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Want breakfast ready in the morning when you wake up? Try these 6 Easy Overnight Oats recipes for the easiest breakfast of all. 5 minutes to prep and waiting for you in the morning–these will become the best part of your day!
Whether you are new to overnight oatmeal or a long time fan, these easy overnight oats recipes are going to quickly become your favorite.
Simple ingredients, so easy to whip up and with just 5-10 minutes, you can prepare a week’s worth of breakfasts. They can be eaten hot or cold and the possibilities of flavors go well beyond these 6!
Why You Will Love These Easy Overnight Oats Recipes:
- They are so quick and easy to prep. If you like to meal prep, these recipes are a dream. A healthy, delicious breakfast whipped up in about 5 minutes. Can’t beat that.
- Can easily be varied to meet your dietary needs. There are so many different ways to make these oats–you can truly make them your own. Use dairy free milk if needed, gluten free oats, a different sweetener, endless options, but making them yours is what it’s about!
- Can be eaten hot or cold. I have had readers say they were told overnight oatmeal could only be eaten cold and that is not true. I warm mine up all the time! You can make these recipes and still have your hot oatmeal in the morning.
- Breakfast is ready when you wake up! Overnight oats are the best make-ahead breakfast. When it comes to busy mornings, you can’t beat having your meal ready right when you wake up!
What are Overnight Oats?
They are exactly what they sound like–oats that are prepared by soaking all the liquid up and softening throughout the night. If you want to cook rolled oats, you typically have to boil them stove top. However, if you make overnight oats, you are allowing the liquid to soak into the oats and soften them instead of boiling the oatmeal.
That’s why they are called what they are called–it takes time for the oats to absorb the liquid and thus, allowing them to soak overnight in the fridge will make them ready to eat right when you wake up!
Recipe Ingredients:
My go-to base recipe of each of these oatmeal recipes include the following:
- rolled oats: this is what I use. They are also known as old fashioned oats. Some people say steel-cut oats are great but I find them to be way too chewy. If that’s your thing, then you can use them as well. In a pinch, you can use quick oats if you don’t have old-fashioned oats on hand. You may need to adjust the amount of milk but other than that, they will work!
- milk: this can be regular or dairy free. Use your milk of choice! Almond milk, oat milk, cashew milk, soy milk and coconut milk will work great along with any version of dairy milk.
- sweetener: I LOVE pure maple syrup. It is my preferred breakfast sweetener. Use the sweetener you prefer. Honey, sugar, brown sugar whatever it may be, and adjust to your liking.
- chia seeds: not necessary, but a great way to give your oats a boost of protein and fiber. Please do not go out and buy them if you are not interested. They will be fine without.
- Pinch of salt: I like to add just a pinch to my recipes for a touch more flavor. Up to you!
*I often use vanilla extract in the base, but it varies because some recipes will use almond extract or another, so I left this out of the base ingredients.
How To Make Overnight Oats:
All you do is stir together some milk and oats, along with some other goodies for flavor, in a jar or bowl that can be sealed shut. That’s it. Then you pop them in the fridge for the night.
This is why everyone is so obsessed with this perfect breakfast! Minimal effort, infinite flavor combos, hearty and nutritious. The very best!
These 6 flavors include:
- Banana Bread Overnight Oats: Wake up to banana bread but without any of the effort! The perfect way to use up bananas that are about to turn–bonus!
- Blueberry Muffin Overnight Oatmeal: Same story, different flavor. Everyone’s favorite muffin in a big hearty bowl. No baking required!
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oats: While I LOOOOVE the banana bread version, I find myself making some form of this variety more often than not. Gotta gotta GOTTA have my peanut butter!
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Overnight Oats: I want to call this one something fancy like peanut butter cup or something, but I am just calling this one like I see it. While a basic peanut butter version is fine, when you toss in some chocolate chips, you always take things up a notch, right??
