These sweet & creamy vanilla overnight oats are perfect for a make-ahead breakfast. They use just four simple ingredients and only take five minutes to prep.
I'm a big fan of easy meal prepped breakfast recipes and this recipe for vanilla overnight oatmeal is no exception.
Whether you're planning on enjoy it at breakfast time, for a quick snack, or even a lighter dessert, it's always a sweet and flavorful treat.
If you're looking for more breakfast recipes try my Flaxseed Pudding next!
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Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
- Gluten-Free: We don't use any gluten/wheat ingredients in this recipe. Make sure you're getting certified GF oats.
- Vegan: These overnight oats are made with dairy-free alternatives like oat milk and plant-based yogurts.
- Easy to Make: It takes only five minutes of prep to make this simple vanilla overnight oatmeal recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Oats: Rolled oats work best in this recipe. I don't recommend using steel cut oats because they absorb liquid differently and will throw off the consistency.
Oat Milk: Oat milk is my milk of choice because it adds such richness to the dish.
Yogurt: For best results I recommend a plant-based vanilla flavored yogurt. I use a sweetened vanilla yogurt but if you prefer unsweetened that works great too.
Chia Seeds: I love adding chia seeds and making these vanilla chia seed overnight oats. This is a great way to add extra nutrients and an easy way to help you stay full for longer.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
Top Tip: Stir the contents of your overnight oats really well when first mixing the ingredients together and again at the 3 minute mark. This helps break up clumps and helps the oat milk get absorbed properly into the oats and chia seeds.
Substitutions & Additions
Change out the oat milk: Though the recipe originally calls for oat milk as the liquid base, you can swap it out for any plant-based milk you like best. My top recommendations would be almond milk or coconut milk (from the carton not the can).
Change or add flavor: To change the flavor of these overnight oats just change out the flavor of yogurt that you use. I love using strawberry banana yogurt, blueberry yogurt, or peach yogurt.
Add fresh fruit: An easy way to increase your daily fruit intake is to simply stir in some of your favorite fresh fruit. I personally love adding berries to my overnight oats but you can use any fruit that you like best.
Add protein: You can mix in nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter to get some extra protein. You can also add chopped nuts or sprinkle them on top.
Step by Step Instructions
These vegan overnight oats are so easy to make:
Step 1: Start by gathering your ingredients and decide if you're going to add anything extra or make any substitutions to the recipe.
Step 2: Mix all of the ingredients together in a jar or container. Wait about three minutes and mix everything again. This will help break up any clumps of chia seeds or oats that are starting to form.
Step 3: Cover the container and place the vanilla overnight oats with chia seeds in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Ideally you should let them sit in the fridge overnight but one hour is the least amount of time you can let them rest.
Step 4: Once they have thickened nicely from absorbing the oat milk you can remove them from the fridge. Stir them one more time before serving and adjust the recipe if needed.
You can add more chia seeds or oats if it's not thick enough or add extra oat milk to thin things out a little.
Garnish with any toppings you would like to add and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Stir the yogurt before adding to other ingredients: Plant-based yogurts can tend to separate slightly. They work best when you stir them before enjoying them or using them in another recipe.
- Allow enough time to thicken: Even though the prep time is only a few minutes, you'll need to let the oats rest in the fridge after mixing them. This will allow the oat milk to get soaked up by the oats and chia seeds.
- Make it your own: The sky is the limit with this recipe. Change the flavors, add fruit, and your best toppings to make these overnight oats perfect for you.
Serving Recommendations
These are some of my favorite ways to enjoy these creamy overnight oats:
- Breakfast on the go
- In a parfait
- As a lighter dessert
- Mixed in with your favorite smoothie or smoothie bowl
- Served over granola or your favorite cereal
- Server over fruit
Toppings
Below are some of my favorite toppings and garnishes for your vanilla overnight oatmeal.
- Yogurt
- Fresh fruit
- Frozen fruit
- Dried fruit
- Granola
- Hemp seeds
- Shaved almonds
- Walnuts
- Cereal
- Fresh mint
- Chocolate chips
- Peanut butter or almond butter
Frequently Asked Questions
Overnight oats are never cooked as regular oatmeal is. Instead they are combined with oat milk and yogurt and absorb the liquids overnight to soften.
You can store overnight oats in the fridge for 3-4 days when in a covered container.
More Overnight Oat Recipes
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Vanilla Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1¼ cup oat milk
- ¼ cup vanilla plant-based yogurt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a large cup, jar, or container.
- Mix again after three minutes to break up any clumps that are forming. Cover the container and place the oats in the fridge for at least an hour or ideally overnight.
- Stir again before serving.
Joelle DiGregorio says
What plant based yogurt do you prefer
Kelsey says
I usually use So Delicious coconut based yogurts but you can use any kind that you like best 🙂