This overnight oats recipe is a delicious mixture mainly of oatmeal, your favorite yogurt and chopped fruit or berries. You make a batch ahead of time and then have a quick, healthy, delicious breakfast in the morning. I like to pre-portion this into individual servings with mason jars. It makes morning less stressful!
These overnight oats are easy to prepare, prepped the day before and there is no cooking involved! I enjoy oatmeal based breakfasts and there are a few more on my site. This baked oats recipe is delicious! If serving a group for breakfast or brunch, this yogurt parfait bar ideas is wonderful at giving all your guests the flexibility to choose their favorite ingredients.
Table of contents
Why I love this overnight breakfast
Mornings are often crazy and we are all trying to find a breakfast that is easy but fuels our day. I love these preportioned overnight oats because they can easily be a grab-and-go meal. My kids used to take them to school and eat them before their after-school activities.
You can choose your favorite fruit or berries or even a combination. This allows you to tailor this breakfast to what your family likes. Load up the fridge with these and then everyone can easily grab one. They are filling and delicious!
Ingredients
1 cup Greek yogurt (high in protein!). I love vanilla flavored. The healthiest is plain Greek yogurt.
1 cup milk - My family drinks regular 1% milk. However, you can use what you have. That includes nondairy options like coconut milk or almond milk.
1 cup steel-cut oats - I also make this with regular oatmeal. The difference is texture so use what you have.
1 cup blueberries. I love using fresh but when blueberries are out of season i will use frozen.
1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)
The chia seeds add protein, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.
Honey - If you want to sweeten this, I recommend adding a drizzle of honey.
Steel-cut oats are the least processed oats, so they are the healthiest. Below is a closeup so you can see what they look at.
My kids don't like plain yogurt.
Neither do I. I usually use vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt. When it is stirred enough people don't usually realize it's Greek yogurt (with all that extra protein). I have in the past used flavored yogurt as a variation of flavor. Below is a serving of strawberry oats where I used strawberry yogurt and cut-up strawberries.
Instructions
This recipe makes 3 servings of 8 oz each. This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled.
Mix yogurt, milk, oats and chia seeds together.
Gently stir in blueberries.
I like to individually portion in 4oz or 8oz canning jars. It's easy to do with a canning funnel! It's an inexpensive purchase and I use it often (when portioning sauces or other liquids to freeze etc.). Add lids to the jars and this becomes a perfectly portioned serving that also travels well.
Steel-cut oats substitution
I use old-fashioned oats to make this when that's what I have handy. Overnight oatmeal recipes can be made with any type of oatmeal you use at home. Gluten issues: just make sure your oats are gluten-free (processed where there isn't any cross-contamination).
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If you do use substitutions, just estimate the ratios to be similar to what this recipe states. It's very forgiving when you change your ingredients around.
FAQs
Love peanut butter? Add some (nut butter works too!). Or, drizzle the top with maple syrup or honey just before serving. If you have nuts like almonds or walnuts, sprinkle some on top. Cinnamon, chocolate chips, chopped dried fruits or any other delicious foods in your pantry are fine. It's up to you!
The first few times I had this, I took the lid off and microwaved for about 30 seconds, stirred it and it was perfect! I love the texture, the flavor and the fact that it's ready to go in the morning. It's up to you if you would like to eat your oats cold from the refrigerator or warm them up a bit in the microwave.
Storage
This made-ahead breakfast is made to store in the fridge. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or up to the expiration date of the yogurt - whichever comes sooner. I do not recommend freezing this.
Other Breakfast options
Overnight Oatmeal printable recipe.
Overnight oatmeal - breakfast with yogurt, oatmeal & fruit.
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats old-fashioned oatmeal is a great substitution
- 1 cup Greek yogurt plain or vanilla is best
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup fruit - blueberries for this recipe roughly chopped - can use fresh or frozen fruit
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds optional
Instructions
- Mix oats, yogurt, milk and optional chia seeds in a bowl. Add blueberries and gently stir.
- Portion in serving containers before placing in the refrigerator.
- If you don't have any mason jars handy, use a glass and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place in fridge overnight. The next morning it's ready to eat. If not a fan of cold oatmeal, heat about 30 seconds in the microwave and stir.
Notes
Nutrition (I am not a nutritionist. These are estimates only)
Do you have any other easy breakfast recipes?
Originally published May 26, 2013
robert
can i cook the oatmeal first?
Susan Moncrieff
Cooking the oatmeal first for the overnight oats is defeating the purpose of this recipe. The storage time allows the oats to absorb some of the liquid and soften. For this recipe, don't cook it.
Connie VG
I tried this and it was easy to make and easy for the kids to grab out of the fridge in the morning. I will make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
momcrieff
Glad you liked it Connie! One day, I will figure out how to make this with peanut butter! My peanut butter loving kids may actually try oatmeal then.
Erica P.
I am going to give this a try! It would be great for the hubby to take to work! Thanks!
momcrieff
We are still so loving this! It's so easy to modify with different flavors. Hope you and hubby enjoy this! Best part is you can make some a few days ahead.
Lori V
I've been looking for a way to move my girls away from the flavored packets. I'd much rather they eat the ingredients pictured here. Thanks, I'm going to try this!
momcrieff
I'm trying to figure out if there would be an appealing way to do peanut butter or Nutella in the oatmeal. Let me know if you have any ideas 🙂