How to make Strawberry Overnight Oats

Strawberry Overnight Oats make a wonderfully nutritious breakfast. Full of healthy oats with added milk (dairy or non-dairy), and fresh fruit. They’re really satisfying, keeping you full ’till lunchtime. Overnight Oats are easy to make and easy to meal prep ahead so you’ll always have breakfast ready to go. And, as a bonus, they’re so delicious it’s like having dessert.

I’m fond of Overnight Oats, they’re convenient as they can be prepared ahead of time and with everyone coming and going at different times of the day, they’re a life-saver. Stress levels drop when you don’t have to go into overdrive to get breakfast ready – it’s waiting in the fridge. Times are good!

This is why I want to share how to make an amazingly creamy Strawberry Overnight Oats and how to meal-prep for the mornnings ahead. I’ve also included information about how to ensure that it will suit different dietary requirements so everyone can enjoy them.

What are Overnight Oats?

Overnight Oats are sort of a first cousin to Bircher Muesli, which Dr Bircher served his patients at a Swiss clinic back in the 1900s. His original recipe included rolled oats, condensed milk (the only safe milk available in those days), lemon juice and a grated apple. The whole apple was used, skin and core.

This 21st-century take on this recipe uses oats mixed with other ingredients in a liquid, usually a type of milk or yoghurt, and left to soak overnight in the fridge. The oats become gorgeously creamy and when mixed with spices, sometimes sweeteners and fruit, nuts and seeds you get a breakfast that’s worth getting up for. So, Bircher Muesli has had a bit of a make-over to become Overnight Oats.

Why you want Strawberry Overnight Oats

Still not convinced why you want these overnight oats for breakfast… far enough. Here are a few more reasons why.

• convenient – you can make a batch of these all at the same time and then they’ll sit in the fridge until you are ready to add some extra fruit, yoghurt, nut butter or nuts and seeds and eat them.
• healthy – strawberry overnight oats are pretty healthy. The oats, fruit, milk and any seeds or nuts you use all add a good deal of healthy fibre, proteins, minerals and fats. Consider chia seeds, if you include those you are adding Omega-3 to your breakfast and that’s pretty valuable especially if you’re on a vegetarian or vegan diet where the natural sources of this are fairly limited. Use sweeteners such as maple syrup to keep them refined sugar-free.
• flexible – if you’ve made a store of overnight oat bases… the mix of oats, milk or yoghurt and seeds then when you’re ready to eat it you can add whatever you fancy at the time. As a dish, they’re flexible as they can double as a pudding or as a healthy afternoon snack that will keep you full until your next meal. You don’t have to eat them cold either if you don’t want to – warm them in the microwave for a short time and always before adding the fruit and any nuts or seeds.
• delicious – creamy with lots of lovely flavour, strawberries are so wonderful. You can adjust the flavours to suit your own tastes. Plus it’s a satisfying breakfast or snack and will keep you full until lunch.
• portable – Overnight oats are a breakfast that you can take with you. Just pack it into a suitable container with all your additional toppings in there too or if you prefer, pack those separately and away you go.
• meal-prep – if you’re a fan of preparing food ahead in order to make your days run more smoothly then overnight oats fit that bill. See our ideas for meal prepping overnight oats below.

The all-important Ingredients

• oats – the star of the show. Use ordinary rolled oats or jumbo rolled oats if you like a little texture in your morning oat cereal.
• chia seeds – adds a lot of useful nutrients to the dish. Chia seeds are a useful plant-based source of Omega-3’s as well as increasing the fibre content helping to keep you full till lunch.
• almond milk – the liquid that the oats soak in overnight and that turns them so wonderfully creamy.
• almond butter (optional) – this adds a little protein but it is completely optional, the oats are still lovely without it.
• strawberry conserve/compote/jam – any one of these could act as a sweetener in the overnight oats. As this is a strawberry overnight oats recipe you may not need any sweetener at all. It will depend a little bit on how sweet the fruit is.
• strawberries – Yum! Little can beat sweet, sun-ripened strawberries. They add vitamin C, fibre, potassium and a little folic acid to your breakfast and in such a delicious way.

Making the Overnight Oats

This is about as straighforward as it gets. Firstly you need a suitable container for your oats, it helps if it has a lid to save on using cling film and it will need to ok sitting in the fridge overnight.

Measure the oats, the milk, greek yogurt, almond extract and almond butter (if using) into the container and stir well to thoroughly combine everything. If you’ve decided that you will need a little sweetener, either the maple syrup or the strawberry jam then you may add this at this point too. Pop it into the fridge and that’s it for the oats. If you wish to save even more time in the morning, wash the strawberries so that all you have to do in the morning is add the fruit and eat.

Serving Overnight Oats

Overnight Oats are at their creamy best if they’re allowed to sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning, they’re usually served chilled straight from the fridge and then the fruit is added. These Strawberry Overnight Oats are lovely with chopped fresh strawberries and a little more yogurt. On a warm summer’s morning there’s little better.

These Overnight oats contain chia seeds which means that they can become a little thick. If the consistency is too firm for your liking then thin them down using a little more almond milk until it is how you like it.

What to do if you don’t like your Overnight Oats cold from the fridge?

There are two things that you can do if you don’t like food cold out of the fridge.

1. The first is you can leave them out on the countertop and let them lose the chill of the fridge, whilst you go and do other things.
2. The second is to warm them briefly in the microwave before adding any soft fruits or nuts. (Make sure that the container is suitable for microwave ovens.) Only do this briefly so that you don’t turn it into a bowl of porridge, that may not be what you were hoping for.

How to Meal-prep overnight oats for the week ahead

I have to admit that sometimes it’s a bit of a struggle to prepare each day’s breakfast the night before. Life happens and something has to give. Happily, it doesn’t have to be breakfast. These oats can be prepared for up 4-5 days in advance. You just have to decide how many you need, ensure that you’ve enough containers and ingredients, space in the fridge and away you go.

Use the ‘scale recipe option’ on the recipe below to work out how much of each ingredient you will need. (Click on the print button to see this option.)

One thing though – you do need to ensure that any fresh ingredients will remain within their expiry dates for the length of time they’re sitting in the fridge.

Are these Strawberry overnight oats gluten-free?

These overnight oats are gluten-free if you use gluten-free certified oats. Greek yoghurt should be gluten-free but please check the label as if it’s produced in a factory that handles multiple types of foodstuff there is a slight chance of cross-contamination. So, always check your labels.

Are these overnight oats dairy-free?

These overnight oats are dairy-free if you use non-dairy milks and non-dairy yogurt.

Are these overnight oats suitable for a vegan diet?

These are suited to a vegan diet if you use non-dairy milk and a suitable vegan friendly yogurt in the recipe.

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