Overnight oats are the best healthy make-ahead breakfast! Here are 4 easy, delicious recipe variations to keep you from getting stuck in a breakfast rut.
Overnight oats are the perfect breakfast if you love eating oatmeal in the morning but don’t have time to cook before you head out the door. My base recipe consists of whole rolled oats soaked in almond milk overnight with a dash of maple syrup. In the morning, the oats are soft and easy to digest, and the mixture has a thick, porridge-like consistency that’s satisfying to eat.
I absolutely love overnight oats – they’re an easy, grab-able, dairy-free, healthy breakfast – but I have a tendency to get stuck in an oat rut, reaching for the same ‘ol toppings every time. If you feel the same way, here are 4 overnight oats recipe variations that will hopefully spice up your breakfast routine!
How to Make Overnight Oats
If you’re new to overnight oats, making them is easy! Here’s how:
- On the night before you plan to enjoy your oats, mix together 1/2 cup whole rolled oats and 1/2 cup milk. I typically use coconut or almond milk, but oat milk, soy milk, or cow’s milk would also work here. Then, add 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup and a dash of salt. Stir to combine!
- Refrigerate the mixture overnight in an airtight container.
- In the morning, they’ll be ready to eat! Transfer them to a bowl before topping and devouring them, or top and take them on the go.
These are the toppings I started with to create these 4 overnight oats combinations – how pretty are all of these healthy ingredients?!
Best Overnight Oats Recipe Tips
- Know your oats. Different types of oats will yield different final consistencies. Steel-cut oats will be chewier, while quick oats will be softer. I prefer a texture in between the two, so I use old-fashioned rolled oats in my recipe.
- Leave your oats plain while they refrigerate overnight, and add toppings in the morning! That way, dried fruit will stay chewy, and any nuts and seeds will be crunchy, not gummy.
- Or use a Mason jar to take them on the go. If you’re someone who likes to grab your breakfast and head out the door on busy mornings, try making your overnight oats in a Mason jar. The lid seals tightly, the jar isn’t too big or bulky, and its narrow shape keeps most of the toppings separate from the oats until you’re ready to eat, so you’ll have better results if you top them ahead of time.
- Prep a big batch ahead for the whole week! Scale this recipe up to get ahead on breakfast all week long! Store individual servings in Mason jars and use different toppings each day.
Overnight Oats Recipe Variations
In the recipe below, you’ll find my go-to overnight oatmeal base. Use it as a starting point to make one (or more!) of these fun variations, or top it with your favorite nut butters, fresh or dried fruits, seeds, and more! You could also stir cocoa powder or spices into the milk and oat mixture. Feel free to get creative!
Cherry Berry with Chia & Yogurt
A classic antioxidant-filled combo. Since it’s wintertime, I used frozen fruit (tart cherries and blueberries) in my bowls. Then, I topped them with Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and a drizzle of maple syrup.
Coconut Turmeric
An unexpected breakfast bowl filled with anti-inflammatory spices! Make the base recipe with coconut milk, and stir in a heaping 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. In the morning, dress it up with mango, dried currants, hemp seeds, and coconut flakes.
Sweet Sesame Tahini
I love tahini so much that now I’m eating it for breakfast! This pretty bowl is topped with a big scoop of tahini, pomegranate arils, chopped dried apricots, sesame seeds, and crushed pistachios. To make it sweeter, add a drizzle of maple syrup or honey.
Chocolate Chip Cookie
If you’re trying to get your kids (or husband) to eat oats, this one is for you :). Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract to the base recipe the night before, and in the morning, top it with almond butter or peanut butter, chocolate chips, and chopped almonds for crunch.
More Healthy Breakfast Ideas
If you love this overnight oats recipe, try this baked oatmeal, stovetop oatmeal, or this whole oat porridge next! Then, find more healthy breakfast ideas here, and check out this link for more healthy meal prep inspiration.

Overnight Oats Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk or light coconut milk, more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
- Desired toppings from above
Instructions
- In a small jar, combine the oats, almond or coconut milk, maple syrup, and salt. Stir and chill overnight.
- In the morning, scoop the oats into a bowl, stir in more almond or coconut milk, if desired, for consistency. Top with desired toppings.
- Alternatively, for a grab-and-go breakfast, you can assemble the overnight oats in jars with the toppings the night before.
Notes
Note: If you’re gluten free, be sure to use Certified Gluten Free Oats.
I just sent you my tasty recipe with soy milk oats maple syrup almonds hazelnuts and orange with coconut. Great blog
Silvia Scanavacca from Italy and my vegan version
Such an easy and healthy breakfast! Fun for kids to make and perfect for travel or camping. We made in a small mason jar and then topped with nutella, raspberries and chia seeds in the morning.
Perfect breakfast.
Love the overnight oats recipe! I deleted the maple syrup, and added dates as a sweet but whole food topping. Almond butter and cinnamon round out the mix. Wonderful way to meal prep for the week, and something to look forward to every morning.
Love these overnight oats for a quick and easy breakfast that tastes great. I did a coconut/chia seed/cinnamon combo and topped it with banana – yum!
I tried this recipe because of it being the March cooking club recipe. I have never tried overnight oats before because I just love hot oatmeal every morning for breakfast. I can now say I have tried them but will stick with regular cooked oatmeal in the future.
I made steel cut overnight Oats with almond butter, bananas and Raspberries.
Overnight oats have been the perfect go-to breakfast for this Spring-ier weather!
Love the overnight oats recipes, I made “PB&J” by adding fresh berries to the chocolate chip cookie. Taking it on my mountain biking adventure tomorrow…is it morning yet? ☺️❤️
So easy and delicious! I soaked mine in vanilla almond milk and topped with salted cashew butter, raisins, dried mango, and shredded coconut. Definitely making this again!
Thank you for inspiring me to try this recipe! I normally stick to traditional hot cooked oats so this method was a nice change. So easy! I actually used oat yogurt instead of plant milk and it turned out great!!!
First time making overnight oats, it came out fantastic! I layered mine with blueberries and lemon zest then topped with banana and honey granola. I will definitely make this often and experiment with toppings. Thank you!
I love overnight oats and all the different possibilities that this breakfast offers. My favorite one is coconut milk, shredded coconut, fresh mango chunks, cashew nuts for some crunch, and cashew butter for extra creaminess!
Great recipe! I had never tried overnight oats, for this recipe I went with the berry option with some homemade yogurt. Yum!
Perfect recipe to have breakfast ready the following morning. I omitted the sugar and added chia seeds with the oats to soak overnight. I topped mine with peanut butter and chocolate granola with chocolate chips and freeze dried strawberries.
I mixed in crunchy peanut butter and banana chunks for breakfast today in my hotel, yum. Made them in to go cups in case we are in a rush. Also can pack them in small jelly jars for travel or for work. At home I like to mix in jams and preserves with corresponding fresh berries.
I love overnight oats! I added chia seeds and ground flax. Topped with mango, blueberry, coconut and nuts.
I love these overnight oats! Definitely my favorite weekday breakfast because they are so easy to prepare and customize. I love to eat mine with walnuts, cacao nibs, berries, and peanut butter. Yummy!
What awesome oatmeal inspiration!! Definitely am going to be trying these ideas soon! I’m excited to try topping with yoghurt and maybe another with some coconut cream! Maybe a pina colada inspired bowl!! I’m also dying to try it with tahini and maple syrup! Thanks for all of the great ideas and encouragement through your cooking club!
Lovely toppings ideas for overnight oats! I enjoy adding chia seeds and some extra nut milk to the oats mixture. I can’t believe I never thought about defrosting some frozen cherries on oats. Wow! The best brekkie!