Easy Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds

Overnight oats with chia seeds are the ultimate healthy breakfast. Easy, fast, zero cooking required.

Creating a healthy and sustainable [i.e. easy] plant-based breakfast routine can challenging. Because more often than not, breakfast = eggs. And while waffles and pancakes are easy to veganize, they aren’t exactly weekday-friendly.

My usual workaround – avocado-bean toast – is on hiatus for the time being, since inflation has made avocados so damn expensive. So while thinking about alternatives, I remembered this oldie-but-goodie: overnight oats with chia seeds. These were a favorite of mine ~5 years ago, when overnight oats and chia pudding were all the rage. With a couple of tweaks, I’m bringing them back into my meal prep rotation.

This basic recipe is a hybrid of overnight oats, chia pudding, and bircher muesli. The mixture of rolled oats, chia seeds, and chopped nuts makes a creamy pudding with a satisfying texture. This easy vegan breakfast is filling, healthy, and requires zero actual cooking – a total win-win-win if I know one.

Why Add Chia Seeds to Overnight Oats

“Overnight oats” refers to oatmeal that’s simply soaked (not cooked) in milk for at least a few hours, or overnight. Soaking makes oats soft and digestible – without having to babysit them on the stove. Putting chia seeds in overnight oats adds a ton of nutrients (details below) and creates a fluffy, pudding-like texture.

Health Benefits of Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds

Oatmeal and chia seeds are both nutritional superstars. Being a whole grain, oatmeal is packed with fiber, which is great for digestion, and can lower cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar. Oats are also packed with minerals – most notably manganese, copper, zinc, and iron. Similarly, chia seeds are a great source of protein, fiber, calcium, and iron, and happen to be the richest plant source of omega-3 fatty acids.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

• Oats: “Old-fashioned” rolled oats are best because they’re less refined than “quick-cooking”, and thus retain slightly more nutrients. But you can make this recipe with either type.
• Nuts: Nuts add protein, fiber, and healthy fats, which help you feel satiated. I recommend walnuts or pecans here, but almonds, cashews, or pistachios work just as well.
• Chia Seeds: These little guys absorb moisture and expand sizably when combined with a liquid. A little bit goes a long way!
• Maple Syrup: Any liquid sweetener will work as a sub, like honey, date syrup, or agave.
• Milk: I love oat milk for its rich texture, but any non-dairy milk will work here (almond, soy, cashew, etc.).

How to Make Overnight Oats with Chia Seeds

Combine the Dry Ingredients: In a large lidded container, combine the oats, nuts, chia, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the Wet Ingredients: Then pour in the milk, sweetener, and vanilla. Stir this up until evenly combined and set aside for 10 minutes.

Stir Again: You’ll notice that just within a few minutes, the chia seeds will start to absorb the milk and the pudding will start to thicken. To ensure the chia doesn’t clump up into one big chunk, stir the mixture again after 10-15 minutes.

Chill in the Fridge: Cover the container and chill in the fridge until the mixture is thick and pudding-like. The “overnight” oats will be ready to eat in a couple of hours and will continue to thicken in the fridge over the next day.

Eat! When you’re ready to eat, just scoop some out into a bowl or to-go container, add your toppings, and enjoy. 

Toppings for Overnight Oats

This oat-chia pudding is a great vessel for so many other healthy and delicious things, like…

• Fresh fruit and berries
• Toasted nuts
• Toasted coconut
• Nut butters
• Chia jam

How to Store Overnight Oats

First off, you don’t need a bunch of jars to enjoy the magic of this oat-chia pudding. Just store it in a large container in the fridge (it will keep well for up to 5 days) and scoop out however much you want when you’re ready to eat. This recipe makes 2-4 servings, depending how big of a breakfast you prefer and how many toppings you add. If meal-prepping for more than one person, double or triple this recipe. If your oats get too thick after being in the fridge for a few days, thin them out with a splash of milk.

More healthy breakfasts…

• Oat Waffles
• The Best Tofu Scramble
• Vegan Blueberry-Lemon Muffins
• Vegan Cornmeal Pancakes

Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag @thenewbaguette on Instagram with your creation.

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