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These yummy Protein Overnight Oats are healthy, delicious and packed with 28 grams of protein per serving! They’re easy to make and perfect for a make-ahead breakfast that can be enjoyed at home or on the go.
If you’re looking for a simple, healthy and high-protein breakfast to start your day then Protein Overnight Oats are just what you need! I love an easy breakfast that can be taken on the go, like my Healthy Breakfast Cookies, or overnight oats.
Table of Contents
This recipe is so easy to make and is made by soaking oats and protein powder in milk overnight to create a creamy and chewy cold oatmeal. You can turn these protein overnight oats into different flavor variations too such as Blueberry Overnight Oats, Strawberry Overnight Oats or Banana Overnight Oats!
These overnight oats have the added benefits of protein powder, making them much higher in protein than a typical bowl of oatmeal like Chocolate Oatmeal.
Did you know that starting your morning off with protein can give you more energy and make you feel more alert? If that’s not reason enough to add protein to your oats, these overnight oats are also just honestly super tasty and make for an easy breakfast since they’re prepared the night before. That’s what I call a win-win!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and easy prep – Just mix everything together in 5 minutes—no cooking required.
- Perfect for busy mornings – Prep it the night before and wake up to a ready-to-eat, protein-packed breakfast.
- Great for meal prep – Make a few jars ahead of time for grab-and-go breakfasts all week long.
- Easily customizable – Make it dairy-free, gluten-free, or switch up the flavors with different mix-ins.
- Nutrient-dense – Each serving delivers 28g of protein and 7g of fiber to keep you full and energized. If you love high-protein breakfasts try these Protein Pancakes next!
Key Ingredients
- Oats: you can use rolled oats or quick oats for this recipe. Both will work well!
- Chia seeds: The benefits of chia seeds are truly endless! They’re great to incorporate into recipes like overnight oats to thicken the oats and add more omega-3s and fiber.
- Protein powder: you can use any type of protein powder you like. I use plant-based protein powder made from pea protein. You can use flavoured protein powder if you want to flavour these oats a certain way.
*This is a recipe overview. The FULL recipe with measurements is below in the recipe card.
Recipe Variations
- Vegan Protein Overnight Oats: use vegan protein powder and dairy-free yogurt.
- Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats: to make this recipe chocolate flavoured, Add 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder when preparing the oats and mix them together. You can also follow my recipe for Chocolate Overnight Oats.
- Protein Overnight Oats without protein powder: add an extra 1/3 cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese and reduce the milk by 1/4 cup. This version will still have 20 grams of protein!
How To Make Protein Overnight Oats
Step 1: Add the oats, protein powder, chia seeds and salt to a large mixing bowl or a large jar
Step 2: Next add the yogurt, sweetener and vanilla.
Step 3: Pour in the milk.
Step 4: Mix everything until combined, then cover and place in the fridge overnight.
Step 5: Remove the oats from the fridge in the morning. They should be thick like this.
Step 6: Serve with your favourite toppings.
Topping Ideas
There are endless ways you can top your overnight oats! Whatever you love to add to a bowl of regular oatmeal, you can add to these oats. Here are some ideas.
- Nut butter
- Homemade Vegan Nutella
- Chia seed jam
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Sliced banana
- Berries
- Mango
- Cacao nibs
- Dark chocolate chips
- Coconut flakes
- Dried fruits
- Maple Pecan Granola
- Cinnamon
How To Store Overnight Oats
Store these overnight oats in a sealed mason jar or airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days.
Jess’s Tips
- Use a protein powder you love – The flavor of your oats will heavily depend on the protein powder you use. Stick to one you’ve tried and enjoy—vanilla, chocolate, or even coffee-flavored powders all work great. You call also use these powders to make a Berry Protein Smoothie or Green Protein Smoothie.
- Prep in jars for convenience – Mason jars or Weck jars are perfect for prepping individual servings. Just grab a jar in the morning and head out the door!
- Choose your oats wisely – Use rolled oats for a hearty, chewy texture, or quick oats for a softer consistency.
- Stick with unsweetened yogurt – This gives you more control over the sweetness of your oats and helps to avoid added sugars.
- Add mix-ins for variety – Stir in berries, sliced banana, nut butter, chia seeds, or cacao nibs to keep things interesting and boost nutrition.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you want to enjoy high-protein overnight oats without protein powder, you can add yogurt, cottage cheese, nut butter or nuts to your oats. You can also use cottage cheese to make high-protein Cottage Cheese Pancakes.
You can either use whey protein or plant-based protein powder. Choose between unflavoured or any flavour you love. My personal favourits are the unflavored epic protein and the vanilla lucuma epic protein from the brand Sprout Living. ( code “CHOOSINGCHIA” to save 20%)
Absolutely! While overnight oats are typically enjoyed cold, you can warm them in the microwave for 30–60 seconds.
Try these Oat Recipes Next!
- Chocolate Baked Oats
- Homemade Muesli Recipe
- Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
- Carrot Cake Overnight Oats
- Overnight Steel-Cut Oats
If you tried these Protein Overnight Oats or any other recipe on the blog let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
Protein Overnight Oats
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Protein Overnight Oats are healthy, delicious and packed with 28 grams of protein per serving!
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup protein powder (I use Sprout Living.)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (sub dairy-free yogurt)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup or honey
- 1 cup almond milk (sub any milk)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl or to a large jar and mix together to combine.
- Cover the bowl and place it in the fridge to set it overnight.
- Remove the overnight oats in the morning and enjoy them as is or with your favourite toppings!
Notes
- Use a protein powder you enjoy—the flavor really matters.
- Prep in jars for easy grab-and-go breakfasts.
- Use unsweetened yogurt to control sweetness.
- Add mix-ins like berries, nut butter, or chia seeds.
- Store in the fridge up to 5 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of the recipe
- Calories: 372
- Sugar: 9.5g
- Fat: 6g
- Carbohydrates: 52g
- Fiber: 7.6g
- Protein: 28g
I love this recipe, it is delicious! Could you tell me where do you get those glass jars ?
So happy you loved it Hanna! The jars are from Zara home!
Your recipe sounds great save for the yogurt.
I am dairy intolerant and have yet to find any non dairy yogurt palatable.
Ugh!!!?
Will it turn out sans yogurt?
Thanks?
Hi Rosalee, you can use dairy-free yogurt or just leave it out!
Can this be warmed?
Hi Kaye, yes! overnight oats can be enjoyed both warm and cold.
Made these last night for breakfast this morning and they were delicious! added some peanut butter and bananas on top, so good!
So happy you enjoyed them 🙂
What size mason jar to I store overnight oats?
Hi Victor, you can use any size you like, one large jar or a few small jars. Up to you!