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How to Make Overnight Oats (Plus 15 Easy and Delicious Overnight Oatmeal Recipes)

By: Cassie Johnston / Updated: June 2, 2025 / Posted: August 16, 2024

Overhead shot of eight different flavors of overnight oats, each in its own glass jar.

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I promise, you can’t go wrong with these overnight oats recipes! These overnight oats recipes have been tested, loved, and used by thousands of people—I even get stopped on the street by strangers saying “HEY! I know you! I make overnight oats from your website!” These are the recipes that I come back and use over and over and over again. And I think you will too. 

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“Thank you so much for these recipes! I kept trying overnight oat recipes and choking them down because they are healthy, but I hated them. I look forward to eating these, because they are actually really good.” – Amber

What are overnight oats?

If you’ve never heard of overnight oats before, let me give you a quick little primer. Overnight oats are a no-cook method of making oatmeal. Instead of cooking your oats with liquid on the stove or in the microwave, you stir rolled old-fashioned oats with the liquid and other mix-ins, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you have a pudding-like porridge that is perfect for easy grab-and-go breakfasts. 

Overnight oatmeal doesn’t have the same texture as hot/stovetop oats. It’s creamier, denser, and in my opinion, so much tastier. I’d take a jar of overnight oats over hot oats any day!

Protip: Use rolled oats

For that creamy, dreamy, pudding-like texture, stick with rolled oats. You may also see them labeled as “old-fashioned oats.” Steel-cut oats will make for a chewier oatmeal, while instant or quick-cooking oats will make thinner overnight oats.

Eight different flavors of overnight oats, each in its own glass jar.

Do you eat overnight oats warm or cold?

I eat them cold straight out of the refrigerator, and I think most overnight oatmeal aficionados do as well. It’s part of the convenience of overnight oats—grab and go!  However, if you want them warm, just heat them in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, stirring frequently, or in a small saucepan on the stove until heated to your liking.

Can I make these ahead of time for meal prep?

You certainly can! Overnight oats are PERFECT for weekend food prep, and are my favorite make-ahead breakfast. Back when I was working in an office, I’d make up 8-10 jars on the weekend to grab for quick breakfasts and snacks during the week. 

Closed jars of different flavors of overnight oats are stacked against a white background

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Okay, let’s move on to the actual recipes. Like I said above, each of these recipes makes one very large serving. Great for a big breakfast. If you’re looking for a lighter meal or a snack option, halve ’em.

Classic Vanilla Overnight Oats Recipe

A clear glass jar filled with overnight oats, with a spoon sticking out. A text overlay reads "Classic Vanilla Overnight Oats."

First, I’m going to talk you through my overnight oats “base” recipe. This recipe is simple, easy, and delicious on its own. If you’re a vanilla fan, you’ll love it! But this recipe is also good to know because it serves as a base to get imaginative. Mix in whatever fruit or seeds you like. Change up the milk. Leave out the sweetener. Make this recipe your own!

Suggested Dietary Swaps

  • Make it vegan: Use plant-based milk, plant-based yogurt, and maple syrup for sweetener.
  • Make it sugar-free: Drop the sweetener and add 1/2 mashed ripe banana.
  • Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free oats.
 

A clear glass jar filled with overnight oats, with a spoon sticking out.

Classic Vanilla Overnight Oats

Classic Vanilla Overnight Oats are a wonderful healthy breakfast! Eat it as is, or mix it up with adding fruit or other flavorings.
4.52 from 1439 votes
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Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 2 minutes
Servings: 1 large serving or 2 small
Calories: 177kcal
Author: Cassie Johnston

Ingredients

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

  • I like using unsweetened Almond Breeze Almondmilk for my oats, but feel free to use whatever milk you’d like—soy, oat, dairy, coconut—it’ll all work!

