Overnight Oats are really simple and only require 2 simple ingredients, oats and milk. Let me show you how to become an Overnight Oats pro!
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Ok, so today I'm showing you how to make a basic and easy Overnight Oats recipe so you can customize it and make any flavors your heart desires.
I absolutely love how easy Overnight Oats are to make and the flavors are endless. I will say a basic peanut butter or cookie dough flavor would be my favorite of all time and I've been making them on repeat for over 10 years now.
Why you will love this recipe
- Quick and Easy: They are super easy to make a bunch of flavors fast and have a whole week of breakfast or snacks ready to go.
- Meal Prep Friendly: Overnight Oats are the best meal prep recipe. They are easy to customize, multiple different flavors without the fuss of several different recipes.
- Endless Flavors: You can literally make every flavor imaginable of Overnight Oats. I will list a bunch of my favorites in this post but my all time go-to will always be either my Vanilla Overnight Oats or my Cookie Dough Overnight Oats.
- Healthy: Overnight Oats are healthy and packed with fiber, minerals and protein.
- Creamy or Crunchy and Delicious: Overnight Oats can be creamy or crunchy depending on the toppings you choose, but either way they are absolutely delicious and satisfying.
For more breakfast food ideas check out my chia pudding recipes and my quinoa bowl recipes listed below:
- Chia Seed Pudding (basic recipe to get you started)
- Chia Seed Peanut Butter Pudding (my favorite)
- Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Blackberry
- Protein Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Strawberries and Cream
Or if you want to check out more flavors of overnight oats with chia seeds check out these favorites:
- Vanilla Overnight Oats
- Cookie Dough Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Overnight Oats
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Apple Pie Overnight Oats
- Overnight Oats with Coconut Milk
- Raspberry Overnight Oats
What are Overnight Oats?
Overnight Oats are the best breakfast food idea anyone has ever come up with. Although it's nothing new, it's been around for a while. They are a breakfast food that is made up of old fashioned rolled oats mixed with milk and your choice of sweeteners and toppings to make your own easy and quick customized breakfast or snack that is packed with fiber, minerals, healthy fats and protein.
Ingredients to make Basic and Easy Oats Overnight
Be sure to take a look at the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities to make this basic Overnight Oats recipe.
- Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats is best to use for Overnight Oats.
- Milk: Any milk you like will work. I like oat milk and almond milk best but cashew milk, coconut milk or regular milk will do just fine as well.
What is the ratio for the best Overnight Oats?
I find that the best ratio that provides the best texture is 1:2. That means ½ cup oats to 1 cup milk and I like to add 1 tablespoon of chia seeds. However some people prefer it much thicker and like 1:1 ration meaning ½ cup oats and ½ cup milk. It really is a personal preference that you need to experiment with. You also need to consider if you are adding yogurt, if you add yogurt you need to cut back a little on the milk, example would be ½ cup oats mixed with ¼ cup yogurt and ½-3/4 cup milk depending on the ratio if you like thicker or thinner.
Variations
- Sweeteners: I like maple syrup the best but honey or agave are also popular choices.
- Nuts and Seeds: Chia seeds for fiber and omega 3's are the most popular addition because they give a nice pudding texture. More options would be hemp seeds perfect ratio of omega 3 and 6 as well as protein, pumpkin seeds for zinc and magnesium and flax seeds for fiber and more omega 3's.
- Creamy Additions: Nut or seed butter would be the most popular choice, but you could also add coconut cream, yogurt or canned pumpkin.
- Fruits: Also among the most popular, I love bananas, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. Dried fruit is also another great addition.
- Nuts for Crunch: Whole or chopped nuts such as almond, cashews, walnuts, pecans or any of you favorites make a great addition.
- Spices and Extracts: Cinnamon adds a nice warmth and great for blood sugar, vanilla compliments almost all flavor variations, seasonal additions like pumpkin spice are also great.
- Other Flavors: Lemon zest, orange zest, shredded coconut, cocoa powder, chocolate chips or cacao nibs are all great flavor additions.
How to make basic Overnight Oats
Step 1: Place old fashioned rolled oats in a jar or container.
Step 2: Add in milk of choice.
Step 3: Whisk really well, place in the fridge for at least 1 hour but for best results overnight. Eat and enjoy!
How to make my favorite Overnight Oats
Step 1: First I start with my old fashioned rolled oats in a jar or container. Next I add in my chia seeds, hemp seeds and pure maple syrup.
