Overnight steel cut oats are a great make-ahead breakfast idea for busy mornings. No Cooking required.
In this Post: Everything you need for Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Breakfast isn’t my favorite meal of the day, but it is definitely the most important. When mornings get hectic, it can be easy to forget that first meal altogether. Or be tempted to grab something full of sugar and empty calories. My solution for a healthy and quick breakfast is usually a smoothie or overnight oats. If you haven’t tried my Overnight Steel Cut Oats, you’re missing out! They can be prepared whenever you have a spare moment, and then you can grab them from the fridge and eat them on the go!
Ingredients
- Steel cut oats: Rich in protein and higher in fiber than other oats, steel cut oats will keep you feeling fuller for longer.
- Yogurt: I like to use plain yogurt to cut down on sugar, but you could use vanilla or another flavor. Use Greek yogurt for even more protein.
- Milk: I use low-fat milk, but you could use any kind! Almond milk or oat milk would be great dairy-free alternatives.
- Flax seed meal: Flavorless, but a great nutrient additive. It’s especially rich in omega 3 fatty acids.
- Salt: Enhances and balances out the flavors.
- Cinnamon: Warm, semi-sweet flavor that pairs well with the oats and any fruit.
- Fruit: I love to use either a banana or apples for some natural sweetness, along with whatever berries I have in my fridge at the time.
- Peanut butter: Naturally sweet, creamy, and full of nutrients like protein, it’s the perfect finish to this breakfast.
How to Make Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Start your overnight steel cut oats by adding your oats and flax seed meal to a glass. I like to use mason jars as they have the screw top lid, but anything with a lid is best. If you don’t have cup with a lid, you can cover with plastic wrap.
Next add the plain yogurt.
Followed by your milk of choice.
Then sprinkle in the cinnamon and salt.
Put the lid on the jar, and give it a good shake. Then place in the fridge!
When ready to serve, simply take from the fridge and top with your favorite fresh fruit and some peanut butter. Enjoy your Overnight Steel Cut Oats!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Should I use rolled or steel cut oats for overnight oats?
You can use either for overnight oats! Steel cut oats will be a bit chewier in texture, and rolled oats will be more creamy.
How long to soak oats before eating raw?
Overnight, or 12 hours is a good base time to make sure they aren’t too dense or rough. Soaking them for at least 12 hours has also proven to reduce the phytic acid.
What are the benefits of overnight steel cut oats?
They are a great breakfast if you’re trying to lose weight, as anything high in protein and fiber will keep you feeling fuller for longer, and help you with an overall calorie deficit for the day without feeling hungry.
More Easy Breakfasts
- Chocolate Almond Butter Smoothie
- Zucchini Carrot Muffins
- Apple Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
- Ham and Cheese Baked Egg Cups
Did you try this recipe and like it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
If you’re likely to skip breakfast and have been meaning to break that bad habit, then my overnight steel cut oats is the answer you’ve been looking for. You’ll thank me in the morning.
Your spoon is waiting.
Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Ingredients
- ¼ cup steel cut oats
- ¼ cup plain yogurt
- ½ cup milk (any type)
- 1 tablespoon flax seed meal
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ banana (sliced)
- 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
- ¼ cup berries of choice
Instructions
- Combine oats, yogurt, milk, flax, salt and cinnamon in a glass jar or small bowl and stir well. Seal jar with lid or bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, stir in banana slices, peanut butter and berries to serve.
I used chia seeds and worked out fine. 1/2 way through I did remix it, just incase more milk was needed
For all those that thought it was not softened enough, try leaving in the frig for 2-3 daus instead.
Great idea!
I LOVE your recipe & creativity! My question is of rarity. I have Type 1 diabetes & because of this, I need to lower the carbs & sugar in this recipe. If I leave out the peanut butter & banana, will I totally destroy the flavor you created??? Do you have any other thoughts? Thanks!
Peanut butter doesn’t have carbs does it? And my peanut butter has no sugar. Oats are, by nature, carbs but due to the high fiber content they are usually ok for Type 2. The banana is also natural sugar and also has fiber. Can you ask your doctor about oats and bananas?
Thank you, Liz, for the reply. Honestly, I never intended to leave the oatmeal out since it has such great health benefits!! I wanted to leave the peanut butter out cuz t don’t like it. As far as the banana is concerned, between that, the blueberries & the milk, there is enough glucose (whether lactose or fructose). It is too much glucose in one recipe for me. I would require too much insulin, as per my Type 1, not 2, diabetes regimen. I would prefer to eat the blueberries. I hope this helps. It would help if the nutritional analysis were available. I so appreciate your reply!!
