Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are just oats soaked overnight that absorb the liquid you put them in – any kind of liquid you like! The most common mixture is equal parts raw rolled oats, milk and yogurt (I like 1/3 or 1/2 cup of each). You can use any kind of yogurt or milk. Put in the fridge overnight (uncoverd or covered, your choice) and let ‘em soak up the liquids.
That’s the base, and toppings are endless. Add the toppings the night before or the next morning – either way works. Just don’t put anything in you don’t mind getting soggy (i.e. crunchy cereals)
There is NO COOKING involved at all!
(Although you could heat them just a tiny bit in the microwave to take the chill out)
Basic KERF Recipe
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 – 1/2 cup milk [depending on how thick you like it]
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1/2 banana
1/2 tbsp chia seeds
Pinch salt
Pinch cinnamon
Directions
Stir everything together in a bowl. Place in fridge overnight. In the morning top with something crunchy and something with healthy fats – like nut butter or nuts.
Some variations…
See every overnight oats breakfast here!
{ 213 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Kath,
I have a silly question. I’ve never made or had muesli before. Am I supposed to cook the oats with the hemp and/or skim milk first and then add it to my bowl with the other ingredients?
This look yummy. I will make it for breakfast tomorrow. I made the banana oatmeal – so delicious! Texture was perfect. Too bad my 4 year old wouldn’t take a second bite = ( I look forward to trying all the other variations and making up other concoctions along the way.
Keep those post coming. I love your blog. Have a great day.
I just tried this recipe and am going to make this oatmeal every night now! YUM! I’m a freshman at college (going into nutrition) living in a dorm, so this recipe made me so happy–no oven/stove involved! Made it just with bananas, raw honey, whole milk, and almond butter–can’t wait to try it with some cinnamon, coconut chips, or maybe even little bit of melted dark chocolate! Thank you Kath!
Cate ,
Everything is raw!! Enjoy.
Kath
Hi Kath
I am sorry to tell you but this is not really “muesli”. I am French and have traveled and lived overseas my entire life, and muesli is actually just a breakfast cereal with oats, fruits, and nuts, kind of like what Americans call “granola”, but you can get it cooked or raw. It is not necessarily prepared overnight with yogurt, but can be eaten like cereal with milk, or with cream, cottage cheese, etc. Just thought I’d let ya know!
Marlene
Marlene-
Noticed your comment on this…I am studying abroad in France right now and have fallen in LOVE with Muesli!!! Don’t know how I will live without it when I go back to the states.
~Katie
You can get muesli in the states. Visit a health food store, if they don’t have it, just ask for it. They should be able to get it for you. I have never been out of the states and I have a box of Swiss Muesli in my pantry right now. I love the stuff and just sprinkle a bunch of it on my yogurt plus any combination of fruit in season. Then I top that with a big sprinkle of Brewer’s yeast. Yum.
I really want to try Muesli, is it like cereal or oats? Is it better warm or cold? Can I buy muesli like Bob’s Red Mill brand?
Thanks Kath! Had overnight oats this morning…. the perfect warm weather fuel!
I have heard of letting oatmeal soak overnight but never tried it. Now I will. Thanks. I love oatmeal too. I like mine with raisins, honey and pecans. But adding banana is also good. Coconut is another good topping and if you have some dried pineapple along with that, hmmm. Of course, I have to be careful with my add ons, they go straight to my upper arms. lol
Silly question… do you let it soak in the fridge, to keep it cold, or do you leave it out?
I hope you don’t mind Kath if I suggest an answer for Stacey’s question? Stacey, if it were raw milk, or a yoghurt with live good bacteria in it, leaving it out overnight would simply start the culturing process. If it were pastuerised milk, then leaving it out would start the rotting process. So it will depend on which product you are using. And if using the raw milk or yoghurt, it would then depend on both how much culturing you are wanting to see before you consume the overnight oats, and on taste preferences.
Stacey,
In the fridge!! You won’t want milk to sit out all night for bacteria purposes.
K
have you ever tried this with steel cut oats? i wonder how it would turn out…
Hi….I have tried it with steel cut oats and it is a bit too crunchy for my taste because these oats don’t absorb the milk as well.
For overnight steel cut oats:
Using a rice cooker. Add four cups of water to the rice cooker. Bring the water to a boil using the steam cook setting. Stir in one heaping cup of steel cut oats. Bring it back to a rolling boil. Shut the lid, turn off and unplug the rice cooker. Do this right before you go to bed. In the morning the oats are done just right. You will need to heat them up in the microwave for a couple of minutes. I make a double batch to last me all week. You can add in any of Kath’s yummy combinations or make up your own. I like various combinations of non-fat milk, bananas, walnuts, apples, peanut or almond butter, Craisins, cinnamon, agave nectar for sweetness. I love the nutty texture of steel cut oats.
Do you then heat it before you eat it? Or do you eat it cold?
Lori ,
Eat it cold. Or sometimes I might microwave for 30 seconds to take the chill out.
