Better breakfasts at home are easy – and overnight oats are one of the best options out there as a quick, simple, and healthy breakfast that you can have hot or cold. There are endless recipes you can experiment with and it only takes less than 10 minutes to prepare it.
What are overnight oats?
Overnight oats are a non-cook method of making oatmeal. Add uncooked oats (aka rolled oats which are only lightly processed) with milk or water along with other bonus ingredients to a small airtight container, and let them rest in the fridge overnight. By morning, you’ll have a pudding-like porridge, perfect for easy grab-and-go breakfasts. Compared to hot oats, they taste creamier and denser, all while keeping you cool on hot mornings.
You can have them warm, too – just heat them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently, or warm them in a small saucepan on the stove. Some popular ingredients to add to overnight oats include honey, chia seeds, berries and nuts, and even substituting milk with yoghurt! Those extra probiotics never hurt anyone.
Why are overnight oats so popular?
Besides the convenience of not having to prepare breakfast the next morning, they are easily customisable and have great versatility in flavour so you can vary your mornings with a different taste every day.
Rolled oats also boast great nutritional value. Oats contain more protein than most other grains, and are also a particularly good source of beta glucan – a type of fiber that is linked to lowering cholesterol levels and overall heart-health. It’s definitely a great way to meal-prep for the whole family, and it’s a cute breakfast to eat, too.
Best of all, it saves time and money because oats are fairly cheap. If you refrigerate in an airtight container, you can keep it for up to five days, though most advise that it’s best to eat within 24 hours after refrigerating overnight.
We rounded up a few mouth-watering breakfast ideas from Wholefully to get your mornings going right.
1. Monday: Classic Vanilla Overnight Oats
There’s nothing like the classic, tasteful vanilla to make you feel successful in life. It’s like ice cream in the morning, but healthier. If it gets boring to eat plain old oats with milk, this is a recipe to try!
A few ingredients are all it takes:
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (heaping) rolled oats
- 2/3 cup unsweetened Almond Breeze Original Almondmilk, see notes
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Read more here.
2. Tuesday: Blueberry Lemon Overnight Oats
This is a lighter and tangier breakfast for those who prefer a little zest in their mornings!
If you suffer from tired eyes with the prolonged screen time, why not add some blueberries to your diet? Rich in antioxidants, blueberries are one of the best nutrients for your eyes – they contain anthocyanins, which can activate the retinal function and strengthen eyesight, preventing eye fatigue. They also have tons of other benefits like anti-aging and are considered a superfruit for its richness in vitamins. Plus, add a good dash of vitamin C with the lemon to double up on a healthy breakfast!
Feel free to use frozen or fresh blueberries interchangeably, but note that if you choose frozen blueberries, you can put less milk since the berry will release some liquid as it defrosts overnight to give your oats recipe a pretty, purple hint.
You can also check out the video here:
Ingredients needed:
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (heaping) rolled oats
- 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Read more here.
3. Wednesday: Mocha Overnight Oats
Calling all caffeine lovers – what better than having coffee-chocolate mocha oats in the morning to get you out of bed? It’s a little decadent, but more chocolate means more happiness, so sign us up! After all, we need a little more than just coffee to get through the tiring week.
Your happiness-filled breakfast begins with:
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (heaping) rolled oats
- 2/3 cup unsweetened milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Yum. Read more here if this tickled your tastebuds!
4. Thursday: Banana Nut Overnight Oats
If you’re “nuts for bananas” and “bananas for nuts”, this is perfect for you. These two are a delicious combination when it comes to a healthy overnight oat breakfast, so we understand if you go a little crazy for both!
It’s near the end of the week, so hang in there even as work gets a little um, nuts or bananas!
For this, you’ll need:
- 1 1/2 ripe bananas, sliced, divided
- 1/2 cup uncooked oats
- 1/2 cup low-fat milk
- 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
The good ol’ trusty Quaker Oats website also has a page of over 30 overnight oats recipes for you to browse, including smores and piña colada overnight oats flavour variations. You could last a month if you rotated all these recipes…
5. Friday: Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
Treat yourself on Fridays to celebrate the weekend – go all-out for this fancy combination! This is for all you cheese-lovers out there: who says you can’t have a dessert for breakfast? Here’s proof that you can have your cake and eat it too.
All you need are:
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (heaping) rolled oats
- 2/3 cup unsweetened milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax meal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0–2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh strawberries
- 3 tablespoons softened cream cheese
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon
You can read more here.
One Overnight Oats, and Many More To Come
There are endless ways you can customise overnight oats to suit your taste. Perhaps you can add a dash of greens to your breakfast with microgreens – check out our Microgreens: The new organic way to eat at home article for ideas on how you can start growing your own!
