Vegan Overnight Oats 3 Ways
Easy Vegan Overnight Oats 3 ways to help add some delicious nourishing variety in the winter. Features sugar cookie, gingerbread and pecan pie flavors!
Serving up some new fun overnight oat flavors to keep you from getting bored of breakfast. Overnight oats in general are such a great way to plan a convenient breakfast that you can take on the go when life gets hectic. Remember, breakfast is an opportunity to nourish yourself and make it easier to hit your nutrient needs, especially for things like fiber.
Why You’ll Love These Vegan Overnight Oats
- They are easy to make. And honestly, that’s my favorite part about overnight oats, the convenience. Mix everything together in a container, place in the fridge and it’s ready when you are.
- Fun to customize. I give you 3 flavors you can prep in advance for the week to keep you from getting bored with your oats. Adjust the flavors and nutrients to your preference as suggested in the notes below.
- A healthy and fun breakfast. When prepared right, overnight oats are a great way to get in more whole grains, fiber, and protein.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
- Oats: I recommend rolled oats for the best results!
- Plant-Based Milk: Use the milk you like. I will often make these oats with either soy milk for added protein or oat milk for some natural sweetness, which allows me to use less sweetener overall in the oats.
- Chia Seeds: Helps to thicken the oats. You can also swap for equal amount of ground flaxseeds.
- Vegan Yogurt: Can be optional, but it adds a lovely creamy element to the oats. Use your favorite plain unsweetened variety so you can better control the amount of sweetener you add. My go to plant based yogurts are Forager Project, Kite Hill and Siggi’s.
- Sweetener: Each of these oats are sweetened differently. I like to use either maple syrup or agave syrup to sweeten to my liking.
How to Make Vegan Overnight Oats 3 Ways
Start with the Base
Add your oats, chia seeds and salt to an airtight container and give a good mix.
Sugar Cookie Overnight Oats
Place your milk in a microwave safe dish and heat up for about a minute to heat through (keep an eye on the milk to make sure it doesn’t overflow). Add the sugar cookie tea bag and allow to steep for 4 minutes. Remove the teabag from the milk and carefully squeeze the bag to release any trapped liquid then discard.
Pour the milk over the oat mixture and add the yogurt, liquid sweetener and almond extract. Give the oats a good mix and place in the fridge to set overnight (or for at least 1 hour before consuming). When ready to serve, top as desired.
Pecan Pie Overnight Oats
Chop up 2 tablespoons worth of pecans. Add 1 tablespoon of the chopped pecans to your oats along with the milk, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and cinnamon then mix well and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
In a separate small bowl combine the nut butter, molasses, remaining teaspoon of maple syrup, brown sugar and water and whisk until fully combined. Fold in the rest of the chopped pecans and then spread the mixture on top of the oats and top with the remaining pecan halves like you would a pecan pie. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to eat them.
Chocolate Gingerbread Overnight Oats
Add the cocoa powder and spices to the oats and give a good mix. Add the milk and yogurt along with the molasses, vanilla and chocolate chips.
Stir the mixture well then place in the fridge to set overnight (or for at least 1 hour before consuming). When ready to serve, top as desired.
Expert Tips
- Adjust the sweetness to your liking. Taste varies from person to person, so if you know you tend not to like sweet things, use less sweetener. You can also add more if you feel like it needs more.
- Mix your oats and chia seeds before pouring in the milk or make sure that you plan to mix the oats immediately after adding in the milk. This will help prevent the chia seeds from clumping together and make your oats creamier in texture after it sets.
- Batch prep your oats. If making one flavor, triple the recipe and combine all the ingredients in one large bowl then mix well and divide between containers. You can also batch all 3 different flavors in one go. Divide your dry ingredients between containers and then pour in the separated flavors and liquids and mix individually.
Frequently Asked Questions
Simply swap out non-vegan ingredients for alternatives. For example, swap cow’s milk for almond milk or soy milk and instead of honey use maple syrup or agave syrup and for yogurt use your favorite plant based yogurt alternative (my go to is Forager Project or Kite Hill).
I think a good majority of people eat their overnight oats cold, but you can absolutely heat them up in the microwave for a minute or 2 to warm through. I personally let my oats come to room temperature before eating and really enjoy them that way.
