Quick, easy, and healthy RV breakfasts: Overnight oats 6 ways

By Cheri Sicard
The video below from the team at Toasty Apron wasn’t specifically made for RVers, but RVers who enjoy a healthy breakfast will certainly want to put its techniques into action. In the video, they show six creative ways to make no-cook overnight oats. If you have not yet heard of overnight oats, it is the easiest way ever to make oatmeal. Add ingredients to a jar and let them sit overnight and in the morning you have breakfast. Brilliant!

Once you use this technique, I am sure you will also come up with your own variations. However, in the meantime, these six delicious takes on overnight oats will keep you well-fed without getting bored by always eating the same thing. Even better, they keep in the fridge for about five days, so you can make a bunch at once and wake up to breakfast for the next week.

At their most basic, you soak raw oats in milk or other liquids overnight. By morning they are ready to eat. (You could eat in 2-3 hours, but overnight is best.) The results are creamier than regular oatmeal.

Sixteen-ounce wide-mouth canning jars make the perfect vessel for overnight oats as they are easy to seal and store, and you can prepare and eat out of the same container, meaning fewer dishes. Whatever jars you use, be sure to leave some room to mix and add your toppings.

Beyond the basics, you can dress your oats up with all kinds of accouterments such as nuts, seeds, berries, fruits, nut butters, coconut, and even chocolate. Mix and match to create endless versions of overnight oats.

If all that sounds like too many options and you are stuck with analysis paralysis, the tasty recipes in the video below will get you started:

#1 Basic overnight oats (the host calls them Base Oats): Uses just five ingredients: oats, milk, Greek-style yogurt, chia seeds, maple syrup. Our host uses cashew milk, but you can use whatever type of milk you like, including regular milk. He bases all his other recipes on this one. (As a side note, you could leave out the chia seeds if you choose, and you can sweeten it with honey or agave instead of maple syrup. Likewise, you can leave out the yogurt and add a little more milk to make up for it, although the yogurt adds a terrific depth to the flavor.)

#2 Banana bread overnight oats: There’s no bread, but the rest of the ingredients that make banana bread so appealing are present and accounted for: mashed bananas, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and walnuts.

#3 PB&J overnight oats: If you love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you are going to want to try this breakfast alternative that adds peanut butter and raspberry puree to the mix. When ready to eat, top with additional berries, some walnuts, and a maple syrup drizzle.

#4 Piña colada overnight oats: For when you are in a tropical mood, enhance the basic overnight oats recipe with pineapple tidbits and coconut flakes. Add more pineapple and coconut along with some chopped nuts just before serving.

#5 Mocha latte overnight oats: Caffeinated oatmeal? You bet. This one substitutes 1/4 cup of espresso for some of the milk, along with some cocoa powder. Before eating, add chocolate chips or chunks, coconut, and chopped nuts.

#6 Chocolate peanut butter cup overnight oats: A decadent breakfast that adds peanut butter and cocoa powder to the basic recipe, then top with some quick-to-make chocolate syrup that forms a thin layer of chocolate on top. When ready to eat, garnish with berries. For those who don’t want chocolate for breakfast, this one can be a healthier dessert stand-in or an afternoon snack.

#7 Lemon blueberry pie overnight oats: The basic recipe gets enhanced with lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and blueberries in this variation. When ready to eat, top off with more blueberries, hemp hearts, and coconut flakes.

##RVDT2286