Overnight oats are a simple, healthy, and delicious way to start the day, providing plenty of slow-burning energy to keep you alert and switched on.
In this blog, we explain what overnight oats are, how to make them, the health benefits, and the many ways in which you can customise your overnight oats to suit your tastes.
What are Overnight Oats?
Overnight oats is the name given to an overnight method of making oatmeal without any cooking involved.
This is achieved by soaking oats (usually rolled oats) in a liquid that, over the process of multiple hours, will soften the oats in a manner similar to cooking.
Overnight oats can be made by soaking the oats in a liquid such as milk (dairy, almond, soy, oat milk, etc.), yoghurt, or water. Once mixed and immersed in the liquid of your choice, you let the mixture rest in the fridge.
As the name suggests, you typically let this mixture sit overnight. So, by the time the morning comes, your oats are appropriately softened and ready to eat. If not overnight, then letting the mixture sit for about six hours should yield similar results.
What Ingredients Do You Need for Overnight Oats?
The only ingredients you absolutely need to make overnight oats are rolled oats and the liquid you’d like to mix them into.
From there, it’s about determining what kind of overnight oats you want. When using yoghurt as the liquid mix, you can have a healthy morning snack where only the oats are mixed throughout.
However, you could add chia seeds, almonds, bits of fruit, or any other additions to make a healthy morning muesli or granola and yoghurt mix. Healthy sweeteners can also be added to the mix with honey, cinnamon, or a dash of vanilla extract.
When it comes to overnight oats, the oats and liquid form the base, but you can further customise the taste and nutritional value through your own combination of extras.
Need some inspiration for recipes? We have an extensive range of overnight oats recipes you can try out for yourself.
What Kind of Toppings Can I Add to Overnight Oats?
Again, you can ultimately add whatever you’d like as a topping to your overnight oats.
Toppings do not necessarily need to be added the night before. In general, many overnight oats benefit from having fresh toppings added the following morning rather than having them soak in the mixture.
Some popular toppings for overnight oats include fruits such as bananas; most popular berries such as blueberries, blackberries, strawberries; coconut; and apple slices.
Beyond fruits, other common toppings can include brown sugar, dustings of cinnamon, and chocolate chips.
What you add is up to you, but the above toppings stand out as some of the best combinations for overnight oats.
What are the Benefits of Overnight Oats?
Overnight oats present several positive health benefits, which were covered in the previous blog, “Why Soak Your Oats?”
A key takeaway is that soaking your oats overnight helps break them down so that they’re more digestible. Overnight oats also cause beneficial enzymes to come to life.
When phytic acid remains in oats, it impacts the body’s ability to absorb the wealth of healthy minerals present. Soaking oats removes this phytic acid, improving digestion and allowing your body to absorb the fibre, vitamins, minerals, and other intrinsic nutrients.
Whatever type of overnight oats you want to make, we have the perfect range of oats to get you started.
If you have questions about our range, you can visit our FAQ or simply get in touch with us - we’re more than happy to answer.