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.
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!
– 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.)
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. 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.
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.
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.)