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Home » Breakfast » Simple Overnight Oats

7 March 2015

Simple Overnight Oats

2.8K shares

Always in a rush in the morning? Then you need overnight oats. Super simple to prepare and you do it all the night before, so they’re ready just when you need them in the morning.

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Looking down on a bowl of simple overnight oats topped with maple syrup, strawberries and blueberries.

Way back in January, when I shared my Banana and Almond Breakfast Smoothie recipe, I said that I was on a mission to improve my selection of healthy breakfasts. My mission then stalled for a while. This was for two reasons…

  1. That banana smoothie is really yummy – I couldn’t resist making it.
  2. I got a bit carried away making pancakes so didn’t have much time for healthy breakfasts.

Overnight oats seem to be everywhere at the moment. So a few weeks ago I gave them a try and thought I’d share my super simple version.

The great thing about overnight oats is that you do all the work (what little there is) the night before, so if you need breakfast in a hurry in the morning you just take it out of the fridge, grab a spoon and dig in.

A jar full to the brim with overnight oats made with just milk and oats next to a milk jug and some fresh fruit.

So what are overnight oats

In case you’ve not come across them before I thought I’d give you a brief overview. Overnight oats are porridge oats that have been soaked overnight in the fridge. They absorb quite a lot of the liquid so have the consistency of a really smooth porridge.

This breakfast is relatively high in fibre and protein which will help keep you filled up.

I tend to make my overnight oats using milk (although I’m experimenting at the moment). However, I’ve seen lots of variations using alternative non-dairy milks (e.g. almond milk) or yoghurt.

You can then add extra toppings. If I’m in a rush I add a teaspoon of honey to give some extra sweetness, and if I’ve got a bit more time I’ll add fruit, nuts, seeds or maybe a few chocolate drops :-).

A bowl of overnight oats topped with maple syrup and fresh fruit.

So here’s the recipe… (OK recipe may be a slightly generous term as it’s so easy, but I thought I’d put it in a nice recipe box anyway).

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Looking down on a bowl of simple overnight oats topped with maple syrup, strawberries and blueberries.

Simple Overnight Oats

Always in a rush in the morning? Then you need overnight oats. Super simple to prepare and you do it all the night before, so they’re ready just when you need them in the morning.
5 from 3 votes
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Active Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 1 minute
Servings: 1 person
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INGREDIENTS

  • 50 g oats
  • 120 ml skimmed milk - you can use any milk but I prefer skimmed

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Place the oats (approx. 50g) in a bowl.
  • Add the milk (approx. 120ml). The milk should be just covering the oats.
  • Cover.
  • Leave in the fridge overnight.
  • Remove from the fridge and add your favourite toppings before serving.

NOTES

This recipe only takes 1 minute to make but then needs to be left overnight in the fridge for the oats to soften.
It can be made to serve as many people as you like. Simply increase the amount of oats and milk and divide it up in the morning. Measurements are approximate. Just add to the bowl the amount of oats you want to eat and then top with milk. You want the milk to just cover the oats.
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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Calories: 249kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 59mg | Potassium: 349mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Calcium: 170mg | Iron: 2.1mg

Any nutritional information provided is the estimated nutritional information per serving. Please refer to my guide to Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen nutritional information if you would like to learn more about how this is calculated.


Course: Breakfast

 Some more overnight oats inspiration…

If you enjoy overnight oats then take a look at my COCONUT & CHOCOLATE or STRAWBERRY, MAPLE & PISTACHIO versions.

Coconut Chocolate Overnight Oats 3  Strawberry maple and pistachio overnight oats 6


Free From/Suitable For

The ingredients for this recipe are commonly available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.

  • Suitable for Vegetarians
  • Gluten-Free (please check your oats carefully as some contain gluten due to the manufacturing process used).
  • Egg-Free
  • Tree Nut-Free
  • Peanut-Free
  • Sesame-Free
  • Soy-Free
  • Fish-Free
  • Crustacean-Free
  • Mollusc-Free
  • Celeriac and Celery-Free
  • Mustard-Free
  • Lupin-Free
  • Sulpher Dioxide and Sulphite-Free

Can be made vegan and dairy-free by using a dairy-free milk.

2.8K shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Trevor Berry-Dowling says

    June 23, 2022 at 7:45 pm

    5 stars
    Made this with dried cranberries and apricots out of this world.

