“Grab-and-go” breakfasts are a huge part of my life these days. Weekday mornings are hectic, and some mornings I just want something that I can quickly grab from the fridge and take with me and chow down on the ferry, or in the office. I just love overnight refrigerator oats, because they’re ULTRA EASY to make, (takes just 5 minutes), are ready to go in the morning, and healthy to boot! Seriously, all you have to do in the morning is open your refrigerator, grab the jar of oats, twist off the lid, give the oats a stir and dig in! How easy is that?
These refrigerator oats are chock-full of healthy ingredients, fats, protein and fiber. They’re the perfect and easy way to start your day, and will help keep your blood sugar regulated, plus they’re a SUPER EASY GRAB-AND-GO breakfast that you won’t have to feel guilty about eating! It’s also a great vegan breakfast and gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats!
These oats actually taste like dessert, but they’re chock full of healthy ingredients such as:
- Almond milk & almond butter – Almonds are high in protein and healthy fats!
- Steel-cut oats – Steel cut oats restore and calm the nervous system, have beneficial effects on blood sugar, lower cholesterol and regulate weight.
- Chia seeds – Chia seeds are full of Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and protein.
- Unsweetened coconut – Unsweetened coconut is full of healthy fat.
- Raw cacao nibs – Raw Cacao is thought to be the highest source of antioxidants of all foods and is the highest whole food source of magnesium, which is the most deficient mineral in our modern-day diet.
This is also a great “grab-and-go-travel” breakfast! I make a jar or two of these oats and take them with me to Tahoe. I always feel great starting out the day with a power fueled, energy packed breakfast for a day of skiing on the slopes! These oats are also perfect for taking with you to the office, or on the airplane as well. I recently took these oats with me on a red-eye flight, so I didn’t have to eat the airport food for breakfast! I packed the oats up in this cute little 1-cup glass storage container from Lifefactory, made it through security, and was one happy camper come breakfast time. I was eating Marin mama food and not airport food.
overnight refrigerator oats with almond butter and cacao nibs:
makes on serving
- 3/4 – 1 cup almond milk, banana milk (recipe soon) or coconut milk– I use my vanilla almond milk or banana milk all the time.
- 2 tablespoons chia seed – I love this brand from Nutiva
- ¼ cup steel-cut oats
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs – I love this brand from TruVibe
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut – I love this brand from Let’s Do Organic
- 1 heaping tablespoon almond or peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
Get out a small glass jar with a lid, or glass container with a lid. I love these 12-ounce glass mason jars from Ball. I use them in our kitchen as drinking glasses, but I also use them to store just about anything from nuts, to salad dressings to leftovers, you name it! They rock!
Pour in the almond milk, chia seed, oats, cacao nibs, coconut, almond butter, maple syrup, and a pinch of sea salt. Give the mixture a good stir to incorporate the almond butter.
Put a lid on, and store it in the refrigerator till morning. Yep, that’s all there is to it.
I usually make up a couple of these at a time, as they last for 3 days.
The mixture will thicken up overnight, thanks to the chia, so if you want it thinner, then add a bit of milk.
Twist off the lid and give the oats a good stir before consuming!
If you like the concept of refrigerator last, then try my other overnight refrigerator oats recipe. This version tastes a bit like strawberry shortcake!
If you’re craving something a bit warmer that you can make the night before and just re-heat in the morning, then you have to try my easy overnight steel cut oats. These literally take 5 minutes to make the night before, and 5 minutes to heat up in the morning. I love the combination of peanut butter, chia jam and blueberries. It’s just like eating a PB&J!
- ¾ -1 cup almond milk, banana milk (recipe soon) or coconut milk- I use my vanilla almond milk or banana milk all the time.
- 2 tablespoons chia seed
- ¼ cup steel-cut oats
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 heaping tablespoon almond or peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt
- Get out a small glass jar with a lid, or glass container with a lid.
- Pour in the almond milk, chia seed, oats, cacao nibs, coconut, almond butter, maple syrup, and a pinch of sea salt.
- Give the mixture a good stir to incorporate the almond butter.
- Put a lid on, and store it in the refrigerator till morning.
- I usually make a couple of these, as they last for 3 days.
- The mixture will thicken up overnight, thanks to the chia, so if you want it thinner, then add a bit of milk.
- Twist off the lid and give the oats a good stir before consuming!
Love this recipe! SO easy to prep for my weekly meals, healthy, and delicious.
Thanks for sharing Jacquelyn 🙂
Where is that recipe for banana milk? Sounds fantastic. I love this recipe – usually make it with coconut milk. Please share banana milk when you can. Also, is there a search tool on your site? I couldn’t find one and had to scroll through recipe list.
Hi Pat! So sorry to not see and respond to your comment earlier, but it got lost in my spam and I just discovered it today. The reason I haven’t posted the banana milk is because I haven’t had time to photograph it yet. I will try and get it done this weekend, but in the meantime, here’s the quick recipe for you. Put 1 banana, 1 cup filtered water, 1 teaspoon vanilla and a tiny pinch of sea salt into a blender. Simply blend in a high speed blender until creamy.
Enjoy immediately. That’s all there is to it. 🙂 I will post it and more details soon! xoxo, Jacquelyn