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 love recipes like this… i love pretty much any recipe that tastes like dessert but is healthy
All of the recipes on https://healthyrevelations.wordpress.com are just like that 🙂
mm thankxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Tried my first batch of overnight oats this morning…I accidently got the Microwaveable (1-minute oats), and not sure if that is much different from the old fashioned, but followed the above directions and it is very tasty, but very thick. I think I’m going to try this again tonight, but add another 1/4 cup of milk to get the consistency right. Very filling and extremely healthy meal! Kudos for posting this PBF!
That looks so incredible! Overnight oats are delicious. I’m always curious which yogurt people like to add to it. Have you ever tried adding a flavored yogurt, like strawberry yogurt? I bet that would be delicious!
New favorite pregnancy breakfast! Its already ready so I can just eat it since I’m not into dealing much with food in the am. AND?? my toddler loves it too! BONUS! Thanks for posting, I’ve seen a lot of these floating around but they’re always so complicated! This was so easy! And the variations are endless but they are also good with just a flavored greek yogurt (so far my favorite is Toasted Coconut Vanilla with almond slivers, aaahhh…)
Love your blog, I always read it on my phone during the kiddo’s nap time!
I have heard of so many failed attempts at overnight oats without chia seeds but mine always come out just fine! I’m sure chia seeds have lots of health benefits and all that, but I just can’t get over the fact that I would be eating the same thing I used to plant in my Chia Pet — or that they are $10 a bag around here. 🙂 I follow the proportions in your recipe, using 2/3 cup quick oats, 3/4 cup yogurt (Greek makes the mixture thicker, but I’ve found regular yogurt works as well), and 1/2 cup milk (I use almond), and my overnight oats always come out extremely thick! I think it’s the difference between old fashioned oats and quick oats. Typically I try to sweeten my oats with just a little bit of Ovaltine/Carnation Instant Breakfast (chocolate overnight oats are my favorite!) or a really ripe smashed banana, but generally I just short-cut it, don’t worry about the added sugar, and use flavored yogurt right from the start! Blueberry, strawberry, and even coffee flavored are really good, and I never get tired of oats when there are so many flavors of yogurt to choose from these days!