Healthy Overnight Oats Recipe (+18 Flavors)
This is the only healthy overnight oats recipe you'll ever need! The THOUSANDS of 5-star ratings can't be wrong. Packed with 20g+ protein and 10g+ fiber, these oats are as nourishing as they are tasty. And with 18 flavor options, you're sure to find your perfect meal prep breakfast.
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Healthy Overnight Oats Recipe
- ⏰ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🕰️ Chill Time: 4+ hours
- 🥣 Flavor Profile: The base recipe below is a amazing vanilla overnight oats flavor, but I also have nearly 20 other flavors to try like my strawberry cheesecake overnight oats, carrot cake overnight oats, or my super popular chocolate peanut butter overnight oats
- 💪 What Makes It Healthy: 20g+ protein and 10g+ of fiber per full-size serving, tons of gut-nourishing probiotics
- 🥄 Good For: Meal prep breakfasts, busy weekday mornings, kid breakfasts
- ↪️ Make Ahead: Designed for meal prep! Whip this up on the weekend to eat on all week.
- 🧡 Difficulty: If you can stir, you can make these overnight oats!
"I've been making overnight oats for a while now, using different recipes I've found online, and I gotta say, this is THE BEST recipe by far!
- FRAN -
Summarize and Save this Recipe Using:
🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
"Hey! Aren't you the overnight oats lady?!" I've been stopped on the street more times that I can count to talk about my overnight oats (my job is so weird sometimes 😂). These oats are THAT good. I promise you'll love them, too!
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- Make Ahead: Prep a batch of these overnight oats in literally 5 minutes
- So. Many. Flavors: I currently have 18 flavors (and counting) ranging from lemon poppyseed overnight oats to chai latte overnight oats to pina colada overnight oats-if you can dream it, I've probably already made it.
- Packed Full of Protein & Fiber: A full batch has 20g+ of protein and 10g+ of fiber without any added protein powder or fiber.
- So Easy To Make: If you can stir, you can make these.
- A recipe you can trust: The overnight oats recipes have been viral on the internet for well over a decade! With thousands of 5 star reviews, you can trust my oats recipes.
"LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! By far the best overnight oats I've made and tried"
- LYNN -
🥛 The Ingredients You Need
- Oats: I recommend rolled oats here. Quick cooking or steel cut oats won't have the same texture (but they are great in my slow cooker steel cut oats recipe).
- Greek Yogurt: any plain Greek yogurt will do, or you can use homemade yogurt, just make sure to strain it first (here's the yogurt strainer I use every week)
- Chia seeds: help them thicken up the oats as well as add protein and fiber, you can also swap in equal amounts of flax meal
- Honey or maple syrup: I prefer the flavor of maple syrup in these oats, but either option works-or leave out the sweetener all together if you want to cut back on sugar.
- Flavoring: the recipe listed here is for the base vanilla overnight oats recipe, but depending on what flavor you are making, you'll add all kinds of yummy goodies!
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
"I usually don't like oats, but this recipe...SOOO YUMMY, I want to eat it everyday, that's how good it is."
- IVANA -
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Make it vegan: Use maple syrup, plant-based milk (almond milk or oatmilk work great) and vegan Greek yogurt
- Make it gluten-free: These oats are naturally gluten-free as long as you choose certified gluten-free oats.
- No chia seeds? Swap in equal amounts of ground flax.
- Up the protein: Add a scoop of vanilla or unflavored protein powder!
- Make it sugar-free: Drop the sweetener and add a ½ mashed ripe banana. Or use stevia or monk fruit sweetener in place of the maple syrup or honey if you prefer.
🥣 How to Make Healthy Overnight Oats
Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Mix well to combine.
Step 3: Spoon into a jar or other food storage container. I like either Weck 742 Half Liter jars or Ball Wide Mouth Pint jars for the full batch. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Step 4: Serve cold topped with whatever toppings bring you joy: nut butter, nuts, chocolate chips, fruit, etc.
"I've almost tried all of the flavours now, and they're all amazing!! It's like having dessert for breakfast 🙂"
- TASH -
🙋🏻♀️ Healthy Overnight Oats FAQs
Yes! Overnight oats are packed with protein, fiber, and a good mix of macronutrients to make for a balanced breakfast.
