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Overnight Oats

Rolled oats, milk, yogurt, chia, berries, and peanut butter rest in jars overnight, and that rest is fridge time rather than cook time. In the morning the oats are soft and cold, with no stove step at all.

Prep
10 min
Cook
0 min
Total
10 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
Easy
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Jars of overnight oats topped with berries and a spoon of peanut butter.

Why you’ll love it

  • Rolled oats soften in cold milk and yogurt, so there is nothing to simmer.
  • The overnight rest is refrigeration, and it is not counted as cook time.
  • Chia takes on liquid and keeps the jars from eating like loose cereal.
  • Peanut butter and berries are stirred in by the jar, so each serving is already portioned.

Ingredients

Servings4

Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.

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Instructions

  1. 1

    Stir the oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, and salt in a bowl until the chia is not clumped.

  2. 2

    Divide the mixture among 4 jars or covered containers. You should have about 1 cup of oat mixture in each.

  3. 3

    Top each jar with 1/4 cup berries and 1 tbsp peanut butter. You can also stir the peanut butter in if you want it through the oats.

  4. 4

    Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or overnight. That rest is fridge time. Cook time for this recipe is 0.

  5. 5

    In the morning, stir each jar. The oats should look thick and soft, with no dry centers.

  6. 6

    Eat them cold. If a jar is thicker than you like, stir in a splash of milk.

Pro tips

  • Use rolled oats, not steel-cut. Steel-cut oats stay hard in a cold jar.
  • The overnight soak is not a bake and not a simmer. Do not put the jars in the oven.
  • Keep the berries on top if you want them distinct. Stirred in, they tint the oats.

Easy substitutions

chia seeds
an extra 2 tbsp rolled oats if you want fewer ingredients
peanut butter
almond butter
berries
a diced ripe banana, added in the morning so it does not brown overnight

Storage and reheating

Storage

Keep covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Stir before eating.

Reheating

They are meant to be eaten cold. If you want them warm, take the lid off and microwave for 45 to 60 seconds, then stir. That warming step is optional and is not part of the cook time.

Nutrition

Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.

Calories
390
Protein
15 g
Carbs
48 g
Fat
15 g
Fiber
8 g

Budget friendly

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Ingredients