Elevated Overnight Oats
This wonderfully filling and delicious breakfast go-to can be eaten hot or cold
I love oats in any form: rolled, steel cut, oat groats, oat flour, oat milk…they are loaded with fiber, inexpensive and low in calorie density so you get full on fewer calories than many other breakfast food. And they are so versatile! Breakfast cereals like oatmeal and granola, a great base for veggie burgers and veggie “meat” loaf, for muffins, pancakes, cookies, and cheese sauce (yep, see our recipes under sauces!).
Overnight oats are a great item to batch cook. I save jars, a lot of jars, so I use them for my overnight oats. I make at least 4 jars at a time.
Most mornings, my husband David and I have an overnight oat buffet! I put all the toppings out on our butcher block and all he needs to do is grab a jar of oats from the fridge, spoon it into a bowl and choose his toppings. If we want it hot, we put it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
Have fun, and get creative! It’s like having dessert for breakfast 😉
Ingredients
Base:
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 T chia seeds
1 T raisins (or chopped dried apricots)
1 tsp ground flax seed
1/4 tsp (or more) ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp (or more) ground cardamom (or nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin pie spice)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened plant milk
1 tsp alcohol-free vanilla (I like Trader Joe’s)
optional: sweetener of your choice. I like a few drops of liquid monk fruit or a drizzle of date or maple syrup.
optional: 1 tsp rose water or orange blossom water
Fun toppings:
Defrost blueberries, cherries, or any frozen fruit and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for easy berry toppings. Of course you can use fresh berries as well!
Strawberry chia compote: 10 – 12 oz bag of frozen strawberries, defrosted, 4-5 pitted medjool dates, 2 T chia seeds. Pulse the dates and the strawberries until they have broken down, stir in the chia, put in sealed container in fridge overnight.
Date caramel (also see recipe in the Sweets section) 1 cup pitted medjool dates, 1 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk, 1 T vanilla, pinch of sea salt, 1 T nut butter or tahini. Blend in Nutribullet, Magic bullet or food processor until smooth.
Apple pie: chopped apple, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp date syrup: stir together in a bowl.
Sliced banana, mango or other fave fruit
Sliced or slivered almonds, walnut or pecan pieces, toasted unsalted pistachios, or your favorite nuts or seeds.
Homemade vegan yogurt (see recipe).
Nut or seed butter to drizzle
Instructions
To a jar or container with a lid, add your dry ingredients and raisins and shake or stir well. Add your wet ingredients and stir well again to prevent chia from clumping. Put the lid on and stick the jar in the fridge until morning.
Make your toppings. Garnish and devour!