Yes, you can use steel cut oats to make overnight oats but the final texture will be more chewy than creamy. Because steel cut oats are inherently less processed, you should increase the amount of liquid by ¼ cup, and prepare for a chewier oatmeal in the morning.
The recipes with fruit mix-ins, eat within three days. The ones without fresh fruit, you could get by with letting them chill in the fridge for up to a week.
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Make lots: doubling or tripling this recipe takes no extra time but gives you lots of extra breakfasts-perfect for big families!
- Boost the nutrition: add in protein powder, collagen powder, fiber supplements, oh my!
- Wait at least 4 hours: yes these are called "overnight" oats, but you can get away with eating them after at least 4 hours in the fridge
- Sweeten to taste: some people like breakfast foods sweeter than others, so start with a small amount of maple syrup or honey, taste your oats, then add more if you like.
🥣 All of My Healthy Overnight Oats Flavors
- Lemon Poppyseed Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Chip Banana Overnight Oats
- Chai Latte Overnight Oats
- Blueberry Overnight Oats
- Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
- Key Lime Pie Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
- Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Coffee Overnight Oats
- Cherry and Toasted Almond Overnight Oats
- Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Peppermint Overnight Oats
- Piña Colada Overnight Oats
- Coconut Chocolate Overnight Oats
- Eggnog Overnight Oats Recipe
- Pumpkin Overnight Oats
If you tried these Healthy Overnight Oats or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Healthy Overnight Oats Recipe (+18 Flavors)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup heaping rolled oats
- ⅔ cup milk of any kind
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds or ground flaxmeal
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 0-2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
Instructions
- Whisk together all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Spoon into a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Close and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before eating.
Notes
- This recipe is delicious on it's own, but it really shines topped with fresh fruit, nuts, or peanut butter!
- Doubling or tripling this recipe takes no extra time but gives you lots of extra breakfasts-perfect for big families!
- Feel free to add in protein powder, collagen powder, fiber supplements, or other nutrition boosters.
- This recipe is the base for all my other 18 overnight oats flavors! Find links to all of those in the post above.
Nutrition
Want to save this recipe?
I'll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
This blog post is sponsored by Almond Breeze. The content and opinions expressed here are mine.
Good morning, Cassie 🌞. How are you ? I'm fine. Yesterday I tried classic vanilla overnight oats that I made. I added fresh blueberries 🫐 and chopped walnuts. Mmmmmm 👌! It turned out very delicious 😋, well-flavored, healthy, comforting ☺️, and divine. I loved it 🥰.
Hi Cassie,
Complete overnight oats newbie here. I tried the base vanilla recipe last night and this morning there was a considerable amount of milk that had settled its way to the top of the jar. I mixed it, and it was still very runny. I did follow the measurement instructions. I used steel cut, and a low sugar non fat Greek yogurt. I will have to use regular Greek Yogurt as the low sugar stuff was way to sour tasting. I will try reducing the amount of milk for tonight’s batch, but was curious what your thoughts on the runny texture was. Thank you!
Hi Chris! We think the steel cut oats may be the culprit. It's likely that they need more time to absorb all of the liquid. If you were happy with the final texture, you could try using less liquid and the same amount of rest. But if you found that the oats weren't as soft as you would have liked, then letting them sit in the fridge for longer to absorb more may be better!
Just wondering what I can use I instead of almond milk? I'm allergic to all types of nuts!
Hi Teila! You can use any kind of dairy or plant-based milk you typically use and have on hand. Here's what we say in the post, "This can be dairy milk or any plant-based milk you enjoy. I prefer to stick to unsweetened milk so I can customize the sweetness later. Unsweetened almondmilk is what we use in our house, but we’ve also enjoyed them with coconut milk, cashew milk, soy milk, and oatmilk!"
Instead of using milk, I use water and it still comes out creamy and I feel its healthier since you still get the cream from Plain Yogurt (I use greek yogurt). So for people wanting a healthier version do that! 🙂
I’ve made these for my family for years now and we love them! However, due to a diet restriction, is there a way to make these without the chia seeds? Should I just add extra oats to help thicken up the consistency when I omit the chia seeds? Thanks for any help!
