Healthy and Easy Overnight Oatmeal in a Jar Recipes

I'm a fan of oatmeal!  Which is a little ironic, because I hated it as a kid!  Somewhere in my mid to late 20's my taste buds matured, and I started liking all sorts of things I hated as a child, and started disliking all sorts of sugary processed food I ate as a child who grew up in the 90's!

I don't eat oatmeal everyday, but a hot bowl of oatmeal with my morning coffee is definitely a go-to breakfast for me much of the time.  And I'm not talking about the kind you can buy in instant packs that are filled with preservatives and ingredients I can't read.  When I make a bowl of hot oatmeal, I use the plain Jane instant oats or steel cut oats, unsweetened almond milk as my liquid,  chia seeds...I always use chia seeds...for additional fiber, fruit with honey or stevia as a sweetener,  or cinnamon and a small amount of brown sugar, especially around the holidays, as a spice.  That's the way I like my oatmeal.

Recently, I decided to experiment with the overnight refrigerator oatmeal recipes that I have seen all over Pinterest.  I played around with my ratios, and I think I've found something that I really like.  Who'd of thought I'd like cold oatmeal?  But I have to tell you, it is really good! Plus it is wonderful to grab a healthy breakfast in the morning that was prepared the night before.

This cold oatmeal has been a nice switch for summer, and it still has all of the same healthy ingredients that I love in my hot oatmeal.  What I love about the way I make my morning oatmeal, hot or cold, is that it is good for my body and it is a filling breakfast that satisfies my hunger until lunch!  

In full disclosure, my husband does not like the way I make this oatmeal.  He said it's not sweet enough!  I think he would like it if I added fruit preserves to each jar.  Unfortunately for him, I make these for my morning breakfast, so the less sugar the better!

All of these refrigerated oatmeal recipes have the same base: 1/2 c. oats, 2/3 c. unsweetened almond milk, 2/3 plain nonfat yogurt, 1 tbsp. chia seeds. and 1/2 c. berries.  Because, I like to keep this recipe as clean as I can, I sweeten my tart plain yogurt with vanilla extract, honey or stevia.

I've seen all sorts of different ratios for oats to milk to yogurt, but the ratio I use seems to work well for my 16 oz jars.  And of course the fruit combinations to these overnight oatmeal recipes are endless!

The recipes I use are also versatile.  Any milk can be used instead of almond milk.  I prefer the unsweetened almond milk, because it is a low calorie milk that I always have in my refrigerator.  Sweetened vanilla yogurt could be used instead of plain, if you didn't want to use any additional sweeteners.  I prefer mine to not be too sweet, which is why I use the honey or stevia.  Fruit preserves is commonly used in many of the popular overnight oatmeal recipes in addition to the fruit.  Again, because I want to keep these recipes as clean as I can and limit my sugar, I choose not to add fruit preserves, although I'm sure it would be tasty!

Lastly, these oatmeal recipes keep in the fridge for a few days.  I typically make these three jars of oatmeal on a Sunday night, and enjoy a jar for my morning breakfast the first part of the week.  The rest of the week, I'll mix things up with an egg breakfast or a hot oatmeal.

Here are the overnight oatmeal recipes I've been enjoying this summer!

Blueberry Almond Overnight Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. oats

2/3 c. unsweetened almond milk

2/3 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 c. blueberries

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. all natural almond butter

** Almond butter is optional if counting calories and fat. It does give a lovely almond flavor, and if looking to incorporate healthy fats into your daily diet, almond butter is a good choice.

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in the jar and give the jar a shake.  Keep in refrigerator overnight.  Before eating, top with additional fresh blueberries, almond slivers and a drizzle of honey if desired.

Raspberry Vanilla Overnight Oatmeal

 INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. oats

2/3 c. unsweetened almond milk

2/3 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 c. raspberries

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 - 2 tsp. of stevia, depending on taste 

(honey could be substituted for stevia, I just prefer the stevia with this mixture)

 DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in the jar and give the jar a shake.  Keep in refrigerator overnight.  Before eating, top with additional fresh raspberries, and a low sugar high protein granola if desired.

Blackberry Banana Overnight Oatmeal

  

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. oats

2/3 c. unsweetened almond milk

2/3 c. plain nonfat Greek yogurt

1/2 c. blackberries

1/2 of a banana cut into small pieces

1 tbsp. chia seeds

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. honey

  

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in the jar and give the jar a shake.  Keep in refrigerator overnight.  Before eating, top with additional fresh blackberries and a sprinkle of chia seeds if desired.