Easy Overnight Oatmeal

Easy Overnight Oatmeal is a no-cook, no fuss, tasty breakfast that’s perfect for meal prep! They’re healthy, hearty, creamy, and delicious! I’ll show you how to make the perfect batch of creamy overnight oats!

Do you have crazy mornings & no time to make breakfast?

I’ve got the perfect solution. This recipe makes a tasty and healthy start to your day with no-cook and no-fuss. These oats are full of flavor and nutrients and require very little prep time. Furthermore, the prepping is done the night before making for a no-hassle morning!!

Easy Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight oats is simply old-fashioned rolled oats that are soaked overnight in a healthy mixture of milk and yogurt. Add in any flavor combination you like and you have an instant, easy, healthy breakfast that you don’t have to spend any morning minutes on.

My favorite container for overnight oatmeal is a pint canning jar.

After a run for optimum muscle recovery, studies show that the intake of protein within an hour of stopping helps muscle recovery. In the past, I have enjoyed my favorite protein shake.

Recently, I tried Easy Overnight Oatmeal with unflavored protein powder added. These oats are so convenient! Being able to grab breakfast and go is crucial to us getting out the door on time on busy mornings.

What I found is overnight oats are so good and so easy that I enjoy them at other times during the day. They make a delicious afternoon snack!

Types of Oats

The difference between each type of oat is how they are processed.

• You want Old-fashioned rolled oats for overnight oats. Whole oat groats are steamed and, instead of being cut with a metal blade, they are rolled and flattened into flakes, which allows them to cook faster than steel-cut oats.
  
• Steel-cut oats: Steel-cut oats, also called Scottish or Irish oats, are the least processed form of oat grains. These oats are created when a full oat groat (the large grain) is sliced into pieces with steel. This leaves much of the bran intact. Steel-cut oats time the longest time to cook. They’re great for cooking in a slow-cooker.
  
• Quick or instant oats: Similar to old-fashioned rolled oats, instant oats are the most processed of the three oat varieties. They are pre-cooked, dried, and then rolled and pressed thinner than rolled oats. For these reasons, instant oats cook more quickly than steel-cut or rolled oats. They retain less of their texture and often cook up mushy.

FAQ

If you forget to make the oats the night before, you can pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes or so and they’ll be ready to eat.

Topping Ideas for Overnight Oatmeal

You can add jam, jelly, peanut butter, fruit, and cinnamon when preparing the oats at night. For nuts, granola, dried fruit, etc add these ingredients just before you eat.

• Jam or jelly. The first time I made them I made the oats in a jelly jar that had just a tiny bit of jelly left in it. The jelly gave the oats a great flavor!
• Peanut butter or other nut butter like almond butter or cashew butter
• Dried fruit
• Fresh fruit
• Granola
• Chia seeds
• Almonds or other nuts
• Cinnamon

Other Healthy Breakfast Ideas

• Healthy Oatmeal Date Breakfast Cookies
• Brownie Batter Overnight Protein Oats
• Greek Yogurt Berry Parfait
• Blueberry Mango Overnight Oats

Finally, the calorie and nutrient amounts will vary depending on the products you use. This is specifically what I used. Click the title link to order.

1. Chocolate Vegan Protein that has 20 grams of protein per serving.
2. Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk
3. Fage Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
4. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats

I updated this post from an earlier version published on Feb 15, 2013. I made new photos and simplified the recipe instructions.

You can also find great recipes at Recipe Index or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck