How to Make Overnight Oats
Confession: I can still remember the first time I made overnight oats and it was not a pleasant experience. I initially thought they were rather disgusting but I now realize it’s because the recipes I tried were a little odd and the texture was simply off. I now absolutely adore them because I gravitate toward recipes I find appealing — aka overnight oats recipes that are doughy, slightly sweet and have a little chewiness to the texture. No soupy oats allowed!
Many people make overnight oats with just oats and milk as a base recipe, but I’ve found that my favorite overnight oats recipes include four main ingredients:
- Old fashioned oats (NOT quick cooking oats or steel cut oats)
- Milk (Any kind — almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, oat milk and regular milk all work really well)
- Chia seeds
- Greek yogurt (plain or flavored, though I prefer full-fat for a more creamy texture)
Step 1
It actually took quite a lot of experimenting in the kitchen with oats, milk, yogurt and chia seeds to finally get the combination I felt like yielded the perfect consistency and thickness but your preferred overnight oats consistency will vary person to person. I am now at the point where I eyeball measurements almost every time I make overnight oats, but if you’re looking for a go-to base recipe to use as a launching pad for your own overnight oats creations, I typically use around 6-ounces of Greek yogurt, two tablespoons chia seeds, 2/3 cup oats and 1/2 cup milk. To make the oats, you’ll simply combine everything in a large bowl. From here, you may add sweetener if you like (I almost always add a dash of maple syrup or honey) as well as any other mix-ins. (A splash of vanilla extract is delicious, too!)
Step 2
Then it’s time to stir everything together, cover up the oats and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight. (Note: Overnight oats are perfect to make in a mason jar if you’re someone who likes to make multiple jars of oats at one time for your weekly meal prep!)
As the overnight oats sit in the fridge, they will go from this…
To this…
Very thick and chewy!
Step 3
In the morning, it’s time to stir the super-thick oats and add in another 1/4 cup of milk to make everything slightly more liquidy, but still quite thick. (This is where you can play around with the recipe a bit. If you like thinner oats, simply add more of your preferred kind of milk to the oats at this point.)
Then it’s time to top the oats with your favorite toppings! The more the merrier!
Overnight Oats Toppings
A few of my favorite toppings for overnight oats include:
- Fresh berries
- A drizzle of natural peanut butter
- Banana slices
- Almond butter mixed with honey
- Dried fruit (especially raisins or dried cranberries)
- Toasted coconut
- Walnuts or pecans
- A sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- Hemp seeds
- Crunchy granola (my easy coconut granola is a personal favorite)
Overnight Oats Tips and Notes
To me, the key to making overnight oats is the inclusion of chia seeds. These cannot be substituted because they add thickness to the oats that simply cannot be duplicated. If you do not have or do not like chia seeds, you may wish to reduce the amount of milk in the overnight oats to maintain thickness.
If I am using plain Greek yogurt, I will add about one tablespoon of honey, maple syrup or fruit preserves to the oats before letting them sit overnight for a bit of sweetness.
Overnight Oats Recipes
If you’re looking to try overnight oats for the first time and prefer to follow a recipe, here are some of my favorite overnight oats recipes, with more descriptive notes about how to make them!
- Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Overnight Oats (My all-time favorite overnight oats recipe!)
- Maple Pecan Overnight Oats
- Vegan Protein Overnight Oats
- PB&J Overnight Oats
Question of the Morning
- Have you ever tried overnight oats?
- What is your favorite way to make overnight oats? Feel free to link to a favorite recipe!
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I still can’t quite get used to the texture of overnight oats. I keep trying them, but I think I just prefer warm oatmeal instead!
I heat mine up in the morning and just add a little milk or water if it’s too thick.
I made them before but I used unsweetened greek yogurt so I had to add some honey in the morning. They’re very convenient! I agree with the chia seeds, they make everything so much better.
I didn’t like overnight oats until I tried your way of making them with flavored greek yogurt. Plain just turned out a bit too tangy for me.
I could never get used to the whole cold oatmeal thing.. I kind of fell off the whole oatmeal wagon sometime last year. I need to bring it back!
Do you heat up the oatmeal in the morning or eat it straight out of the fridge? I’ve been wanting to try to make them for a while, but I don’t know how much I’d like cold oats!
straight out of the fridge! nice and cold!
I’m like you: at first I didn’t like them, but then, after various attemps, I learned to love them! I only have them in the summer time though, with lots and lots of berries 🙂
YUM- this is one of my fav breakfasts! I only make overnight oats with Greek yogurt! I love how thick it is… it really fill me up.
I’ve never attempted Overnight Oats…I think you just got me on board! 🙂
I’ve tried overnight oats a few times but they’ve always been too watery the next day, I’ll have to try your way tonight! Do you think quick cooking oats work too?
i think quick oats would work, i just prefer old fashioned b/c they add more texture!
