Overnight Oats with Water
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These overnight oats with water are the perfect no-milk alternative to the classic recipe. Not only can you jazz them up with tasty toppings, but they are convenient to make ahead for a hassle-free breakfast!
For more breakfast recipe ideas, check out this crunchy Oil-Free Granola and these Healthy Breakfast Cookies.
Table of contents
Why You’ll Love It
Who said that you need to use milk to make creamy overnight oats?
This water-based version is refreshingly light, naturally creamy, and perfect for a healthy breakfast.
It’s easy to customize with your favorite toppings like fruit, chopped nuts, or nut butter. But you can also make them super indulgent and dessert-like with melted chocolate and a sprinkle of coconut flakes!
Now, that’s what I’m talking about.
Can You Really Use Water to Make Overnight Oats?
If you want to lighten things up, you can make overnight oats with water instead of milk!
As water won’t be as creamy, we’ll add chia seeds and yogurt (regular or dairy-free) to give our outs that typical chewiness of old-school overnight oats.
What Types of Oats Should You Use For Overnight Oats?
I’m a massive fan of using rolled oats (AKA old-fashioned oats!) as they’re beautifully chewy and have a thicker texture.
They also absorb less liquid than classic porridge oats, giving them a seriously satisfying mouthfeel.
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the oats
- Rolled oats: Stick with rolled oats here.
- Water: Depending on how thick you want your water-based overnight oats, you might want to play around with measurements.
- Chia seeds: Filled with omega-3 and healthy fats, they are perfect for adding a superfood boost to your oats. They also help to thicken the oats and make them creamier! You can substitute them with ground flax seeds for a similar result.
- Yogurt: A spoonful of Greek or natural yogurt can turn these overnight oats with water into a creamy sensation! Any yogurt works, but a sugar-free one is best to keep things uber-healthy. Opt for a plant-based yogurt to keep this dairy-free or vegan.
- Honey or maple syrup: For a hit of natural sweetness.
- Sea salt: A pinch will balance the sweet flavors.
Toppings
This recipe for overnight oats with water uses fruit, nut butter, chopped nuts, and dark chocolate chips.
But honestly, you can use any variation of toppings that you want (and I’ll get into this more in a minute!).
How to Make Overnight Oats with Water
Step-by-step overview. Full ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card below.
Mix your ingredients: Place your rolled oats, chia seeds, water, honey or maple syrup, yogurt, and salt into an individual glass jar or a bowl (if making more than one portion) (photos 1, 2, 3). Then, stir everything with a spoon to make sure all of your ingredients are incorporated (photo 4).
Water: You can use more or less water, depending on how runny you like your oats in the morning. Just be warned that they will thicken quite a bit while resting in the fridge, so don’t use too little!
Refrigerate the jars: If using a bowl, spread the mix into individual jars. Put your jars into the fridge and make sure the container is covered or wrapped. An airtight jar is perfect, but you can use cling film or foil if you can’t find a lid that fits! Just make sure your oats aren’t too exposed to the air.
Top to perfection: Once your overnight oats with water have had time to rest overnight, open the container and add your toppings. I used a mix of fresh berries for a healthy version and a more indulgent with peanut butter, chocolate chips, and bananas (photos 5 and 6).
Serve and enjoy: Add an extra drizzle of honey or maple syrup and enjoy.
Topping Ideas
Fresh fruit: The sky’s the limit here, but I love using berries, bananas, kiwi, mango, pineapple, and everything in between.
Dried fruit: Cranberries, apricots, banana chips, baked strawberries – you name it, they’ll be chewy and delicious!
Nuts & seeds: A few great ideas are peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, and cashews.
Nut butter: Try this homemade almond butter, but peanut, hazelnut, or cashew butter is equally good!
Homemade Nutella: For a hint of chocolatey goodness (that’s 100% vegan!).
Chocolate chips or cacao nibs: Gives your oats extra texture and a chocolatey kick.
Add-Ins
If you want to give your oats an extra boost of flavor (without toppings!), these add-ins are amazing and will provide some extra flavor to your base:
- Apple puree (1 tablespoon per serving)
- Mashed banana
- Pumpkin puree
- Cocoa powder
- Coffee
- Nut butters
- Fruit compote
- Matcha powder
Storage
You can keep your overnight oats in the fridge for up to 4 days.
However, I prefer to keep them no longer than 2-3 days, or they tend to become too soft.
Other Oats Recipes You’ll Love
If you try this overnight oats with water recipe, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how much you liked it!
Overnight Oats with Water
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats - see note 1
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds - for added thickness and nutrition see note 2
- 1 tablespoon yogurt - optional, for creaminess and added goodness see note 3
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
- a pinch of sea salt - optional
Berries Overnight Oats
- 1 cup berries - e.g., strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Peanut Butter And Banana
- 1 tablespoon nut butter - almond butter, peanut butter, hazelnut butter, homemade Nutella
- chopped nuts
- dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place the rolled oats, chia seeds, water (note 4), honey or maple syrup, yogurt, and salt (if using) in a glass jar or container and stir with a spoon.
- Cover the container with a lid or wrap and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours (overnight gives a better texture).
- The next day, open the container and add the topping of your choice.
Berries Overnight Oats
- If using strawberries, wash them and cut them into quarters.
- In a saucepan, combine ½ cup of berries, maple syrup, and 2 tablespoons of water. Place the saucepan over medium heat. Let the mixture come to a gentle simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring.
- For a smoother compote, you can lightly mash the berries with a fork.
- Remove the compote from the heat and let it cool before layering it in the overnight oats jar.
- Top with the remaining fresh berries.
Peanut Butter And Banana
- In a glass jar, layer the overnight oats with peanut butter. Then top with fresh banana slices and sprinkle with chopped nuts and chocolate chips. You can also drizzle some melted chocolate or Nutella for extra indulgence.
Notes
Nutrition
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