Originally posted 5/11/16; updated 10/16/18

While not as buttery and gooey as traditional cinnamon rolls, these overnight oats have all the flavors of a cinnamon but without all the added fat, sugars, and calories. 

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. So when I told Bry I wanted to make a cinnamon roll-flavored oats recipe he got very concerned that he also would have to go a day without our usual breakfast. So, to be nice, that next morning Bry went off to work with his usual peanut butter oats while I went out of my breakfast comfort zone and tried these cinnamon roll oats. And boy did he miss out.

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 and eventually I plan on doing a post all about what to look for in a protein powder, but for now, my main recommendation is to look at the ingredient label. Plant-based, vegan protein powders are my go-to options as I feel more comfortable with their ingredient lists (think quinoa, brown rice, pea, and hemp-seed) as well as find them easier to digest. Some favorites include Sunwarrior, Vega, and Plant Fusion.

So on to these oats. I started with my favorite overnight oats base: ½ cup rolled oats, a tablespoon of chia seeds, ¼ cup plain Greek Yogurt (the higher the fat content of the yogurt, the creamier your oats will be), 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (any milk will work). At first I was thinking about mixing cream cheese into the yogurt to replicate the addicting cream cheese frosting that is usually drizzled over cinnamon rolls, but decided to just stick with the base recipe and would add the cream cheese the next day if I felt the recipe 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, but after hearing back from many of you, I played around with the recipe and decided that mixing everything together made for the best texture (although, it isn’t quite as pretty). If you find these oats to be too thick, simply add more milk or leave out the Greek yogurt. Also note that protein powders all absorb liquid differently. So, if you aren’t using Sun Warrior, then you may need to adjust the amount of liquid used. The goal is to have a thick, but still liquid mixture when the protein powder, cinnamon, and water/milk are stirred together. 

If you make this recipe let me know what you think! Drop a comment below or tag TheHealthyToast_RD on Instagram! 

Print Recipe

Protein Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats

While not as buttery and gooey as traditional cinnamon rolls, these overnight oats have all the flavors of a cinnamon but without all the added fat, sugars, and calories.

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cinnamon, Overnight oats

Servings: 1

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Kelli

Ingredients

• ½ cup original rolled oats
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt I used 2% fat
• ½ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
• 2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder I used Sun Warrior
• 3 tablespoons of water or milk
• ½ – 1 tsp cinnamon depending on how strong you want the cinnamon flavor
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Instructions

• Combine oatmeal, chia seeds, Greek yogurt, and almond milk in a mason jar or other small container.
• In a small bowl, combine protein powder, cinnamon, and sugar. Slowly start adding water/milk until the mixture is thick but still liquid.
• Stir protein mixture into oats and place in fridge overnight. Enjoy in the morning!

Notes

Nutrition facts (will vary based on protein powder, milk, and yogurt used): 260 calories, 4g fat, 38g carbs, 6g fiber, 8g sugar, 19g protein