In my Lemon-Dill Tuna Salad recipe that I posted last Friday, I talked about how lunch is my least favorite meal of the day to deal with. Which is true. But the hardest meal for me, like me personally, is breakfast.
I’ve never been a breakfast-hater, even when I was in high school and middle school and it was cool to hate breakfast. If breakfast doesn’t happen for me, I become beastly around 10:00. Hanger is real, people.
But the problem for me, particularly on weekdays, is that I have a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old that still need a little nudging/assistance in the morning, a 2-year-old who needs a lot of nudging/assistance in the morning, and two dogs who are adults but who will act like the 2-year-old forever and ever. So by the time everyone else’s needs have been at least semi-adequately met, we’re rushing out the door and I haven’t had time to make myself a healthy breakfast. My big kids go to school on the other side of town (actually, it’s not even in the same town), so then I often find myself running errands while we’re out and then I’m getting hungry and grumpy and the fast food breakfast places are calling out to me.
My best solution has been to have something I can grab and eat while I’m combing hair, packing lunches, or signing last-minute papers. But those frozen breakfast sandwiches are spendy and I don’t love them that much.
Overnight refrigerator oatmeal is kind of making its rounds around the interwebs, so I decided to give it a shot. And I loved it. It’s a little different from cooked oats–it’s (obviously) not cooked and lacks that kind of cohesive consistency of cooked oatmeal. But it doesn’t bother me, and when I pair it with a few slices of precooked bacon (I use that Hormel precooked bacon that’s 70 calories for 4 slices), it keeps me full until lunchtime. One thing I love about it is that you can totally customize it however you want to–you just need equal amounts of oats and liquid, then you can round it out however you want. Fresh fruit, dried fruit, peanut butter, chocolate, nuts, seeds, however you like it, you can make it work! I’ve had a lot of fun the last few weeks playing around with different combinations and finding things that we love.
You’re going to need 2 cups oats (regular or quick-cooking, but not steel-cut or instant), 2 cups of milk (I use 1%, but you can use whatever kind you like; I’m not hip enough to like almond milk, but lots of people use it and seem to like it), vanilla extract, cinnamon, a tiny bit of salt, raspberries, almonds, almond extract, 2 tablespoons of sweetener (I’m using brown sugar here. My favorite non-sugar sweetener is called Z-Sweet and it is the only artificial sweetener I’ve found that doesn’t taste like artificial sweetener. Yes, I do know that artificial sweeteners are gateway drugs to Satan’s kingdom. I also know that Z-Sweet is ridiculously, ridiculously expensive. At $18 a bag, you may have to consider selling kidneys on the black market to fund it. That said, I only use it for stuff like this; I don’t bake with it, I just sprinkle it on top of berries, in oatmeal, etc., and this two-pack has lasted me for over a year–in fact, I’m still on my first bag.)
In a medium bowl, combine the oats,
milk,
extracts, brown sugar,
ground cinnamon, and the salt (if using).
Gently add the raspberries,
then divide evenly among 4 8-ounce jars or containers.
Refrigerate overnight (and up to 3 days–the consistency actually gets better with time). In the morning, stir it up and top with sliced almonds and serve cold. Makes 4 servings.
Overnight Raspberry-Almond Refrigerator Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats regular or quick-cooking, but not steel-cut or instant
- 2 cups milk I used and calculated the nutrition with 1%, but you can use whatever milk you like, including things like unsweetened almond or coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar or your favorite sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt optional
- 1 6- ounce package raspberries
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, milk, extracts, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and the salt (if using).
- Gently add the raspberries, then divide evenly among 4 8-ounce jars or containers. Refrigerate overnight. In the morning, top with sliced almonds and serve cold.
Notes
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 193
- Fat: 4
- Carbs: 31
- Fiber: 5
- Sugars: 16
- Protein: 8
Nutrition
Questions & Reviews
Thank you for posting an overnight oats recipe that doesn’t involve yogurt (which gives the oats a sour, really gross taste and texture). One of the few (only?) I’ve seen that doesn’t involve yogurt or chia seeds (both things I love in other ways, but definitely not in my oatmeal)). Can’t wait to try it.
We just moved back home from American Samoa. There was a smoothie place that made similar oatmeal concoctions in a blender…it was weird not having the oatmeal hot but it was really yummy! Going to have to try this recipe out!
Is it weird I wasn’t a fan of the creaminess? I watered the milk down by half (I used almond) and I liked it better. I like bland food though so just consider me strange. But yum and super convenient!
I love oatmeal both hot and cold. I’ve been making refrigerator oatmeal for about 10 years, but we call it Swiss oats. I let the oatmeal soak overnight and add fruit and nuts the next morning. It’s great with fresh or dried fruit. I usually use whatever is in season. I add about as much fruit as oatmeal.
I got a recipe for Swiss oatmeal a while back and it is very similar to this, only instead of the same ratio of milk to oatmeal, you do 2 cups oats, 1 cup milk, and then stir in 1 cup yogurt in the morning. If you do Greek yogurt you get a good protein source. We eat it a lot in the summer. I will have to try this version and see how it compares! Thanks for sharing!
I ❤️ Oatmeal and I ❤️ Kate! Can’t wait to try this!
I haven’t tried this type of oatmeal and I just bought raspberries. So this was perfect timing. Looks tasty!
I actually really like mixing this with nonfat yogurt or regular yogurt. It gives it a slightly thicker consistency, a little more liked cooked oatmeal. Also, I don’t need to add any sweetener thanks to it being in the yogurt. Unless you use plain yogurt.
I have been eating this for years. I love to do half oats half 6-grain rolled cereal (Honeyville) for a little more texture and frozen raspberries mixed in the night before. Fresh peaches, in season, are divine added right before serving. This is a great timesaver that most of my family loves.
I wonder if my freeze dried raspberries would work if they would plump up over night (maybe add a couple more table spoons of milk?
You could definitely try it! If you do, let us know how it goes! 🙂