Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Published 5/29/2023 • Updated 3/11/2024
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Overnight Steel Cut Oats are an excellent breakfast idea for busy mornings. This recipe is made with a base of quick cooking steel cut oats, chia seeds, and almond milk.
This is a great basic overnight steel cut oatmeal recipe that you can make your own with add-ins. Get inspired by our other flavors: peanut butter overnight oats, apple cinnamon overnight oats, and chocolate chia overnight oats.
Healthy No Bake Breakfast – Overnight Steel Cut Oats
I’ve been eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast since college (that’s almost 2 decades) and I can say that this overnight steel cut oats recipe is one of my favorites! I just love overnight oats for breakfast and guess who else does? My 1 year old Gus! This recipe has become a fast favorite of his. He loves eating it with berries and a little peanut butter on top.
Overnight steel cut oats are very similar to classic overnight oats, but have a little bit more of a bite to them and all the same benefits. They are made by soaking quick cooking steel cut oats in almond milk and other ingredients (chia seeds, maple syrup, and cinnamon) for a no-bake oatmeal recipe.
Ratio for Overnight Steel Cut Oats
The process of making overnight steel cut oatmeal is so easy! It’s all about your liquid to oats to chia seed ratio in order to get the perfect texture.
- 1 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (Bob’s Red Mill makes a great product)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
Check it out!
Guide to Overnight Oats
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.
Can I use regular steel cut oats instead of quick cooking steel cut oats?
The burning question for overnight steel cut oats is: can I swap the quick cooking steel cut oats for normal steel cut oats and vice versa? The answer is YES, however, we 100% prefer quick cooking steel cut oats over normal steel cut oats because the texture is better.
Whole steel cut oats are much less processed than quick cooking, however, they do have a lot more of “a bite.”
Lots of people end up microwaving their overnight steel cut oats for a minute or two before placing in the refrigerator overnight to soak so that it has a creamier consistency.
How to Thicken or Thin Your Oats
While we think the 1 cup to 1 tablespoon to 2 cups ratio of oats to chia seeds to almond milk is just perfect, here is how to thicken or thin your oats:
- Thicken: to thicken your oats before serving, you can add Greek yogurt or a little bit more oatmeal.
- Thin: the easiest way to thin your oats is by adding more liquid. We recommend adding it by the tablespoon.
FAQ
For this recipe, if you are using traditional steel cut oats we recommend microwaving this recipe for one minute before soaking them in the refrigerator overnight.
Steel cut oats are a less processed form of oat groats where they are simply just sliced. Rolled oats, on the other hand, are a more processed form of oat groats where they are steamed and pressed so that the oats cook faster.
Classic overnight oats are the process of soaking rolled oats in a liquid overnight in order to soften them enough to digest without cooking.
Steel cut oats are necessarily better than all of the other oats, but they are less processed than quick cooking and rolled oats.
Steel Cut Overnight Oats Variations
Once you’ve got your base figured out, you can add other things such as maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
If you’d like a little more protein in your overnight steel cut oats, you can even add things such as Greek yogurt and/or protein powder! Here are some flavor ideas:
Lemon Cheesecake: add a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt and about 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest.
Peanut Butter Banana: mash about 1/2 a banana before adding the rest of the overnight steel cut oats ingredients and then add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: mix in 2 tablespoons of cashew butter and 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips. This tastes like dessert for breakfast.
Carrot Cake: grate about 2 tablespoons of carrot and add a pinch of nutmeg and ginger (there’s already cinnamon in the recipe). You can top it with vanilla Greek yogurt for “frosting.”
Best Protein Powders
Check out our top protein powder recommendations for baking, smoothies, and everything in between.
Garden of Life
Raw Organic Protein
Simply Tera's
Pure Whey Protein
Sun Warrior
Protein Powder
Garden of Life
Organic Whey Protein
Storage
We recommend storing your overnight steel cut oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This specific recipe should last you up to 5 days, so feel free to double or triple it if you are meal-prepping!
More Overnight Oats Recipes
- Classic Vegan Overnight Oats
- Lemon Cheesecake Overnight Oats
- Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
- 8 Ways to Eat Overnight Oats
More Steel Cut Oats Recipes
Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Ingredients
- 1 cup quick cooking steel cut oats
- 2 cups plain, unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup, option to sub honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a large Pyrex or meal prep container. Mix well and cover.
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Eat chilled topped with your favorite nut butter, berries, jam, or granola.
Tips & Notes
- Steel cut oats: option to use steel cut oats in place of quick cooking steel cut oats. We recommend microwaving this recipe for 1 minute before placing in the refrigerator overnight.
- Storage: store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I heat this up if I prefer to eat my oatmeal hot? I would only heat about 1/3 cup of the mixture after it’s been refrigerated overnight.
I plugged this into MyFitnessPal and the calories for 1 cup of steel cut oats is upwards of 600 calories. Am I reading the recipe incorrectly if you are noting 241 calories per serving?
1/4 cup of steel cut oats has 150 calories. X 4 = 600.
Does this get as thick as regular overnight oats or should I reduce the liquid a little bit? I’m not a fan of runny oats and more like a pudding consistency
I’d say it’s just as thick! If you like it really thick I suggest adding a scoop of Greek yogurt. It’s dreamy and so good!