Breakfast
Overnight Oats, Five Ways
This is the cheapest breakfast that is not cereal, and it takes two minutes of actual work. Make four jars on Sunday night and breakfast is handled through Thursday. The ratio is the only thing to memorize: equal parts oats and liquid, plus a spoon of something thick.
Cost a serving$0.60
Time5 minutes, plus overnight
Serves4
Protein14g
Coffee shop yogurt parfait costs about $5.50. This costs $0.60 a serving.
You save about $4.90 every time you make it instead.
What you need
4 jars or containers with lids, Spoon
No special tools
No Mason jars?Any container with a lid works. Old salsa jars, deli containers, a tupperware. The jars are aesthetic, not functional.
No Blender for smoothie style?Mash a very ripe banana with a fork and stir it in. Same result, no cleanup.
Ingredients
The base, per jar
- 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not instant, not steel cut)
- 1/2 cup milk of any kind
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- Pinch of salt
Pick one flavor
- Peanut butter banana: 1 tablespoon peanut butter, half a mashed banana
- Berry: 1/2 cup frozen berries, straight from the freezer
- Apple pie: 1/4 cup applesauce, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon raisins
- Chocolate: 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, extra teaspoon honey
- Coffee: 2 tablespoons cold brew or cooled coffee in place of some milk, 1 teaspoon cocoa
How to make it
- Put the oats, milk, yogurt, honey, and salt in a jar. The pinch of salt matters more than you would think. Without it, oats taste like wet cardboard.
- Add your flavor ingredients. Frozen berries go in frozen and thaw overnight, releasing juice into the oats, which is better than fresh here.
- Stir well, making sure no dry oats are stuck to the bottom. Put the lid on.
- Refrigerate at least 6 hours. Overnight is the point.
- Eat cold straight from the jar, or microwave 60 seconds if you want it warm. Add a splash of milk if it set up too thick.
Protein
About 14 grams per jar with Greek yogurt and peanut butter. Regular yogurt drops that to 9. Greek yogurt costs slightly more and roughly doubles the protein, so it is the better buy.
Ways to add more
- Add a scoop of protein powder and an extra 2 tablespoons of milk
- Use cottage cheese instead of yogurt, stirred well
- Add 1 tablespoon chia seeds and 2 tablespoons more milk
Keeping it
Five days in the fridge. Make all four or five jars at once. Do not add crunchy toppings like nuts or granola until the morning you eat it.
Change it up
- Dairy free: any plant milk plus 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in place of yogurt
- Higher volume: add half a grated apple, which adds bulk and no real cost
- Savory: skip the sweet, add a spoon of miso and top with a soft egg. Strange and good.