How to Make Overnight Oats: the formula
There are a million overnight oat recipes out there - and don’t get me wrong - it’s great to be inspired by some flavour concoctions that you hadn’t thought of - but why not make something from your own brain? It’s simple once you know the formula! The general idea is you “cook” the oats simply by soaking them for a longer period of time. Most people eat it cold - but if you wanna warm it up in the microwave that’s totally cool - you do you!
Serves: 1
INGREDIENTS:
The Night Before
- 1/2 cup rolled oats or a 1/4-- 1/3 cup of steel cut oats
- 2/3 - 1 cup liquid of your choice (plant-milk, juice, water, etc… - more or less depending on the thickness you want. Generally you want to double the liquid to the oats)
- 1 tbsp of ground flax or chia seed (or half of each)
- 1-3 tsp of sweetener (maple syrup, date syrup, honey, coconut sugar, agave, - whatever you want)
- 1 tsp spice (cinnamon, cocoa powder, matcha powder, ginger, cardamom, whatever you like!)
Add in the Morning
- 1 tbsp dried fruit of choice (if you want to plumpen the dried fruit, feel free to add it the night before with everything else)
- 1-2 cups of fruit (bananas, berries, apples, kiwi, mango, whatever-the-hell you want or have on hand)
- 1-2 tbsp chopped nuts / nut butter (you can also add this the night before but they’ll lose their crunch. If you’re using the nut butter stick to just 1 tbsp, and consider stirring it in the night before as well)
Additional toppings: coconut, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, cocoa nibs, chocolate chips, whatever-you-fucking-fancy!
DIRECTIONS:
If you’ve got a big mason jar you can grab that so you can look like everyone else making these goddamn things - but if you’re on the go then a mason jar totally comes in handy - but there’s no reason you can’t just make this in a regular bowl.
Grab whatever-the-hell-container you’re going to use. Mix in the oats, liquid, flax and/or chia, sweetener, and spice(s). Then, depending on what kind you’re making you might also want to add some of the fresh/frozen/dried fruit now too. Stir that all together and put it in your fridge and leave overnight. You can also technically make this first thing in the morning - but you’re going to want to let it sit at least an hour.
After soaking - add whatever else you’re adding and stir it the hell up. The general idea is to eat this cold (eating carbs like oats colds increases the resistance starch and improves digestion, it can make you feel fuller longer because it doles out the insulin slower - thereby promoting weight loss!), but if you really want it warm just zap it in the microwave for a minute or two. Either way - get it to whatever temperature you want and SMASH IT INTO YOUR MOUTH.
TIPS:
***I’ve never tried it, but some people put a little squeeze of lemon juice to give it a little tang.
Customize to whatever flavours you want - if you need some inspiration consider these:
Apple-Cinnamon
Oats
Ground Flax
Plant-Milk
Maple Syrup
Raisins or Currents
Cinnamon
Pecans
Chopped Apples
Tropical
Oats
Ground Flax/Chia
Plant-Milk
Sunflower Seeds
Pistachios
Coconut
Mango
Pineapple
Chocolate Peanut-Butter
Oats
Ground Flax/Chia
Plant-Milk
Cocoa Powder
Chopped Peanuts or Peanut Butter
Chocolate Chips
Bananas
Blueberries (optional)
Pumpkin Pie
Oats
Chia Seeds
Plant-Milk (Oat if you have it)
Maple Syrup or Mollasses
Pumpkin Puree
Cinnamon
Pumpkin Pie Spice
Pecans
Pumpkin Seeds
Dried cranberries
Carrot Cake
Oats
Chia Seeds
Plant-Milk
Maple Syrup
Raisins or Currents
Grated Carrots
Cinnamon
Pecans
Shredded Coconut
Banana Nut
Oats
Chia Seeds or Ground Flax
Plant-Milk
Maple Syrup
Mashed Banana
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Chopped Walnuts
Peanut Butter & Jam
Oats
Chia Seeds or Ground Flax
Plant-Milk
Coconut Sugar
Vanilla Extract
Chia Berry Jam
Peanut Butter
Freeze Dried Strawberries (or fresh or frozen)
Chopped Peanuts
Gingerbread
Oats
Chia Seeds
Plant-Milk (Oat if you have it)
Mollasses
Cinnamon
Ginger
Cloves
Chocolate Cherry Cobbler
Oats
Ground Flax
Plant-Milk
Dates / Date Syrip
Vanilla Extract
Cocoa Powder
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Banana
Frozen Cherries
Coconut
Pecans
Cocoa Nibs
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