- Strawberries and Cream Overnight Oatmeal: Nothing like fresh cream with your berries, right? I love adding just a touch to my oatmeal for that rich creamy flavor. There’s nothing extraordinary about this recipe, but I promise it will be a favorite!
- Almond Joy Overnight Oatmeal: Because sometimes you feel like a nut, right? My favorite candy turned into one of my very favorite breakfasts!
Overnight Oatmeal FAQs
Here are some of the FAQs I have found I get asked the most when it comes to overnight oatmeal. I will update this if more questions start popping up! (I also try to include this list on many of my overnight oats recipes for future reference.
How long do overnight oats last?
I typically make 3 or so day’s worth at a time. 3-5 days is the range that they will last and certain ingredients in different flavors impact this. Oats with mashed banana that I make are typically not good after 2 or 3 days due to the mashed banana but other recipes are good a few days longer. Just keep fruit out of your oats until serving and that should typically help.
What kind of oats do you use?
I prefer rolled oats in mine–I find that they soak up the milk perfectly and are nice and soft after sitting all night. I have seen others suggest steel cut oats for their overnight oats recipe but that is NOT for me. They are too hard and chewy for me. I have found that steel cut oats are best for me in the Instant Pot.
Do you have to make overnight oatmeal in a jar?
When the overnight oatmeal trend hit, it was all the rage to scoop your breakfast out of a mason jar. Heck, I still do. But don’t go out and buy cute little jars just yet. If you have an air tight storage container, then you are in perfect shape. Don’t feel like you have to buy anything extra to make your oatmeal in, bowls can be great as well. I have seen lots of people use the end of a peanut butter jar.
Do you eat overnight oats hot or cold?
I have had readers comment or reach out saying they don’t want to eat cold oats. No one says you have to–promise! Pop them in the microwave in the morning and you are all set! Love them chilled? Great, you just get to eat them about a minute sooner!
Can you add protein powder to your oatmeal?
You sure can! Add your favorite protein powder if you like! Just note that you may need to add more milk to balance it out. I usually add a touch more milk in the morning before eating them if they seem a bit thick.
Possible Add-Ins:
Here are some other great options for ingredients to add to your overnight oats.
- lemon zest (great in the blueberry muffin!)
- sweetened or plain Greek yogurt
- dried fruit like cranberries, raisins, dates, etc.
- other fresh fruit: raspberries, sliced peaches, blackberries, etc.
- sunflower seeds
- another nut or seed butter–cashew butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.
Check out these other top flavors:
- Carrot Cake
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Pie
- Lemon Poppy Seed
- Peanut Butter Banana
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6 Simple Overnight Oats Recipes
Ingredients
Base Ingredients:
- ½ c rolled oats
- ½ c milk of choice
For the Banana Bread
- ½ mashed banana
- 2 T chopped pecans or walnuts
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Dash of sea salt
- 1 T ground flax, optional
- 2 tsp maple syrup
For the Blueberry Muffin:
- ¼ c blueberries
- 1 T cashew butter (or almond butter)
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- dash of sea salt
For the Peanut Butter and Jelly:
- 2 tsp peanut butter (extra to drizzle if desired)
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 4-5 strawberries, mashed or chopped
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- dash of sea salt
For the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip:
- 2 tsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 T chocolate chips (I love mini chips!)
- dash of sea salt
For the Strawberries & Cream:
- 4-5 strawberries, sliced or chopped
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1-2 tsp maple syrup
- 2-3 tsp cream (half & half or heavy cream)
- dash of sea salt
For the Almond Joy:
- 2 T shredded coconut, unsweetened
- 1 T sliced almonds
- 1 T chocolate chips
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- ½ tsp vanilla
- small drop of almond extract (it's strong so go small–less than 1/4 tsp)
- dash of sea salt
Instructions
For All Recipes:
- Combine base ingredients plus all ingredients for desired flavor in a bowl or jar that can be sealed and stir well.
- Refrigerate overnight.
- Add an extra splash of milk if needed before serving. Serve hot or cold.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What size are the jars? THx
These are pretty small—5 oz. yogurt jars. When I make them not for pictures, I use jars that are bigger. A 10 oz. jar or larger is ideal!
