12 Protein-Packed Overnight Oats Recipes (with Greek Yogurt)

Overnight oats are the perfect make-ahead breakfast for busy mornings. These protein overnight oats recipes all have Greek yogurt, a nutritious and filling source of protein. Each recipe is registered dietitian-designed, and takes just a few minutes to prepare the night before!

As a Registered Dietitian, it probably won’t surprise you to hear that I love breakfast.

Overnight oatmeal is one of my all time favorite breakfasts to make and eat, especially high protein overnight oats with nutritious Greek yogurt!

Not only are overnight oats delicious and filling, they are incredibly easy to make. You need just five minutes to prepare them the night before!

What are overnight oats?

Overnight oats is a preparation method for making oatmeal, with no cooking required.

Oats are mixed with a liquid, usually milk, and other ingredients such as fruit, nuts, seeds, yogurt, or spices.

Once refrigerated, the oats will soak in the liquid and become a pleasantly soft and chewy texture. Overnight oats are meant to be eaten cold.

Prefer hot oatmeal? Try making microwave oatmeal with old fashioned oats, microwave steel cut oats, PB&J stovetop oatmeal, or banana bread blended baked oats!

Table of Contents:

• How to make overnight oats
• Best oats to use for overnight oats
• What do overnight oats taste like?
• How long do overnight oats last in the fridge?
• Nutrition benefits
• Recipes

How to make overnight oats

Overnight oats with Greek yogurt are super easy to make.

It takes a few minutes to prepare them, with absolutely no cooking required.

• First, add your dry ingredients to a glass container or jar: oats, chia seeds, and any dry mix-ins such as dried fruit, nuts and seeds, or spices.
• Add the wet ingredients, including Greek yogurt, milk of choice, and liquid sweetener, like maple syrup or honey. I typically use plain almond milk for overnight oats, but you can use whichever milk variety you prefer.
• Mix everything up very well until the ingredients are all combined. If you are making the overnight oats in a jar, you can close the jar and shake everything together to mix it up.
• Cover, and set the overnight oats in the fridge overnight. At a minimum, they need two hours to soak up the liquid to obtain the proper texture.
• The next morning, your oats are ready to eat! Add any additional toppings you may like, including fresh fruit, nut butters, etc.

Read this post to learn why Greek yogurt and other dairy products are beneficial on a plant-based diet.

Best oats to use for overnight oats

Use old fashioned rolled oats for overnight oats.

Quick oats or instant oats are too finely processed, so the texture is too mushy when used to make overnight oats.

Steel cut oats remain too hard when they are soaked for overnight oats, and they really do need to be cooked instead.

What do overnight oats taste like?

Overnight oats taste similar to hot oatmeal, except they are typically eaten cold.

The soaked oats have a pleasant nutty and hearty flavor, and a creamy and slightly chewy texture.

Overnight oats taste best when lightly sweetened with maple syrup, honey, or fruit. They are the perfect vehicle for other flavors including nut butters, spices, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.

How long do overnight oats last in the fridge?

Overnight oats stay fresh stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

That means you can prep breakfast for the whole work week over the weekend!

Note that as overnight oats sit, they will become softer and creamier, and lose a bit of their chewy texture.

Oatmeal nutrition benefits

Oatmeal, or oats, is packed with nutrients!

Oats are a good source of dietary fiber. One half cup of oats provides 4 grams, or 15 percent of your daily needs.

Oats also provide protein. The same half cup serving of oats has 5.3 grams of protein.

In addition, oats provide several micronutrients, including:

• B Vitamins
• Copper
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Phosphorus
• Selenium
• Zinc

Oatmeal on it’s own is nutritious, and you can make it even more nutrient dense by adding healthy oatmeal toppings such as berries, banana, chia seeds, hemp seeds, nut butters, cinnamon, and more!

Recipes

Each of these overnight oats recipes has a minimum of 15 grams of protein per serving.

Feel free to boost the protein content even more by adding in hemp seeds, a high protein milk like soy milk, or your favorite protein powder.

All of the recipes are vegetarian because they contain dairy.

You can easily make them vegan overnight oats by using plant-based yogurt instead of Greek yogurt. Which one will you make first?

Peanut Butter Banana Overnight Oats (recipe below)

If you love the classic combination of peanut butter and banana, you are going to adore this recipe. These overnight oats are naturally sweetened with mashed banana, and are packed with protein from Greek yogurt, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Get the recipe below!

Let me know if you love these recipes by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!

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