Easy Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Published 5/29/2023 • Updated 8/27/2024 This is a great basic overnight steel cut oatmeal recipe that you can make your own with add-ins. Get inspired by our other flavors: peanut butter overnight oats, apple cinnamon overnight oats, and chocolate chia overnight oats.

Healthy No Bake Breakfast – Overnight Steel Cut Oats

I’ve been eating a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast since college (that’s almost 2 decades) and I can say that this overnight steel cut oats recipe is one of my favorites! I just love overnight oats for breakfast and guess who else does? My 1 year old Gus! This recipe has become a fast favorite of his. He loves eating it with berries and a little peanut butter on top. Overnight steel cut oats are very similar to classic overnight oats, but have a little bit more of a bite to them and all the same benefits. They are made by soaking quick cooking steel cut oats in almond milk and other ingredients (chia seeds, maple syrup, and cinnamon) for a no-bake oatmeal recipe.

Ratio for Overnight Steel Cut Oats

The process of making overnight steel cut oatmeal is so easy! It’s all about your liquid to oats to chia seed ratio in order to get the perfect texture.

1 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (Bob’s Red Mill makes a great product) 1 tablespoon chia seeds 2 cups unsweetened almond milk

Can I use regular steel cut oats instead of quick cooking steel cut oats?

The burning question for overnight steel cut oats is: can I swap the quick cooking steel cut oats for normal steel cut oats and vice versa? The answer is YES, however, we 100% prefer quick cooking steel cut oats over normal steel cut oats because the texture is better.

Guide to Overnight Oats

This is our guide to overnight oats. In this post, we’ll teach you how to make overnight oats and how to flavor them, too! We have a base recipe that we swear by and have tested 8 simple flavor variations so that you don’t get bored. Whole steel cut oats are much less processed than quick cooking, however, they do have a lot more of “a bite.” Lots of people end up microwaving their overnight steel cut oats for a minute or two before placing in the refrigerator overnight to soak so that it has a creamier consistency.

How to Thicken or Thin Your Oats

While we think the 1 cup to 1 tablespoon to 2 cups ratio of oats to chia seeds to almond milk is just perfect, here is how to thicken or thin your oats:

Thicken: to thicken your oats before serving, you can add Greek yogurt or a little bit more oatmeal. Thin: the easiest way to thin your oats is by adding more liquid. We recommend adding it by the tablespoon.

Steel Cut Overnight Oats Flavor Variations

Once you’ve got your base figured out, you can add other things such as maple syrup, ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. If you’d like a little more protein in your overnight steel cut oats, you can even add things such as Greek yogurt and/or protein powder! Here are some flavor ideas: Lemon Cheesecake: add a few tablespoons of Greek yogurt and about 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon zest. Peanut Butter Banana: mash about 1/2 a banana before adding the rest of the overnight steel cut oats ingredients and then add 2 tablespoons of peanut butter. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough: mix in 2 tablespoons of cashew butter and 1 tablespoon of mini chocolate chips. This tastes like dessert for breakfast. Carrot Cake: grate about 2 tablespoons of carrot and add a pinch of nutmeg and ginger (there’s already cinnamon in the recipe). You can top it with vanilla Greek yogurt for “frosting.”

Storage

We recommend storing your overnight steel cut oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This specific recipe should last you up to 5 days, so feel free to double or triple it if you are meal-prepping!

Raw Organic Protein

Pure Whey Protein

Protein Powder

Organic Whey Protein

Organic Protein Powder

More Overnight Oats Recipes

We’ve been making overnight oats since college! Which means we’ve had almost 15 years of experience perfecting overnight oats recipes. Here are a few of our faves:

Classic Vegan Overnight Oats Lemon Cheesecake Overnight Oats Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats 8 Ways to Eat Overnight Oats