Nutrition

Serving: 1half batch | Calories: 177kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.9g | Protein: 8.4g | Fat: 5.8g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 152mg | Fiber: 4.9g | Sugar: 7.8g
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More Easy and Delicious Overnight Oats Recipes

Wholefully is your one-stop-shop for all kinds of delicious and healthy overnight oats recipes! Click on any flavor that looks good to you to head on over to that variation and get the full printable recipe:

FAQ

The process for making overnight oats is really one of the simplest meal preps you can do. In a jar or small bowl, whisk together the following ingredients:

  • Old-Fashioned/Rolled Oats—While you can make overnight oatmeal with steel cut oats or quick cook oats (more on that in a sec), we’ve found the best results come from old-fashioned or rolled oats. If you need to eat gluten-free, make sure to get certified gluten-free oats.
  • Milk—This can be dairy milk or any plant-based milk you enjoy. I prefer to stick to unsweetened milk or regular dairy milk so I can customize the sweetness later.
  • Yogurt–I prefer to use 24 hour strained whole milk yogurt, but you can easily use plant-based yogurt if you want to make this free from animal products. You don’t have to use yogurt in your overnight oats, but I find it gives the final oats a much creamier texture—plus, getting a nice dose of probiotics is never a bad thing!
  • Chia Seeds or Ground Flax Meal—These plant-based thickeners will make your oats a lot creamier and thicker. Plus, I’m all about making my overnight oats as nutrient-dense as possible!
  • Maple Syrup or Honey—Everyone requires different levels of sweetness to satisfy their sweet tooth, so I leave the sweetening of your overnight oats completely up to you. I do recommend a natural, liquid sweetener (like honey or maple syrup), just because it blends much easier. 
  • Salt–If you ever make something sweet and it tastes “flat,” try adding a pinch of salt! Adding a bit of salt to your overnight oats will really help balance the sweet flavor. 
  • Flavoring—In my base recipe down below, I use just vanilla extract, but the possibilities are really limitless! We have more than a dozen overnight oats recipes at the end of this post to help spark your imagination (Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats are my favorite!) 

Transfer everything to a jar, put on the lid, and stash it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, you’ll have creamy, delicious overnight oats!

The recipes with fruit mix-ins, I’d eat within three days. The ones without, you could get by with letting them chill in the fridge for up to a week.

These recipes are designed to fit in a pint/half-liter size mason jar. It’s a big serving for big appetites, perfect for refueling after a big workout or keeping you full for hours. If your appetite isn’t quite as big as mine, you can definitely get by with dividing these recipes into two. Here are the jars I recommend:

Jars for Overnight Oats:

  • Weck 742 Half Liter (fits full batch, pictured): I love these jars because there are no disposable parts, and they are just so darn cute, but they are priiiiicceeyyy. If you take care of them though, they’ll last a lifetime (or even more). 
  • Ball Wide Mouth Pint (fits full batch): These are classic, and for good reason. They are affordable, readily available, and great quality. The wide mouth makes it easy to scoop in (and get out!) the oats. They come with the metal two-piece lids, but I recommend getting the Ball plastic caps to go with them. You can’t preserve with those caps, but they are great for storage use. 
  • Weck 762 Jelly Jar 1/5 Liter (fits half batch): How cute are these guys? They are a touch less than half of the full batch, so you might have a scoop or two leftover, but if you really pack the oats in, you should be just fine!
  • Kerr Wide Mouth Half Pint (fits half batch): These can sometimes be hard to track down in stores, but they are a great jar to have around the house. We use these mason jars for everything from overnight oats, to storing thumbtacks, to actual jelly canning. I like them because they have clear sides. In the summer, you should be able to find them at most small-town hardware stores (they always have the BEST selection of canning jars). Again, I recommend the Ball plastic caps to go with them.

They start to thicken up nicely in about two hours. I’d recommend going at least four hours to get the optimal yumminess. I think most people just recommend overnight because it’s easy to put it together in the evening, and then wake up to an awesome, pre-made breakfast. The fridge does the work for you while you’re sleeping.

