The Easiest Overnight Oats Recipe
Overnight oats are one the best make ahead breakfasts for busy weekdays. Imagine walking down the stairs and seeing that breakfast is already ready! This is my most basic overnight oats recipe (with the easiest ratio of oats to milk ever! It’s 1:1 oats : milk) plus some of my favorite overnight oats toppings and mix-in ideas. If you have more time in the morning, try making healthy breakfast quinoa or baked oatmeal next!
2 Base Ingredients
Scroll down for the full recipe with exact measurements.
- Oats: You don’t realize how many types of oats there are until you’re at the store staring at the wall of oats wondering if you need steel-cut oats or instant oats. For overnight oats, use classic, old-fashioned rolled oats or the gluten-free rolled oats. They’re the most common and easy-to-find type of oats.
- Milk: Dairy milk, almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, cashew milk, macadamia milk, rice milk, hemp milk will ALL work. Use whatever milk you have or love. Most people make overnight oats as a quick and healthy breakfast, so a lot of folks prefer to use vegan milk to keep the cholesterol-lowering power of oats intact.
How to Make Overnight Oats
- Grab a 12 ounce airtight lidded jar or really any 16 ounce container with a good lid you love. A tupperware container with a tight-fitting lid would work, too.
- Combine the milk and oats. Remember that ratio: 1:1.
- Shake it up! Get every last oat piece wet.
- Chill. Pop the oats and milk in the fridge overnight.
- Eat! Open the jar, add any toppings you desire, and eat your super-healthy breakfast!
Overnight Oats Mix Ins and Topping Ideas
- Peaches + Protein Powder: Fresh peaches and vanilla protein powder make for a delicious combo!
- Coconut + Berries: Add shredded coconut, a little jam, and top it all with fresh berries.
- PB&J: Stir in some salty peanut butter and your favorite jelly for a very kid-friendly version of overnight oats.
- Banana-Nut: Top the oats with banana slices and a handful of chopped nuts — maybe walnuts or almonds or even pecans! Really any nut you like would be good.
- Easiest topping: I like to add granola to the top of this for some crunch!
- Yogurt: Stir in a dollop or two of yogurt for an easy way to get extra flavor and some probiotics, too.
How to Store Overnight Oats
You can make this recipe the night before, or do it WAY ahead of time! Overnight oats can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days. A little Sunday night prep can get you through most of the week of breakfasts. They don’t freeze well, but when a recipe is this easy to put together, that’s probably OK, right?
Overnight Oats + Health
Yes! Overnight oats are basically just a no-cook way to make oatmeal. They’re extremely nutritious, full of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, so they can help control blood sugar, and they’re great for digestion, too. They have lots of vitamins and minerals, too, including magnesium, copper, thiamine and zinc. YUM!
Tips + FAQs
- The basic formula for overnight oats is 1 part oats to 1 part liquid.
- NOTE: Some mix-ins, like peaches, will make your oats a little more liquidy. Others, like protein powder, will make them a bit more dry so you’d want to stir in a little more milk. Overnight oats are very forgiving, so don’t stress too much about getting it perfect. You can always stir in a little milk the next day.
- Do you eat overnight oats cold? I eat mine cold, but if you prefer yours warm, just pop the oats in the microwave before eating to warm them up.
- How soon can I eat overnight oats? Overnight is best, they really need at least eight hours in the fridge.
- Leftovers keep for up to three days in the fridge.
- Are overnight oats vegan? That’s up to you! My overnight oats recipes are vegan, yes, because I use non-dairy milk so as long as you make them with non-dairy milk, they’re a great vegan breakfast.
More Of Our Favorite Oat Recipes
Breakfast Genius
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