This basic Overnight Oats recipe is easy to follow, plus it’s one of the quickest healthy breakfasts you can make. Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients for your overnight oatmeal in a jar, this recipe takes just one minute to make. Possibly less.
What Are Overnight Oats?
Overnight oatmeal is different from your traditional oatmeal recipe. Instead of using heat to cook the oats, you cover them in water or milk. As they sit overnight in the fridge, the oats absorb the liquid and soften, which “cooks” them. Although “cold oatmeal” might not sound too appetizing, it really is just as good!
Try my basic overnight oats recipe below to get acquainted with this new kind of breakfast, or get creative with ingredients, like we did with these Peanut Butter Chocolate Overnight Oats!
How to Make Basic Overnight Oats
You only need a few things to make the basic recipe: a glass jar (like a Mason jar), oats, and liquid, like water, milk, or even yogurt. (See, so healthy!) After that, you can get creative! Add, chocolate, caramel, the tears of your ex boyfriend. Really, anything works here.
My recipe for easy overnight oats is as follows:
- ½ cup oats
- ½ cup liquid (water, milk, or yogurt)
- 1 tsp. sweetener (maple syrup or honey, optional)
- ¼ tsp. spices (optional)
- 2 to 4 Tbsp. other mix-ins (banana or other fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate, etc.)
Add the ingredients into a glass jar, put the lid on, shake, and stick it in the fridge until the morning. And…that’s it! That’s all you have to do to have cold oatmeal in a jar ready for you to devour in the morning.
Basic Overnight Oats Ratio
I should let you know I like my oats thick. Like turn the Mason jar over and they don’t move thick. Do you also like the texture of concrete? Didn’t eat cereal with milk until your late 20s? Want to be best friends? Also, you’ll want to follow the 1:1 ratio and stick with the ½ cup of liquid.
Looking for something creamier and more porridge-like? Go up to 1 cup for a 2:1 ratio of liquid to oats.
Overnight Oats Variations
Now here’s where it gets fun. There are almost a limitless number of things you can add into overnight oats to make them the tasty breakfast of your dreams. Here are some ideas to get you started, with measurements that work for the recipe above:
- 1 tsp. sweetener (maple syrup or honey)
- ¼ tsp. spices (like cinnamon, allspice, ginger, or pumpkin pie spice)
- 2 to 4 Tbsp. other mix-ins (banana or other fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, chocolate, etc.)
Some people also like to add pinch of salt. I don’t. I am a salt fiend, but I don’t like it in my oats.
You can put all of the additional ingredients into the basic oats recipe at the start, except those you want to be crunchy later. (If you put fruit, granola, or nuts in the jar, they will also absorb liquid so you can wave bye-bye to their crunchy factor. Yup, there it goes. Buh-bye now.)
Do You Eat Overnight Oats Hot or Cold?
I like my cold overnight oats cold. Weird, right?
But you can enjoy them hot or cold! Either stir and enjoy the oats straight out of the fridge or heat them up a little in the microwave. Either way is tasty. (Cold is better.)
How Long Can You Leave Overnight Oats in the Fridge?
What kind of science experiments are we doing here? If you store your overnight oats in a jar — meaning a well-sealed, airtight jar container, they should last you in the fridge for up to 5 days, though they’ll continue to absorb liquid during that time.
If they’re green, obviously don’t eat them. Unless you put matcha or spirulina in your recipe, in which case they’re probably fine, minus that whole “this tastes like grass” problem. Because they do last for a while, this makes it easy to make them batches.
Also, supposedly overnight oats can be ready to eat in five hours in case you want to make them in the morning for a healthy snack later in the day. Or in case you partied (read: worked) until late and didn’t get a full eight hours of sleep.
Can You Make Overnight Oats with Milk or Water?
You can make overnight oats with water or milk or almond milk or oat milk or…I think you get the picture here. Heck, you can even make it with yogurt. Milks (dairy or non-dairy) add more flavor than water will to a basic overnight oats recipe, as will yogurt.
How to Make Overnight Oats
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
- ½ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 10 almonds (chopped)
Instructions
- Add rolled oats to Mason jar, ¼ cup at a time (prevents spillage).
- Add cinnamon, maple syrup, almond milk, and almonds.
- Add cinnamon stick if desired.
- Seal with lid, shake, and place in fridge for 8 hours.
Notes
Do You Eat Overnight Oats Cold or Hot?
I like my cold overnight oats cold. Weird, right? But you can enjoy them hot or cold! Either stir and enjoy the oats straight out of the fridge or heat them up a little in the microwave. Either way is tasty. (Cold is better.)How Far in Advance Can You Make Overnight Oats?
What kind of science experiments are we doing here? If you store your overnight oats in a jar — meaning a well-sealed, airtight jar container, they should last you in the fridge for up to 5 days, though they’ll continue to absorb liquid during that time. If they’re green, obviously don’t eat them. Unless you put matcha or spirulina in your recipe, in which case they’re probably fine, minus that whole “this tastes like grass” problem. Because they do last for a while, this makes it easy to make them batches. Also, supposedly overnight oats can be ready to eat in five hours in case you want to make them in the morning for a healthy snack later in the day. Or in case you partied (read: worked) until late and didn't get a full eight hours of sleep.Can You Make Overnight Oats with Milk or Water?
You can make overnight oats with water or milk or almond milk or oat milk or…I think you get the picture here. Heck, you can even make it with yogurt. Milks (dairy or non-dairy) add more flavor than water will to a basic overnight oats recipe, as will yogurt.Are Overnight Oats Healthy?
Making overnight oats, as opposed to the traditional method of cooking, actually makes them easier to digest. If you fill your bowl with sugary toppings, you will inch away from the health benefits. This basic overnight oats recipe is the perfect base to a healthy breakfast option.Video
My background is in publishing (I've worked at Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, and more), mostly with a focus in health, fitness, and entertainment. I've also run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions!
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Confession, I’ve never actually made overnight oats before. BUT after seeing how easy they are to make, alongside your gorgeous photography, I’ve gotta give them a go. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Thank you! And, unedited the video is about a minute long, so they really don’t take long at all to make! 🙂
I love easy to make healthy breakfasts like this! Even better when you can just pull out of the fridge in the morning and its all done!
I love how easy overnight oats are! And all the different flavors that you can make assures you’ll never get bored with them!
Overnight oats are the best! And I’m always one for simple flavors like cinnamon and maple – yum!
Waking up to these is a dream come true! They look so good!
This looks so delicious and easy, can’t wait to try these easy overnight oats!
I think you’ll love them!
This was super funny and engaging to read! Looking forward to trying out some overnight oats in the near future.