K
@Marlene: I’m a Kiwi, and have travelled plenty too. Traditionally, “muesli” generally referred to Swiss style “bircher” muesli (see Wikipedia), and it’s only more recently (still well before my lifetime) that it’s become common to eat toasted muesli (granola to the Americans) and describe it as such..And I don’t think it’s common at all in the US to refer to granola as muesli, so Kath’s “right” anyway…
Mmmm convenience tastes delicious
hahah
I just tried overnight oats & they are delicious! I love oatmeal but don’t always want something hot in the morning- thanks so much!
WOW, thanks AGAIN for these awesome recipes. You’re blog is really entertaining! Your oatmeal variations are just WOW! Oatmeal doesn’t seem boring at all.
hey kath. i never liked oats (no pun intended).. but overnight oats changed me! superb no cook recipe! thanks kath
http://peachesandcupcakes.wordpress.com/2009/10/15/overnight-oats/
here’s my post on it..
JAc
Hello Kathy,
I just wanted to thank you! I am living in Athens, Greece, and my family lost whatever initial enthusiasm it had for oatmeal about the time we moved here… When I read this post this morning, I hadn’t had breakfast yet. Well, you know what I did. And i just had the BEST late-morning breakfast ever, thanks to your oatmeal-inspiration. Love your site. Thank you for doing it…and for the oatmeal tribute!!! Very good especially for Americans overseas…
Glad you liked it!
hi. was just wondering if it could be made with oat bran?
Jac, I’ve never done it, but I’m sure it could be done!
Oat bran gets too soggy so I add it in the morning
Cant wait for breakfast! This is such a wonderful way to make skim milk and nonfat yogurt so decadent. I added raisins, dried apricots, banana, Kashi 7 whole grain puff cereal, and cinnamon. In goes flax and wheatgerm in the morning! My babies thank you for sharing as well, overnight oats makes wonderful baby food.
Why does everyone insist on eating lowfat everything? Please visit the Weston A Price Foundation’s website to find out about the real benefits of eating healthiy fats including saturated. So many sites have otherwise healthy bloggers, blogging away, which I read until I get to the part about skim milk, lowfat this, and nonfat that. Wake up people! We need good, healthy, fats for a variety of bodily functions. These include, coconut oil, EVOO, peanut oil, palm oil, and animal fats. Otherwise you are going to end up like many people who are in nursing homes wishing they had their health. Another good site is Cheeseslave. Enjoy.
Possibly because of the groundbreaking results of Dr. Esselstyn’s 20-year nutritional study—the longest study of its kind ever conducted. His book explains, with irrefutable scientific evidence, how we can end the heart disease epidemic in this country forever by changing what we eat. He convincingly argues that a plant-based, oil-free diet can not only prevent and stop the progression of heart disease, but also reverse its effects. He’s not the only one. Dr. John McDougall and others support the idea of a fat free, plant-based diet to prevent and reverse most of the diseases plaguing the western world.
Um, the Weston A. Price Foundation has an agenda, if you haven’t figured it out yet. Of course they want you to think that eating animal fat is healthy….so you keep buying their product! DUH! I agree with you, we need healthy fats, but there are not-so-healthy fats that we should not be eating. Please don’t push that BS on people, keep it to yourself.
What is their product that they are selling??
The Weston A. Price is not “selling” any product. Weston A. Price was a dentist in the 1930s who researched tribes of people all over the world. In most instances there was a tribe that ate their ancestral diet (raw fresh produce, nuts and grains, animal fats from the animals they raised and/or hunted) and then there was a neighboring tribe that had started eating “civilized Western food” (processed flours, sugars, canned foods, etc). In EVERY single case the tribe that ate the ancestral diet never had heard of cardiovascular disease (no heart attacks), didn’t have crowded teeth, gingivitis, missing teeth, diabetes or cancer. But in the tribes that ate the “civilized Western food” they certainly had all the ailments Dr. Price saw in the US and that we continue to see on the rise in America today.
I’m sure that many of the ideas Dr. Esselstyn raises in his book are actually validated by the findings of Dr. Price. However, just as the previous commenter that supported the Weston A. Price foundation was told to “don’t push that BS on people, keep it to yourself”, the same could be said for the previous commenter who posted about Dr. Esselstyn’s book and yet she was excluded from “pushing BS on people”.
Frankly, I believe both hold merits but that since we are all so different there is NO COOKIE CUTTER SOLUTION for EVERY MEDICAL PROBLEM out there. We need to trust our own intuition to know how to feed ourselves and our families after doing the research for ourselves.
can you do “overnight cereal”? like cheerios? how would that work?
i tried it with annies bunnie cereal tonight- 3/4 cup annies, 1/3 cup choc milk, 1/4 cup vanilla greek yogurt and a dash of cocoa powder.
we’ll see how it turns out tomorow!!
The whole idea is for the oats to absorb the water, so if you like soggy Cheerios, then you could do it, but I wouldn’t recommend them!
I like the whole idea of NOT cooking the oats. Raw whenever I can get it is appealing to me. Also, time-wise, it’s a little more efficient.
Hi kath,
Would this work with quick oats, have you ever tried? thats all i have!
Yep!
I am so intrigued! planning to make some overnight oats tonight to eat in the am. Have you ever tried adding frozen fruit? I don’t have any dried fruit. Was thinking of adding frozen and maybe warming in the micro in the morning?
don’t want to ruin my first bowl, though;(
I’ve been eating this every morning for a week or so, and have used frozen fruit almost every time. It’s great! The fruit thaws overnight, and mixes in with the yogurt/milk, etc.
Hi Kath,
Great ideas here and elsewhere. A friend referred me to your website and I love all the potential ways to make granola/muesli/ whatever you want to call it. I’m going to have to forward this on to my friends!
I have a quick question. Do you grind up your chia and flax seeds before you put them in your cereal? I wasn’t seeing that as part of the explanation and I hear it makes the nutrients bio-available rather than having the seeds pass right through you. Just wondering.
Keep up the great work!
Miles,
Welcome!! I grind up flax because you need to to absorb the omega-3s, but I don’t grind chia because you don’t!
Kath
I can’t wait to try overnight oats! It sounds like the perfect way to have breakfast ready in the morning before you have to rush out the door to work! Thanks for sharing all of these recipes!!
I tried these this morning and they were uh-mazing!
Have you ever tried them with no milk and just yogurt as “liquid”?
holy crap. i just referenced your overnight oats on the blog and realized i’ve been freakin’ cooking mine. my oats DID NOT soak up all of the liquid…i used milk and water. maybe next time i’ll pay more attention. geez, i’m embarassed!! i will make the correction on my blog, promise!!
Hahah – no worries!
Hey Kath!
Do you put your 1/2 a banana in the mix at night, or do you add it in the morning?
Both – depending on if I remember to!
so i put rolled oats in a bowl of skimmed milk mixed with natural yogurt?
and leave it in the fridge overnight then just eat it the next morning?
i dont like porridge but i love oats with shredded wheat with milk poured over.
Yup
My dietitian recommended your site! Wow! Can’t wait to try the overnight oats and all the additions.
Thanks
Hey Kath,
Just wanted to give you a heads up that I linked to your site in an article I just wrote on how to avoid HFCS in your diet. I use your model for breakfast eating as a means of showing people a fun and easy but nutritious alternative to their morning routine. Thanks again!
I tried this with homemade, unsweetened yogurt… I don’t know if it was the yogurt or something but I just found the taste of the yogurt with the oats really, really weird… Would I be able to just use water or milk as seen here on Tina’s blog:
http://carrotsncake.com/2009/02/overnight-oats-and-hemp-protein.html
Thanks!
HI – I love, love, love overnight oats. However, I was wondering if they keep long term – could you make a larger amount for several days?
I’ve never tried it but I don’t know why not?
Have you ever tried half orange juice and half yogurt instead of milk? I tried it once and it was nice and tangy. I think I heard about it in a tweet but can’t be sure.
I have an intolerance to yogurt. Can I use something different in it’s place, or can I just double the Lactaid Milk?
I’d recommend a coconut or soy yogurt. Or Angela at Oh She Glows has a vegan chia-seed based version. Milk only probably wouldn’t thicken that well.
Hello! I am starting to love reading your blog. As we speak I just made some overnight oats and put them in the fridge! I used greek yogurt, skim milk, and added dark chocolate chips for sweetness
keep adding these awesome recipies I really want to try them all!
Kath, would Scottish oats work here, or do they actually have to be cooked before hand?
They are never cooked before hand. EVER!!! But I dont know if Scottish oats would work. I’ve never tried them.
I have some overnight oats soaking right now. I usually do just yogurt and no milk. (and by usually, I mean the now 2 times I have had them…. including the ones that are soaking now)
Is that weird…. they didn’t seem too try or anything…. they were quite delicious, actually. Perhaps tomorrow I will use some milk too. That means I will let you know monday what the verdict is…. to milk or not to milk
You have some great ideas though…. I will definitely be trying these!!!!!
I have used Scottish oats and they turn out yummy! I use just under a half a cup of oats with a half a cup of soy or rice milk, sometimes a bit of agave. Stick in the fridge and enjoy on a warm summer morning. Now I see that I need to get creative on toppings…
I was wondering if there’s supposed to be a beneft to the overnight oats?? they are sooo popular – do they taste better than morning preparation?? or are they better for the digestive system?
Anybody?!
The main benefit is convenience – no cooking at all, portable, cool in the summer.
But they also taste great.
Thank you so much for this! I’m going to try making overnight oats for the first time tonight and this was super helpful. The cereal + berries mix looks delish!
Hey Kath!
I want to make a bowl of these oats for tonight, but I worry that refrigerating them for only 2 to 3 hours might not be the best idea. What do you think?
Also, I would like to bring overnight oatmeal to school sometime for lunch, but I don’t have access to a refrigerator from 7am-12pm. Will the milk spoil?
2-3 hours should be enough time.
I would put an ice pack in your lunchbox!
Thanks for the awesome recipe ideas! Could you make a bigger batch of this and use it each morning for 2-3 days (or even for the whole week?) or would it get too soggy or weird?
