Overnight Oats | The Modern Proper (2024)

January 15, 2024

Overnight oats are the easiest breakfast recipe we know of—just a few minutes of work before bed means that you get to wake up to a healthy + fruity breakfast that’s ready when you are!

Easy Overnight Oats Are A Quick + Healthy Breakfast

All five minutes of prep for our overnight oat recipes happens the night before. We’re sharing a basic overnight oats ratio, as well as two of our favorite variations. A lot of recipes include chia seeds, but we’ve kept it simple with just oats and coconut milk as our base. From here, you can really add anything to make these oats your own. If you’d like, you can round out overnight oats with an egg or two, with easy Six Minute Eggs or Breakfast Egg Muffins.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Oats – Old fashioned rolled oats are our preferred oats for overnight oats because they don’t turn mushy as they soak up the liquid overnight.

• Liquid – We use coconut milk, because it tastes great and makes this an easy vegan overnight oats recipe.

• Fruit – Oats need fruit to live their best life.

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• Sea salt – A pinch of salt helps bring out the full oat flavor and balance the sweetness.

• Add-ins – We’re using vanilla protein powder, vanilla extract, and shredded coconut. Some other classic add-ins for overnight oats are cinnamon, honey, maple syrup, dried fruits and nuts.

How to Make Overnight Oats

1. Each starts with the basic coconut milk and oats in a 16 ounce airtight jar.

2. Then we add just a few things to create two different recipes: Shredded coconut + vanilla extract + berry jam = coconut-berry overnight oats! Or vanilla protein powder + fresh peaches = peaches & cream overnight oats!

3. Place the overnight oats in their jar in the fridge, and top with more fruit before serving.

How to Store Overnight Oats + Tips

• Overnight oats can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. We don’t recommend freezing overnight oats, but if you do, it’s best to freeze only plain soaked oats with no fruit or flavor add-ins.

• What is the basic formula for overnight oats? You can think of our overnight oats recipe as simply being 1 part oats : 1 part liquid (usually milk or non-dairy milk). However, we play around with this a bit depending on what add-ins we’re using, and we encourage you to do the same! Some—like peaches—will make your oats a little more liquidy, and some, like protein powder, will make them a bit more dry, so you’ll want to tinker with your liquid-to-oat ratio accordingly.

• Are overnight oats healthy? Yes! Overnight oats are basically just a simple, no-cook way to make oatmeal. It’s full of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber, they help control blood sugar, and they’re great for digestion.

• Do you eat overnight oats cold? We do! But you can also eat them warm. Just pop the oats in the microwave before eating to warm them up.

• How soon can I eat overnight oats? Overnight is best--at least eight hours in the fridge.

• Are overnight oats vegan? Our overnight oats recipes are vegan, yes! As long as you make them with non-dairy milk, they’re a great vegan breakfast.

• Pair overnight oats with our Spinach Feta Wrap for an energizing breakfast.

More Great Breakfast Ideas From The Modern Proper

• Breakfast Burritos

• Sausage Breakfast Casserole

• Breakfast Egg Muffins

• Turkey Breakfast Patties

Breakfast Genius

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