Overnight oats are all the rage, winning fans and advocates in the last few years—for a lot of good reasons. The breakfast dish brings a whole lot of good things together. It touches on a long-held breakfast favorite—oatmeal—but serves it up in an entirely different way. The end result is ready-made for the morning, incredibly easy to prepare, loaded with health benefits and, oh yeah, taste. As the name implies, overnight oats are prepared well in advance of the morning, making them ready to serve at a moment’s notice. They aid in heart health, weight loss, building immune systems, enhancing brain function and relieving constipation. These can also be doctored up with lots of different fruits and seasonings to suit just about any taste. What’s not to like?
By The Numbers
Prep Time: 8 hours & 5 minutes (5 minutes prepping—8 hours chilling in a refrigerator)
Servings: 5
Nutrition Notes Serving
Calories308: Carbohydrates 48g: Protein 12g: Fat 8g, Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 1g: Cholesterol 3mg: Sodium 104mg: Potassium 311mg: Fiber 8g: Sugar 14g: Vitamin A 8IU: Vitamin C 1mg: Calcium 174mg: Iron: 3mg
Ingredients
Basic Overnight Oats
- 5 cups of rolled oats
- 5 cups of milk (dairy or dairy-free)
- 25 cups of Greek yogurt or dairy-free yogurt
- 5 tablespoons chia seeds
- 5 tablespoons maple syrup
Additional Optional Ingredients
-
- Diced pears
- Mashed bananas
- Chopped pecans
- Sliced almonds
- Chopped walnuts
- Diced pineapple
- Diced Strawberries
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded coconut
- Raspberry jam
- Raisins
- Figs
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into a sealable jar or bowl and mix until combined.
- Let the mixture sit for at least two hours but up to eight hours in a refrigerator.
- The longer it sits, the creamier the consistency of the mix.
- Serve in one-cup portions, adding toppings as desired.
- Reseal unused portion and return to refrigerator.
More On Overnight Oats
There is no shortage of overnight oats recipes. Dozens if not hundreds can be found online. The basic ingredients and preparations remain similar throughout all these recipes. Each recipe author, however, brings their own unique twists to this healthy and tasty breakfast dish. New ingredients and alterations are also easy to add by anyone, so experimenting is easy. Don’t hesitate. Here are a few links to some interesting recipes as a starting point: EatingBirdFood.com, Loveandlemons.com and Feelgoodfoodie.net.
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