I think you could probably do 2 mornings, but I wouldn’t make too much, as it might get rather soggy
Thank you for posting the ratios! Making my first 2 batches tonight for tomorrow morning. Oats + Siggis acai yogurt + half container of blueberries each! Can’t wait til morning!
I love this and can’t wait to try it….just wish I had started reading earlier in the day and had already gone to the grocery store! I’ve always eaten cooked oatmeal and had honestly never heard of cold or overnight. And I’m a southern gal—-how did my Nan and mother miss this part of my cooking education????
I wondered what you do.
My question is this: do you cover the dish? I’ve googled it and it looks like it’s a 50/50 kind of thing. Since you’re now my self appointed expert
Love the blog!!
Kristal
I don’t cover it because I am a lazy cook and don’t have the energy to put a lid on it!
1) i was so happy your post popped up first when i searched overnight oats!
2) just made my very first batch everrrrr (i’m doing a breakfast challenge this week = something different each day)
3) i did the pumpkin version. i’m so excited to see how it turns out!!
i had overnight oats for the first time this morning following your recipe, and it was fantastic! i added 1/3 cup each of oats, plain nonfat yogurt, and Silk Soy Milk Eggnog. it was so deliciously cool and creamy – a perfect breakfast treat! i will be making this many, many, many more times in the future!
One thing I noticed no one mention in the comments as an alternative to milk products is just soaking them in water. You can soak them in water and even add Braggs apple cider vinegar (just a tablespoon or so) not for flavor, but health benefits and it works just as well. You can leave it on a pot on the stove to soak overnight and just turn it on in the morning on a low heat setting and leave it to heat for 5 minutes to warm it up while you make your coffee, do your hair, whatever. If you have a large crew in your family, this is a really easy way to feed them a healthy nutritional breakfast. Also the benefit of soaking the oats is to aid digestion because oats unsoaked are really hard for the body to digest!
Just found this blog tonight while looking for spelt flour benefits….I also enjoyed your variations on the oatmeal and the lovely pictures!
When you soak the oats in water, do you add just equal parts? (ex: 1/3 cup oats, 1/3 cup water?) Does it turn out runny with just water? Thanks!
Hey, thanks for the great idea. This makes a great lunch item or any-time snack that I can just grab out of the ‘fridge and eat when I’m rushed for time. I’ve been experimenting to find the right proportions for my preferences, and find I like it a bit thicker and drier. I’ve been using plain, non-fat yogurt and unsweetened almond breeze. I’ve also enjoyed adding a small spoonful of sugar-free jam while it chills.
I recently started reading your blog and have had overnight oats every day this week. Thank you for the great idea. I make mine without yogurt because I like it on the thinner side.
Should you use quick oats or regular oats for overnight oats?
You can use quick, but I think rolled oats make the best
I’d like to say, as a high school student who barely has enough time to dress properly in mornings, that you, ma’am, are a genius:)
I’m going to start having these for breakfast. They look sooo yummy!
Overnight Carrot Cake Oats! I loved the Carrot Cake hot oatmeal recipe so much that I thought of a way to make an overnight oats version as well. I like to add carrot juice, greek yogurt, dried unsweetened coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger to my dry oats and let them sit in the fridge over night. Thanks for the inspiration Kath!
Do you have a healthy recipe for baked oatmeal? Thank you!
Yes, check my Recipage!
I love chewy….are the wheat berries cooked? Is there prep directions somewhere?
Yes, cooked. Check my Recipes page for a wheatberry lesson!
So yummy sounding! I am a breastfeedin new mommy and I eat oatmeal every day to increase my supply. Awesome to be able to just mix it up the night before and grab in the morning when we have our first nursie in the am. Looking forward to trying all the variations!!
Thanks for all the overnight oat ideas! I tried them for the first time and featured it on my blog. Honestly – it wasn’t my thing but maybe I should try one of our other awesome looking combinations!
http://blogfoodbetter.blogspot.com/2011/05/overnight-oats.html
Quick question, do you cook the wheat berries before you add them into the overnight oats or do you just put them in as is (I have Bob’s Hard Red Wheat Berries)?
Thanks!
Cooked first!!!
If I were going to use steel cut oats, for 1 cup of oats, how much milk would you suggest I use? My plan was to add some strawberry whey protein to it. When I would go to eat it, I was planning on mixing in some cut strawberries, and add some honey nut cheerios on top for some “crunchiness”.
Thanks,
Josh
Hey Josh,
I haven’t ever made OO with steel cut – I think they might not be able to absorb enough liquid without the heat. You could still soak them and then cook them in the morning – which would reduce cooking time. The overnight oats that I make use rolled oats, which have more surface area. I also add yogurt for thickness and a real food protein source (so I never heat mine because of the yogurt)
I did not give the steel cut oats a try last night, but I will be trying them tonight. I ended up just cooking it up the old fashioned way (30 min on the stove). The reason I end up using the protein powder is because I like to have a high(ish) protein breakfast without a huge caloric intake. I thought about using sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc, but with them, a little goes a long way with calories, but only about 10-15% of the calories are from protein. What would you suggest for a real food protein source that could be added?