Step 2: I follow that up with milk (I usually use oat or almond milk) and whisk it all together. Often times I also add in runny natural peanut butter and give it a good whisk.
Step 3: Cover it up and place it in the fridge for at least 1 hour but overnight really is best.
Expert Tips
- Jar or container: If you want your breakfast ready to go, use jars. If you don't need it to be grab and go a larger container that you can scoop from works really well. If you plan to heat it up make sure what you use is safe for the microwave.
- Old fashioned rolled oats: Rolled oats are the best for Overnight Oats. Steel cut oats won't soften enough and quick oats will turn soggy.
- Serve it warm: If you like a warm breakfast pop it in the microwave for 60-90 seconds to heat it up before serving. Be sure to use a microwave safe container or jar and be careful when removing it could be hot.
- Make a big batch: A big batch is great to have on hand for breakfast or snacks.
- Thick or thin: Keep your liquid to oat ration in mind when mixing it up. Too much liquid and it will be runny and soupy, too little and it will be thick. My ideal ratio that's not thick or thin is ½ cup oats to 1 cup milk with the addition of 1 tablespoon chia seeds, or ½ cup oats to ¾ cup milk without chia seeds.
- Don't mix in toppings: Add the topping on top, don't mix them in until you are eating it. Things like fruit will become soggy if they are mixed in.
- Wait: It's best to wait overnight, but if you need it done faster wait at least 1 hour for the oats to soften. The longer you wait the softer the oats and better the flavor. Room temp milk will soften the oats faster so you could leave it out for an hour to soak if you are ok letting your food sit out that long before consuming. It's recommended to not let it sit out longer than 2 hours though because sitting out does risk bacteria formation so use your best judgement here. I do think it's best to just place it in the fridge and wait until the oats are soft though.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can use just one large container to mix it all up and then scoop from it as needed. This is usually my preferred way of making overnight oats because I scoop it out into a bowl and add my topping preferences one serving at a time.
Yes, you absolutely can make the basic mixture and then place it in a blender and blend until smooth. Then you can just place it back in a container to sit overnight in the fridge, this will make a thick pudding like consistency.
Yes, as long as the container or jar you have it in is safe for the microwave. I would do about a minute maybe a minute and a half.
You can put toppings on right away but be mindful that things like fruit may oxidize, get soggy or turn brown like bananas. It's really a personal preference if you are ok with that or not.
No, most commercially produced oats have already been treated. But if you want them to have a toasted flavor you certainly can roast them first, even drizzle a little maple syrup on them for more flavor.
If they are too thick, your ratio of oats to liquid may not be quite right. Add a little more milk to the oats and stir it up really well before eating.
First make sure you are using rolled oats. Secondly sometimes you simply just need to let them soak longer.
You can increase the amount of yogurt, or sometimes simply letting them soak longer will soften the oats more.
Yes, you can use any yogurt, I personally like coconut yogurt. You can use any flavor you like best.
More Overnight Oat Recipes
Overnight Oats
Ingredients
Basic Overnight Oats Base Recipe:
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup milk (adjust to desired thickness ½-1 cup of you choice of milk, I like oat milk)
My Favorite Add-Ins
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (if added use at least ¾ cup milk, chia seeds absorb liquid)
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon natural runny peanut butter
Apple Pie Oats Add-Ins:
- ⅓ cup fresh apple (shredded or chopped small)
- ¼ cup apple sauce (optional, if added only use ½ cup milk)
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (or more if desired)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional, make sure to use at least ¾ cup milk, chia seeds absorb liquid)
Vanilla Overnight Oats Add-Ins:
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (can use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste but they are more concentrated so use less)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (be sure to use at least ¾ cup milk, chia seeds absorb liquid)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats Add-Ins:
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (can use vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste but they are more concentrated so use less)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (be sure to use at least ¾ cup milk, chia seeds absorb liquid)
- 2 tablespoons natural runny peanut butter
Topping Ideas:
- nut or seed butters
- yogurt
- chopped nuts or seeds
- fresh fruit
Instructions
- In a jar or large container if you are making bigger recipe. Start with the base recipe for overnight oats and then pick one of the "add-ins" options or make up your own.
- Mix up really well, place in the fridge overnight.
- Add any additional toppings you desire before eating.
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