How to Make Overnight Oats: Tips and Recipes

Seemingly simple, but deceptively hard to get right, we’ve got all the tips, tricks, and delicious recipes, for you to perfect your overnight oats.

In recent years, overnight oats have become a protein-packed breakfast go-to. They’re low-maintenance, relatively healthy (if you pick the right ingredients), Instragrammable, and a handy alternative to sugary cereals. Plus, when the weather outside is blazing, they’re a great, chilled brekkie to get you up and moving.

What are overnight oats?

At their most basic, overnight oats are raw rolled oats that are mixed in with a liquid like milk (or a plant-based milk alternative such as oat, almond, or soya). You can also add yogurt and/or chia seeds to make your overnight oats more filling and thicken the texture.

They're then sweetened (honey works great as a sugar-free option) and left to soften in the fridge overnight. Often people will add toppings like fruit or chocolate to make their overnight oats even more irresistible in the morning.

6 tips for perfecting your overnight oats

The oats-liquid ratio

This is where most overnight oats newbies slip up. Too little milk and you’ve got a concrete-like lump of oats on your hands. Too much and you’ll be drinking oatmeal soup for breakfast.

Stick with a roughly 2:1 ratio of liquid to oats when making overnight oats to achieve a porridge-like consistency. For example, 2 cups of oat milk with 1 cup of oats. Don’t worry - it will look watery at first, but those oats will soon soak up the liquid.

Decrease and increase the amount depending on the texture and thickness you’re after.

Pick your oats wisely

You can just use any old oats in your overnight oats recipes. But some oats will lead to less pleasing results.

Steel-cut oats have a chewy, hearty texture and are great for porridge or oatmeal. However, they can be a little too firm to use for overnight oats.

Old-fashioned rolled oats are a better choice for overnight oats. They’ll easily soak up the liquid overnight, leaving you with a creamy texture (not mushy - that’s important). Save steel-cut and quick-cooking oats for another time.

A pinch of salt goes a long way

It’s a surprising tip, but adding a pinch of salt to your mixture can really help bring out the sweetness and complexity of your overnight oats. While too much salt can lead to some health problems, just the right amount of seasoning is important to make sure everything tastes the way it should.

overnight oats

Hold on the toppings

Some add the toppings onto their overnight oats before fridge time, others right before consumption. And look, you do you. But there’s reasons why you should consider how this changes flavour and texture.

If you want crunch from nuts or seeds, leaving them in the mixture overnight is a no-np. Likewise, fresh fruit should be added right before eating or else the fruit will soften.

Chia seeds you should put in before the fridge though, as they will absorb liquid and thicken the oats up.

Mix, chill, then mix again

It’s a crucial last step, but one that often gets forgotten about in the breakfast rush. You’ll have mixed your oats before putting them in the fridge. But then you should also mix them after, just as you’re about to eat. Take this time to also add any toppings you like, take the obligatory photo for the ‘gram, and enjoy.

Try silken tofu

Ok, this ingredient add might seem a bit rogue, but bear with us. Made from soy milk, silken tofu is a bit like solidified custard in texture and differs from regular tofu as it’s produced without separating and pressing the soy curds.

Using it as a base (instead of milk and yogurt) for your overnight oats can give your breakfast a creamy, pudding-like texture, plus it’s packed full of protein. Just blend it with your sweetener (using a blender) before mixing it with your oats.

Overnight oats recipes

Complete Protein Overnight Oats

If you want to add some extra protein and vitamins to your overnight oats you can’t go far wrong with a vegan protein powder like Huel Complete Protein. This low-effort chocolate overnight oats recipe packs a whopping 30g of protein per serving.

Ingredients

50g oats
1 tbsp Greek-style yoghurt
120ml Mylk
1 scoop of Huel Chocolate Complete Protein

Method

In a bowl, mix the ingredients together and allow them to soak overnight. Top with banana and your favourite chocolate if you like.

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Huel Overnight Chocolate Oats

If you’re more into Huel Powder than our Complete Protein (or you’ve just got some in the cupboard), here’s another delicious overnight oats recipe to bookmark for later using our classic Vanilla flavour.