It took me quite a while to get the consistency of my overnight oats just right too. Sometimes if I don’t have any Greek yogurt, I use cottage cheese. I don’t know why but I’m absolutely crazy about that stuff right now!
i never heard about overnight oats until i started reading your blog a few months ago, and now i am addicted. i think for two weeks straight that was the only thing that i ever ate! my favorite combo has coco powder and raspberries 🙂 thanks for all the great tips!
I haven’t ever made overnight oats but when I worked in an office (as opposed to my house) I would mix raw oats with one container of yogurt and let it sit overnight and eat it as my morning snack. So the same concept…the oats soakk up the liquid, expand and become chewy. Maybe I will try overnight oats tomorrow using your recipe since I have all those ingredients on hand. 🙂
I like adding bananas to my overnight oats—definitely adds that sweetness!
I love the texture and flavor of overnight oats but my husband thinks they’re the grossest thing ever even though he loves regular oatmeal. A drop of honey or agave before they go in the fridge makes a big difference!
LOVE your workout!! I need to get off the couch in about.. 5 minutes and get mine it!
I also love overnight oats although I make mine a little different! Maybe i should prep them some night this week because its been a while!
I always include flax seed which I Think also increases the thickness but they always seems too mushy for me. I don’t know what the problem is, too much milk maybe.
I have never tried overnight oats. I have also seen them on a lot of blogs and they have mixed reviews. Do you put them in the fridge or let them sit at room temperature? Can you heat them up?
nope! eat ’em coooold! 😀 and they sit in the fridge overnight.
they are good cold, but in the winter i heat them up for a coupla minutes in the microwave. to me, they then taste like regular oats
I love overnight oats, but sometimes I make them too creamy–almost too thick and the consistency bothers me. e
i love overnight oats! i didn’t even discover them until i start reading some healthy living blogs, but i’m sure glad i did. i just use 1/3 cup oats; 1/3 cup vanilla soy; 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt with some flax seeds mixed in. eventually i plan to use chia seeds, but i have a huge bag of flax i need to use up! i usually add banana slices and a blob of peanut butter on top!
I made overnight oats last night for the first time with Chia seeds! I loved them! The chia seeds really do help with the texture and thickness. I also loved that breakfast took less then 2 minutes this morning (I added strawberries and some cocoa powder)! I am going to have to try putting greek yogurt in my over night oats next time!
I’ve been loving oats lately but have been cooking them on the stove because I was sick last weekend so my morning weren’t rushed- I don’t usually make oats for bfast because I feel like they take time but if I can make them overnight that’s a great option! I don’t have chia seeds so I’ll have to experiment with the ratio of oats to liquid… I wonder if flax seeds or ground flax would work?!
see my first “note” in the above post about substituting anything for the chia seeds. 🙂 i just worry that the thickness won’t be there, so you might want to add less milk if you use flax seeds.
I’ve never tried overnight oats….prob because I don’t think ahead–haha! But thanks for the tutorial!
I am off to teach some BodyPUMP–can’t wait to burn out my buns too 😉
Overnight oats look like a great easy breakfast…but cold oatmeal is the last thing I want on a freezing New England morning haha. I will definitely give them a try once temperatures are higher though!
I’m a big fan of overnight oats, but usually in the warmer months. During the winter I prefer my oats hot. My recipe looks exactly like yours, and I think fruit or something else sweet (honey, agave, etc.) is key! The first few batches I made were really bland, but add some fresh berries and you’ve got an amazing, super-filling breakfast!
My favorite lately has been chocolate strawberry overnight oats! I follow your recipe, but use plain yogurt with dark chocolate almond milk and add strawberry preserves. Yum!
i NEED to try it w/ chocolate almond milk! that sounds right up my alley!
Agreed with the chia seeds! Those are a must when making overnight oats for me 😀
Ooo thank you for posting this! I’ve actually never tried over night oats, but now that I have a better idea of how to make them I think I may just have to!
I always heat my oats the next morning and they are so voluminous!
I love Overnight Oats – but I feel like mine are the lazy girl’s version. I usually forget to make them at night, so I make them in the morning and let them sit for about 30 minutes.
My oats are so boring – I usually just use quaker oats, almond milk, and greek yogurt. Lately, I’ve been topping them with Bear Naked cereal for crunch!
http://runeatplayblog.com/2012/01/03/overachiever/
Yes and I 100% agree chia seeds area must! I have never tried mine with yogurt though, so I might have to this week! I love topping mine with fresh fruit (or frozen right now since its hard to find berries) and flax seed.
