I’ve tried really hard at liking oatmeal. The first time I tried it I was 14. This guy that I had a huge crush on at the time said he loved oatmeal, so I thought, hey. If he loves oatmeal, and I were to love oatmeal, maybe he’d love me. Basically 14-year-old Lisa logic was super flawed, but let’s not dwell on that. It turns out, I don’t love oatmeal. (He didn’t love me either). How about we don’t dwell on that either. But you know what? These vegan overnight oats are actually really good, this coming from someone who doesn’t like oatmeal.
I actually was inspired to make overnight oatmeal after seeing so many people make peanut butter jar oatmeal to get the last delicious morsels of peanut butter in the bottom of the jar. After recently finishing up a batch of honey-roasted peanut butter, I decided to make some overnight oats. I though some extra fibre in the morning would be a good way to start the day.
On a side note, does the fact that I’m thinking of fibre intake make me old? My birthday is this Friday and all of a sudden I’m feeling particularly old. Not that growing old is bad, actually I feel like my age is in sync with my personality/demeanour and people aren’t surprised when they find out how old I am.
You might be confused. Let me explain.
All of my life, people have always thought that I was older than I actually was. I don’t think it was really based on my looks, I mean, I’ve been 5’5 since I was 14. Pretty much the same size too, I was size 4 in grade 9, and by the time puberty took its toll on me I was a size 6 at the end of high school. Hips man. Hips. Now I’m at a healthy size 8, actually between size 6 and 8 depending on what kind of cut the pants are. Skinny jeans were not designed with muscular calves in mind.
So for physical traits, I don’t believe I have a particularly “aged” face or anything. I think the thing that confused people the most was my personality. I guess I was more mature than my age, but it was ridiculous sometimes. Once when I was in grade 7 (age 12), someone asked me what my major was.
“Excuse me? I’m not even in high school yet.”
Followed by nervous titters and pats on the head. “Oh my! You’re only 12? You’re so mature for your age”.
You’d think I would possess some sort of asian magic where people think I’m young forever. My mom possesses this asian magic. She still looks like she’s in her early thirties (let me reiterate by saying I’m turning 23. You do the math.). She’s a magical anti-aging beauty. Mom, I hope I get your magical anti-aging magic.
But I digress. This oatmeal is packed with fibre, vitamins, protein, it’s naturally gluten-free (make sure you buy the GF certified stuff if you’re GF though, sometimes it’s processed in the same place as flour), lowers your cholesterol, and apparently lowers your risk for diabetes. Basically oatmeal is anti-aging magic for your body. There’s a reason why Aveeno stuffs all of its products with oatmeal. Anti-aging magic. Seriously.
You can easily modify this recipe by using other milk alternatives (or regular milk if vegan isn’t your goal here). The chia seeds make your oatmeal creamy by adding some superfood power to it as well. Feel free to add chocolate chips, cinnamon sugar, fruits, berries, or other types of nut butters. It’s your oatmeal, do what you want with it!
Vegan Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- - 3/4 cup rolled oats (to keep GF, ensure that the oats are processed in a GF facility)
- - 1 cup almond milk (or other milk alternative)
- - 1 tsp chia seeds
- - Optional add-ins:
- - Chocolate chips
- - Natural peanut butter
- - Berries or other fruits
- - Grated carrot + carrot cake spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice)
- - Cocoa powder
- - Classic brown sugar
- - Honey (well, if you add honey then it ain't vegan =P)
Instructions
- In a sealable jar or container, mix together the oats, milk, and chia seeds.
- Add in whichever flavours you like, in my photo there I've added about 2 tbsp of natural peanut butter and about 1 tbsp of brown sugar.
- Let sit in fridge overnight or for at least 8 hours. Enjoy in the morning cold, or microwave to have hot cereal =)
Melanie @ Just Some Salt and Pepper says
I’m exactly the opposite. I just turned 25, but I look like I am 14., even though I act my age. It can be frustrating, but most of the time I just laugh. Thanks for the recipe, I’ve never really thought about making overnight oats vegan.
Lisa Mai says
Haha yeah, what else can you do but laugh it off? Thanks for reading =)
Jori says
Bees can’t produce honey unless they are in a non-threatening environment, so any sort of cruelty towards them wouldn’t help any person who wants to use their honey. Being vegan is all about causing the least amount of harm, and using honey isn’t harming bees in any way. In fact, providing safe and sustainable environments for bees to produce honey is doing the opposite.
