Super simple, satisfying overnight oats with flax and chia seeds can be made in five minutes with only six pantry ingredients. They are vegan, gluten-free, 250 calories per serving and totally customizable. Top with dried fruit, granola and a drizzle of honey for a superfood breakfast that you’ll feel great about all day.
And that will leave you with plenty of room to nab Christmas cookie or two later in the day. <= Because who’s not doing that this time of year.
I’m never one to rush into a trend. For as much time as I spend thinking about, cooking and photographing food, I like to give most food trends plenty of time to settle in and do a few laps around the internet before I jump on the bandwagon. Add overnight oats to that list.
If you’re not familiar with overnight oats, I’m here to tell you that it’s worth trying this style of oats, which are “cooked” simply by soaking in liquid overnight. They are completely customizable. This version uses almond milk which I like for its subtle nutty flavor, but you can use regular milk, coconut milk, or even water with a little yogurt.
My full conversion to the overnight oats club happened in Palo Alto for work (shout out to the Cook Smarts team) last month. Sitting out in a sunny California courtyard one morning with a perfect latte, my laptop and a book of ingredient conversions, I figured that the setting caused to my instant love affair with this bowl of overnight oats from trendy Blue Bottle Coffee.
But since returning home, I’ve made these oats again and again, with equally satisfying results. The texture is creamy, the flax and chia seeds add crunch (and some great nutrients to boot) and they are so much simpler to make than stove top or even microwave oatmeal.
When you rush into the kitchen first thing in the morning, it’s a great feeling to pull these oats out of the refrigerator and know that they will be perfect every time.
Even Molly and Clara will happily eat bowl after bowl of overnight oats, making me feel like I’m winning at the toddler breakfast game.
Though they prefer their oats with world’s most gigantic spoonful of peanut butter and a drizzle of honey.
But toddler approved healthy breakfast? We’ll take it.
And later…we’ll eat all the cookies.
More Easy Oat Recipes
- Baked Blueberry Oatmeal
- Homemade Instant Oatmeal
- Mason Jar Overnight Oats {Meal Prep}
- Nutella Granola
- Slow Cooker Granola
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Oat Smoothie
Favorite Tools
Overnight Oats with Flax and Chia Seeds
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups Raw Rolled Oats (sometimes labeled "old fashioned" oats; be sure to use gluten-free if appropriate)
- 2 Tbsp unsalted Sunflower Seeds
- 1 Tbsp Flax Seeds (see note)
- 1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
- 4 ½ cups Almond Milk (sub any kind of milk)
- 1 Tbsp Brown Sugar (optional)
- pinch Salt
For topping (use any combination):
- Yogurt
- Dried Fruit
- Honey
- Granola
Instructions
- Combine oats, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds and almond milk. Stir in brown sugar and a pinch of salt (don't skip the salt - I think it brings out a lot of flavor in the oats, even if you skip the sugar).
- Store oats in the refrigerator overnight.
- Serve oats straight out of the refrigerator (or warm them up briefly in the microwave if you'd prefer), topped with anything you'd like. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Frank and I both lived in Eastern Europe after college. Frank was in Bulgaria for Peace Corps and I was in Romania volunteering at an orphanage. One of my favorite memories is of the children in the orphanage celebrating St. Nicholas Day on December 6. The night before, they’d clean their shoes and set them by the door to receive small presents and sweets.
St. Nicholas visited Molly and Clara this week too. In addition to a piece of chocolate and a new outfit, the generous saint left them a very fuzzy, very pink surprise. Can you tell what it is? 😉
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Tastes exactly like Blue Bottle!!!
Thank you <3's
Shine ON,
Jillian
Awesome – so glad you thought so too Jillian!!
Hello Jess and Frank! Thanks for sharing this article. I will make breakfast tomorrow. It’s amazing!
Two babies are so cute. ^. ^
This is a great recipe, tasty with the consistency we like – thick but still liquidy in the morning. Some overnight oats are a bit too thick and need liquid stirred in, these were perfect. I wasnt sure if the sunflower seeds would appeal to wveryone but they were a hit, i almost left them out. I used sweetened almond milk so didnt add the sugar and threw in a handful of frozen blueberries before putting it in the fridge overnight. Delicious. Thanks for posting this recipe.
Thanks so much for letting me know Alexandra! I agree completely – I like my overnight oats to be creamy (not thick), so I’m glad they turned out that way for you!!
Excellent idea to put everything in the fridge ready to go! the last 2 days I soaked chia and flax on the counter then cooked oatmeal in the morning to combine then added coconut oil but this is a better idea. I am going to use steel cut oats to see how it turns out ..pine nuts would be the perfect nut to add but I will try the sunflower seeds! For those of us watching our cholesterol maybe adding the nut that does the most good is a great idea and so far that I know Brail nuts are one the best
Awesome tips, Hailey – thanks so much for adding these suggestions!
This is rather similar to my baked oatmeal recipe I got from a bef and breakfast. The oats take on a new life after they have soaked overnight. I can’t stop eating baked oatmeal.
Just so you know, you have to grind flax seeds before you eat them. If you leave them whole, your body doesn’t actually break down the shell and you don’t get any nutrients from them.
Since they spoil fairly quickly, you should store them whole in the fridge, then grind just the amount you need when you need it. I just use a cheap electric blade grinder.
Besides that, I really love this recipe and how nutritious it is! It’s great with blueberries and cinnamon, and sometimes toasted walnuts for a little added crunch.
Hi Maddie – thanks so much for the note and tips!
Been doing this for years i soak in water no milk as the oats make there own milk from the water you can use any combination of fruit and seeds nuts etc really good and easy ✔️
I just wanted to mention what I believe may be a typo….
In the “Note” section of the recipe, I believe “nothing” should be “noting”.
“It’s worth nothing that nutrition experts usually recommend ground…
Thanks Heather! I finally got a proofreader, but these older recipes definitely have some typos. Appreciate you pointing that out – fixed!
Love the recipes. I use 3 pureed bananas and only add milk as needed. I also add honey and cinamon.
Great information. Lucky me I discovered your site by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve bookmarked it for later!
Thank you so much for sharing. Being gluten free I have been experimenting with mixing raw oats, chia seeds and sunflower seeds. Had some left over and left in the fridge. After a day or two the sunflower seeds commenced sprouting in the sealed container. Wondering if the mixture is still safe to eat. The smell is delicious and no tasty smells and cannot see any mold. Has this happened to anyone else. Tried an internet search but got nothing. Happy to hear people’s ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Sue! I’m so intrigued by the sprouting seeds, but I don’t know anything about them. Hopefully someone else will chime in with an answer!