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 tried overnight oats in a jar. I had it for breakfast this am…fail! I put too much milk and they were disgusting. I’ll have to try adding chia seeds.
I am buying chia seeds today and making this tonight! Thanks for the awesome how-to 🙂
I love overnight oats! I made them last night! I’ve been making them with greek yog ever since I saw it on your blog and its delish! I also love them with pumpkin.
I tried overnight oats a few times this past summer and wasn’t a fan, although that was before I discovered Chia seeds! I definitely need to give them another try!
When I first started reading blogs OOs were EVERYWHERE – I made them for myself so I wouldn’t feel left out 🙂 but alas they were nothing great. So happy to learn I just wasn’t making it right. I will definitely try this recipe to see if i can be converted! But I love how hot oats heat my whole body up in the morning especially in winter!
So many good ideas for this listed! I can’t wait to start experimenting! Perfect for c-o-l-d winter mornings 🙂
I love overnight oats! They’re so comforting and the no-effort-needed factor in the morning is pretty fantastic too. 😉
Here’s my favorite recipe (Pumpkin Raisin Overnight Oats): http://fortheloveofkale.com/2011/12/where-do-you-see-beauty/
ever since Tina at BBF (formerly TinaFFF) started using coffee in her OO, I can’t get enough. coffee, chocolate almond milk, hazlenut butter, chia. Even my 3 year old is an addict.
Because really, you should start em young on coffee. (jk, he tasted mine and loved it, ped says it’s fine and dandy.)
I’ve been adding flax seeds to my overnight oats and they also add that consistency to the oats! Plus fiber!
what a coincidence! i made my very FIRST bowl of overnight oats (after hearing about them repeatedly on your blog) and they were delish!!! i altered the recipe just a bit because i only had fruity yogurts and i was going for a chocolate/dessert-flavored mixture.
i used 1/2 cup skim milk (since no yogurt), 1/2 cup quick oats, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 tbsp flax seeds (dont have chia seeds yet, so i figured next best thing?), and dash of cinnamon. it thickened up in the morning and was amazing. i’m sure it will only get better with yogurt, chia seeds, etc. i owe my delicious breakfast to you, so thanks!! xoxo
As I read this, I’m eating the most dreadfully bland bowl of oatmeal. I think I’m going to try this for tomorrow’s breakfast. I thought I could spice up my plain oatmeal with nutella and a banana. But, it’s still missing something. Thanks for the recipe Julie!
Have you ever tried Steel Cut overnight oats? Just wondering if they will work the same way since that is what I have on hand. Also, how much do you taste the yogurt? I am not a huge yogurt fan but I know it adds a lot of nutrients.
I’ve tried and it doesn’t work. Steel cut oats need to be cooked to soften, or else it tastes like a bowl of stale Grape Nuts.
i’ve never tried it, but would trust krystina!
I need to finally give these a try. Thanks for sharing your tips!
I have been really into overnight oats lately because it’s an easy grab-and-go breakfast. I love mine with plain Greek yogurt, skim milk and a dallop of nut butter on top.
The other day I made them with plain greek yogurt. I thought they were OK, but I couldn’t get over the tanginess of them. I think I need to try again with flavored yogurt and see if that changes my opinion on them. I don’t mind the texture, so its just the taste I need to get right.
I use ground flax seeds and get a great thick texture. My favorite way is to smear PB in the bottom of the container before putting in the fridge. Strawberries on top in the morning…yum! And thanks for the tip for jelly on the egg sandwiches… I’m addicted!!! 🙂
I actually JUST got into overnight oats after reading some suggestions on how you prepare them in previous blog posts! I didn’t like them the first time I tried them (a year or so ago) but now I’m hooked. I definitely think including the Greek yogurt is key! I’m having fun experimenting with different add-ins & just last week made “cake batter overnight oats” which was AWESOME!
Overnight oats are my fav!! I have the bf hooked too, adding pumpkin is the best!
I have tried them and I think that are totally gross. I also hate pumpkin oats. I tried them after so many bloggers raved about them and almost barfed. I am more of a savory breakfast person too and find that I need a high protein breakfast to stay full for more than two hours.
ooooh I want to try different combos now!
My usual is:
1/2 cup of oats
1/2 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of milk
half a banana
and then in the morning I add the other half of the banana and some berries if I have some.
PB- Do you know how many calories this recipe contains? Thanks!
i’m really not sure! perhaps you could plug in the ingredients into a recipe nutrition calculator like this one: http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
I never use chia seeds in my overnight oats and they’re always super thick and perfect without them. I just use oats, equal parts milk + plain Greek yogurt, honey, and banana/other fruit. Perfect every time.
OMGosh you eat these cold?? i always thought they were warmed up!
haha nope! COLD!
I have seen overnight oats on a million different blogs. I have tried them a couple times, but the consistency and taste is never quite right. I will try out your recipe and see how I like it. I want to like them, because they always look so good!
