Overnight oats recipe for heart, skin and brain health, vegan

If you’re looking for a simple breakfast to take on the go, you need to try this simple healthy vegan overnight oats recipe made with oats, chia seeds, berries and nut butter!

You do not need to cook anything and you can make the overnight oatmeal with dairy-free milk or even water. It’s satisfying either way and great for your gut, heart, skin and brain health.

You’ll Love Overnight Oats For Breakfast

Words can’t express how much we love, love this ready in the morning simple healthy breakfast. It saves us time, headaches and it also saves us from drinking coffee.

It also looks so pretty and it tastes good. Like, illegally good. But it’s definitely legal and it’s:

• fast and simple to make (5-minute prep!)
• absolutely satisfying
• versatile
• healthy and nutritious
• gluten- and dairy-free

You can have this satisfying meal for breakfast or even as a dessert later in the day if you’re not that hungry in the morning. We've found that overnight oats make a great post- or even pre-workout meal. So if you also do your workouts early in the day, now you know.

Vegan Overnight Oats Ingredients

We've been making overnight oats for over five years now, and they never disappoint. We like to keep our recipe pretty simple:

• fast or fine oats (we don’t like regular in overnight oats, but some people do!)
• chia seeds
• water or nut milk
• berries on top
• almond or peanut butter on top

That’s all we use to make these refreshing breakfast “parfaits”! As you can see from the updated photos, we sometimes also add chopped nuts and some shredded coconut.

How it comes together

To make overnight oats without dairy, you’ll need to combine dairy-free milk with regular or fast oats (1:1) and add a tbsp of chia seeds in a jar or a small airtight container. Additionally, you can mix in some maple syrup or another sweetener you like. Close the jar or container and put it in the fridge overnight or for at least 3 hours.

You can also use plain water to make overnight oats if you don’t have dairy-free milk. We're doing this most of the time because we can’t tolerate store-bought dairy-free milk, and we're usually too lazy to make our own (plus we're always freaking out about what to do with all that pulp).

Tip: Usually, we make sure the overnight oats don’t get too runny by adding the water 1 “sip” at a time and pressing them down while mixing in the evening. This is when you’ll also notice the “oat milk” come out. After that, stir well: the mixture shouldn’t be too thick and sticky, but also not too runny. And there shouldn’t be too much liquid on top – just covering the oats.

Favorite Toppings

In the morning, top with your favorite fruit, nuts and optionally nut butter. Here are some things you can add to your overnight oats:

• fruit: berries, banana, mango, peaches, apples, pears
• flaxseed or other seeds
• nut butter: almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower butter
• nuts: almonds, peanuts, walnuts, pecans
• shredded coconut
• optionally you can also mix in some vanilla or cinnamon

Our absolutely favorite way to enjoy overnight oats is with peanut or almond butter drizzled all over and then strawberries, raspberries or blueberries on top.

Sometimes we might even do all of the berries together, that’s if we get lost in a forest and start collecting the fruit myself…Or the more likely scenario is if we go to a store and forget that we're not Rockefeller’s daughter and we don’t have our own money printer to buy a ton of berries.

You can also use frozen berries – we like to thaw them first, because we don’t like chewing on ice.

Health Benefits Of Overnight Oats

With these healthy ingredients, overnight oats have many benefits:

• oats and nuts are known to assist in weight loss and can lower cholesterol and blood pressure long-term.
• they have anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties
• oats are also known to be prebiotic, thus they’re important for a good gut health
• berries are among the antioxidant-richest foods out there; they’re known to preserve your brain health and to prevent premature aging
• chia seeds are a great source of anti-inflammatory omega-3’s, minerals, protein and fiber

Meal Prep Vegan Overnight Oats

To make the overnight oats ahead, you have two great options:

• Adjust servings for the week and make your own dried mix with oats and chia seeds. Simply add water or nut milk the night before and add toppings in the morning.
• Prepare the base for the overnight oats and store in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days. This actually works, we've tried it and they’re good after 3 days. Top with fruit and nut butter in the morning.