If there's one thing that I'm a huge advocate for, it's overnight oats. My housemate started this obsession, and now it's an epidemic that has spread to my entire house of six girls. For those of you who haven't been blessed with the knowledge of this food, allow me to change your life.
Overnight oats take classic oatmeal to a whole new level. It's a mixture of oats, your choice of milk, yogurt, chia seeds and honey, all combined in a cute mason jar to be refrigerated overnight.
The "cooking time" calls for at least four hours, but odds are you'll make this in the evening for the next day. The idea is that in the morning, you have an already-prepared breakfast waiting for you that you can munch on while you get ready for your day.
There are so many benefits to overnight oats. They're filling, which is awesome when you have class all day and aren't sure when you'll get the time to eat. They're versatile, being that you can put whatever flavours you want into them. They're also nutritious and packed with protein. Talk about a great start to your day!
If you're an overnight oats enthusiast like I am, you're in luck. I'm about to share a few incredible overnight oats recipes (including a festive fall one) so you can have this type of wonderful in your life every day.
First, I'm going to start with the classic recipe. It's simple, easy and tastes good on its own, but most importantly, it's your base to get imaginative. You can use whatever milk, yogurt and sweeteners you'd like. As for servings, this will make enough for one serving if you want to be full for hours and have the appetite for it, but you could also split it into two servings.
Classic Overnight Oats
- Prep Time:2 mins
- Cook Time:4 hrs
- Total Time:4 hrs 2 mins
- Servings:1
- Easy
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 2/3 cup milk choice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flax meal
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 0-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Ingredients
There's your base — now we get to the fun part. For the following recipes, you'll use the base above. Simply whisk in these new ingredients and put it in the fridge.
Once you try a few, you'll get to know your favourites and just how much or how little sweetener you need.
Chocolate Peanut Butter
This one is my go-to. I'm a total peanut butter fanatic, and this tastes so good. It's packed with protein from the peanut butter—a great perk if you're a vegetarian like me—and the chocolate gives it that extra richness.
For this one, add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder.
Banana Chocolate Chip
My housemates are banana-obsessed, and for good reason—bananas have tons of nutritional benefits. To add some extra sweetness, the chocolate chip twist in this one is a must.
To make this one, add half a ripe banana (chopped or mashed) and two tablespoons of chocolate chips. Feel free to add more if you have a real sweet tooth.
Strawberry Cheesecake
Who doesn't love a good slice of strawberry cheesecake? Unfortunately, it isn't always readily available (or a great breakfast option). Luckily, you can get close with these strawberry cheesecake overnight oats.
For this one, add 1/4 cup of chopped fresh strawberries, 3 tablespoons of cream cheese and the juice of 1/2 a lemon.
Maple French Toast
No one really has the time to make French toast in the morning. Thanks to the simplicity of overnight oats, you can get the same flavours in a jar.
For this one, you'll add 1/2 a banana (mashed), 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.
Pumpkin Spice
I'm admittedly pumpkin obsessed, from pumpkin pie to pumpkin spice lattes to sweet cinnamon pumpkin candles. This recipe is great and really festive for fall.
You'll need to grab a can of pumpkin purée for these. Add 1/2 a cup to the base along with 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
Moose Tracks
I'm lactose intolerant, so this one made me very excited. The last time I had moose tracks ice cream is when I was very young, and I didn't appreciate it enough. Younger me didn't realize that her ability to consume dairy would one day vanish.
For this recipe, add 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1/2 a teaspoon of cocoa powder, 1/2 a teaspoon of honey and 1/2 a teaspoon of melted coconut oil.
Tropical Fruit
You fruit lovers out there are probably like, "Okay, we get that you have a sweet tooth, where's a recipe for us?" Don't worry, I've got you covered.
For this one, add 1/3 cup of chopped fresh or canned pineapple, 1/2 an apple (chopped), 1/3 cup of chopped ripe mango, 1/2 a ripe banana (chopped or mashed), and 2 tablespoons of unsweetened flaked coconut.
Overnight oats are easy to make and taste so good that you'll actually look forward to waking up for breakfast in the morning. Don't worry, you can thank me later.