Thanks again,
Josh
Cottage cheese and/or making the oats with milk. Or a yogurt topping (I wouldn’t mix it in though)
Very new to OO and loving it. My favorite is Muesli soaked overnight in Hemp Milk and then in the morning I add a nice amount of organic cinnamon with a good handful of sprouted sunflower and pumpkin seeds. AMAZING!
I made OIAJ last night for my mother and I. It was quite delicious. I used raw oats, vanilla almond milk and plain yogurt with diced peaches and strawberries. In the morning I topped it off with almonds and walnuts as well as some crumbled multigrain cereal. It was very delicious. Thank you for suggesting this….I would have never thought to make oats this way!
Overnight Oats is my new absolute favorite thing in the world. I have a bowl every morning now and it really gets me going in the morning. I fat free plain greek yogurt for mine so I add a pump or two of sugar free coffee syrup and it really gives it amazing flavor. My favorite is the Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Torani makes. That and a teasponn of Splenda brown sugar and its like dessert for breakfast. I actually wake up excited to eat my oats.
I recently started reading your blog, and I love it! Yo have so many great ideas that I can’t wait to try! I just had overnight oats for the first time this morning, and they were SO good. I used an almost empty peanut butter jar and added oats, milk, yogurt, banana, raisins, cinnamon, and vanilla. It’s nice to have an alternative to hot oatmeal. Thanks for the great idea!
Welcome and thank you!
Do you ever put cottage cheese in overnight oats?
No, I haven’t done them with cottage cheese. The main reason is I love them with yogurt so I almost always use yogurt and adding cottage cheese in my opinion would be a ‘waste of expensive protein’ – double what I’d need. I guess I could always do half and half though!
Has anyone tried adding long-grain or brown rice? I think you would have to cook it beforehand, which defeats the purpose of convenience, but I enjoy a little more texture in my oats. I’ve only ever cooked my oats on the stove–large batch that tides me through 7-10 days. When the weather’s hot and/or space in my fridge is limited, the excess goes into the freezer until I need it. I also add oatbran to my old-fashioned oats, steel cut oats and/or brown rice. I’m going to give the “overnight” method” a shot. Thanks!
Kate! Thanks for your post on my site—and for sharing all these great recipes on yours! So tell me: what led you to start soaking your oats? I know what I learned as I was becoming certified as a holistic health coach, but tell me more about why you do it.
I do it for the convenience and taste – not any health reasons
Just throwing it out there that I have made oo with muscle milk and soy milk ( 1/2 and 1/2 measurements) and It’s sooo good! May be a tad more protein than some people are looking for but I don’t really eat meat and my schedule doesn’t always allow for healtful filling meals. Thanks so much for this! I usually make a double batch (1 cup of oats, and 1/2 cup of each kind of milk) with fruit and sometimes peanut butter. Then, I eat half for lunch and the other half as a midmorning snack. YUM!! love your site!
I mean half for breakfast and the other half as a midmorning snack..:p
How many serving does this make? Fingers crossed you say one, ’cause I made them for breakfast this morning and yum!
One!
I made these for the first time and am eating them right now! My new go to breakfast, thank you!
THANK YOU for finally explaining what overnight oats are! I have been reading food blogs for a few months and haven’t been able to figure it out (OIAJ was even worse haha) because everyone else seemed to have known what they were for a long time and wouldn’t bother explaining the term. I am now a converted Overnight Oats girl and have been making it for breakfast almost every morning the past few days! My favorite so far is a banana + jelly combo but I can’t wait to try more!
I’m a 1st time visitor to this site and I’ve also been reading about overnight oats for months now, but couldn’t exactly what the mixture is! Glad I’m not the only one
Just made these and had them for breakfast. Delicious! I had some flavoured yogurt (Yoplait = 3/4 cup) and tossed that in with the oats, soy milk, and banana. It was perfect and I didn’t need to add any flavouring. An even quicker shortcut for a quick breakfast.
First time–quick, convenient, and delicious. Thanks.
Hi there! Glad I found your blog so I could get an idea of what the “base” for overnight oats is.
I don’t tolerate dairy products well, so I’m wondering what I could use to mix with the oats? I like my oatmeal on the thicker side, so I don’t want to do just almond milk. Any ideas??
Hi Elaine, I would use a soy or coconut based yogurt – yogurt is key! And the chia seeds for sure
Can I use Almond milk as a substitute to milk or hemp milk? I live in a place where I don’t have access to hemp milk and prefer not to use dairy products whenever possible. Thanks!
I just read the comment posted before mine…so you can disregard it! I’ll follow the advice above.
Yup!
I LOVE bananas, and I notice you use them in a lot of recipes, but I’m allergic to them. Can you suggest any good substitutes?
Pumpkin!! And applesauce
Would you mind clarifying the Banana Crunch recipe for me? The recipe calls for prepared steel-cut oats and prepared wheatberries; I understand that you’d need to cook steel-cut oats beforehand because of the texture, but how do you prepare the wheatberries? Can you purchase them pre-cooked?