Did you know until very recently (as in, the past half-century or so), it was customary to soak and even ferment oatmeal before you ate it? Oats contain one of the highest levels of phytic acid of all grains—meaning they can be quite hard to digest for some folks. If you’ve ever had tummy troubles after a morning bowl of oatmeal, you might have good luck soaking your rolled oats in warm water overnight at room temp—bonus points if you mix in a few tablespoons of yogurt, kefir, or whey, and actually let your oats ferment for 8-12 hours in a warm spot. I’ve personally had a lot of luck soaking and fermenting oats!

While making overnight oats doesn’t do quite the same amount of predigesting as soaking at room temperature and fermenting, it does definitely help! The time spent in the fridge soaking in the liquid helps to break down some of the compounds that cause digestive issues. 

You can definitely make your oats both vegan and dairy-free! Just make sure to use plant-based milk and yogurt and choose to use maple syrup as your sweetener if shooting for vegan overnight oats. Easy, delicious, and 100% plant-based!

Yes, if you’re running low on milk, you can swap out the milk for just plain water. The final texture won’t be quite as creamy or rich, but it’ll work in a pinch. 

Short answer: yes, you can use steel cut oats to make overnight oats. Steel cut oats are the whole grain groats from the oat plant (the groat is the whole kernel of a grain after it’s been hulled) that have been roughly cut by—you guessed it—a steel disc. Basically, steel cut oats are one of the least processed versions of oats you can get, which makes them a healthy option for folks who tolerate oats. Because steel cut oats are inherently less processed, you should increase the amount of liquid by 1/4 cup, and prepare for a chewier oatmeal in the morning. 

Quick cooking oats will work for overnight oats, but the resulting oatmeal will be a bit less thick and creamy. If you choose to use quick cooking oats, think about reducing the liquid by a tablespoon or two. Instant oatmeal (the kind in the little packets) is a highly processed food with tons of additives. I can’t recommend you use it to make overnight oats. 

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.

Regular plain yogurt will work, too, although your end result will be a bit thinner. If you aren’t a fan of yogurt at all, you can leave it out altogether, double the chia or flax, and add an extra 1/3 cup of milk. Your final result won’t be as creamy or pudding-like, but it’ll still be good!

Unsweetened almondmilk is what we use in our house, but we’ve also enjoyed these overnight oats with coconut milk, cashew milk, soy milk, and oatmilk!

Phew! That’s a whole lot of overnight oats recipes and information! I hope you were able to find something in there that’ll make your breakfasts a little bit more exciting. Enjoy!

Cassie is a holistic nutritionist, cookbook author, and all-around food lover. She grew up cooking dinner with her parents every evening, and her passion for home cooking has been strong ever since. Cassie is the author of two published cookbooks (Cooking with Greek Yogurt and Chia, Quinoa, Kale, Oh My!) and dozens of recipes published in major magazines and newspapers. Cassie has been sharing her award-winning recipes on Wholefully since 2010. She loves dark chocolate, homegrown tomatoes, motorsports, and anything that sparkles. She lives in Indiana with her family on a small homestead.

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476 Comments

  1. 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 🥰.

    Reply

  2. 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!

    Reply

    1. 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!

      Reply

    1. 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!”

      Reply

  4. 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! 🙂

    Reply

  5. 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!

    Reply

    1. 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!

      Reply

  6. There used to be a chocolate peanut butter recipe on here that was perfect! Any idea where I could find it?

    Reply

  7. 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

    Reply

    1. 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!

      Reply

  8. 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!

    Reply

    1. 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. =)

      Reply

  9. 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!

    Reply

  10. 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

    Reply

    1. 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 =)

      Reply

  12. Thank you for posting a simple recipe in a simple format without the long narration! Wonderful taste and opportunity for personal variation.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Kenny! We’re glad you found the recipe format helpful and the end results delicious! =)

      Reply

    1. 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!

      Reply

  14. 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!

    Reply

    1. 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!

      Reply

  17. 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.

    Reply

  18. 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!

    Reply

    1. So glad you love it, Wendy! Thanks for taking the time to tell us about it. We really appreciate it!

      Reply