Overnight Oats · Classic Vanilla
Creamy Vanilla Overnight Oats
Stir oats, milk and yogurt in a jar before bed and wake up to a creamy, ready-to-eat breakfast. Make a few at once for grab-and-go mornings.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 6 hr 5 min
- Serves
- 1 jar
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- Oats
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats ≈ 41 g
Swaps for old-fashioned rolled oats
Instead of oats
- Quick oats: The same amount. Softer, more cake-like cookies and bars with less chew; mushy in granola and overnight oats.
- ½ cup milk, dairy or plant-based
Swaps for milk
Instead of milk
- Unsweetened soy milk: The same amount. The closest plant milk for baking: its protein helps things brown and set.
- Unsweetened oat milk: The same amount. Creamy and mild with a hint of sweetness.
- Unsweetened almond milk: The same amount. Thinner and less rich, so cakes are a little paler and drier.
Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.
- ¼ cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp chia seeds (optional)
- 2 tsp maple syrup or honey, to taste
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Swaps for vanilla extract
Instead of vanilla extract
- Vanilla bean paste: The same amount. Stronger, with visible vanilla seeds.
- Vanilla bean: The seeds of 1 bean for each 1 tbsp extract. A deeper, floral flavor and visible seeds.
- Alcohol-free vanilla: The same amount. Made with glycerin; a slightly milder taste.
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Swaps for kosher salt
Instead of salt
- Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
- Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.
- Toppings
- ⅓ cup berries or sliced banana
- 1 tbsp peanut butter, nuts or granola (optional)
Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.
Steps
Kid helper. A child can do steps 1, 2 and 3: no knife, no heat. Steps marked “Grown-up” use heat. Cooking with kids
- Add the oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, maple syrup, vanilla and salt to a pint jar or container.Kid step
- Stir well, scraping the bottom so no dry oats hide there. Cover tightly.Kid step
- Refrigerate overnight, or at least 6 hours, so the oats soften and thicken.⏱ Soak: 6 hrKid step
- In the morning, stir and loosen with a splash of milk if it's too thick. Add your toppings and eat cold, or microwave 1 to 2 minutes if you prefer it warm.Grown-up: heat
Tips
- Use old-fashioned oats. Steel-cut oats stay too firm, and instant oats turn mushy.
- Try a flavor twist: cocoa and banana, apple and cinnamon, or peanut butter and jam.
Storage
Keeps covered in the fridge up to 4 days. Add crunchy toppings and banana just before eating.
Make ahead
Make 4 jars on Sunday for the week.
How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage.
Quick answers
Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 340 1,420 kJ
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbohydrates
- 49 g
- Fiber
- 5 g
- Sugars
- 20 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Saturated fat
- 4 g
- Sodium
- 190 mg
Whole recipe, 1 servings: about 340 calories.
Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 7 of 7 ingredients.
How we estimate
We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 1 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.
Not counted: chia seeds, peanut butter, nuts or granola (optional).
Estimated cost
About $1.30 a serving
About $1.30 for the recipe as written (1 serving).
Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from BLS Average Price Data and USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 4 of 7 ingredients, 95% by weight.
How we estimate
Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.
- plain or vanilla Greek yogurt $0.45 ERS
- berries or sliced banana $0.45 BLS
- old-fashioned rolled oats $0.25 ERS
- milk $0.15 BLS
Not priced (no official average price we can match, so not in the total): maple syrup or honey, vanilla extract, kosher salt.
Not counted: chia seeds, peanut butter, nuts or granola (optional, or to taste).
More dishes for less: cheap eats.
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Gear for this recipe
- See price on Amazon: Pint mason jars with lids (opens Amazon)
- See price on Amazon: Measuring cups and spoons (opens Amazon)
-
See price on Amazon: Glass storage containers (opens Amazon)
Glass storage containers nice to have
Any lidded container works for bigger batches.
Suggested: Pyrex
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