Coffee Overnight Oats
Published 4/7/2016 • Updated 1/23/2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Coffee overnight oats marry two of our favorite things — coffee and overnight oats! Old-fashioned oats and chia seeds are soaked overnight in a combination of coffee, almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract to make your next morning’s breakfast easy and SUPER delicious.
We drizzled these creamy coffee overnight oats with a yummy salted date caramel topping for a sweet, slightly salty, and extra caramel-y touch. It’s phenomenal!
I gave this particular coffee overnight oats recipe to one of my girlfriends who lives in my building (HEY ANG), and I’ve got her hooked on these bad boys. It’s great for meal prep, so you can enjoy a delicious breakfast every day of the week. Just combine your ingredients, soak overnight, make your date caramel, drizzle it on, and dig in!
Coffee Overnight Oats – What You’ll Need
- Rolled oats: also known as old-fashioned oats, they’re less processed than quick oats and hold up well when being soaked overnight.
- Chia seeds: chia seeds are packed with nutrients and absorb liquid to create a gel-like consistency when soaked.
- Almond milk: this dairy-free milk provides a perfect creamy texture for your overnight oatmeal.
- Strong cold press: we like using a strong cold brew coffee (or cold press). You can also use espresso or normal brewed coffee depending on how strong of a coffee flavor you prefer.
- Maple syrup: pure maple syrup adds a natural sweetness that tastes so yummy with the coffee flavor.
- Medjool dates: be sure to get pitted dates. The softer, the better! Dates add a delicious natural sweetness and smooth texture to your date caramel sauce.
- Food processor: we use our food processor to blend up the date caramel sauce. If you don’t have one, a blender will work too!
Variations and Substitutions
The beauty of overnight oats recipes is that they’re quite forgiving when it comes to ingredient substitutions. If you don’t have rolled oats, quick-cooking oats are a great substitute.
You can also swap the almond milk for oat milk, soy milk, or any other dairy-free or regular milk if you prefer. Only have regular brewed black coffee? That’ll work just fine! Rather not use maple syrup? Honey is also a great option as a natural sweetener.
And for the date caramel topping, you can top the overnight oats with chopped dates and sea salt instead.
Top Tips for Coffee Overnight Oats
- Depending on how thick you like your overnight oats, you may need to add a splash of almond milk before serving.
- Make these ‘mocha’ overnight oats by topping them with mini chocolate chips, too!
- This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make multiple servings for the week ahead. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Want some extra protein? Add a scoop of your favorite protein powder to the overnight oats before soaking them overnight!
How to Store Overnight Oats
Place your cold brew overnight oats in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
What to Serve with Coffee Overnight Oats
I love trying out different variations of these coffee overnight oats by adding other tasty toppings each time I make them (which is often). Try out any of your favorite toppings that sound good to you! Some of our favs include:
- Fresh fruit: anything goes here. Fresh raspberries, strawberries, bananas, and blueberries all work well with the coffee flavor.
- Cacao nibs: sprinkle on top for some extra crunch and a chocolatey touch.
- Yogurt: top your overnight oats with a dollop of Greek or vanilla yogurt for some added creaminess and protein.
- Nuts: chopped almonds, walnuts, or pecans would be delicious.
- Seeds: add some extra texture and nutrients with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or hemp seeds.
When it comes to sides, you’ll absolutely be obsessed (and caffeinated) if you pair these oats with our Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew or this DIY Maple Pecan Latte.
For something savory, our Egg and Arugula Toast, Bacon Egg Cups, or Cheesy Sous Vide Egg Bites are all the rage.
Coffee Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- pinch sea salt
- 3/4 cup unsweetened, plain almond milk
- 1/2 cup strong cold press OR brewed coffee
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional Date Caramel
- 4 Medjool dates pitted , the softer the better!
- pinch of salt
- **Water
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium storage container. Mix to combine and cover.
- Place in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Before serving, option to add a splash more milk depending on how thick or thin you like your oats. Serve cold.
