Overnight Steel Cut Oats are a delicious, healthy, make-ahead breakfast. This recipe combines steel-cut oats and almond milk along with other goodies like fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds. This nutritional breakfast can be prepped quickly and packed in mason jars for an easy, take-along, healthy breakfast.
Do you like oatmeal? I have loved oatmeal since I was a little girl, so this recipe was right up my alley. Not fond of steel-cut oats? No worries, you can make these with old-fashioned rolled oats as well. It is so easy to personalize these with your favorite goodies. This is the perfect breakfast for health-conscious families that are always on the go. You can pack them in mason jars or Tupperware-style containers for little ones.
I have a whole house full of oatmeal fans. If you like oatmeal as much as we do, try my oatmeal muffins, oatmeal pancakes, oatmeal raisin cookies, and oatmeal bars.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients on the recipe card below.
- Steel Cut Oats: Steel-cut oats, also known as pinhead oats or Irish oats, are coarser than other types of oats and have a chewier texture. The cooking and softening time for steel-cut oats is longer than for old-fashioned rolled oats. They absorb more liquid and take longer to soak.
- Milk: I used almond milk, but use your favorite milk.
- Maple Syrup: This can be substituted for honey or agave at a 1:1 ratio. Other substitutions include date syrup, golden syrup, and caramel syrup.
- Vanilla Extract: You can use almond extract, vanilla bean paste, or vanilla yogurt.
How to Make Overnight Steel Cut Oats
This is a summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, please refer to the recipe card below.
- Grab an airtight container. Add oats, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
- On the second day, add ¼ cup of fruit, nuts, or seeds to a mason jar. Spoon in an equal amount of the overnight oats mixture and top with more fruit and a drizzle of honey. Cover the jars with the lids and refrigerate.
Flavor Variations
- Banana Nut: ½ banana, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, almond butter, or any nut butter, and 1 tablespoon of chopped pecans or walnuts.
- Pina Colada: ⅓ cup chopped pineapple, 1 tablespoon toasted coconut.
- Almond Blueberry: ¼ cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon flax seeds or hemp seeds, 2 tablespoons sliced almonds.
- Mixed berry: A few blackberries, a few raspberries, ¼ cup chopped strawberries.
- Apple: ⅓ cup chopped apple, a couple of pinches of cinnamon, ½ tablespoon chia seeds.
Do You Have to Use Steel-Cut Oats for Overnight Oats?
If you prefer rolled oats in your oatmeal, mix them in place of the steel-cut oats. Jump to the second day when you fill the mason jars with fruit, nuts, seeds, and mixed oats. Cover and refrigerate for one night.
Feel free to mix or match any of these or try some new interesting combos that work for you and what you have on hand. These oats are a delicious, healthy breakfast that travels well when you are running late.
More Oatmeal Recipes
Overnight Steel Cut Oats Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1½ cups almond milk or your milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Banana Nut
- ½ banana
- 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon of chopped pecan
Pina Colada
- ⅓ cup chopped pineapple
- 1 tablespoons toasted coconut
Almond Blueberry
- ¼ cup blueberries
- 1 tablespoon flax seed
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Mixed Berry
- ¼ cup blackberries
- ¼ cup raspberries
Instructions
- In an airtight container, add the oats, almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine, cover, and refrigerate overnight, stirring a couple of times.
- On the second day, add about ¼ cup of fruit, nuts, or seeds to a mason jar. Spoon in a ¼ cup of overnight oats and top with more fruit. Cover the jars with the lids and refrigerate them one more night.
Notes
- If you prefer rolled oats in your oatmeal, mix them in place of the steel-cut oats. Jump to the second day when you fill the mason jars with fruit, nuts, seeds, and the mixed oats. Cover and refrigerate for one night.
- The nutritional information is just for the overnight oats.
Nutrition
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Joy
Thank you for sharing this. I will be sure to try out each of the options you listed. Thank you for sharing.
Beth Pierce
My pleasure! Thanks for stopping by!
Jane
Great recipes and photos! Love oats – they are so healthy. Thank you for sharing the differencesame with us!
Beth Pierce
You are most welcome! I am glad that you liked the post!!
Bev
Yum, this looks delicious and it’s so easy to prepare specially for mums, it’s always better to do things the night before to make sure we eat healthily.
Beth Pierce
That is so true Bev. It seems like if we don’t prepare than we grab something that may not be that healthy!
Catherine
I love overnight oats…these look so refreshing and nourishing…perfect start to any morning!
Irina
Yummy. we love fresh fruits and nuts in our oats. Going to try this. Thanks
Beth Pierce
Thank Irina! I hope you like it as much as we do!
Yeah Lifestyle
We eat a lot of oats but I have never tried cooking with steel cut oats, this is something new that I have learnt today. Your recipe is great for busy mornings as this can be prepared in advance
Sincerely Miss J
Love your recipe. Steel cut oats are super healthy for you and I love all your combinations here. Def. trying them.
Lisa
I love the banana nut recipe, I could defninitely see myself eating that for breakfast. Thanks for explaining the difference too, it really helps!
Heather
I love that you are showing 4 ways. I tried to do this once and failed miserably. Maybe one of these will work.
Rachael
This is the only way I can eat oats, for some reason having them hot makes me feel sick. I’ve never thought of having peanut butter and banana – guess what’s for breakfast now lol
Beth Pierce
Sound delicious! I hope you enjoy them!