I tried it once, but the texture was terrible, the oats never softened, so it was like eating a bowl of dry oats in almond milk. Not good!
Someday, I’ll try again! I don’t think I can get behind having a whole yogurt and a whole serving of oats and milk… that’s just too big of a breakfast for me!
No comment to add re: overnight oats, but I agree with Ryan re: the stairmill– that thing is INTENSE. No machine makes me drip in sweat like that does!
Overnight oats is one of my fave recipes that I’ve gotten from the blog world. Even more so, I love faux-vernight oats: same thing but you make them in the morning and let it sit for 15 mins! The key is to use less liquid- love the taste of raw oats!
thank you for your post! i have been making them for the last 5 days and they are delicious! i kind of like how they are different each time depending on how much milk you add.
happy monday!
me too! i like the variety and i love how easy it is to change flavors!
Love love LOVE overnight oats. Haven’t ever put chia seeds in them yet though.
I’m not a huge oatmeal fan as it is, so the overnight oats don’t do it for me. I really wish I liked them because I’m all about simplicity in the AM!
Overnight oats are perfect for the summer and hot days. I like to use about half cup of milk, half cup plain Greek yogurt, half cup oats, 1 tbspn ground flax. I don’t have chia seeds very often, but I agree that when I use them it makes for so much more thickness! I like to top them the next morning with another half cup milk, drippy peanut butter, and maybe a tspn of nutella if I want additional sweetness. I like banana or strawberries in it too. Then I stir it up into one delicious and cold mess!
PB–I have been meaning to ask you–do you think that microwaving protein powder breaks it down any? (Breaks down the nutrients or protein?) e
oh gosh, i hope not. i haven’t done enough research to really answer this question properly, but i’ve heard the claim before. not really sure what to think. perhaps someone else can weigh in who might have more insight?
Over night oats are my favorites breakfasts of choice! I usually just use 1/2 cup oats, water or milk, a scoop of chocolate protein powder and then add fruit and a scoop of pb in the am! Occasionally I will add some yogurt and it gives then a more creamy texture that I do enjoy.
i’ve never tried using water! are they still creamy?
I tend to enjoy my oats on the dryer side I don’t like them to liquidy.So they aren’t as creamy as using milk plus I use maybe a 1/2 cup of water. I do enjoy adding yogurt for creaminess.
My favorite has been with plain greek yogurt and pumpkin puree – add a little cinnamon and nutmeg on top, and then in the morning, add some peanut butter or granola for a crunch!
I discovered overnight oats after reading your blog and a friend of mine’s (For the Love of Kale by Heather Waxman), and have been making it ever since! I follow a similar recipe to what you posted, but I like to use plain greek yogurt and then add in a tablespoon of pumpkin butter or apple butter to give it a little flavor and sweetness. I love how easy is to prepare and that I have a healthy breakfast ready for me when I wake up – it’s such a time saver in the morning!
I want to like them. I have tried to like them. And I just don’t. Cream of Wheat for me.
The Kidless Kronicles
I love overnight oats- I go through phases of alternating between those and warm oats. But, I’m not crazy about using Greek Yogurt- I think using salt-free 1% cottage cheese is SO much better! I’ve even used protein powder while traveling, and it works well, too. But the texture from cottage cheese is awesome.
And I agree- you have to use Chia seeds.
oh! i’ll have to try it w/ cottage cheese!
I love overnight oats and I agree that chia seeds are necessary for. Great batch! I prefer mine without yogurt though. I think my favorite combo is oats, almond milk, vanilla extract, banana (soaked with the oats overnight), walnuts, and chia seeds. A close runner up is oats, almond milk, chia seeds, vanilla, shredded apple, raisins, and cinnamon!
oh wow – both of those combinations sound delicious! i love the idea of adding vanilla extract!
Yay! Thank you for sharing, I have never tried them but have been wnting to! 🙂
I LOVE overnight oats. Learned about them on this blog too – thanks Julie! My favorite combo has 1/4 cup oats, 1/4 cup orange juice, half of a container of Chobani (either plain or lemon), and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Top that with some walnuts and crasins and I’m set.
Overnight oats are one of my favorite summertime breakfasts! Adding some fruit preserves is a wonderful idea! 🙂
Since I am weird and don’t like “soggy” foods I make my oats in the morning. I add plain yogurt to the oats, stir, let soak for a few minutes, top with cinnamon and peanut butter, then eat it up!
Ditto on the mindless eating last night…. Even more reason to kick myself into gear! Monday is a fresh start 🙂
Overnight oats rock my socks! 😉
However, I only tend to eat them in the summer months!! I’m not a fan of cold breakfasts in the winter!
Here’s my fav recipe:
http://mypinkthumb.com/2010/08/06/the-ultimate-summer-breakfast/