Lisa Mai says
Thank you Jori for mentioning this. As I’m sure you may know, a lot of vegans find honey to be the grey area of veganism, because when bees produce honey, they pollenate flowers and trees which help grow the things that we eat. However, some of the vegans to whom I’ve consulted about honey say that commercial honey factories are not always the most ethical when it comes to harvesting the honey, which is why I generally steer clear of using honey in vegan recipes. I know that if/when I transition to veganism, I will probably continue to eat honey, but I will buy local honey from smaller farms in hopes of helping out the local economy as well as taking business away from any of the larger companies that may not have ethical honey harvesting standards.
Natasha @ The Cake Merchant says
I’ve also tried to like oatmeal forever, and I’m failing miserably at it. Now that my magical youth genes are gone (I’m 31), I have high cholesterol and I have been told to eat these every day. EVERY. DAY. Gah! But I’m going to try this recipe, because I love eating anything out of a jar. :)
Lisa Mai says
Oh man, I hope your cholesterol goes down soon! I think things in jars is a fun way to eat too haha. It also feels like it’s less food maybe? It’s great for breakfast on the go =) Let me know how it works out
Kristalia Astari says
I just tried this for the first time and its amazing! I made it this afternoon (2.30am atm) and just tried it I’m surprised at myself, instead of gobbling it down on the spot (hardest thing I’ve done all week and I have a 4 yr old little girl lol) I got all the stuff out and made another jar. Then wrote a note for my husband telling him to try it and that if he likes to take with him to have for breakfast at work (he will be up in 2 hours) mine will be ready when I get up in the morning. I added pumpkin spice, crunchy organic peanut butter, brown sugar, agave, and hemp seeds as my extras (along with the oats almond milk and chia seeds). Tomorrow is going to be a good day and I’m going to make a few jars to take this weekend on our camping trip.
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! Hugs!!
Lisa Mai says
Hahah thank you for telling me about it! You can also use old peanut butter jars, or even a bowl with a lid if you don’t have any jars =P Your combo sounds super delicious, and I think I’ll add hemp hearts to mine next time too. Thanks for reading =)
Melissa says
Thank you so much!! I have always hated the warm oatmeal in the morning and would eat it anyway because of all the health benefits it comes with. But I tried this last night/this morning and it was so good!! I added raisins and cinnamon to mine and really enjoyed it! Will definitely be doing this a lot more :)
Lisa Mai says
Yay! The original recipe had cinnamon and raisins but I am not into that haha. Glad you liked it!
Ala says
Love the stories–crazy how you can feel like you’re having a one-on-one chat with somebody over a post about oatmeal, huh? I never loved oatmeal naturally either, but recently I’ve found that overnight oats–and even more than that, chilled steel oatmeal/muesli–has been a balm to my anti-oats campaign. I’m not even vaguely surprised that I need dessert for breakfast to justify these things :)
Lisa Mai says
Hahah yeah oatmeal is growing on me, but I’m still not the biggest fan! Definitely need lots of other things with the oats to distract me from the fact that I’m eating mush aha. Thanks for reading!
crys says
yeah, so…i typically don’t comment on recipes…or anything for that matter, but since you’ve completely just changed.my.life. it’s the least i can do :) i made your base recipe last night {oats, almonds, chia seeds} exactly as indicated + added a spoonful of almond butter. right before eating this morning, i added about half a banana {sliced}. love, Love, LOVED it!
i make all of my son’s meals for school {19 months} + have been looking for ways to streamline the process, while still making sure we’re eating healthy…this is PERFECT! i look forward to experimenting with other toppings. i plan on making a batch for the hubby tomorrow…we’ll see what he thinks :)
THANK YOU!!!
crys says
ooops. i meant “almond milk” not almonds, lol. see…my mind is STILL blown :)
Lisa Le says
Hahhahaha thank you so much for leaving this comment, it made my day =)
Valery says
If you have any good alternatives to nut butters I am all ears. I am slowly migrating towards vegan and was looking for a substitute for my current overnight oatmeal. The problem is I can`t use any nut butters due to working in a daycare. I work at 630am though so didn`t want to get rid of the OO in general. Any suggestions on something to use to thicken it a bit? I find otherwise it ends up being a cold oatmeal soup…Definately not as interesting. I loved your comments about the hating oatmeal. I had never hated it, but was indifferent to it until I tried the overnight stuff. Now I find I am on a food rampage by my 1030am lunch if I don`t have it by my first break! Thanks for the base recipe! It`s a little different than mine and I can`t wait to try it!
Lisa Le says
You can probably find soy butter (the brand that’s most popular is Wow Butter?), or you can try making sunflower seed butter? Or pumpkin seed butter? =)
It’s pretty thick without the peanut butter though! Do you use chia seeds or flax seeds to thicken? You could try using a little less water so it’s not as watery either.