Overnight oats recipe with step by step photos – overnight oats are oatmeal, quick cooking oats or rolled oats soaked in water or milk or yogurt and refrigerated. The next day they can be topped with fruits and dry fruits and your breakfast is ready .
So basically overnight oats is a no cook recipe and one that can be made the previous night, refrigerated and had for morning breakfast. this is good for folks who do not have time to make elaborate breakfasts during morning hours.
I came across this concept of overnight oats some months back. I tried this method and we loved it. In fact I liked it more than cooked Oats porridge. when we shifted our home to a new place, this breakfast was my savior. We are still not quite settled and I still do prepare overnights oats on some days. The recipe I have shared is a very simple version. There are many variations and ideas you can add in a basic overnight oats recipe. On google and pinterest, you will get many many ideas.
Tips for making Overnight oats
- Apart from oats, the rest of the ingredients can be had as per your choice.
- For soaking you can soak in water, curd/yogurt, milk, almond milk, coconut milk and even soy milk.
- The sweeteners can be honey, maple syrup, raw sugar or jaggery. You can even skip the sweeteners.
- I also add chia seed at times. You can also add flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, melon seeds.
- Fruits and dry fruits can be of your choice. though if using milk, then I would suggest you to check the compatibility of fruits with milk. Usually citrus fruits and melons should be avoided with milk. You can even add cashew butter, peanut butter, cacao nibs, chocolate or a homemade fruit preserve or jam to it.
This breakfast is especially good for summers as its chilled and its more like having a dessert for breakfast. soaking oats breakdowns the phytates in them and help in easier digestion. Soaking oats for long hours is akin to cooking them. If you are not fond of having chilled oats, then you can just warm them slightly before adding fruits and dry fruits. Add more water if required.
You can use quick cooking oats or even rolled oats. I make with both. Quick cooking oats can even be soaked for 4 to 5 hours. Sometimes I even soak the oats in mid morning, so that we can have these soaked oats as an evening snack. You can even make a smoothie of the soaked oats.
The recipe noted below is for one serving only. Though you can easily double or triple.
How to make overnight oats recipe
1. Take ⅓ cup quick cooking oats or rolled oats in a small jar, glass, mug or a bowl. You can even add more oats if you prefer.
2. Add 2 tsp raw sugar or jaggery or any sweetener of your choice. You can even skip sweetener if you want.
3. Add ⅓ cup water. You can even add milk, yogurt or almond milk, coconut milk. For quick cooking oats, ⅓ cup water is enough to give a smooth porridge like texture. For rolled oats, you can add ½ to ⅔ cup of water or milk.
4. Stir and mix well.
5. Add ½ tbsp chia seeds. You can also use sabja seeds. If you do not have chia seeds or sabja seeds, then just skip. Cover and refrigerate. If using chia seeds or sabja seeds, then add overall ½ cup water.
6. The next morning both the oats & chia seeds would have absorbed the water. You can even add some milk if you want at this step.
7. Now add fruits. Here I first added some sapota (chikoo).
8. Then some chopped mangoes.
9. Topped with chopped dry fruits and done.
10. Serve overnight oats.
More Oats recipes
Overnight Oats
INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup quick cooking oats or rolled oats
- 2 teaspoon raw sugar or honey or maple syrup or jaggery powder (optional)
- ⅓ cup water, add ½ cup water if using chia seeds or rolled oats
- ½ tablespoon sabja seeds or chia seeds - optional
- ½ to ¾ cup chopped mix fruits
INSTRUCTIONS
- Take 1/3 cup quick cooking oats or rolled oats in a small jar, glass, mug or a bowl.
- Add 2 tsp raw sugar or jaggery or any sweetener of your choice.
- Add 1/3 cup water.
- Stir and mix well.
- Add 1/2 tbsp chia seeds. You can also use sabja seeds. If you do not have chia seeds or sabja seeds, then just skip. Cover and refrigerate.
- The next morning, add fruits, topped with chopped dry fruits and done.
- Serve overnight oats.
Is it possible to pack it for breakfast around 6:00 AM and have it at 9:00 AM
yes you can but make sure it does not get fermented or becomes sour. in warm or hotter temperatures, avoid this. ideally, a cold box can be used for packing overnight oats.
Is it compulsory to keep in fridge
yes, otherwise the entire mixture will ferment and have a sour taste.
Hey, I really liked your recipe.But can you tell me which brand of chia seeds you use??They are not available in the local market and I am planning on purchasing online but not sure which brand I should go for.
thanks. i am using lyva brand chia seeds. i got them locally from a super store. but you can get online also.
Delicious. I used Greek Yogurt so had to add a little liquid (Almond Milk). A quick and easy plan ahead breakfast. Thank you.
welcome mary and thankyou 🙂