Zucchini bread that you don't have to bake? Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, or "oats" is a one of a kind breakfast recipe that can be prepped in minutes and ready when you wake up in the morning. These zucchini overnight oats are a delicious and healthy way to get in some extra veggies to your day!
If there is one thing I can say for sure after a week on the beach, it's that there really is NO place like home! I will dive deeper into our trip and some learnings and experiences from that over the next few posts, but I am really excited about my newest overnight oats recipe and I couldn't wait to get it up here.
Zucchini Bread Oatmeal is Nostalgia in a jar for me!
I have mentioned in the past that I love zucchini bread. Over the summer growing up, fresh zucchini bread was a staple in our house. I couldn't live without it! I would bake a fresh loaf with my mom and then enjoy it warm with melted butter dripping off of it. Mmmmm.
This summer, my garden has been quite frustrating. Some of my chipmunk friends in the backyard have played a slew of pranks on me and the garden was just not what I had hoped for.
Yesterday I was trying to make some sense of some of the overgrowing plants that had all but taken over and had thrown the garden into pure chaos. As I started to pull and cut and tug, something caught my eye. One zucchini, a huge zucchini at that, was perfectly ripe and ready to go. I was beaming.
This garden that I thought was nothing but waste this year had produced in fact the most perfect, giant zucchini I had ever seen. I cleaned up a bit more and found an entire city of cucumbers hiding under the greenery as well. So maybe my tomatoes, peppers, and other veggies didn't make it to the end, but it looks like I will have quite the harvest of cucumbers and zucchini this year!
The funny thing is, neither of these plants shot up even close to where I actually planted them. Needless to say, the chipmunks in my neighborhood are quite the schemers.
One giant zucchini means lots of zucchini recipes!
So what do you do with a zucchini the size of my arm?? Well you do lots of things! I know I will get to making my Flourless Zucchini Muffins at some point. I will throw some on the grill this week, get out the spiralizer to make some zoodles and I will still have plenty left.
Right now though, we need to talk about this zucchini bread oatmeal. I have read here and there this concept of 'zoats.' Zoats are basically oatmeal prepared along with shredded zucchini. Veggies are not always what I think of when I think oatmeal, but I have told you how much I love zucchini bread so creating overnight oats with the same flavor was surely worth a shot. And this recipe is a certain hit!
One thing worth mentioning is the cashew butter. It's certainly not a must in this recipe, but when I compared the version with and without the cashew butter, the version with cashew better was where it was at! You can decide on that on your own as well. Almond butter could also work I am sure, but I just love the light sweetness of the cashews.
As always, eat these cold or warmed up. These oats can be made with any type of milk and also with gluten free oats if needed. The other thing about zucchini bread is that every family seems to have their unique recipe.
We always had lots of juicy raisins in ours. I had a friend though that had walnuts and pineapple in hers all the time growing up. Make this one your own! So if you have a big zucchini in your garden or from the Farmers' Market or even from the grocery, go make some zoats!
What you need to make these Zucchini Bread Overnight Oats:
- rolled oats: regular or gluten free will work fine
- zucchini: freshly grated!
- raisins: we always had big juicy raisins in our zucchini bread. Not your thing? No big deal, just skip them!
- ground flax: I always like to add flax or chia seeds to my oats to give them a fiber and protein boost. Totally an optional add in if you don't have any. Please don't feel like you have to run out and buy any!
- chopped pecans or walnuts: we actually never had nuts in our zucchini bread growing up but when I have gotten zucchini bread at a coffee shop or elsewhere, they tend to have them. I am good either way, but I love the crunch they add to my oats.
- cinnamon: don't make zucchini bread oatmeal, or zucchini bread for that matter without it!
- vanilla extract: what I said about the cinnamon!
- maple syrup: use whatever your favorite sweetener is--I love maple, like I could drink it. I am not kidding.
- milk: use the milk you love best!
- cashew butter: if you don't have any it's not 100% necessary. I find it adds a richness to the oats like nothing else. I think almond butter would be fine as well.
Check out these other overnight oats recipes:
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Coconut Cream Pie Overnight Oats
-
Peanut Butter & Jelly Overnight Oats
-
Banana Bread Overnight Oats
-
Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
-
Peanut Butter Cheesecake Overnight Oats
-
Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
DID YOU MAKE ONE OF MY RECIPES? LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR LEMONS + ZEST RECIPES ON SOCIAL MEDIA–TAG ME @LEMONSANDZEST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK!
Zucchini Bread Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats regular or gluten free
- 1/4 cup grated zucchini
- 1 T raisins
- 1 T ground flax
- 1 T chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1/2 - 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tsp pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- 2 tsp cashew butter optional
- Dash of sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small jar or container that can be sealed.
- Stir well to combine.
- Let chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- Eat hot or cold.
This recipe is fantastic. I'm a huge fan of overnight oatmeal and this recipe is even better than I was expecting. My husband now wants me to try the carrot cake variety and asks if I will put cream cheese frosting on it!! This is a huge ?? thumbs up and a definite keeper.
Cathy! I am so glad you and the husband love it! Cream cheese frosting?! Now that sounds like quite a treat! The carrot cake is one of my favorites for sure! Thanks for sharing.
Ok..... not gonna lie. I pinned this because I was looking for a different overnight oat recipe to change things up.... but was nervous to make it because .... well....zucchini and oats?... hmmmmmm but OH EMMM GEEEEEEE made this last night and devoured it this morning. It was SO good!!!!!!! Thank you!
Karen! I'm so glad you love them. I'm a sucker for zucchini bread so this is a favorite of mine! Thanks for sharing 😉
Omg yum! Would these last several days in the fridge if I meal prep on Sunday?
Jordan, this is actually what I always do! I make several at a time and then eat off of them several days later. I think they are best eaten within 3-4 days of making but ultimately they could last about5 days. Enjoy!
A great and unusual recipe!
Overnight oats tend toward 'fruits only', but making a zucchini bread version is a great idea that's just so fitting with oatmeal. Plus, talk about health-promoting...a vegetable at breakfast. A small suggestion might be adding chia seeds to the mix (Adds omega-3 oils, but doesn't alter flavor) or, a 'no-sugar-added' version via soaking dates in hot water, then blending dates to use instead of the syrup. (Makes a sweetening 'paste' with a lightly caramel flavor that gets along well with raisins/cinnamon/bread type flavors)
I love adding chia seeds to my oats!
Wow! This is one of my favorite recipe discoveries in a long time -- the joy of eating zucchini bread batter, but without the guilt?! Genius! By chance do you have an approximate calorie count? Thanks!!
So glad you loved it!!! Due to my past history with dieting and an eating disorder I don’t focus on calories or breakdowns but you can plug the ingredients into a site that provides a breakdown abc should be good. Thanks!
Your overnight oat recipes are the bomb! This does taste like zucchini bread. It would even make a great dessert at night. I have printed off all your overnight oats recipes and haven't found one yet that was a dud. Thanks for making breakfast fun.
Thanks so so much for making my day, Lauri!!! So glad you love them as much as I do!