Also, any ideas for an overnight oatmeal that would work with plain rice milk?
Thank you!
Denise,
Here’s a post I did on wheatberries. I used to make them a lot to throw into things like soups and oatmeal. If you don’t already have some cooked, I wouldn’t bother for this recipe – but they sure do add some nice chew!
http://www.katheats.com/?page_id=4309&preview=true
Kath
What’s the ratio of oats to milk if yogurt isn’t an option? I’m lactose intolerant and really don’t like the taste of soy yogurt. I’m planning to use coconut milk, so should i just double the amount of coconut milk?
Shan,
Skipping the yogurt will drastically change the texture – it will be much more liquidy even if you don’t add more milk. Yogurt really thickens it. I might add a bit more milk – like 1/2 cupish and perhaps some more chia seeds to help thicken it too? Unless you don’t mind it being more like cereal and milk – then add as much as you like.
Do you have to add milk as well? What would happen if you just mixed oats and yogurt and let it sit overnight?
The liquid is pretty key – without it the oats would be SUPER thick and not as “cooked.” When you use a liquid the oats absorb it and it helps to tenderize them.
Well, I just did 1/2c. each of oats, yogurt, almond milk, and pumpkin – hoping it’ll turn out as my first batch of overnight oats
Planning to slice a banana to put on top in the morning!
I just added your overnight oatmeal to my post.
Wow I really must try overnight oats. I need a really simple, but yummy recipe. Any suggestions? All I have is yogurt,milk,oats,cereal,granola,fruit. I am trying to use minimal ingredients.
Thanks! Oh, and how would this be calorie wise? I am trying to keep it on the lower side, but nutritious!
In the fridge! I used the first recipe.
I used chocolate soy milk because I didn’t have plain, and plain soy yoghurt (both 1/2 cup), a small banana (mashed) and oats (1/2 cup). I added some cocoa powder (the normal raw kind). I don’t have strawberries but might slice up a banana tomorrow morning or maybe a pear to go with it. Also, all out of trail mix at the moment, might add a couple of cashews tomorrow morning
I’m excited to see how this will turn out! Much more chocolatey than any of the recipes here… good thing I like chocolate
I have been eating overnight oats for about 2 weeks now and I really am enjoying them. I actually found the recipe on a Whole Foods newsletter. Finding your blog this morning, was the first time that I heard about adding yogurt and I will have to try it. I just usually use 1/2 cup organic rolled oats, 1/2 cup organic rice milk, walnuts and a generous sprinkle of organic cinnamon. I mix all the ingredients in a bowl and cover it with wax paper. What a delicious breakfast or an anytime healthy meal.
Mmm, the pumpkin was really good, and easily adaptable for apple as well: I use applesauce and apple chunks and keep the pie spice.
Yummy breakfast.
http://cenabimus.blogspot.com/2011/09/overnight-oats-anyone.html
Hello!
Just wondering where you get your chia seeds??
Chiaseedsdirect.com. I got a 2 lb bag and it lasted me ages (still going). Whole Foods for smaller quantities
Looking forward to trying these in the morning!
I made the strawberry banana overnight oats. It was soooo good! I loved the fluffy and creamy texture! Its a great and refreshing breakfast to have, especially since its going to be hot today! I mixed in cinnamon and pure vanilla extract the night before. The next day I cut half of a banana and “melted” it and mixed it with the oats then topped it with chopped strawberries and the rest of the small banana. Then I put some mixed raw nuts on top and a spoonful of peanutbutter. Mmmm…
Eating them right now!!
I tried this the first time and didn’t love it. However, I tried it again yesterday using vanilla greek yogurt, 1% mlik, pure vanilla extract and a little brown sugar. Right before eating it, I stirred in some walnuts and topped it with blueberries, sunbutter and shredded unsweetened coconut. I also warmed it to lukewarm before eating it and softened the sunbutter first. DEEEELLLLLISH! Loved it, loved it, loved it. So very glad that I gave this a second try
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OK so I tried and failed at OO with Steel Cut Oats. I actually think they are the quick cook kind so I need to get the right kind. I did double liquid to oats and they absorbed everything and then some! Super gummy/thick. Hoping round 2 works!
Yeah, rolled oats are ideal!
Oh my! I just made some of this for the first time! I can’t stop eating it even though I am STUFFED! A little fills me up. What a FANTASTIC breakfast or snack for a pregnant mama!
So delicious! I’m off to look at the rest of your stuff…
This is an amazing idea! I’m hopeless at trying to decide what to eat for breakfast in the mornings so to have something tasty ready prepared sounds perfect. I even have some jumbo oats in the cupboard at the moment so will definitely have to give this a try! Any idea whether you can get chia seeds outside the US?
I’m not quite sure, but the internet might ship them, and natural food stores with bulk bins here usually have them
Thanks! I’m in the UK so will do a Google search and see if I can find some. Loving your blog btw
oh my goodness, after reading this post, I wish overnight oats didn’t have to sit overnight
I want some for my bedtime snack.
