Overnight oats are easy to make, easy to eat, and give you a weird sense of having accomplished something first thing in the morning. All it takes is a little forethought the night before, and breakfast is settled. What’s not to like?
I’m notoriously bad at breakfasts. I know that eating toast or a bagel every morning is a bad choice for me personally, because it makes me sleepy and unproductive. But I can’t help it – I just can’t get in the mood to cook anything in the morning.
Which is why I’ve come to really dig overnight oats!
The only real obstacle (aside from remembering to make it the night before, of course…) is getting into cold oatmeal. I found it a pretty easy thing to adjust to, but I’ve heard other people say that they just can’t get past the fact that its cold.
Well, I have a solution to that, too!
A Warmer Option
The thing is, the oats are already “cooked”, in a sense, by the time they’ve soaked up all the liquid. So you don’t need to cook them further. You just need to add heat to make it more to your liking.
You can obviously pop it in the microwave for a short time (and please, please remember to remove the lid first. We don’t need any exploding microwaves in the morning). But you can also pop a pot of water onto the stove, heat it up, and stick the open jar of oats in to warm up gradually.
Obviously, use only enough water to cover about half the jar. You don’t want any splashing into your nice breakfast.
A Word on Toppings
For this particular recipe I topped my oats with some berries and almonds. Its a really excellent combination and I do thoroughly endorse it.
But if you happen to want to try something else, consider whether the fruit should be added at the same time as the other ingredients (the night before) or just before eating. You can always prepare it at the same time and put it in a reusable container in the fridge for convenience in the morning.
Fruits with skins (berries, peeled clementine pieces, grapes) won’t leech much flavour into your oats. Fruits cut up without skins (like apples, bananas, pineapple, and basically anything else) will add flavour to the oats.
It’s up to you whether or not this is a good thing.
Crunchy Overnight Oats
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 3/4 cup oats
- 1 tbsp kasha (toasted buckwheat)
- 1 tbsp hemp hearts
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Toppings
- 1/3 cup blueberries
- 2 giant strawberries
- 2 tbsp slivered almonds
Instructions
In a glass jar with a lid, add the oats, kasha, hemp hearts, and chia seeds.
Pour in the cup of almond milk and tablespoon of maple syrup.
Firmly seal the lid and shake the jar to combine the ingredients.
Optional: add your prepared fruit and toppings now.
Place the jar in the refrigerator overnight, or at least for 4~ hours.
Remove jar from the microwave and add toppings and serve.
Some options for serving: you can keep the oatmeal in the jar as-is, and throw in your toppings on top of that. This is an easy option for a portable breakfast!
The downside is that it’s slightly challenging to get the food out without a long spoon. So if you have more time, you can dump the oatmeal into a bowl (as I did in the photos) and arrange your toppings like that.
And remember, if you want to serve it warm, either microwave or sit the jar in hot water for a few minutes!
1 thought on “Crunchy Overnight Oatmeal”
I can’t wait to try this oatmeal (warm option) tomorrow morning! Yum