We love the overnight oats craze. But we find we are always out of an ingredient- usually the milk or nut-milks required to make them. So I developed a recipe for meal prepping my oats that just requires water.
Our instant overnight oats recipe can be made in a large batch- at least 8 servings- and the recipe uses coconut milk powder instead of milk. I did this to make the recipe shelf-stable for meal preppers while ensuring the final product is still creamy and delicious.
If you are avoiding coconut but eat dairy then regular milk powder works fine as well.
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There is a lot to talk about when it comes to overnight oats and instant vs. regular. But we covered all that and more in our everything about overnight oats post.
In that post we also review our 3 other instant overnight oat blends. These are definitely worth checking out if you want to try something new!
How to Make Single Serving Instant Oats
We get it, not everyone is into meal prepping. If you just want to make one single serving of oats combine the below ingredients and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- ½ cup old fashion oats
- 2 tablespoon chia
- 1 tablespoon Coconut milk powder, or Nido milk powder
- 1 teaspoon coconut sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ c water
If you don't have dry milk powder substitute the powder and water for ¾ c milk, regular or non-dairy.
Add your favorite oatmeal fixings or see the next section for inspiration.
The BEST Overnight Oat Flavors
There is no shortage of great ideas for overnight oats. We put together a list of favorite top 10 flavors.
Note: quantities are for one serving of oats.
- Chunky Monkey- ½ banana sliced, 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts, and 1 tablespoon Enjoy Life vegan chocolate chips
- Mexican Chocolate- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, pinch of cayenne (if you dare!)
- Mixed Berry- ⅓ cup each of sliced strawberries and blueberries, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pumpkin Pie- ⅓ cup of pureed pumpkin (I use canned but fresh works), ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pina Colada- ½ cup diced pineapple, 1 tablespoon shredded coconut, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (I really like this version for the grain-free)
- Peanut Butter and Jelly- 2 tablespoons peanut butter (or sub almond butter) and 2 tablespoons of your favorite jam (we like strawberry)
- Fall Harvest- ⅓ cup sliced apple, ¼ cup dried cranberries, 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Carrot Cake- ¼ cup shredded carrots, 1 tablespoon chopped pecans, 1 tablespoon raisins, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Blueberry Cardamom- ½ cup fresh blueberries, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, pinch of lemon zest (optional but really good!)
- Cherry Almond- ⅓ cup dried cherries (or ½ dried cherries, halved), ¼ teaspoon vanilla, 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave us a rating or a comment. It helps other wonderful people connect with our food.
Instant Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 4 cups old fashioned oats certified gluten-free if needed
- 1 cup Chia Seeds
- ½ cup Coconut Sugar*
- ½ cup Dry Milk Powder, regular or coconut
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Prepare Dry Mix
- Mix together all dry ingredients. Store in an airtight container until use.
Prepare Overnight Oats
- Combine ½ cup of the instant overnight oats mix with ¾ cup water in a bowl or jar. Cover and store in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
E says
Hi! Thank you for sharing your recipes. How many ounces or cups is each serving?
Jen Wooster says
Depending on what you add the serving size is 3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups.
HL says
Hi! Do you not find that you need to use hot water with the powdered coconut milk? For some reason, my coconut milk powder only really dissolves if the water is hot 🙁
Jen says
I haven't had that issue as long as I stir it well. I use coconut milk when backpacking, I only mix with cold water because I don't take a stove. What brand do you use? I noticed some brands are not dairy-free. The brand I typically use is Anthony's Organic.