Healthy Vanilla Overnight Baked Oatmeal Recipe
G’day guys- It’s Arman here again! Let’s talk my favorite breakfast staple.
Oatmeal.
If there is one breakfast food (or any food, rather!) which could be considered the ultimate blank canvas, oatmeal would get the prize.
When people say oatmeal is ‘boring’ I just laugh- Sure, if your oatmeal is plain cooked in water or milk and topped with fruit, I can see where that judgment would come from. However, by using some creative add-ins, changing the toppings and even cooking them in a different form can transform a bland breakfast to something incredible…with very little effort.
A few months back, I shared a simple oatmeal hack on my blog.
I love baked oatmeal (the taste and texture trumps all other forms of oatmeal, in my humble opinion!). But often don’t have the time to whip it up each morning. Not only that, the only recipes from my archives would be ones which served 4-6 people…not the best for someone who likes variety AND lives the single life!
One night, I was planning to make a single-serve baked oatmeal the next morning. I prepped it all ready to go and went to bed. The next morning, I woke up to find the oats had absorbed most of the liquid! So instead of baking it, I took a chance and microwaved it for a minute. I was pleasantly surprised to be rewarded with the taste and texture of baked oatmeal. The best part was missing out on all of the prep or multiple servings. It was quick, easy and delicious and kept me full all morning- A huge win in my book!
While many choose not to use microwaves, I wanted to see if this worked well in the oven (or toaster oven!). Not only did it work, it was MUCH quicker than baking a traditional batch of baked oatmeal. Regardless of whichever method you opt to ‘bake’ it, the simple prep the night before makes it an absolute breeze!
Arman would choose to eat breakfast foods for all meal if acceptable. In fact, he does so on a regular basis! Come on by his blog and say hi and join his sweet tooth on the journey!
Healthy Vanilla Overnight Baked Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cup oats, dry
- 4 tablespoon chia seeds
- 4 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 8 tablespoon almond butter
- 4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
Toppings
- 1/4 ounce Sprinkles
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, vanilla
- 2 cup strawberries
Instructions
- The night before, (or at least an hour before consumption), combine oats, chia seeds, sugar and sea salt in a medium bowl. Mix well.
- Melt almond butter and pour into the dry mixture. Mix well. Add vanilla and almond milk. Mix well and divide amongst four single serving containers. Refrigerate overnight (or even for an hour).
- The next morning, microwave for up to 1 minute. Top with sprinkles and vanilla yogurt and enjoy with strawberries on the side.
- Follow as above but bake on high broil for 5-7 minutes, or until golden. Watch closely to avoid burning.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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I’ve never done overnight oats, (although they seem to be quite popular on the blogs recently) just because I like my breakfast warm and from one side I would like to heat them up, but then I always though treating with high temperature something that required refrigeration for so many hours would ruin the idea standing behind it. Now, reading your post I see I had good intuition.
Colored sprinkles with food dye?
Noelle– we avoid food dyes for the most part, too. Did you know that India Tree makes sprinkles colored with natural plant-based dyes? I use them sometimes on top of yogurt and the kids love them. http://www.indiatree.com/Detail_Page.php?Category=NC&SubcatID=41&SKU=10829#Overview
Food dye or not, the only way to get my kid to eat certain foods is to put sprinkles on it. From broccoli to peanut butter, somehow sprinkles make it magically edible at our table. We’re definitely trying this tomorrow. Looks amazing! Thanks 🙂
Ha ha – love it!!!
610 calories just for breakfast and carbs galore. I would suggest a different name for this oatmeal. You know when you get used to food cooked simply and actually enjoy it you just don’t have to doctor it up and basically make it into a dessert instead of breakfast.
I don’t normally comment on these things, but I read Carol’s comment and felt this needed correction. I don’t know where she got 610 calories, but if you do the math this comes out to 422.5 calories per serving (1/2 c oats is the recommended serving size). When it comes to carbs the people avoiding them are going to be avoiding oats most likely anyway. The carbs in this come out to 40g per serving with 27 of that being from the oats alone. The point here is getting the plentiful nutrition from the oats. Lastly, there’s a difference between turning something into a dessert and adding flavor. The worst thing here is a little bit of sugar that is easily replaceable. I will be making this for my family this weekend with a couple of personal touches for a healthy breakfast. Thanks for the recipe! Enjoy your bland oats Carol!