Overnight Oats (Best Easy Recipe!)

This overnight oats recipe is the epitome of a healthy and easy breakfast! Here’s how to make it, with lots of tips and topping ideas.

Looking for the quintessential easy breakfast idea? try that Overnight oatmeal recipe! There is no need to cook here: in fact, you can mix a glass in just 2 minutes! Leave the oatmeal in the fridge with milk overnight and it will magically turn into a kind of porridge. Eat them cold with berries or nut butter and they are absolutely amazing! This easy breakfast has been trending for years. But just recently, Alex and I found a recipe that we really love (more on that below). Here you will find many tips and ideas for the side dishes to prepare better All time overnight oats!

How to make overnight oatmeal

This overnight oats recipe has only 4 ingredients plus salt. That’s less than most recipes you’ll find! Here’s the breakdown of what you’ll need (or continue with the recipe below):

• Old-fashioned oatmeal*
• milk of your choice (2%, oat milk or almond milk or other)
• maple syrup
• Vanilla

That’s it! Pour into a jar and leave in the fridge overnight. Instant breakfast! However, here’s the thing: There are a few tips to keep in mind during this process. Let’s go through them quickly!

Use old-fashioned oatmeal, not cut steel

This overnight oats recipe is for old-fashioned oatmeal, the kind you use to make your standard oatmeal, which looks like flat discs. Do not use steel cut oats here! Why? Well, steel cut oats are whole grain oats that are cut into chunks instead of rolled: the grains look like brown rice or barley. you take a lot cook longer than oatmeal. We tested the overnight method with oatmeal, but it turned out to be horribly wrong. The texture of the oats tasted like soaked rice grains (yuck!) even after several days in the fridge.

Some people think steel rolled oats are healthier than rolled oats. That’s actually not true! Both varieties have very similar nutritional profiles: lots of protein and fiber for a good start to the day. So grab oatmeal here and you lose nothing. (Learn more about steel cut vs. oatmeal.)

Chia seeds are optional!

Many overnight oatmeal recipes contain chia seeds. Confession: We tried a recipe for oatmeal with chia seeds a few years ago and it put us off the concept for years. Chia seeds form a gel when wet, giving overnight oats a jelly-like quality. For us it was not appetizing!

If this has happened to you before, don’t worry! Chia seeds are not essential for overnight oats. Overnight oats are simply rolled oats soaked in milk and spices. So the texture here is just soft oats: not gelatinous at all!

Better to eat the next day, but you can save

Speaking of texture… let’s talk about that for a moment. Be sure to note this if you’ve never had them before: The texture of overnight oats is not that of regular oatmeal. It’s softer and a little…stickier. But it’s very tasty once you get used to it.

This overnight oatmeal recipe is best eaten the day after you make it. Why? We’ve found that the texture of oatmeal can get very soggy and sticky after a few days in the fridge. If you don’t mind, you can keep it for 2-3 days. It tastes better the next day.

The recipe for overnight oats is best eaten cold (but you can reheat it)

By the way: Overnight oats are usually eaten cold straight from the fridge. This makes it a bit different from regular oats again, so it takes some getting used to. Rather think of it as a Combination of breakfast cereal and oatmeal.

Want to heat it up instead? You can do that too! Microwave it for about 40-60 seconds, pausing halfway to stir. Make sure you have enough room in your glass for the overflow. You can also heat it on the stovetop, although that kind of defeats the purpose of these oatmeal! In this case, you can also prepare oatmeal (it only takes a few minutes).

Healthy overnight oatmeal topping ideas!

Once you have your delicious overnight oats, you can decide on your toppings! Here’s the thing: Many overnight oatmeal recipes have lots of sugar in the toppings. We’d rather not overload ourselves with sugar for the first meal of the day! So here are some ideas for healthy overnight oatmeal topping ideas:

What’s our favorite? Personally, I love my oatmeal with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of cashews or almond butter. Alex likes to fill it with fruit and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

More oatmeal recipes

Confession: We love this overnight oatmeal recipe, but we love regular oatmeal and our delicious baked oats. This overnight oats is a close second. Here are a few more of our favorite oatmeal recipes:

This overnight oats recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.