Do overnight oats have to be refrigerated overnight?

A minimum of 4 hours soaking time is needed for the oats and chia seeds to yield a softened and creamy texture. The longer the better to allow the oats to absorb more flavor. If you don’t mind a chewy, more textured overnight oats, you can eat them after 1-2 hours of soaking in the fridge or even immediately.

How to make vegan birthday cake overnight oats?

Use a plant-based protein powder, nut, soy or oat milk, and a dairy-free thick Greek style or Greek yogurt. Some options for the yogurt are almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, soy or coconut yogurt.

Can you use quick oats for overnight oats?

If you are consuming immediately and not soaking overnight or consuming the next morning, you can use quick/instant oats. Note that the texture will be softer and mushier than the texture of overnight oats that are made with rolled oats. I don’t recommend meal prepping and making multiple servings if using quick oats as the oats will completely dissolve over time in the fridge.

Birthday Cake Overnight Oats

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Quick and easy to make and high in protein and fiber, these Birthday Cake Overnight Oats are healthy and a fun breakfast that will start off your morning right!

Author: Lavina
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Refrigerating Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 1 1x
Category: Breakfast
Method: Mix
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

40 grams / ½ cup Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (use gluten-free if needed, I used Red Tractor Creamy Style Rolled Oats – note 1)
20 grams / ≈ ¼ cup Cake Pop/ Cake Batter Protein Powder (or vanilla flavored, I used PEScience Cake Pop Select Protein – note 2)
6 grams / ½ TBLS White Chia Seeds (or use black chia seeds)
100 grams Fat Free Greek Style Yogurt (or use fat free Greek yogurt or any thick plain yogurt)
79ml / ⅓ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or any other plant-based or regular milk of your choice)
15ml / 1 TBLS Sugar-free Maple or Pancake Syrup (such as Walden Farms Maple Walnut Syrup, or use regular maple syrup)
¼ TSP Pure Vanilla Extract
6 grams / ½ TBLS Sprinkles, divided
50 grams / ≈ ⅓ cup fresh or frozen Berries of choice, chopped if needed (I used strawberries and raspberries – note 3)
To Serve (optional): Reserved sprinkles, more berries for topping

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Make the oats base: In a medium bowl, mason jar or meal prep container, combine the oats, protein powder and chia seeds and mix to combine. Add the Greek style yogurt, unsweetened almond milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract and half of the sprinkles. Mix again to combine until smooth and creamy.
Stir in the berries: Gently stir in the berries. Avoid overmixing so that the color from the fruit and sprinkles don’t bleed too much.
Chill: Cover (note 4) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight for the best creamy texture.
To Serve: In the morning, top with the remaining sprinkles and more berries if desired. Then enjoy!

Red Tractor Creamy Style Rolled Oats

Buy Now →

Notes

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. I use Red Tractor creamy style rolled oats to yield an ultra-creamy and thick texture. You can use any type of old fashioned rolled oats you like. Avoid using steel cut oats – they need a longer soaking time to soften and have a denser and chewier texture. Quick cooking/instant oats aren’t ideal either. They tend to dissolve in the liquid because they are so small and become soggy.
Cake Pop/ Cake Batter Protein Powder. If you don’t have a cake flavored protein powder, use vanilla protein powder and add ¼ teaspoon cake batter extract. If using an unflavored protein powder, add ½ teaspoon cake batter extract. If using a plant-based/vegan protein powder, you will need to add more milk as it’s more absorbent than whey and whey-casein protein.
Berries. Feel free to use any berries or other fruit you love. Some ideas besides raspberries and strawberries are blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, sliced fresh apricots, sliced banana etc.
Cover with foil or cling wrap. Cover by tightly wrapping a small sheet of aluminum foil or cling wrap around the rim if using a bowl or container that doesn’t have a lid. This will work fine if making 1 serving the night before eating. If you’re making multiple servings and meal prepping, use any container with a lid such as a bowl, mason jar or meal prep container to ensure freshness after the first day.
Meal prep/make ahead tips. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and divide evenly into bowls with lids, mason jars or meal prep containers. Refrigerate for up to 4 days. If they thicken too much, stir in more milk before topping with sprinkles and berries in the morning.
See ‘Variations’ section in the post above to customize these overnight oats.
Nutritional information will vary with different brands for products. It doesn’t account for the additional berries for the topping.