Somehow magically light and richly creamy at the same time, these Vegan Overnight Oats with Coconut Milk are the grab-and-go make-ahead breakfast you need in your life. Made with just 3 primary ingredients, this easy overnight oats recipe is endlessly adaptable to your flavor preferences and are sure to keep you nice and full until lunchtime rolls around.
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About This Recipe
If you’re anything like me and busy mornings are a bit of a struggle, you’ll love this easy make-ahead breakfast solution to add to your meal prep. Chock-full of whole grain oats, protein-rich yogurt, and tropical coconut milk, these vegan overnight oats are an utter delight. Take just 5-10 minutes on your meal-prep day and stock your fridge with tasty grab-and-go jars of coconutty breakfast magic!
As if that weren’t enough to love, this recipe for coconut overnight oats takes just 3 primary ingredients and is endlessly adaptable to your flavor preferences. Add your choice of fresh or frozen fruit, toasted nuts or coconut flakes, cacao nibs for crunch or your choice of fruit preserves for a hit of sweetness – just to name a few options.
They’re delicious eaten cold straight from the fridge but are also perfect for heating up like a normal bowl of porridge, cream of wheat or steel cut oats! If you’ve gotten a little too ambitious with your meal-prepping, they also freeze like a dream! In short, these overnight oats with coconut milk are my current morning meal obsession alongside a few cold peanut butter oatmeal balls and I couldn’t wait to share them with you.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Rolled Oats - Don’t try making overnight oats with anything other than rolled (old-fashioned) oats or you’ll be disappointed.
- Yogurt of Choice - If you want this yours to be vegan, dairy-free overnight oats, make sure you’re choosing a plant-based yogurt here. Alternatively, you can opt to use more plant-based milk and add about 2 tablespoons of chia seeds for some thickening power.
- Coconut Milk - For super rich and creamy oats, I suggest using full-fat canned coconut milk. Otherwise, feel free to use the refrigerated kind in the plant-based dairy alternative section of the store.
- Garnishes of Your Choice - This is where you can let your creativity shine! There are literally hundreds of flavor combinations to try - go for your favorite toppings. Here are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:
- Toasted, chopped nuts
- Fresh or frozen fruits (fresh strawberries, fresh blueberries, tropical fruits etc)
- Toasted coconut chips, coconut flakes or sesame seeds
- Nut or seed butters (creamy peanut butter, almond butter)
- Jam, jelly, or preserves
- Coconut Granola with Hazelnuts
Equipment
Guess what? This vegan overnight oats recipe doesn’t require much in terms of kitchen equipment. All you need to gather is:
- A Large Mixing Bowl - I personally like to make a big batch of overnight oats at once, so I do all my mixing in a bowl and then portion it out. If you opt to make just a single serving, feel free to make it directly in the container you plan to eat it out of to save on dishes.
- Small, Portable Containers - I find that 8-ounce jars or a mason jar are the perfect container for grab-and-go breakfasts. They’re small enough to stash in a purse, have waterproof lids, can be microwaved (if you remove the metal top, of course), and stack beautifully in the fridge or freezer. You can also make a large batch kept in the fridge within an airtight container, and spoon our your portion for an easy beverage.
How To Make Overnight Oats With Coconut Milk
These coconut milk overnight oats come together with almost zero effort, which is why they’re a favorite breakfast of mine! Here’s how to make them:
Step 1: Mix. Combine oats, yogurt and coconut milk into a large container that you can store in the fridge. Give everything a good stir then place in the fridge overnight. NOTE: You can also portion into individual containers now for a faster morning tomorrow!
Step 2: Portion this base recipe into individual cups/containers or scoop some of the oats into a bowl for your morning breakfast.
Step 3: Garnish & Devour. Top with berries, nuts and coconut flakes and enjoy!
Optional Variations
Rather than considering these coconut overnight oats as a recipe unto themselves, consider it more of a template for you to play with. I’ve given you the basic ratio (1:1:1), and now it’s up to you to play! Here are a few ways I like to zhuzh mine up:
- Try different flavors. Swap in your favorite flavor of yogurt, or add flavors by stirring or layering in jams, nut butters, or other sauces. You can also add in dry ingredients like cocoa powder, matcha powder, vanilla extract or instant espresso.