    Reply
  2. Brent Horner says

    January 17, 2022 at 4:35 pm

    Do you feel that having the surname Oates means that you have always been subconsiously drawn to this recipe?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      January 30, 2022 at 9:04 pm

      Absolutely.

  3. Alison says

    September 28, 2021 at 1:41 am

    5 stars
    I like 2 soak my porridge so 2 soak it in the fridge is fantastic

    Reply
  4. Lindsey Park says

    July 15, 2021 at 9:03 pm

    Hello there

    Do you know how much chia seeds I should add?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      July 19, 2021 at 9:34 am

      That really depends on what you’re trying to achieve by adding the chia seeds. Are you just trying to get a little of the nutritional benefit they give, change the texture, or make this more like a chia pudding?

  5. Jan says

    June 03, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    How much is 50g oats in cups?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      June 07, 2021 at 11:48 am

      It’s just under half a cup, for this recipe, using half a cup is fine.

  6. Katrina says

    May 06, 2021 at 8:36 am

    5 stars
    I have overnight oats alot and here is another way for people to try. 50g oats and a 120g of Muller Light lemon style Greek yogurt. Add blueberries in the morning for alittle sweetness. Delicious. Lemon and blueberries go so well together.

    Reply
  7. Jean wood says

    March 09, 2021 at 10:33 pm

    Hi I noticed in the nutrition that there was2.1 of Iron,I thought Porridge had no Iron, As I have Haemochromatosis I try to keep away from Iron rich cereals so I was wondering if you know of any porridge that does not have added Iron.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      March 15, 2021 at 3:58 pm

      I’m not a nutritionist so definitely not best placed to answer this question. However, I know that oats do contain iron (although it appears to be non-heme iron if that makes a difference to you). I cannot advise you on another suitable cereal, I really would suggest you speak to a qualified nutritionist to get their advice on this.

  8. Georgia Thompson says

    June 16, 2020 at 9:08 pm

    Hi can you use it with porridge oats please?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      June 17, 2020 at 10:44 am

      Yes, that’s what I usually use.

  9. Angie says

    October 11, 2019 at 9:14 am

    Can I heat it up. Thanks

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      October 11, 2019 at 3:35 pm

      You can, but I find that it goes extremely thick and gloopy. If you want warm oats then I’d suggest just making regular porridge.

    • Heather says

      August 03, 2022 at 4:57 am

      I’ve used this method before so that making regular porridge is quicker in the morning. I actually find it works very well, I would just add some more milk in the morning and stir to get rid of the gloopiness You can heat it in a pan on the stove or in the microwave.

  10. Renee @ MummyTries says

    December 03, 2017 at 8:17 pm

    Giving these a try for tomorrow morning 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      December 04, 2017 at 11:33 am

      Fantastic, I hope you enjoy them. What sort of milk have you used?

  11. Gemma Bell says

    April 27, 2017 at 11:09 am

    I added a bit of dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, apricots) as well as some seeds along with the milk and let them all soak overnight. It makes the berries swell a little as they also absorb the liquid. Absolutely delicious.

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      April 27, 2017 at 6:32 pm

      Great idea, that sounds delicious.

  12. Amber says

    September 10, 2016 at 10:05 am

    So you don’t cook it?

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      September 10, 2016 at 10:20 am

      Nope, it softens in the liquid overnight. If you try and cook it it will go thick and gloopy

    • Amber says

      September 10, 2016 at 11:38 am

      Ah okay, thanks! Just popped it in the fridge with some blackberrys

  13. Cj says

    July 22, 2016 at 3:37 pm

    This is exactly what I was looking for – An overnight oats recipe with no complications. I’ve never tried them before so I didn’t want to go through all the motions of 22 ingredients just to try them for the first time (and to see if this would work with steel cut oats).

    Oats + Milk + Fridge = SOLD 🙂

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      July 24, 2016 at 8:26 pm

      I always prefer to start simple and then add extra flavours later. This also tastes really good as a simple version with coconut milk.

      I’ve tried it with both rolled and steel cut oats and it works just as well with both.

  14. Simi Jois says

    March 08, 2015 at 1:30 am

    Does this work on steel cut oats ??

    Reply
    • Charlotte Oates says

      March 11, 2015 at 8:24 am

      I’ve tried it with both steel cut and rolled oats and it works equally as well with both.

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