These protein cinnamon roll overnight oats have all the flavors of a cinnamon bun but without all the added fat, sugars, and calories.
Originally posted 5/11/16; updated 10/16/18
Despite having possibly hundreds of breakfast recipes bookmarked or pinned, do you still find yourself eating the same things every day?
At least 5 days a week for the past year, Bry and I have peanut butter overnight oats for breakfast (and we still haven’t gotten tired of them).
But every once and awhile, I get food-envy of other bloggers’ overnight oat recipes, so I try switching things up. And every time I regret it.
Not because those recipes aren’t good – trust me there are SO many good overnight oats combinations out there – but because I just love my peanut butter oats so much.
But let me tell you, these were worth switching it up!
As I’ve talked about in other posts, breakfast is a very important meal for me.
Unlike people who wake up and can go hours before eating anything, I can’t function in the morning until I have something to eat.
And it better be filling. So when I went to make cinnamon roll oats, I knew they had to be high in protein to keep my hunger at bay.
Enter in vanilla protein powder and, of course, Greek yogurt.
There are a lot of protein powders out on the market. To decide which is best for you, check out this post I wrote for Lose It!
Briefly, the key is to do your research so you know exactly what’s in it.
For vegan powders, I like Sun Warrior and Owyn, otherwise I’ve been loving Naked Whey’s line of whey-based powders.
Orignially I was thinking about mixing cream cheese into the yogurt to replicate the addicting cream cheese frosting that is usually drizzled over cinnamon rolls.
However, I decided to just stick with the base recipe knowing I could add the cream cheese the next day if I felt the protein cinnamon roll overnight oats needed it.
The verdict: the plain Greek yogurt provides enough of a tang that I actually didn’t miss the cream cheese (and this comes from a girl who has could eat cream cheese straight from the tub).
Previously I made these oats with a thick cinnamon swirl mixture.
However, after hearing back from many of you, I played around with the recipe.
I found that mixing everything together made for the best texture (although, it isn’t quite as pretty).
If you’re new to overnight oats, then it’s important to know that it can take a few tries to find the right texture for you.
Personally, I love my oats super thick. But I know that doughy, borderline paste, texture isn’t for everyone.
If your oats are too thick, here are some ways to adjust:
As protein powders all absorb liquid differently, the amount of protein powder to add is more of a guideline. Start with a small amount, mix, and add more protein if you want your oats thicker.
Or add more protein powder for the protein and then up the milk.
Reversely, if you oats are too thin, try reducing the milk or trying a different protein powder.
If you make this recipe let me know what you think! Drop a comment below or tag TheHealthyToast_RD on Instagram!
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Can I leave out the protein powder? Don’t have any and tight on money right now to buy some but this sounds so good! What would I adjust if I left it out?
Hi Amber! Unfortunately the protein powder is what really gives these oats their flavor and texture. You could try playing around with adding a little powdered vanilla creamer but that’d amend up adding extra sugar and I’m not sure if the flavor would be quite right. I’ll keep my eyes out for similar recipes and let you know if I think of another idea!
I love overnight oats and now that there are healthy vegan greek yogurt options it’s easy to make this plant-based!
Looks amazing, I love anything inspired by cinnamon rolls!
This has become my favorite overnight oats recipe of all time. I used honey instead of sugar, came out perfect!
I’m so glad you like it Cesar! Honey would be delicious – I’ll have to give that a try!
This looked really good and we like overnight oatmeal, but althogh the concept sounded good the finished product turned out more like paste and was strange tasting. Will not make again.
I’m sorry to hear it didn’t turn out for you Cathy. Protein powders hall ave different tastes and absorb moisture differently. If you want, maybe try it again with either a different protein powder and/or more liquid? I hope you have better success with my other recipes!
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