Overnight Oats

October 13, 2013

Recently, a friend of mine posted a plea for help on Facebook. She wanted to know how to make overnight oats.

I was instantly intrigued. Clearly, I’d missed something.

Overnight oats? What were they? And how DO you make them?

I hopped straight onto Google and learnt that Overnight Oats are basically the same thing as Bircher Muesli. And you make them pretty much however you want. I was sold instantly and at the first chance I got, I made some for Boyfriend and I for breakfast the following morning. It felt kind of weird making breakfast at dinnertime. And it also left me incredibly excited for breakfast. Before I’d even eaten dinner. Such a tease, but totally worth it. My Overnight Oats were delicious.

With most things I cook (or make, in this case), I like to throw things in and hope for the best. Overnight Oats is one of those things you can do whatever you want with, as long as the key ingredients are the same. These key ingredients are, of course, oats and yogurt. Everything else you can make up as you go: fruits, nuts, honey, maple syrup, jam, cinnamon… The options are endless. If you want to copy me (I won’t mind, promise), here’s what I did:

Overnight Oats

Makes 2 (if you eat a lot like us)

Approximately 350 grams of yogurt (I used Rhubarb and Strawberry from The Collective Dairy, which is the best yogurt I’ve ever eaten in my life. They aren’t paying me to say that. They don’t even know we’re having this conversation)
Half a cup or so of oats
A generous handful of frozen berries (or fresh if you have some)
1 apple, grated
Some nuts – I used slivered almonds and hazelnuts (throw in as many or as little as you like)
Shredded coconut

Then all you need to do is throw it all into a container, leave overnight and enjoy the next day. Too easy!

I like to play it by ear, so if you’re unconvinced on the amount of oats/yogurt/fruit/nuts/etc, add or subtract to suit your own tastes.

If you’re like me and don’t (ahem, can’t) manage to eat breakfast before leaving for work, pack it up into smaller portable containers and take it with you for breakfast!