If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I have a slight obsession with overnight oatmeal. Sure, I may have it every morning and I have experimented with nearly every single flavor combination, but surely that doesn’t denounce obsession.

Oh who am I kidding? I love overnight oats. And if you’re looking for your next favorite breakfast of choice, you may find that overnight oats will develop into your obsession too.

So what are overnight oats? Basically, when you combine equal parts liquid and rolled oats in the refrigerator overnight they cook. And by cook, I mean turn into a creamy and delectable oat pudding that tastes amazing!

There are many ways to make O.O.‘s, but this is my go-to recipe. It’s simple/easy/quick/fun/a breeze to whip up, and will make your following morning happy/energized/fibrous/wholesome/ and delicious. Convinced of overnight oat’s super-stardom? Let’s get cooking:

This recipe will make two servings. This means that you can make delicious overnight oats for you and a beaux/mom/co-worker/roommate/child/annoying brother, or save some for the next day’s breakfast.

How To: Vanilla Overnight Oats

Serves 2

You will need:

• 1 cups of regular old-fashioned rolled oats. These have to be rolled oats: no quick cooking, steel cut, etc. If you’re gluten sensitive or Celiac, use certified gluten free oats.

• 1 ripe banana I love adding banana to my overnight oats; it provides extra creaminess and sweetness without the addition of refined sugar. If you don’t like banana, don’t have a banana lying around, or would like to do without – just skip this step. You can also replace the banana with a tablespoon of alternative sweetener if you would like. Maple syrup or raw honey would work perfectly. Or go sugar free…your O.O. options are versatile!

• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk I’m just absolutely in love with the taste of vanilla almond milk, but you could use a different kind of milk too. Coconut milk, hemp milk, or soymilk would be great! I also use 1 1/2 heaping cups of milk, because I like my O.O.‘s nice and creamy. If you prefer thicker oats, cut back on the amount of milk being used.

• 2 T chia seeds Chia seeds help to thicken the overnight oats just a bit, and make them the perfect consistency. They also provide tons of fiber, calcium, protein, and antioxidants too. If you don’t have chia (go buy some now!) you can leave them out.

Method: Basically, in non-fancy foodie terms, you throw all your ingredients in a jar, stir, and leave in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning…boom: delicious, hearty, and amazing breakfast.

Because these overnight oats are quite Plain Jane, you can add some extra goodies to them. Add these the night before or the next morning; whatever is more convenient. Here are some of my favorite toppings:

Overnight Oat Toppings:

Fruit (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Banana, Peach, Kiwi, Pineapple, Mango, Apple, Figs, etc.)
Nuts & Seeds (Walnuts, Almonds, Flax seeds, Cashews, Pecans, Pistachios, Hemp Seed Hearts, Chia Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, etc.)
Spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger, etc.)
Raw honey
Maple syrup
Dried fruit (raisins, dates, figs, etc.)
Yogurt
Nut butter
Granola
Jam
Cacao Nibs/dark chocolate chips

Delicious, nourishing, and healthy breakfast on a busy morning is possible. Prep your oats the night before, and be good to go in the morning. Hopefully, you’ll now become as addicted to overnight oats as I am!

Nourishing Notes:

-Enjoy your overnight oats cold, at room temperature, or gently warmed up in a saucepan or in the microwave.
-No fresh fruit? I like to add frozen fruit (when it’s not in season) to the jar the night before, so the fruit is thawed by the morning.