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This quick Strawberry Overnight Oats recipe is hearty, sweet, creamy, and soaked overnight in strawberry-flavored milk. Vegan, Gluten-free, Refined sugar-free.
These Strawberry Overnight Oats are a morning game changer. With just a few simple ingredients and 15 minutes in the kitchen, we can prep a healthy, vegan, gluten-free breakfast for the entire week. And they’re not only good for you, but equally as flavorful and creamy, too.
Table of Contents
All About these Overnight Oats
Ever since I developed my popular Peaches & Cream Overnight Oatmeal, I cracked the code on making delicious, creamy, nutrition-packed oats. But don’t be intimidated – it doesn’t include hard to find ingredients, complicated recipe steps you don’t have time for, or expensive protein powders (unless you want it to).
These strawberry oats require 3 key elements – homemade strawberry milk, your favorite rolled oats, and fibrous chia seeds. Once strawberry season hits this Spring, you’ll be craving a big batch of cold, strawberry overnight oats every week.
What You Need for Strawberry Overnight Oats
You’ll need just 7 basic ingredients to making the best strawberry-flavored oats:
- Oats: I recommend using either old-fashioned rolled oats or quick oats. Steer clear of steel cut oats – save those for making my Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal.
- Strawberries: We’re not only folding chopped berries into our oats, but we’re also blending them into a homemade strawberry milk to soak the oats in for the ultimate flavor. Feel free to use fresh or frozen – whatever you have access to.
- Plant milk: Really any plant-based milk of choice will do, but the thicker, creamier plant milks will yield the creamiest oats.
- Non-dairy yogurt: The secret to the best creamy, tangy flavor. Just like the plant milk, your favorite yogurt of choice will work so use your favorite.
- Chia seeds: A source of healthy fats that also helps thicken the oats into a delicious, thick consistency.
- Pure maple syrup: My favorite liquid sweetener in oatmeal. It’s sweet & earthy and a versatile unrefined sugar I always have in the pantry. If you have another favorite, such as agave nectar or date syrup, feel free to swap it.
- Vanilla: The sweet, floral flavor is a must in my oats and takes the flavor from good to great.
How to Make Strawberry Overnight Oats
- Make the strawberry milk by blending the strawberries, plant milk, yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt until the berries are finely blended.
- Mix the oats and chia seeds together in a large bowl. Pour in the strawberry milk and chopped strawberries and stir until well combined.
- Transfer the overnight oats to glass jars or another container of choice and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
- Serve as desired and enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- The creamier your plant milk, the better. My go-to choices are cashew milk, oat milk, or soy milk. If you want something even more thick and creamy, try coconut milk. If you’re interested in learning how to make the best plant milk at home, check out my Ultimate Nut Milk Guide.
- Use the weighted measurements. It’s pretty difficult to mess up overnight oats, but if you’re looking for the best, fool-proof way to make your oats equally rich and creamy every single time, use a scale. This will ensure your combination of oats and strawberry milk is always the same and you’ll never have too-thick or too-runny overnight oats again.
Serving Suggestions
Overnight oats are the perfect make ahead breakfast or meal prep for busy mornings when you need a hearty, healthy breakfast that will keep you full until lunch. I like to keep it simple and serve these Strawberry Overnight Oats cold with additional fresh strawberries, but feel free to add your favorite toppings!
Try toppings like a drizzle of almond butter, coconut flakes, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, strawberry jam, hemp hearts, or an extra dollop of yogurt would all be delicious.
If you’re looking for more overnight oat recipes, you’ll also love this PB&J Overnight Oats, this Blueberry Overnight Oatmeal and this Peaches & Cream Overnight Oatmeal!
How to Store Strawberry Overnight Oats
I prefer to store my cold overnight oats in individual serving sizes using things like mason jars, or reusable containers, but feel free to keep your oats stored in one large airtight container and scoop a serving into a serving bowl each morning.
I’ve personally never tested freezing these strawberry overnight oats – they’re so quick to make fresh, I don’t think freezing them would be worth it or save you any time.
Substitutions and Variations
- Yogurt substitution: If you’re out of yogurt, feel free to replace it with additional non-dairy milk.
