Peanut butter fans gather around! These peanut butter overnight oats are the perfect way to enjoy your favourite spread first thing in the morning. Prepared the night before in around 5-minutes, this easy breakfast is boosted by the goodness of oats and chia seeds.
Why We Love This Easy Recipe
The beauty of overnight oats is that they require absolutely no thought on your part in the morning. Ding, ding ding, we have a winner! Open fridge. Remove jar from shelf. Close fridge door. Find clean spoon.
If, like me, you are busy chasing kids, husband, dogs or just your own tail in the morning, this is the perfect fuss-free breakfast for you.
- They are quick! You can prepare these overnight oats in around 5-minutes
- It's a no-cook recipe
- Overnight oats are completely adaptable to your taste
- They're Inexpensive
- Overnight oats are perfect for meal prepping - double the recipe to make 4 serves
- They are a good source of protein and fibre
- They're Really delicious!
What are Overnight Oats?
Overnight oats are oats that are soaked in liquid - either milk, yoghurt or juice - overnight rather than cooking them on a stovetop. Once combined, the oats absorb the liquid and soften enough to eat uncooked.
You can eat the oats after 3 hours in the fridge, it's best to leave them overnight. Hence the name overnight oats!
Ingredients
While you can make overnight oats by just combining milk and oats, to make them creamy and delicious I use these base ingredients.
Rolled oats. Old fashioned rolled oats give the best texture for overnight oats. You can use steel cut oats but you'll need to add more liquid and they have a chewier texture.
Dairy-free Milk. Use your favourite dairy-free milk - I like soy, oat or almond milk with my peanut butter oats. If I am making something more fruity, I use coconut milk.
Chia Seeds. Besides being little nutritional powerhouses (hello, omega-3, fibre and antioxidants), chia seeds gel up overnight to create a super creamy oat texture.
Maple Syrup. You can't go wrong with a little sweetness and a touch of maple syrup is perfect here. You could also use agave or rice malt syrup.
Peanut butter. We're making peanut butter overnight oats today, so we're gonna need some peanut butter. You could swap it for any nut or seed butter you like.
To add extra creaminess to your overnight oats, you can add a good dollop of yoghurt too 🙂
How to Prepare Your Oats
You'll find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Preparing overnight oats is ridiculously easy. You can either prepare them in the jars you are going to serve them in or in a mixing bowl to transfer later.
I use a mixing bowl but that's because I am a Messy-Bessy and just find the larger vessel easier. I make enough oats for a few days so the bowl works for that too.
Step 1. Add the milk, peanut butter and maple syrup to a jar or bowl and stir in the oats, chia seeds, salt and yoghurt (if using) until combined. You can seeds or any nuts you like now too.
Step 2. Cover with cling wrap, foil or a lid and pop in the fridge to rest at least 3 hours but overnight is best.
Step 3. Top with vegan yoghurt and apple slices to serve.
How easy it that?!
How to Store Overnight Oats
Overnight oats are great for making ahead and topping with a different topping each day.
To Store. Overnight oats will stay good for up to 3-4 days in the fridge. I generally store the peanut butter oats without any fruit and top them up fresh each day. If you add fruit to the original mixture, keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days, no more. The fruit will go bad first.
For Freezing: Yes, you can freeze overnight oats! Make up your mixture and transfer the soaked oats in serving size containers in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Alternative Toppings
Anyone who has smeared a good dollop of peanut butter on to a freshly sliced apple will love this Peanut Butter Overnight Oats recipe with apple. But you can mix it up with other easy toppings.
- Try fresh banana slices. Peanut butter loves banana.
- For a decadent brekkie or snack, sprinkle some chocolate chips and berries
- Add my peanut butter caramel sauce for something completely rich and naughty.
- Top your oats with a nutty granola like my grain-free granola
FAQs
This is a tricky one because even certified gluten-free oats can be troublesome for celiac sufferers. In theory, the recipe will work with gluten-free oats but to be safe, perhaps try this overnight buckwheat recipe from Foolproof Living.
You can, they will just be much softer - mushier- than rolled oats.
Overnight oats - without fruit stirred through - will last for 3-4 days stores in a sealed container in the fridge.
Looking for more vegan breakfast ideas? Check out these easy recipes.
Want more plant based-goodness?
Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Insta for all the latest news. If you like this recipe, please check out my cookbook "Great Vegan Meals for the Carnivorous Family" It's full of simple, carnivore-approved family recipes.
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup dairy-free milk
- 1 ½ tablespoon natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup or more if you like sweeter
- ½ cup rolled oats heaping
- ½ tablespoon chia seeds
- small pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoon natural yoghurt (optional)
Toppings
- 1 crisp apple sliced thinly (optional)
- 1 good dollop of coconut or regular yoghurt
- 2 tablespoon chopped peanuts optional
- Peanut Butter Caramel optional
Instructions
- Add the milk, peanut butter and maple syrup to a jar or bowl and stir in the oats, chia seeds, salt and yoghurt (if using) until combined.
- Cover with cling wrap, foil or a lid and pop in the fridge to rest at least 2 hours but overnight is best.
- Remove from the fridge and place a thick layer of sliced apple over the oats.
- Dollop a good amount of coconut yoghurt on top and add chopped nuts.
Stine Mari says
Lovely photos for a lovely breakfast!
Amanda says
Oh, thanks so much Stine. I love the peanut and apple combination.
Yasmin says
Your photographs are absolutely gorgeous! Looks so delicious! xx
Amanda says
Thanks so much Yasmin. That's really lovely of you to say.
athleticavocado says
This is what I call the most perfect breakfast! I'm a huge fan of pb and apples in oats!
Amanda says
Thank you! I love pb and apple slices so this was a natural progression.
Rahul says
I love the pics and the recipe too...looking forward to try this yummy recipe asap!