Okay Kath you have to tell me where you got that floral spoon thats shown in the barney butter jar photo! I’ve been dying for one and can’t find them anywhere.
It’s an antique iced tea spoon that i got from my grandmother. Antique stores (and Ebay) have them, but they can be expensive
I tried the basic recipe and wasn’t a fan, I need some sweetener in my life!
have you tried cinnamon?
Has anyone tried using kefir in place of yogurt and/or milk?
Yeah it’s great!
Hi!
I only have minute oats at my place. I was wondering if anyone has tried overnight oatmeal with the instant variety? And if so, how was it?
Thanks
It should work!
I think it did! I can’t compare it to non-quick cooking oats (the ones I used usually take 3-5 minutes to boil), but the taste was great. Although it didn’t seem to thicken too much overnight, within 30 minutes all the liquid seemed to be absorbed. Perhaps a solution for those who don’t want to wait overnight?..
In your opinion does Nutella qualify as a healthy nut butter to add?
I wouldn’t call it a health food (kind of the same category as Biscoff) but I don’t think it’s bad to have every now and then. I wouldn’t make it my daily staple or eat it by the half cup on a regular basis though.
Hi! I love reading your blog! I love the idea of overnight oats! Just one question though, are the chia seeds neccessary?
Thank you!
Nope! Totally optional – but they do add a fun texture.
I haven’t read all the comments so this might have already been answered but can you do this with just milk and not yogurt? Can any kind of milk be used?
THANKS!!
You can but the texture will be quite different
I typically have a smoothie for breakfast with a homemade gf, vegan muffin. I’m very excited to try something different!
Just curious- how much fruit are you adding (e.g if you wanted to add blueberries, strawberries and banana?
Also- you recommend 1/3-1/2 cup oats, soy milk, soy yogurt. As an active woman do you think 1/3 is enough or would you go to 1/2 cup?
Thanks for your time!
I’d do 1/3 cup of fruit as well. And if you’re adding granola or other carb toppings, I’d go with 1/3 cup, but if not 1/2
Wow! You’re quick! 1/3 cup of each type of fruit? (or in total?)
Total
Dude. You have REVOLUTIONIZED my breakfast routine. Since discovering this site about a month ago, I bet I’ve had this for breakfast 5 out of 7 days of the week. My current favorite: put strawberries and bananas in overnight, then top the next morning with sliced almonds and a big spoonful of peanut butter. DELICIOUS.
Have never had oatmeal like this before, and didn’t sound very appealing but after reading some of the comments I am definitely going to have to give it a try!
I was thinking of adding some dark chocolate chips to the overnight oatmeal. i was wondering how much should be added though. i have read an ounce of dark chocolate a few times a week can be heart healthy, though the one ounce is arbitrary because there doesn’t seem to be a magic number. eating too much becomes bad for your health. anyone have any idea?
a handful, half a handful? less than that?
I am overseas and milk is rare, but yogurt is pretty readily available. Would it work with just yogurt? I saw one comment suggesting fruit juice instead of milk? I am really missing oatmeal so any suggestions would be much appreciated!
I really think you need a liquid. What about coconut milk?
I will look next time we are at the market!
Can I put the nut butter in at night as well? That should be fine, right?
(I’m really looking to be as lazy as possible, here! I’d like to be able to just take it out of the fridge in the morning, ready to eat when I get to work
)
Absolutely!
Made this for breakfast this morning – absolutely great! Thank you
Wow….this is amazing, just discovered your site not too long ago and I’m already hooked. Very delicious over night oats…..I have been eating it for breakfast for the last two weeks and I made my own granola from scratch to eliminate any unwanted sugars and higher calories!!! This is a keeper recipe!!!
THX
Thank you for a great recipe! Made mine subtituting in unsweetened vanilla soymilk for the milk and adding a dash of vanilla and a teaspoon of lemon zest (since I had some left over from cooking dinner). This was so good, I barely restrained myself from licking the bowl. I’ve never been a fan of hot oatmeal, but cold oatmeal per your recipe? YUM!
Just read about Overnight Oats and the recipes seem endless, all of which sound delicious! I’m very excited to try them, but I’m a little confused… I don’t quite understand, is this dish served cold? What is the consistency of the oatmeal in the morning-crunchy, chewy?
Any suggestions for first time trying it?
It is a cold dish – it’s like oats mixed into yogurt. It’s creamy maybe a little chewy and very doughy. Just think of it as oats soaked in milk + yogurt.
Sounds good to me! Thanks KathEats! Going to try this tonight
I just got my first jar of PB2. Have you ever used it in overnight oats? If so, how much? Thanks
I haven’t..
I do this but leave mine out over-night for bacterial purposes. Yogurt is completely chock full of wonderful bacteria that only multiplies and does much of the digesting of the often hard-on-the-gut parts of the oats (or other grains) as it is allowed to sit at room-temperature. Not only is it safe but it’s extremely beneficial and healthful to do this and from a nutritional and digestive stand-point it’s quite essential that you do not refrigerate so that the bacteria can do its work. Check out the books or websites: Nourishing Traditions or Wild Fermentation, for more great info on gut health, fermenting foods and the importance of healthful bacteria….
