Overnight Oats

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“Overnight” often means to get something in a hurry. But with oats, it means the opposite. Overnight oats are currently having a moment as a breakfast fad, but the dish is based on a very old concept: the fact that you can prepare grains by soaking, rather than cooking them.

To make overnight oats, you add liquid like milk, yogurt or water to some oats, and wait until morning. By then the oats will be as soft as if they were cooked on the stove top. It’s a great way to get your fiber without slowing down your morning or burning your tongue.

Part of the fun of this passive porridge is dressing it up with fruits, nuts, sweet syrups, or anything else you might put in hot or cold cereal. This time of year, frozen berries are on sale as distributors clear out last year’s inventory ahead of the new crops of blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries currently on the verge of being harvested. As it happens, frozen berries are perfect for overnight oats. Add them at night, straight out of the freezer. By morning they will be fully soft and integrated into the dish.

Rolled oats are the softest of all of the grain options. They will be ready so quickly you don’t need to wait all night. Or even 10 minutes. If you don’t mind chewing a little you can dive in right away and eat your oats like corn flakes. Steel cut oats, where the grain is chopped rather than rolled, need a much longer time to soak, just as they take longer to cook.

And then there are all of the other grains, whole and in parts. They all soften at different rates and have different textures and flavors. Rolled flakes will generally soften the most quickly. I’ve also had good luck with mixes like seven-grain and five-grain cereal. To get to know the personality of each grain I try it in plain water first, preferably in a lineup with other grains for comparison. My favorite grain for overnight soaking is a combination of rye flakes and spelt flakes. Both are varieties of wheat, and both take all night. The rye is more complex, assertive and coarse, while the spelt is mellow and smooth. Together they form a combination that is soft yet firm, without being at all mushy. Whichever grain or grains you choose, adding some chia seeds will give it a pudding-like stiffness.

Finally, you must choose your liquid. While water is enough to satisfy the most spartan of grain eaters, the majority prefer something creamier. Milk is one option, as are milk-like fluids made from nuts, grains and legumes. There is a certain symmetry and simplicity to adding oat milk to your overnight oats. Soy milk or almond milk are thicker. Some have vanilla, which you can also just add on your own. You can mix and match the soaking media to your heart’s content, but my favorite of all is plain yogurt. It’s thick and creamy, and the acidity helps the grains along their journey.

Ultimately, the proper consistency and flavor of cereal is a very subjective and personal choice, as is the presence or absence of gluten and other factors. Personal preference should guide the details of how you prepare your overnight grains. I will leave you with a recipe for my preferred formulation of overnight grains, in hopes that you will take it and transform it and make it your own.

Overnight Spelt and Rye

This recipe is a template for any type of overnight grain, with any type of soaking liquid, and any type of topping. It’s flexible, in other words. But my way results in a kind of cake/pudding that I’m happy to wash down with coffee, and repeat.

One Serving

  • ½ cup spelt flakes
  • ½ cup rye flakes
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • ½ cup frozen blueberries
  • optional: sweetener

Combine the spelt, rye and chia seeds in a bowl. Add the yogurt and stir it all together. Add the blueberries, and sweetener if using, and stir again. Cover the bowl and put it in the fridge overnight. The next morning, enjoy your bowl of soft, sweet, chewy tangy grains.