Hi Shelby! Here's some info from the post under the section "Do you have to use the chia seeds or flax meal?" that I think will help!
"Have to? Nope. Do I highly recommend you do? Yes. Adding in chia or flax seeds helps the overnight oats thicken and get nice and creamy. If you don’t have them around to add, cut back on the liquid by about 1/4 cup on each recipe, and be aware that your final oats won’t be as dreamy creamy. Oh, and make sure to use ground flax meal instead of whole flaxseeds. The whole ones don’t have the same thickening properties as the ground stuff."
So you can try ground flax meal in place of the chia seeds or leave them out and adjust the liquid as mentioned above. I hope this helps!
There used to be a chocolate peanut butter recipe on here that was perfect! Any idea where I could find it?
Hi Diego! You can find that recipe here: https://wholefully.com/chocolate-peanut-butter-overnight-oats-recipe/ If you're ever looking for it again, you can also use the search feature on the website to pull it up easily! =)
Hi, I'm wondering when you say a cup how many ml's would this be roughly please, and then I can work out for myself half, third etc. Thank you
Hi Michelle! Most online conversion resources put 1 US cup at 240ml (some say 250ml). Volume isn't a precise measurement, so it's approximate. Either one should suit this recipe just fine! You can always adjust to use more or less liquid to suit your preferences after making the first batch. I hope this helps!
If you soak the rolled oats overnight do you still use a heaping 1/2 cup in the recipe? And would you need to decrease the amount of milk you use at all? Thanks! I love the Chocolate PB recipe but wanting my tummy to love it too!
Hi Liz! One of the benefits of making overnight oats is there’s no need to pre-soak the oats! The recipe is formulated to include an overnight rest, so you’ll still get all the benefits of soaking just by following the recipe. =)
Your recipe for overnight oats are my favourite! It gets me eating oats in the morning for a healthier and fibrous alternative to toast or bagel!
Thanks, Mary Anne! We're so happy you love them! =)
Thank you for your awesome ideas. We have been eating overnight oats for three years. If we skip a few days, our digestive systems act up. We use milk kefir instead of milk and yoghurt. As we feed our kefir Jersey milk, it is thick and rich and results in creamy oats. You have given me good ideas on how to jazz up our morning bowls. One note: if the milk is fermented, honey kills the good bacteria, so we use xylitol, fruit or maple syrup as sweetners
Thanks for sharing your insights and modifications with us, Ilse! It's great to hear what's working for other folks. Three years is a good amount of research—we really appreciate you taking the time to come back and share what you found with us =)
I’ve just read this article and I can’t wait to try your recipes!
Thanks, Tracy! We hope you love them =)
Thank you for posting a simple recipe in a simple format without the long narration! Wonderful taste and opportunity for personal variation.
Thanks, Kenny! We're glad you found the recipe format helpful and the end results delicious! =)
I tried overnight oats for the first time and I loved it! Great recipe!
Hooray! We're so happy to hear that, Alana. Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about it. Glad you loved them!
I'm just surprised you haven't tried Golden Milk in it yet! That's what I'm going for first because that sounds delicious!
Hi, do you know the conversion from cups to grams? Thank you
Hi, Deborah! We use volume measurements because this recipe doesn't require very precise amounts to be great! If you need to know approximate conversions, though, your best bet would be to put it into your favorite search engine. There are lots of free online tools that can help with that!
Do you have to make it in jars? Or can I use a bowl with a sealed lid work as well?
Hi, Pat! That will definitely work!
I love these recipes thank you. And thanks for adding the nutritional count. Is the 177 cal pr serving including the maple syrup? I am confused since it says 0-2 tablespoons.
Hi, Sarah! We're so happy you love the recipes! Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it!
The nutritional information is automatically calculated in our system, so we can't say for sure which amount in the range was used. Here is a great copy and paste nutrition info calculator that should help: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I found this recipe a few weeks ago and I have been having it every weekday since. Thank you so much this great recipe, I have just been having the vanilla but plan to try to add some other items to it soon to switch it up. I have to say it's great all on it's own. Love!
So glad you love it, Wendy! Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it. We really appreciate it!