PS, your photos are absolutely luscious
PPS, sorry if this info about bacteria was already stated above, I don’t have the time to scan through 178 comments
I had something so similiar to this just recently on vaca. I had not been able to recreate it, until I started looking at your recipes. Now, I’ve got it! I love that it is SO full of options. Don’t be scared, people… just create! So fab… just can’t give enough props!
How long would these oats keep in the fridge? Could I make a few to keep for the next couple of days or do I need to make them each night? It’s so much easier to make snacks and meals in big batches!
I’d say 3-4 no problem
Is it okay if I replace the plain Greek yogurt with flavored ones?
Sure, it just boosts the sugar a bit
Hi!
I’ve been thinking about making overnight oats awhile now since it can become stressful in the morning sometimes. But in Sweden we don’t have low fat greek yoghurt, only the 10 % kind. So could you use quark or cottage cheese instead? I must say I’ve never even tasted greek yoghurt but I could imagine it would taste simliar.
You can use either the yogurt or cottage cheese
Thanks for some great ideas. For me, 1/2 cup Scottish Oats, 1/2 cup milk, mix in bowl, leave in fridge overnight, take out first thing, have shower, add protein powder, mix and eat. Extremely quick and very tasty. Definitely seems to provide me with more energy for my lunchtime gym session.
Once again, thanks. Simples!
Thank you for this recipe! I loved the overnight oats this morning. So satisfying! I just found your blog last week and just love it! Thanks for all the great recipes.
Hi Kath….love your website. I am learning to live with Chrons and your recipes have been a real Godsend…question for you, how to adapt this since I cannot have ANY dairy (even yogurt)?
Use more milk (non dairy of course) and chia seeds. Check out Oh She Glows vegan overnight oats proportions
I tried the overnite oats and found they had a really raw, almost cloying taste to them. Any suggestions? It tasted a bit like raw flour tastes to me? Personally, I didn’t care for it, but am wondering if there is anything that can be done to address this issue….
Unfortunately that’s what those of us who love OO love about them – the “rawness.” I’m sorry you didn’t find it appealing!
I was excited to try this yesterday but when I ate it this morning, the taste was very raw in that the oats did not have a cooked texture or flavor even though they were in the fridge 12 hours. I was disappointed. It did keep me filled until lunch but will not try it again.
Kit, the raw flavor is one of the main characteristics of overnight oats. Maybe it will grow on you?
Dear Kath:
Thanks for writing to explain this. Right after I posted my comment, I saw the same question answered on your site so I had obviously not researched the issue enough.
I’m so glad I found this page! I’m new to overnight oats and had no idea what to do with my muesli. Thanks to your page I had blueberries, almond milk, cinnamon overnight oats this morning. Can’t wait to involve cookie and sunbutter. Thanks so much for your cute photos, too.
I can’t wait to try these overnight oats!! I love the idea of recycling your glass jars too- Beautiful pics =)
Is the banana necessary to add to the oats to soak overnight? I can’t eat bananas.
Nope – totally optional!
I’ve been eatting this for a while and recommending it to everyone. Greek yogurt here can be hard to get or expensive, so I just uses regular plain and sometimes I’ve used buttermilk for the milk or almond milk. Buttermilk is tasty and adds more probiotics. For sweetness I always throw in a handful of raisins or prunes and leaving them in over night really works for me. Prunes up the antioxidants too. I don’t use low fat and I buy 3% milk. Skim milk is just something I am not comfortable with health wise. I can have problems with dairy but it I eat yogurt with live bacteria every day the problem totally goes away and milk with the yogurt seems totally fine. I seriously doubt I could get chia seeds anywhere near here. I have to drive over an hour just to get wheat germ! I just make due with nuts and pumpkin seeds.
these overnight oats are so great i have just found out about them, though i have never herd of yogurt will have to try that tomorrow night. i’ve just used almond milk and cinnamon in my base and covered in fruit and a teaspoon of peanut butter in the morning, im too excited for breakfast tomorrow
WOW!! This is such a great idea! Your overnight oats recipe is so simple. All the variations of the oats look amazing! It’s a perfect recipe for busy mornings.
nice!i like it.. <3
These look awesome! Just a quick question… other than chia seeds, are they any other seeds that I could use?
Thanks
Yes ground flax works too
Hi KathEats! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe! I’ve made your recipe a bunch of times changing up the toppings – tastes amazing every time! I have linked your recipe in my recent blog post. Hope you don’t mind! If you want to have a look here is a link: http://traveleatbake.com/10-healthy-breakfast-ideas/
Can you make this ahead for a whole week or only the night before the day you will eat it?
I am loving overnight oats soaked in milk. Loving it! However, I’ve been concerned after reading articles like this; http://www.highonhealth.org/why-its-very-important-to-soak-oats-before-you-eat-them/
It appears soaking in them milk doesn’t break down the phytic acid, it should be soaked in warm water, possibly with an acid of sorts, then rinsed, then cooked? What are your thoughts Kath?
Thank you in advance!