- Add sweetener of choice: pure maple syrup, agave syrup or a drizzle of honey!
- As a parfait. Making pretty layered parfaits in individual 8oz mason jars is an easy way to brighten your morning. If you are layering with anything that you want to stay crunchy or juicy (e.g. fresh fruit, granola, or nuts), wait to layer until the day you’re planning on eating them.
- Warm ‘em up. While most folks advocate eating overnight oats straight from the fridge, I know some people don’t love the idea of cold porridge and prefer a warmed breakfast. Not to fret! Simply zap them in the microwave until heated through for some hot oatmeal!
- Use different liquids. Experiment with different types of non-dairy milk (oat milk, hemp, almond, cashew milk, soy milk), flavored milk (strawberry or chocolate come to mind), or even tea or coffee to get some caffeine with your breakfast.
- Add extra protein. Protein powder mixes or powdered egg whites, chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds or nut butter are all great ways to add a little heft to these heavenly breakfast bowls.
- Go savory. Try stirring in some miso, nutritional yeast, or dashi into the mix. Top with furikake, a soft boiled egg, and pickled veggies for a savory twist on porridge.
Expert Tips
- Scale up or down as needed. You don’t even need to do any complicated math! The ratio is 1:1:1 of oats, milk, and yogurt.
- Wait to add any fruit or nut garnishes until the day you plan to eat them. Oats aren’t the only things that’ll soak up liquid as they sit. If you’re layering your coconut overnight oats with sauces (e.g. jams or nut butter) you’re fine to add them in advance, but if you want the juicy bite of a blueberry or crunch of an apple or walnut, wait until you’re ready to eat to add them.
- Add a pinch of salt. Depending on the yogurt and toppings you plan on adding, you may want to add a pinch of salt to your oats to keep them from tasting bland.
Frequently Asked Questions
I suggest using rolled oats (a.k.a. old-fashioned oats) for the best taste and texture. While you can technically use quick or instant oats here, I don’t recommend it because they get quite soft and soupy. I also don’t suggest using steel cut oats here; they’re simply too hard for this method to work. That said, soaking steel cut oats overnight will cut back on your cook time in the morning!
I think of overnight oats as the new and improved muesli, but that’s just me. These are your breakfast bowls, so eat them how you like them!
They’ll have the best texture if you leave them at least 8 hours, but you can technically eat them after about 2-3 hours. That said, prepare for them to be a little more al dente than you were expecting.
More Breakfast Recipes
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Overnight Oats with Coconut Milk
Equipment
- Containers
Ingredients
- 2 cups Rolled Oats
- 2 cups Yogurt of your choice
- 2 cups Coconut Milk
- Garnish/layer with berries, nuts, coconut flakes, nut butter - anything your heart desires!
Instructions
- Add oats, yogurt and coconut milk into a large container that you can store in the fridge. Mix to combine then place in the fridge overnight. You can also portion into individual containers now for a faster morning tomorrow!2 cups Rolled Oats, 2 cups Yogurt of your choice, 2 cups Coconut Milk
- Portion into individual cups/containers or scoop some of the oats into a bowl for your morning breakfast.
- Top with berries, nuts and coconut flakes and enjoy!Garnish/layer with berries, nuts, coconut flakes, nut butter - anything your heart desires!
Notes
- Scale up or down as needed. You don’t even need to do any complicated math! The ratio is 1:1:1 of oats, milk, and yogurt.
- Wait to add any fruit or nut garnishes until the day you plan to eat them. Oats aren’t the only things that’ll soak up liquid as they sit. If you’re layering your coconut overnight oats with sauces (e.g. jams or nut butter) you’re fine to add them in advance, but if you want the juicy bite of a blueberry or crunch of an apple or walnut, wait until you’re ready to eat to add them.
- Add a pinch of salt. Depending on the yogurt and toppings you plan on adding, you may want to add a pinch of salt to your oats to keep them from tasting bland.
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