(Easy) Plain Overnight Oats with Greek Yogurt

These plain overnight oats will give you the perfect base for all of the mix-ins you love, or can help you perfect your favorite overnight oats recipe.

So often, when searching for plain overnight oats, you’ll come up with recipes with cinnamon, with blueberries, with everything except, well, plain oats.

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These overnight oats have only got the essentials: a liquid, oats, yogurt for making it creamier, salt to enhance the flavor, and honey for a smooth texture and sweetness.

I guess the most basic of overnight oats would just be water and oats, but I’m guessing that you aren’t looking for that, but rather a basic overnight oats recipe that still resembles something you’d want to eat, just plain in flavor.

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Ingredients

To make these overnight oats, you’ll need:

• milk, 2% or whichever kind you prefer

• oats – steel cut or rolled oats, not instant oats – I prefer this brand

• greek yogurt – I use full fat (this brand), but you can also use another type of yogurt, knowing that the thinner the yogurt is, the runnier the oats will be

• honey – for sweetness, I like this all-natural brand

• salt – to enhance the flavor

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How to Make Plain Overnight Oats

Combine the milk, greek yogurt and honey in a small bowl or mason jar or mug.

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Add in the salt and oats, stirring until fully combined.

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Store in the fridge for 8+ hours with saran wrap or a lid, preferably overnight.

Enjoy!

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Substitutions

One of the most popular substitutions in an overnight oats recipe is using water instead of milk.

This will make the taste milder and less tangy.

If you’re dairy free, you can also get rid of the yogurt and use a dairy free yogurt or use a dairy free milk in its place (though you will get a runnier texture).

Substitute vanilla extract for honey if you prefer (you only need 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract).

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Overnight Oats Tips

After countless servings of overnight oats and some overnight oats epic falls, here are my top tips for ensuring you love the final outcome when you reach in the fridge in the morning:

1. Stick with at least a 1:1 ratio for the oats to the liquid components. You can have more liquid components than oats, but if you have, say, 1 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of milk and that’s all you put in it, the oats won’t have enough liquid to absorb to be tasty and edible.

2. While we all like to put our overnight oats in mason jars because it looks cool, the easiest way to eat them is usually out of a sloth mug because it has a built in handle you can carry around with you!

3. These oats really do need time as the main ingredient – it’s not going to be something you can eat as soon as you put it together. Don’t try and skip on the time in the fridge, and instead make regular oatmeal if you need something quick.

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What to Serve with Plain Overnight Oats

These overnight oats can be a breakfast by themselves – they’re more filling than you realize.

Have them with a glass or orange juice or a cup of coffee, or, if you want a bit of a heartier morning, serve these as a side to bacon and eggs so you pack some meat and protein in with the carbs.

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Other Overnight Oats Options

If you do want to venture out a bit and try other overnight oats options, I’ve also got recipes for:

• blueberry overnight oats
• strawberry overnight oats
• matcha overnight oats
• banana overnight oats
• vanilla overnight oats
• cocoa overnight oats
• lemon overnight oats
• birthday cake overnight oats
• chocolate chip overnight oats
• honey overnight oats

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How to Store Basic Overnight Oats

Store overnight oats always with either a lid or saran wrap over them.

You can leave them in the fridge for up to about 3 days after making before they’ll start to taste off, as long as you keep them covered.

Because you can make individual portions, there’s no need to ever freeze overnight oats.