Overhead view of 3 open quart jars filled with oatmeal

Overnight oats have brought me back to the dark side of meal planning. I'm becoming obsessed. It feels amazing knowing I have a quick breakfast or snack that I can just grab and go.

I'm in love with how easy it is to make and how tasty they are. Talk about super customizable, they can be tailored to your craving and you can change things up as you wish. I like making 3 or 4 jars at the beginning of the week and I vary the flavors. I've been loving my take on a chocolate chip cookie. The mini chocolate chips are perfect little chunks of sweetness and the walnuts give it a wonderful crunch. It's almost like eating cookie dough.

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I had seen the concept of overnight oats all over Pinterest but because I'm normally a hot oatmeal person I ignored the fad. Then this spring we were hit with an unusually early heatwave and I was dying in 95+ degree weather for almost a week. I don't do well in the heat, especially when the air conditioner is still in storage. It was hard eating anything because 1. I didn't want to cook and heat up the house and 2. Nothing sounded good because I was so hot.

Yay for Pinterest!

Thankfully Pinterest kept bombarding me with overnight oatmeal posts so I decided to give them a try.

An open quart jar containing overnight oat meal

Not going to lie. I was surprised by how much I like them. After a day or two in the fridge they have the perfect chewy texture and at day 4 or 5 they are mushy and almost like a pudding. I eat them cold, straight out of the fridge, but I have read of some people enjoying them heated as well.

Using certified gluten free oats and non-dairy milk you can make these gluten free, dairy free, and Vegan friendly. So they can work for different dietary needs. I usually use whole milk or cashew milk (depending on what I have on hand) and both turn our delicious. Lately I've been adding a teaspoon or two of Greek yoghurt to mine and love the tang it gives the oatmeal.

What's not to love?

The flavor possibilities are pretty endless. You just need oats, your choice of milk, your choice of sweetener, and some chia seeds. The rest is up to your imagination.

I love the flexibility these oatmeal cups have as far as meal planning goes. You can make some up at the beginning of the week and eat them as needed. They last about 5-7 days in the fridge so if you get an unexpected breakfast invitation you can save the oatmeal for the next day (or eat as a snack later).

These are definitely my go-to this summer...

A spoon scooping out some oatmeal from a quart jar

Please note that sometimes the liquid will separate from the oats as it sits in the fridge. This separation is normal, just give it a shake and it will come back together.

Also don't go overboard with the toppings or you won't be able mix all the ingredients together.

Overnight oats

Print Recipe

Easy meal prep Oatmeal for those busy mornings. Overnight oats are super easy to make with only 5 ingredients + toppings.

Prep Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 1 serving 1x
Category: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units Scale

⅓ cup Old Fashion Rolled Oats
2 tsp Chia Seeds
1 TBS Sweetener (Brown sugar, Maple Syrup, or Honey)
½ cup Milk (or non dairy milk or water.)

Guidelines for toppings

⅛ tsp Spices (Like Cinnamon, Cardamom, or Pumpkin Spice)
1 TBS Mix-in's (Like chocolate chips, nuts, or fruit)
2 tsp Creamy or Liquid min-in's (Like Nutella, peanut-butter, jelly, or yoghurt)

Instructions

Take a clean half-pint mason jar and combine the oats, chia seeds, sweetener and milk inside it. Mix in the optional topping as desired.
Put a lid on the jar and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
Give the jar a shake before serving. The jars will last 5-7 days in the fridge.