I recommend using rolled oats if you want the oats to have some texture to them. If you want more of a pudding consistency, you can definitely try this with quick oats or blend the ingredients together in a blender to make blended oats. I wouldn’t recommend using steel cut oats in this recipe. However, I have a different method for making overnight steel cut oats that works super well and is a great meal prep option as well.
Use soy milk for the base along with a higher protein yogurt like Kite Hill or Siggi’s plant based skyr. For the gingerbread oats, you can swap the cocoa powder for your favorite chocolate protein powder. For the sugar cookie oats, you can swap the tea bag for a tablespoon of a cookie flavored vanilla protein powder.
When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, these oats will last up to 4 days. For best results, add your toppings on the day you plan to eat them.
Serving Suggestions
I’m big on topping my oats with fiber-rich fruit, extra yogurt, seeds, and nut butters. Here are some topping ideas you can use for the oats I’m sharing.
Sugar Cookie Overnight Oats
- Sliced Persimmon
- Pomegranate Seeds
- A tiny sprinkle of light brown sugar
Pecan Pie Overnight Oats
- Toasted Pecans
- Shaved Chocolate
Gingerbread Overnight Oats
- Sauteed Diced Pears
- Extra Molasses or Syrup
- Extra Yogurt
- Cacao Nibs or Shaved Chocolate
More Vegan Overnight Oat Recipes to Try
- Easy Apple Pie Overnight Oats
- PB&J Overnight Oats
- High Protein Lemon Blueberry Overnight Oats
- Matcha Latte Overnight Oats
- Caramel Macchiato Overnight Oats
Vegan Overnight Oats 3 Ways
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Soak Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 jars 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Easy Vegan Overnight Oats 3 ways to help add some delicious nourishing variety in the winter. Features sugar cookie, gingerbread and pecan pie flavors!
Ingredients
Base Recipe
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp vegan yogurt
- 3/4 cup plant based milk of choice
Sugar Cookie Overnight Oats
- 1 sugar cookie flavored teabag
- 2–3 tsp of maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp almond extract, optional
Pecan Pie Overnight Oats
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp pecan halves
- 1 tbsp almond or cashew butter
- 1 tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Chocolate Gingerbread Overnight Oats
- 1 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- Pinch of allspice
- Pinch of ground clove, optional
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (or more to taste)
- 1tsp blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp dairy-free chocolate chips
Instructions
Based Ingredients
- Add your oats, chia seeds and salt to an airtight container and give a good mix.
Sugar Cookie Oats
- Place your milk in a microwave safe dish and heat up for about a minute to heat through (keep an eye on the milk to make sure it doesn’t overflow in the microwave). Add the sugar cookie tea bag and allow to steep for 4 minutes. Remove the teabag from the milk and carefully squeeze the bag to release any trapped liquid then discard.
- Pour the milk over the oat mixture and add the yogurt, liquid sweetener and almond extract. Give the oats a good mix and place in the fridge to set overnight (or for at least 1 hour before consuming). When ready to serve, top as desired.
Pecan Pie Oats
- Chop up 2 tablespoons worth of pecans. Add 1 tablespoon of the chopped pecans to your oats along with the milk, yogurt, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and cinnamon then mix well and place in the fridge for at least an hour.
- In a separate small bowl combine the nut butter, molasses, remaining teaspoon of maple syrup, brown sugar and water and whisk until fully combined. Fold in the rest of the chopped pecans and then spread the mixture on top of the oats and top with the remaining pecan halves. Store in the fridge until ready to eat.
Chocolate Gingerbread Overnight Oats
- Add the cocoa powder and spices to the oats and give a good mix. Add the milk and yogurt along with the molasses, vanilla and chocolate chips.
- Stir the mixture well then place in the fridge to set overnight (or for at least 1 hour before consuming). When ready to serve, top as desired.
Notes
Adjust the sweetness to your liking. Taste varies from person to person, so if you know you tend not to like sweet things, use less sweetener. You can also add more if you feel like it needs more.
Mix your oats and chia seeds before pouring in the milk or make sure that you plan to mix the oats immediately after adding in the milk. This will help prevent the chia seeds from clumping together and make your oats creamier in texture after it sets.
Batch prep your oats. If making one flavor, triple the recipe and combine all the ingredients in one large bowl then mix well and divide between containers. You can also batch all 3 different flavors in one go. Divide your dry ingredients between containers and then pour in the separated flavors and liquids and mix individually.
If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.
★ Catherine
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