I’ve been a fan of overnight oats for a while now. I’ve found I don’t LOVE yogurt in the mix so I add protein powder for an extra omph of protein. I also really like the texture that chia seeds add. 🙂
Here’s my favorite combo at the moment – http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2011/05/protein-overnight-oats-and-incline-walking-hiit/
Thanks for the link love Julie!
of course! i LOVE the look of all of your combinations!
Great post! I have to try your recipe. I use my digital scale to make sure my proportions are exactly right. Also, I have to heat mine in the microwave for 30 seconds so they’re not so cold. I eat overnight oats every morning!
Wanted to share my random Smoothie Concoction with you 🙂 It isn’t perfected yet, but I thought I would share!
I mixed:
1 White Choco. Macadamia Luna bar (crumbled)
Skim Milk
Peanut Butter
Ice
(portions are to your discretion…I was trying it, so mine made approximately a cup.)
It is yummy..and nutritious! 🙂
Great post -definitely on my grocery list tonight!!
Topic Request: Healthy foods during the frigid winter months!
I always crave salads over summertime but when it’s freezing out I crave HOT but usually high-fat comfort foods. I usually end up just defaulting to lean cuisines which are such a drag! A post of the best healthy HOT comfort foods would be fantastic for us northerners!
xo
M
I use steel cut oats and soak them overnight in just water and microwave it in the morning for 2 min. Then I add in the greek yogurt and fruit. I love that they are ready to go in the morning, no big cooking to do.
I love overnight oats! Especially when I add a tbls of some nut butter. 🙂
The more blogs I read, the more I want to try overnight oats. I’m an extremely picky eater though and have something against eating cold food, so I am not sure how that will work out!
I agree you DEFINITELY need to play around and find a thickener that works for you to make them palatable. The first time or two I tried them I didn’t understand the appeal at ALL. I still don’t get the breakfast cookie appeal (ok Amanda let’s stay on topic), but as far as overnite oats go now? YUM. I can take or leave the chia seeds personally (I like them and usually include them, but I find sometimes it makes them TOO thick for me), but MUST have the greek yogurt (plain for me, but I add a lil stevia). Just milk and oats (almond milk for me, always) is gross and watery and goes down the drain. I especially like overnite oats when adding a mashed banana and/or pumpkin, so maybe that’s why I find too many chia seeds to be too thick.
Loveee this post, I have been dying to try overnight oats but have never seen a good basic post for how to make them. Have you ever used steel cut oats? I heard they might be better for you as they are less processed. Do you ever heat them up or is that gross?
i eat them cold and haven’t personally tried steel cut oats. i’m not sure they’d work b/c they’re so hard!
I am so glad you posted this! I have been thinking for the past week about emailing you or looking it up on google. You must just be able to read my mind… like BFFs! 😛
I absolutely LOVE overnight oats but I include whey protein powder in mine. I had some this morning and find that my necessary ingredient is cinnamon! I can NOT get enough of it! Any Time Whey – Birthday cake adds a yummy flavor too. nom nom nom!
Your leg workout looks pretty stellar. Going to have to give it a shot on Thursday (leg day).
Overnight oats are so 2010.
Overnight oats are delicious and will be in 2050! I’m just wondering what foods are “so 2012?” Great post, Julie!
haha they probably peaked in popularity in 2010. i’m always late to trends, anyway. 🙂
These look great!! I haven’t made overnight oats in a while, I definitely need to make them soon 😀
I agree with Ryan, the stairmaster is not a warm-up. lol Hardcore sweat coming!
I love overnight oats. Just 1/3 cup oats with 1.5 oz of vanilla Greek yogurt and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Nice and THICK the next morning. I love it being thick enough that I can pick it up and eat it with my fingers. Messy, but delicious. 🙂
Do you always do cardio before weight training?
I love overnight oats! I just use milk (just enough to reach the top of the oats), old fashioned oats and a frozen fruit mix on top (bananas, strawberries and peaches already cut up!) In the morning 2 min in the microwave, a little brown sugar and they’re perfect! I even made them for my parents once and they loved them and that was saying something!
I Have never tried overnight oats & I guess it’s time I tried them :-). I’ve been reading your blog for ages now & I keep seeing you mention how tasty they are & they do look tasty I guess my concern was the texture b/c I was used to oatmeal being warm not cold. I’m going to give it a try & then let ya know how it goes. Thanks for all the different recipes & ideas :-O
I’m toying with the idea of adding protein powder to my (not overnight–stove top made) oats, but it kindaaa terrifies me. At what stage do I add it? When they’re cooking? Afterwards? Any help would be great!
Thanks for posting this! I was just trying to find your overnight oats recipe for my husband yesterday. I was also trying to figure out if you eat them cold or warm but I see you already answered that question for someone else.
It took me a while to get used to overnight oats, and now I crave them, but I have never made them with yogurt! I think that’s key so I can’t wait to make your version. What a great idea for a post!
I never thought to add Greek yogurt into my overnight oats! I would eat the same combination of peanut butter/banana oats over the summer, but I just put together oats, milk, and a strawberry Chobani to try in the morning with fresh strawberries! 🙂
Just making this for tomorrow’s breaky! Thanks girl!