4 Ways To Make Overnight Oats Without Milk

Why you'll love these solutions

• There is a very high probability that you already have one of these items at home. In any case, you can always make your overnight oats with water.
• All these solutions are nutritious and make a healthy breakfast.
• You may discover new flavor combinations that you have not tried before.
• All these recipes are vegan if you use plant-based yogurt.

Ingredients you'll need for the base recipe

Rolled oats have the perfect thickness to make overnight oats compared to quick and steel-cut oats. Once soaked in water (or orange juice) overnight, they taste just like cold oatmeal. Use gluten-free oats if necessary.

Chia seeds are rich in healthy fats (omega 3) and make your overnights oats a little thicker. You can replace them with flax seeds or leave them out completely.

Yogurt makes the oats a lot creamier. Use plant-based yogurt if you're on a vegan diet or avoiding dairy.

3 different ways to replace milk

Water is the easiest way to replace milk in overnight oats. You can add a splash of maple syrup to mimic the sweetness of the milk. But keep in mind that the add-ins and toppings are key. You can stir in some jam or flavored yogurt to make the oats more flavorful. Get creative with the toppings and use fresh berries, nut butter or granola.

Orange juice is an amazing alternative to milk. You can use freshly squeezed orange juice or bottled juice. Simply let the oats soak up the orange juice overnight. They'll be just as creamy and have a zesty flavor.

Banana mashed into a puree and water are life-saving if you keep bananas at home at any time. If you like bananas in your oats anyway, you won't even notice that you replaced the milk with water. These taste best with some really ripe and sweet bananas.

Apple sauce and water are another great way to substitute milk. Note that your oats will taste like applesauce. But that doesn't have to be a bad thing! Add a dash of cinnamon and it will remind you of apple pie.

Elo's tips

1. Read our full guide on overnight oats, where we explain which oats to use, how long they last in the fridge and whether you can reheat the oats. It also contains our basic overnight oats recipe with the best oat to milk ratio.
2. Always keep a jar of applesauce in your pantry. It could come in handy.
3. Meal prep your overnight oats when you have some spare time to save time on busy mornings. You can make a big batch and divide it up into smaller containers for a simple make-ahead breakfast.

Step-by-step with pictures

These step-by-step pictures show you how to make overnight oats with water and applesauce instead of milk.

Add the rolled oats, chia seeds, water and applesauce to a glass jar (or another airtight container.) Give it a good stir.

Close the jar airtightly and place it in the fridge overnight. Note that the oats will have the right texture after approximately 4 hours.

The next morning, stir in some yogurt and add the toppings of your choice.

Our favorite toppings and add-ins

• Fresh fruit give your oats a vitamin boost.
• Dried fruit such as cranberries and apricots add a sweet touch.
• Homemade granola and coconut flakes are great to add some crunch.
• Add chocolate chips or cacao nibs if you have a sweet tooth.
• Hemp seeds, peanut butter and almond buttter are perfect if you want to increase the protein content of your oats (2 tablespoon of peanut butter contain about 7 grams of protein and 3 tablespoons of hemps seeds contain about 10 grams of protein). Alterntively you can add 1-2 tablespoons of (vegan) protein powder to your oats. Here's the overnight oats with protein powder recipe we use.
• Cocoa powder is a great add-in if you like your oats extra chocolatey.

Frequently asked questions