After years of adjusting the recipe, I’m officially in love with these creamy peanut butter overnight oats made with oat milk. With 15 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber it’s a filling way to start your morning! 

Despite making these oats nearly every day for the past 4 or so years, I feel like every year or so I find a small tweak that makes them even better.

In this case it’s been a three small tweaks, one of which was intentional while the other two were out of my control. 

The first is using oat milk instead of almond. As I talked about in a previous post, almond milk is placing a strain on the environment due to the amount of water needed to grow them. 

I wasn’t aware of this until my favorite coffee shop put up a sign explaining why they don’t offer it any more. As I don’t love the flavor of soy milk, I started looking into other options and decided to give oat milk a shot. 

While I’ll talk more about the benefits of oat milk further down, both Bry and I quickly fell in love with the nutty, slightly sweet flavor of oat milk – especially in overnight oats. 

The next swap were the oats themselves. For the past couple years I’ve been buying 10 lb bags of Quaker Oats off of Amazon. But then one day they were no longer available. 

So, I tried out two other brands of oats that come in bulk online and was amazed at what a difference it made. Not only were these oats chewier and thicker, but they also had a cleaner oaty flavor. Curious which brands? Keep reading! 

The final change has been cutting back on Greek yogurt. Again, this wasn’t intentional but simply due to running low on Greek yogurt and only having enough for 2-3 tablespoons for each jar.

The result was a jar of oats that wasn’t quite as yogurty and thick. Instead, they were a little more chewy and the flavors of the peanut butter and oats stood out more. While Bry still prefers more yogurt in his oats, I’ve been loving the texture of using just 2(ish) tablespoons. 

What You’ll Need

• Rolled oats
• Chia seeds
• Cinnamon
• Natural peanut butter
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Original oat milk (unsweetened) 

Best oats for overnight oats

As mentioned above, I could have never guessed how the brand of oats can really make a difference. 

I’ve been loving Bob’s Red Mill rolled oats (not an affiliate, just a fan). Not only can you buy them in bulk (hello money-saver!), but they’re also chewier and have a sweeter, oatier taste than the Quaker oats I had been buying. 

If you like a little texture to your oats, it’s definitely worth finding a brand with thicker, higher quality oats. 

How to adjust the consistency of your overnight oats

If you’re new to overnight oats, it can take a couple tries to get the consistency just to your liking. This recipe makes a pretty thick jar of oats, which I love but I know may be too filling for others. 

Adjustments to try for thinner oats: 

• Add an extra 1-3 tablespoons of milk in the morning
• Leave out the chia seeds
• Nix the Greek yogurt (although, the protein content will go down)
• Use regular instead of Greek yogurt (again, the protein content will be slightly lower) 

Want these oats even thicker and more filling? Here are some adjustments to try: 

• Use full-fat Greek yogurt
• Add an extra tablespoon or two of Greek yogurt
• Add an extra ½ – 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• Add an extra couple tablespoons of rolled oats 

Finally, while I prefer oats cold, I know some prefer them heated up. To do this, just leave out the yogurt when making them, heat them in the morning, and then stir in Greek yogurt afterwards. 

Benefits of using oat milk 

With so many types of milk and milk alternatives on the market, it can be confusing deciding what to buy. Unfortunately the “right” answer really depends on individual nutrition needs, including allergies, intolerances, food preferences, nutrition goals (weight loss vs gain or maintenance), and — perhaps most importantly — personal preference. 

While oat milk isn’t the lowest calorie or highest protein option out there, it’s become my new go-to as I love the thicker texture and oaty, almost nutty, flavor.

It’s also better for the environment than almond (although I fully admit to still using almond milk occasionally), and the unsweetened version of oat milk (in my opinion) tastes better than any other unflavored milk alternative that I’ve tried. 

Plus, if you enjoy making alternative milks at home, oat milk is much cheaper and easier to make than a nut-based one. 

Best way to stir overnight oats 

If you’ve looked at any of my overnight oat recipes before, you’ll notice that I always call for mixing with a butter knife rather than a spoon. 

Another trick that I discovered simply by chance, a butter knife does a much better job at evenly mixing all the ingredients together — which is super important when using chia seeds as no one wants to bite into a big clump of them. 

More overnight oat recipes 

Looking for more overnight recipe ideas? 

I’ve got a bunch here; however, these three are the ones I tend to make the most often: 

• Peach Crisp Overnight Oats
• Strawberries and Cream Protein Overnight Oats
• Baked Apple Overnight Oats 

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats with Oat Milk

After years of adjusting the recipe, I’m officially in love with these creamy peanut butter overnight oats made with oat milk. With 15 grams of protein and 11 grams of fiber it’s a filling way to start your morning!

Prep Time5 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Healthy overnight oats, Peanut butter overnight oats

Servings: 2

Calories: 285kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats the chewier the better
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• Dash of cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter I love using crunchy peanut butter
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt I use full-fat or 2% fat*
• 1 cup plain oat milk unsweetened (I use Planet Oat)

Instructions

• Place ½ cup oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, dash of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 2 tablespoons of yogurt, and ½ cup of oat milk into each mason jar. Stir well with a butter knife to combine.
• Place in fridge overnight, or for at least 3 hours. IN the morning, eat as-is or add extra milk, nut butter, or other toppings of choice.

Notes

*For thicker, creamier oats use ¼ cup of yogurt per jar.

Nutrition for ½ of recipe (based on 2 tablespoons of full-fat Greek yogurt): 385 calories, 17 g fat (3 g saturated), 48 g carbs, 11 g of fiber, 5 g sugar, 15 g protein