How many ounces do these recipes make? I have 16oz jars.
I use a 16 oz jar typically as well. It fills about half of it so i assume it’s somewhere around 8 ounces.
Hi these sound amazing. I am just wondering if water can be used instead of milk.
You know what, I’ve actually never tried with water but now I need to test it out! It would certainly work with water, you will just lose the flavor and creaminess that comes from the milk. Let me know if you try it!
Hi! First time making overnight oats. This may sound like a silly question but is there a certain time of day you need to make the oats in advance?
Hi! Not a silly question at all. As long as they soak for about 4 hours at the least, you are fine. They can sit for several days and are fine, so if you do them the evening before you are fine!
Hi, I am on a carb restricted diet. I recently learned of overnight oats and I make a skinny version using rolled oats, almond milk, liquid sweetener(4-5 drops), chia seeds, fruit and cinnamon. If I were to use some of these flavor recipes and I were to remove the maple syrup from the base, would I still use my 4-5 drops of liquid sweetener or how many drops of liquid sweetener would you recommend I use? Also, you posted the calories for the flavors but could you provide us with the carb nutritional values? These recipes sound delicious and I hope they are within range for me!
Hi Amy! I think going with 4-5 drops should be just fine. Let me dig in and see what I can work on to get the nutrition information on the other varieties as well!
Hi can I use frozen, thawed out fruits. Like strawberries and blueberries?
You absolutely can!!
Hi! A half cup of milk doesn’t seem to cover my oats all the way. Do all of the oats need to be submerged in liquid? I assume I can just add more milk as needed?
Hi! Yes, you can add more milk as needed. Once you stir it all up, the oats should all be in the liquid so that they can absorb it. Go right ahead and add it.
At first I thought 2 teaspoons of peanut butter was too little but once I tasted the prepared overnight oats I realized it was just right for a delicious serving! Peanut butter does have a powerful flavor! I chopped in 4 strawberries and it was the perfect addition! Thank you for the recipe ideas!
So so happy to hear that you loved it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Love!! Where can I find these adorable jars?!
Hi! Thanks so much Amber! They are called Weck jars. I found them on World Market’s web site. They are the cutest things ever!
Hi, recently got to this trend and love it! I walk my dog for over an hour before breakfast and take mu prepared overnight oats out of the fridge before I go out. It’s not too cold when I come back to eat it!
I have been obsessed with them for quite some time. Glad you enjoy them as well now!!
Yummy! I made the Banana Bread Overnight Oats and they do taste just like banana bread!
I would just be mindful of the calories for this as the Banana Bread calories of 387 seem completely off the mark. (Or is that just for the Banana Bread component, and then you add in the 250 calories for the base? If so, perhaps it might be good to make that clearer. I initially read it that the 250 cals is if you don’t add any toppings. But once you add the toppings, you revert to the calories listed next to each topping choice. ??)
As these can last for up to 3 days, I did a 3 day batch, so I times-ed everything by 3.
Which meant it should be 375mL of milk – but I did 250mL of milk and 125mL of water (to reduce the calories)
It should be 3T of maple syrup – I reduced it to 2T (I’m not a real sweet tooth, and this reduced amount tastes perfect for me)
It should be 6T of pecans – I reduced it to 4T (25g) (again to lower the calories)
With all these reductions, it still came in at 410 calorie per serve (each serve is around 190mL – so divide it up in to 200mL containers before popping in to your fridge),
As I prefer to keep to 300 calories for breakfast, I will need to reduce this recipe to 4 serves to bring it back to 308 calories per serve (and see if the banana holds out for 4 days!)
For anyone following a calorie restrictive way of life, I would suggest working out the true calories for the other versions before actually making them.
Based on this recipes taste, I am excited to try the other recipes.
Hi Naomi, sorry for any confusion. The base of 250 calories also included 2 tsp maple syrup—I didn’t make that very clear!