Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fruit and Honey

Allowing oats to soak overnight in milk, yogurt and cinnamon and topping them with fresh fruit and honey in the morning is a great way to have breakfast ready before you even turn on the coffee maker.

Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fresh Fruit and Honey in a jar

This past weekend I traveled to Dearborn to speak at Mitten Moms, a Michigan Mom Bloggers conference, on behalf of the United Dairy Industry of Michigan. As a self-proclaimed fan of all things milk, cheese, and yogurt – it was a no brainer to accept the invitation to do a dairy-filled cooking demonstration for the group.

Get it? Mitten Moms? I know, cutest name ever.

The Lemon Bowl Cooking Demo at Mitten Moms

The objective? Create three no-cook breakfast recipes involving dairy. As a busy mom of a toddler with another one on the way, I was all over this challenge. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and the perfect opportunity to fill your family with vitamins, nutrients and minerals.

Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fruit and Honey is a delicious recipe that takes less than 5 minutes to prep the night before and works with whatever milk, yogurt or fruit you have on hand. In fact, since the recipe doesn’t require any knives, stove or oven – it’s a great way to get the kids involved and get them in the kitchen. What kid wouldn’t love shaking the jar to combine the oats with the milk and yogurt before refrigerating? :)

Dairy Nutrition Info - The Lemon Bowl

As I mentioned during my cooking demonstration with my fellow bloggers and mothers at Mitten Moms, dairy is packed with protein which helps stabilize blood sugars giving you lasting energy throughout the day. Additionally, it is full of calcium, potassium and Vitamin D which just so happen to be three of the four key nutrients often lacking in the American diet.

Michigan Blueberries - The Lemon Bowl

Right now, blueberries are in season so I topped mine with locally grown blueberries as well as bananas for added sweetness. If you have peaches on hand, those would be great. Later in the year you can try diced apples or pears. Get creative and most importantly, get in the kitchen. You’ll thank me in the morning when a healthy and nutritious breakfast is ready before you even turn on the coffee maker.

Your spoon is waiting.

Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fresh Fruit and Honey - The Lemon Bowl

Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fruit and Honey

4.34 stars average
Allowing oats to soak overnight in milk, yogurt and cinnamon and topping them with fresh fruit and honey in the morning is a great way to have breakfast ready before you even turn on the coffee maker.
PREP: 5 minutes
TOTAL: 5 minutes
Servings: 1

Ingredients
 

  • ½ cup old fashioned oats (or steel cut)
  • ½ cup skim milk
  • cup plain yogurt (low fat)
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • pinch salt
  • ½ cup fresh fruit (banana slices, strawberries, blueberries, etc)
  • ½ tablespoon honey

Instructions
 

  • In a small resealable jar combine oats, milk, yogurt, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
  • Seal jar with lid and shake well. Refrigerate jar overnight.
  • Top with fresh fruit and honey before serving the next morning.

Notes

This recipe is perfect for the bottom of a peanut butter or jam jar where you have just a few tablespoons left at the bottom!
Let the kids get involved and shake the jars.

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcalCarbohydrates: 42.2gProtein: 10.9gFat: 10.2gSaturated Fat: 2.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7.8gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 141mgFiber: 5.6g

50 thoughts on “Overnight Refrigerator Oats with Fruit and Honey”

  1. I just made these and I’m loving it! I also added flaxseed into mine. I made one for my brother but he forgot to take it to work today! I’m wondering how long can these last in the fridge? Thanks for sharing this!

  2. How long do these stay fresh? I’d love to make a huge batch and have it for breakfast every day during the week. Would that work?

    1. This morning I forgot I made them and it was seriously the best feeling ever – haha. :) Good luck with back to school!!

    1. It’s funny – I developed this recipe months ago for the United Dairy Industry of Michigan but after having yours I wanted to change it with the cranberry juice!!!! Keep your eyes peeled… it will happen. ;-) Great meeting you Jessica!

  3. As a busy mom of 4, I welcome with open arms the idea of overnight oats!! However, I get migraines from yogurt :( Any suggestions as to what I could substitute for it?

    1. Just use extra milk and skip the yogurt entirely. For the vanilla flavor, try a splash of vanilla extract. :)

  4. I am doing an overnight oats recipe tomorrow too–something about summer makes me crave cold oats + fruit for breakfast. :) And oh, those blueberries look gorgeous! My family used to always vacation in Michigan and I remember how good the blueberries are there.

    1. I totally agree!!! Plus I love eating the fruit fresh vs. cooking it into the oats like I do with apples and pumpkin in the fall. :)

    1. I need to check out your slow cooker recipe!! I’ve never done steel cut oats in the slow cooker – mostly because I’m usually just feeding myself and a toddler in the morning. But I want to try it. :) Overnight oats are another great idea for steel cuts.. enjoy!

    1. I know I think I’m having them again in the morning!! We just got more blueberries and raspberries that are begging for a bowl of oats. :)

    1. I agree – I think kids will love choosing their own toppings and having breakfast ready when they wake up!! :)

  5. I absolutely love easy meals and snacks. This gets a big thumbs up for being make ahead too. And the whole concept of mitten moms is kind of funny because it’s two fold since it’s cold in MI but also… it looks like a mitten and I never realized that before.

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