- Add protein: If you’d like to add a protein boost to your oats, blend 1 scoop of your favorite vanilla protein powder, plus an additional 2 tablespoons of plant milk in with the strawberry milk ingredients. Additionally, if the protein powder contains sweetener, omit or reduce the additional maple syrup.
- Chia seeds substitution: Replace with an equal amount of ground flaxseeds. Flaxseeds absorb liquid in a similar fashion and will thicken your oats into creamy perfection.
Recipe FAQs
Overnight oats are typically enjoyed cold, but there’s no rule that says you can’t enjoy them warm, if preferred! After refrigerating overnight, feel free to heat your oats through in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Or, make my warm Strawberries & Cream Oatmeal instead.
Oats can be gluten-free, but they aren’t always. If you are celiac or gluten-intolerant, always purchase gluten-free certified oats and ensure your non-dairy milks and vegan yogurts are gluten-free certified as well. This will ensure there is no cross contamination.
Of course! As with any perishable food, homemade overnight oats can spoil. When stored properly, these strawberry overnight oats will keep for about 5 days. Always use your best judgment and discard any overnight oats that smell sour or are slimy in texture.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Strawberry Overnight Oats
Ingredients
For the Strawberry Milk:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen strawberry halves
- 1 3/4 cup creamy non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup unsweetened vegan yogurt or replace with milk
- 2 tablespoons grade A maple syrup plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Juice of 1/2 small lemon about 1 tablespoon
- Pinch of salt
For the Oatmeal:
- 2 cups quick-cooking or rolled oats*
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds or ground flaxseed
- 3/4 cup diced strawberries
- Topping suggestions: nut butter hemp hearts, almonds, etc.
Instructions
- Make the Strawberry “Milk”: Add the strawberries to a high-speed blender along with the milk, yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Blend on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until the berries are finely blended into the milk.
- Mix: Add the oats and chia seeds to a large bowl and mix well. Pour the strawberry milk into the bowl, then add the chopped strawberries and stir until everything is combined. Let sit for at least 5 minutes, to allow the oats and chia seeds to absorb some of the liquid. Then, mix again to incorporate the extra liquid sitting on top.
- Store & Serve: transfer the oatmeal to jars or other containers, then store in the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Top as desired and enjoy cold or warm; leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Non-dairy Milk: I recommend using a thick and creamy milk, like cashew, oat, or soy milk.
- Stovetop Instructions: Make my stovetop Strawberries & Cream Oatmeal instead!
- Protein Powder: For a protein boost, add 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder to the strawberry milk ingredients. Add an additional 2 tablespoons of plant milk and omit the sweetener if your powder is sweetened.
I am so excited for breakfast, I love the idea of making the milk because then I can blend in my whole trilogy health seeds and not have the texture of them… Such a fabulous idea. Love your recipes!
So happy to hear you love the recipes, Ashlee!
My overnight oats turned out a little bitter, what could be the problem? I wasn’t able to follow the recipe exactly, as I didn’t have maple syrup and vanilla extract is not very common in my region, so I used what I had – white sugar. I substituted vegan yogurt with non-vegan Greek yogurt and eyeballed the chia seeds. And I now realise I also forgot to put in lemon 🫠
Can I fix my other two servings somehow now? When I put some fresh strawberries on top this morning it was edible, but it wasn’t really as enjoyable as it probably could be. Also, could vanilla extract be replaced by vanilla sugar? It is much more commonly available and cheaper where I am. Thanks in advance!
Hi, Joanna! Thank you for reaching out. The bitterness in your overnight oats could be due to a few factors, such as the omission of maple syrup and lemon juice, which balance flavors. Here are a few suggestions to improve your remaining servings:
Sweeten: Add a bit more white sugar or honey to taste.
Flavor: Mix in a pinch of vanilla sugar, which can replace vanilla extract and add a pleasant aroma.
Balance: Squeeze a little lemon juice into the oats to balance the flavors.
Top with fresh strawberries or other fruits to enhance the taste. Hope this helps!
I only now saw your reply, but I did fix my remaining batch of the oats with some lemon and vanilla sugar and that did the trick, they were DELICIOUS! It seems the lemon is absolutely crucial here. 🙂
Glad it worked out, Joanna!