bit.
8 Overnight Oats Flavors
Below we are sharing 8 different overnight oats flavor variations. Simply add the additional ingredients to the base recipe, and you’ve got 8 different ways to eat overnight oats!
Snickers
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
- 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
- Optional: 1 more tablespoon maple syrup
PB&J
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons preserves
Chocolate Protein
- ¼ cup chocolate protein powder
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup milk, any kind
Lemon Blueberry
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, mashed
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Vanilla Latte
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Replace 1/2 cup of the almond milk with brewed coffee or bold brew
Apple Pie
- 1/2 cup shredded apple
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
Strawberry Banana
- 1 medium banana, mashed
- 4 medium strawberries, diced
Banana Cream Pie
- 1 medium banana, cut into slices (or mashed)
- 2-4 vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
Overnight Oats FAQ
Overnight oats are a thick and creamy way to make oats that taste just like dessert. Making oats overnight is when you soak oatmeal in a liquid such as milk, making it no-cook oatmeal. Instead of having to cook your oats, you can actually eat them raw by soaking them in milk or water for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Overnight oats are meant to be eaten cold, however, if you prefer warm oats you always have the option to heat them up. Because you soak the oats overnight, they become soft and easy to digest making them delicious eaten cold!
I like to eat my overnight oats thick and chewy with more of a bite, but you can always add more milk to thin things out.
Of course, you can make overnight oats without milk. If you need a dairy-free option, you can use any kind of dairy-free milk or even use water!
It takes about 5 minutes to prepare overnight oats and about another 2 hours for the overnight oats to soak and be ready to eat! We recommend preparing your overnight oats before bed so that you can wake up to an already-made breakfast!
You can make overnight oats with quick-cooking oats. You can sub quick-cooking oats for rolled oatmeal 1:1.
You can make overnight oats with seel cut overnight oats but they require a bit more liquid and leg work. We have an easy steel cut overnight oats recipe for you to try.
Storage
The best way to store overnight oats is in a glass container in the refrigerator. You can either store your overnight oats in one batch in a large meal-prep container, or you can store them individually (our favorite jars are the W&P jars) for an easy grab-and-go breakfast option.
How long do overnight oats last?
Overnight oats will last around 3-5 days in the fridge. If you’re using fruit, we recommend days and if you’re not using fruit, they will last 5 days.
Healthy Overnight Oats Recipe (+ 8 flavor vacations)
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 1 cup quick cooking oats, rolled oats work too
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup milk, any kind, we used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or honey
Snickers
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
- 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips
- Optional: 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Banana Cream pie
- 1 medium banana, cut into slices,
- 2-4 vanilla wafer cookies, crushed
- Strawberry Banana
- 1 medium banana, cut into slices (or mashed)
- 4 medium strawberries, cut into slices
Chocolate Protein
- ¼ cup chocolate protein powder
- 2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup milk, or more, to taste
Apple Pie
- 1/2 cup shredded apple
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
Lemon Blueberry
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries, mashed
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Vanilla Latte
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Replace 1/2 cup of the almond milk with brewed coffee or bold brew
PB&J
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons preserves
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients for the base recipe into a large container and mix until combined.
- Add in any variation ingredients and mix again.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight (preferred).
- When you’re ready to eat, stir your overnight oats. Add more milk, as desired. Some people like it super thick, and others do not.
- Top your overnight oats with more flavor toppings and enjoy cold.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe was updated on December 27, 2023. The base recipe is the same, but we added 8 different flavor variations. We’re linking to the original round-up recipes below the recipe card.
- Batch cooking/meal-prep: This overnight oats recipe can easily be doubled or tripled and is great for meal prepping.
- Protein powder: feel free to add 1/4 cup of protein powder to this recipe. You will likely need to add 1/4 cup – 1/3 cup more milk.
- Vegan: To make this recipe vegan – use plant-based yogurt and non-dairy milk.
- Nutrition: The nutrition information is for JUST the base recipe and not the flavor variations.
- Storage: overnight oats will last in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- Some people like to heat up their overnight oats (it’s not my preference, but I know there are some of you out there!). If that is you, feel free to microwave for 30-60 seconds before eating.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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8 MORE Healthy Overnight Oats Recipes
Since we’ve got so many overnight oatmeal recipes on Fit Foodie Finds, we thought we’d share 8 more flavors. These 8 flavors are some of our very first overnight oats recipes on the site and were originally photographed and linked in this post!
I haven’t had overnight oats in forever, but seeing all of your posts this week – I think I need to bring em back into the rotation!
BRING BACK OVERNIGHT OATS.
Next week is gonna be THE week of overnight oats for me. All of these look too good not to eat haha
I’ve always wanted to make overnight oats! This is such a great reminder to do it once and for all. And there’s 8 great ways to choose from. Love this!
YAY! Thanks lady. It was such a fun campaign to do.
PB and J?! Yes please!! This was a fab series!
<3 I never want it to end.
Killed it with this series- I realllllly need to try the moose track ones. And the actual inspiration of it!
YES. Moose Tracks ice cream is a life changer.
I am obsessed with all things oats and overnight oats so I loved this series!
Yay! Glad you loved it. Already planning for round 2 next year 😛
I loveed this series! I eat over nughtnoats for bfast everyday of the week, even through the winter and I never get sick of it. This series inspired me to be more creative with my oats and expand my over night oat flavors!
YESSSSSSSSS! I love it.
NO I don’t want the week of oats to end!!!! Thanks for putting this together…And I remember when I discovered Kath’s ode to oats…I had no clue that oats could be so glamourous. 🙂
RIGHT?! She changed my life…and was one of the reasons why I even started this blog!
Oooh, imma try the French Toast and PB overnight oats!
Both are a great choice!!
This was definitely a great recipe series! Thank you for sharing it! While I’ve been an overnight oats consumer for a long time now, your creative, super delicious recipes gave me more inspiration for overnight oatmeal concoctions. Thanks again!
YAY! I can’t wait to see if you end up making any of these 😀
i couldn’t find chia seeds so i bought flax seeds. didn’t really see my oats expand a ton overnight… so will chia seeds really be the only thing to do the trick?
Chia seeds expand by 8x when they soak in water…flax doesn’t have the same property! Chia is the way to go! You could always order on Amazon!
You should be able to find them in the baking section at Wal-Mart.
What kind of oats is it? Instant oats of regular oats?
Regular rolled oats. not instantl.
Can I use steel cut oats?