For the Date Caramel
- Place 4 Medjool dates into a high-speed food processor. Process on high until pureed. Depending on how soft your dates are, you may need to add water. Add by the 1/2 teaspoon.
Tips & Notes
- *You can easily double or triple this recipe.
- This will last up to 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Nutrition information does NOT include the date caramel.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
I enjoy this site – its so usefull and helpfull
This is still in my regular breakfast rotation. I love the date caramel, but to simplify I now just chop a couple of dates and mix in with the oats the night before. They add the sweetness and flavor without the extra step of making the date caramel. I’ve found that I like the texture of thick rolled oats best in this recipe, they don’t get as mushy as regular rolled oats. (Bob’s Red Mill offers thick rolled oats.)
Made this, and it was the first overnight oats recipe that has made me see the appeal–yum! The salted date caramel was so decadent! I had always *wanted* to like overnight oats because I do love oats, but I’d tried 3 other overnight oat recipes before and was unimpressed. Soggy oats, yuck. Glad I gave the dish one more chance because this version came out perfect. I substituted coconut milk beverage for the almond milk because my son has an almond allergy and reduced the maple syrup by half, and it tasted amazing. I immediately wanted it for breakfast again the next morning, so I made the recipe again that night–but the next morning they weren’t nearly as good. I realized I had gone to bed earlier than the first night I’d made them, and apparently I really don’t like overnight oats when they sit too long and get soggy. Guess I am more a “5-hour oats” instead of overnight oats kind of person. Knowing this, I’ve made it a couple of times since and had better results when I pour the liquid over the oats last thing right before I go to bed, and I don’t make any more than I will eat the next morning (halving the recipe). Also, it’s definitely best with cold-brew coffee. I make cold-brew using the NY Times recipe (1/3 cup medium-coarse ground coffee steeped in 1.5 cups water for 12 hours at room temperature), and it’s perfect for this. One night when I didn’t have any cold-brew, I made fresh hot coffee instead (pour-over method), but it wasn’t nearly as good (less concentrated coffee flavor and got bitter in the oats by the next morning). Cold-brew coffee doesn’t get bitter like hot-brewed coffee, so it’s a must for this recipe. Thank you for a great flavor combination that made me an overnight-oats convert.
AHHH! So glad you loved this recipe. It’s definitely one of my favorites…especially that date caramel! Cold brew coffee rules!!
Thanks so much for the cold-brew recipe!
Did my birthday come early?? A whole week dedicated to oats. Oh yeah, baby. I’M IN. I really can’t deal with that caramel. Drooling.
Seriously THE BEST WEEK EVER.
Any other ideas to sub for the salted date caramel? I cannot eat dates!
Oh boooooo! You could find another recipe for healthy caramel that doesn’t include dates. Check out this one my LexisCleanKitchen.com —> http://lexiscleankitchen.com/2014/06/03/caramel-turtle-cups/ It’s paleo and coconut-based!
Made these last night and had them this morning. They are GREAT!!!
I did change the maple syrup to just 1 tablespoon since I drink my coffee black and don’t add any sweetener to my oatmeal. It was just right not too sweet. Since it was cloudy and threatening rain this morning I decided to heat them up so I also added 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Didn’t use the date topping. I would like to post this to my website with my changes, with a link to your site. Is that okay with you. Thanks very much. I love your recipes.
Glad you are on the mend. Whatever you do, don’t push it. Healing takes time. Love the overnight oats. Fabulous recipes. Please keep them coming.
xo Lauren
Thanks, lady!
Depends on the oatmeal. If it’s basically just oats, water, a banana and cinnamon, then yes, I would DEFINITELY become sick of them. BUT if I get variety every day, then HELL NOOOOO! 😀 This is probably my favorite dessert overnight oatmeal that you’ve made thus far!
WEEEEEEEEE! Sooooooo good. This is Linley’s favorite, too!
This is awesome. These Food look so creamy I cannot wait to try it!!
DEFINITELY picking up some cold brew the next time we are at Target! These oats sound close to magical!
PURE MAGIC.