Make with almond milk
Best ever!!
I tried this for the first time and it was delicious. I’ve been making this every day this week, but switching it up a bit. Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed it!
How many hours is ‘overnight’? Ours sat for 10 hours and turned out awful — basically slightly less hard than they would have been straight out of the package. Followed the instructions to a tee. Gonna try and salvage them by cooking, which sort of defeats the purpose of the recipe.
Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear this Franky. Did you use the exact amount of liquids? To be clear, they will still be chewy and have a good amount of texture. If you want them to be mushier (or softer) simply add more liquid. Alternatively, you can always use old fashioned oats for a softer, less chewy consistency. So sorry these disappointed you!
What if I don’t have any mason jars? Will regular Tupperware do?
Absolutely!! Even a bowl would work – anything that can go in the fridge!
Im not sure mine turned out right. How could it go wrong though?! I used Bobs Red Mill “quick cooking” steel cut oats and substituted Fage Greek Yogurt instead of regular yogurt. I tasted the base this morning before adding the rest of the ingredients and it tasted very mealy and flour-y. Like I was eating a high flour dough. After adding the rest of the ingredients I still wasnt that impressed and felt I needed to cover up the flour taste. It seemed more like an oatmeal smoothie than anything else. Hmmmmm….I was so hopeful!
Hi Jill- I’m sorry these didn’t turn out for you! Have you tried making it as instructed with steel cut oats? I usually prefer using steel cut oats because they hold their texture and shape better overnight. Quick cooking oats take just minutes to make so they tend to turn to mush when soaked overnight. I hope that helps!! Please let me know if you ever try this with steel cut oats!
I LOVE overnight oats, but I’ve only made them with old fashioned oats. I wasn’t sure that steel cut oats could be soaked long enough to be eaten raw. Your recipe is not for 1/4 c cooked steel cut oats, I imagine. :) I’ll have to try this tomorrow!
No 1/4 cup uncooked! They “cook” overnight soaking up the liquid. :)
Awesome! I’ll be making these for tomorrow!
I hope you like it!! :)
Trying these out! Thanks! Hope they make steel cut oats more tolerable.. :)
First off I want to say fantastic blog! I had a
quick question in which I’d like to ask if you do not mind. I was interested to know how you center yourself and clear your thoughts before writing. I have had difficulty clearing my thoughts in getting my ideas out there. I do take pleasure in writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes tend to be wasted simply just trying to figure out how to begin. Any suggestions or tips? Thank you!
Hi Kristine – I’m so glad you like my blog! For me the key to writing is simply to start writing. I’ll write whatever comes off top of mind and then go back and read it and change things around as needed. I often write posts a bit in advance and then I’ll go back to proof read before publishing and edit further. So, just write! And edit and write. :) Good luck!
I finally got to try this recipe. Even so I did microwave for 90 seconds the steal cut oats, this morning it was too hard. The taste is OK, but not better than cooked one. It reminds me the recipe of the swiss Bircher Muesli, but not as tasty. Here is a Bircher Muesli recipe (so many variations around!) http://mylittlegourmet.com/breakfast/bircher-muesli/
That recipe you shared looks great! This is definitely meant to have a good chew to it. If you prefer it to be less chewy, definitely stick with old fashioned oats as used in that Muesli recipe. I actually prefer the chew of steel cut but I like regular oats too! Thanks again for sharing that recipe.
Has anybody tried adding any protein powder? Sometimes I have cooked oatmeal with protein powder and sunflower seeds.
I never have because I usually throw in walnuts or chia but that is a brilliant idea!!
Lovely recipe. Will this work with instant/rolled oats, you think?
Absolutely!!! Works even better with quick cooking oats!
This oatmeal caught my eye immediately – I love oatmeal, especially steel cut, but never make it due to its long cooking time. I’ve been making overnight chia pudding for breakfast lately, and will now start making your oats. Love the added yogurt, too. Brilliant!
Thank you so much – I hope you enjoy it!!
I know this is an older post but I had a question about it. Can it be made with any kind of yogurt? I’m thinking about trying it with vanilla greek yogurt…do you think it will still ‘cook’ the oats?
Leslie I JUST did that last night! The greek yogurt was amazing. Have you ever had ben and jerry’s greek yogurt? The banana and peanut butter flavor? tastes really similar! It was delicious.
Love the comparison to Ben and Jerry’s!! I’m so glad you enjoyed!!
I haven’t seen that in my stores here. I’m in a rural area, but maybe we’ll get it one day. Thanks for the response!