Much as I would love to eat pancakes or an egg and cheese sandwich or breakfast pizza every day, I usually end up eating oatmeal for breakfast 5 days a week, week after week. It’s easy and good for me, but it definitely gets a little boring. Enter overnight oatmeal.
I know, it still looks like boring oatmeal. And it IS still oatmeal. But, it’s somehow better than regular oatmeal. And because it’s cold with no cooking required, it’s even more convenient and perfect for hot summer days.
Okay, cold oatmeal sounds kind of bad. That’s what kept me from trying this earlier. But it works. It really does. Somehow the milk, oats, and yogurt combine to create a thicker and creamier version of oatmeal, and it actually tastes great cold.
Making it takes a little extra prep at night, but it’s really only 5 minutes at most. Just put the ingredients in a bowl, mix, cover, and place in the fridge overnight. Then you can just grab and go in the morning. I’m currently a huge fan of this peanut butter banana combination, but it would be great with other flavor combos as well. As long as you stick with a 1:1 ratio of oats to milk, with a little yogurt to help thicken it, you can do whatever you want. I think a version with berries and a little jam as a sweetener would be delicious, but I like this version so much I haven’t tried anything new. Feel free to make a big batch, just double or triple the recipe. Let me know in the comments if you have a combination you love!
Overnight oatmeal
Makes: 1 serving
Ingredients
- ½ cup regular oats (not quick oats)
- ½ cup milk
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 banana, sliced
- 0-1 tbsp maple syrup (to taste)*
- pinch of coconut flakes
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Directions
Place the oats, milk, yogurt, and peanut butter in a bowl or to-go container and mix well with a fork. Add the pinch of coconut, cinnamon, salt, and maple syrup and stir again. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.
Add the sliced banana right before eating and stir well**. Enjoy!
Notes
*The maple syrup adds a little flavor but is mostly there to sweeten the oatmeal. Add as much or as little as you’d like. You could also substitute brown or demerara sugar.
**The oatmeal will travel well to work, just take the banana with you and add before eating.