You may have heard about overnight oats before, but have you given this breakfast craze a try? Overnight oatmeal is the perfect instant breakfast that takes no time to prepare. It’s so easy to make healthy overnight oats in just minutes.
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What are Overnight Oats?
I know you are curious, in essence, overnight oats are your choice of oatmeal soaked in your favorite type of milk, (and it doesn’t have to be dairy milk, you can use almond milk, or other milk if you desire), it may be sweetened with honey, or maple syrup and fun toppings can be added like: nuts, fresh fruit, or even ground cinnamon. It takes just moments to prepare, and you have breakfast in the time it takes to grab a spoon.
Best of all there is no cooking required to make or eat overnight oatmeal!
Are overnight oats are healthy?
One of the worst kept secrets is how healthy oatmeal is for you. Here are a few of the benefits of overnight oats!
- Oats are high in fiber – a half-cup servings packs in 4 grams of fiber. Four grams of fiber is 14% of your daily requirement.
- Oatmeal is good for your health – the beta-glucan in oatmeal has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels by 5 to 10 percent according to a story in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism.
- Overnight Oats contain biotin – Your hair and nails need biotin, biotin helps the skin fight chronic skin diseases, and is healthy for the brain.
The basic overnight oat recipe
Best Containers for Overnight Oats
I like to use the half-pint Mason jars. You can use those, they are washable, they come with lids, and you can reuse them over and over again. Don’t have a handy Mason jar? You can use a bowl, a coffee cup, your favorite Tupperware container, or your favorite plastic container, just cover the top when place your oatmeal in the fridge overnight to do its magic.
The Oatmeal
Different oatmeal performs slightly different. Let’s talk about this quickly. The preferred type of oatmeal is the old fashioned kind, that’s the kind you need to cook for about 3 minutes. You can use instant oatmeal, rolled oats, or even steel-cut oats. The textures will vary.
- Instant Oats – these are naturally thin, and these work well if you have never tried making oatmeal this way. The thin flakes absorb the liquid and these tend to be softer than rolled oats.
- Old Fashioned – these are perfect for your overnight breakfast, they do absorb the milk but tend to be denser, and have a nice texture when you dig into your oatmeal.
- Steel-cut oats – Since steel-cut oats are as close as you can get to nature, they aren’t rolled and processed like other oatmeal. It takes the liquid longer to penetrate the oatmeal, so you will want to soak this type of oatmeal for longer. Make sure you let these soak for at least 10 hours before enjoying them. They will be super crunchy on day one, but they can be enjoyed for several days after making them.
The liquid
You can use a variety of milk for this recipe, you can use dairy milk, such as whole, skim, 2%, or fat-free. You could also use non-dairy milk such as almond, cashew, or coconut. You may want to stick with unsweetened so you can control the amount of sweetener.
The Ratio
I like to use half oatmeal and half milk. You can experiment for what you will like the best.
The Mix-Ins
Just like your favorite ice cream place you can add whatever you like. Here are some suggestions. Frozen fruit, fresh fruit such as bananas or strawberries work well. You can use a mix in such any nut butter. Have some Chia seeds, you can add those.
You may want to add in spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa powder, or even matcha. My suggestion would be to pick out add-ins that are already completely hydrated. You can also add in sweeteners, I like to add some fresh local honey, but you can add in stevia, sugar, or another one of your favorite sweeteners.
Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast this would make a great post-workout treat or a great snack.
You can read more about Overnight Oats here.
Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons blueberries
- 1 - 2 teaspoons chia seeds optional
Instructions
- Place oatmeal and milk into a small plastic container. Place the container in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning drizzle with honey and chopped strawberries.
Video
Notes
- Chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds
- Protein powder
- Peanut butter powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Nuts: almonds, walnuts, or even pecans
- Fresh fruit: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, or whatever is in season
- Something sweet - honey, maple syrup, or even a sprinkle of brown sugar
Trish Lovato
Can you still warm it up after pulling it from the fridge? For winter mornings?
Stephanie
You don’t need to heat this to enjoy!
Stephanie Manley
What are your favorite mix in’s for Oatmeal?