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How to make Overnight Oats for kids: They’re the perfect breakfast when you’re on-the-go and in a hurry. Make 3 versions of this recipe with your kids and have breakfast on the table in a flash! Here’s lookin’ at you, busy Mom!

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Kid Friendly Overnight Oats

I’m not sure how these minimal prep, basic ingredients overnight oats for kids passed me by for so long, given the sometimes obscene amount of time I spend on Pinterest.

I know they’re not only for kids, it’s just that they tick ALL those boxes for feeding children in the mornings before the school run and so I think of these as a kids breakfast. Obviously it goes without saying, but please feel free to tuck in alongside the little-uns’.!

Yep, it’s only the last few years I’ve been making these despite the fact that while I did ‘know’ about them, they always seemed a bit Mehhhh in my head and not especially appetising. Oh how wrong I was.

These little beauties are put together in minutes usually while the kids are eating their dinner. They can be made several days ahead so you don’t even have to think about breakfast for half the school week and they taste amazing. Really amazing. Surprisingly so.

And even better? I don’t think they could get any easier!

The basic ratio for overnight oats is simply one cup of oats to 1 and a half cups of liquid. It’s that simple.

What liquid can you use? Anything. Dairy milk, almond milk (or any plant based milk), fruit juice, water even.

More Oat Breakfast Recipes

I add a sweetener to my overnight oats. I use a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup per cup of oats and I add it to the oat and liquid mix. The exception to this is if I use fruit juice, as that tends to be sweet enough.

You can always taste your mixture to see if it needs any added sweetness. If you’d prefer to leave out the sweetener, you could try adding a tiny nit of vanilla extract depending on what you’r toppings are.

Pop these overnight in the refrigerator once the pots are made up.

For a far creamier version, you could make this with greek yogurt, although depending on the consistency of your yogurt you might need to add some milk to the yogurt.

Essentially you want the liquid to be soaked up by the oats so that in the morning you have a soft, ready to eat breakfast. And since the oats are not fussy about which liquid they soak up, feel free to take your pick!

I use Mason jars to make these Oat pots (or something similar). You can eat them cold from the fridge, or heat them up in the microwave for 60 seconds, stir, then give them another 30 seconds.

Side note/ try these for pudding also. Just saying!

Are Overnight Oats Healthy?

Oats, whether they’re made like this and left overnight or made into porridge, are a good choice. They’re a high protein grain (they’ll keep little tummies full) and they contain a whole host of vitamins and minerals.

Since we’re making these, they don’t have a whole heap of added sugars added to them like the majority of the store bought ones and so having these for breakfast is a great way to get the kiddos off to a good start.

And no sugar crash. Any parent who’s experienced their child during a sugar crash will love these :)

Overnight Oats, Oats!

There are a number of different Oatmeals you can buy in the stores. The most common rolled oats I see are the quick-cook oats (sometimes called quick oats) and steel cut oats (old fashioned oats).

The difference between the two is that quick-cook oats are smaller, tend to be thinner and give you a more porridge type creamy texture consistency that steel cut oats.

You’ll need to check the packaging of the quick cook oats you have available to you to check they haven’t had anything else added to them to make them cook faster. Generally though, they cook faster because they’re thinner and smaller.

Steel cut oats are bigger, absorb more liquid because of this and keep their shape better, so you end up with more texture to your finished recipe.

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The oats you go with is entirely up to you: If you have very little kids you might want to use the smaller quick cook oats for a creamier end result.

You can also add chia seeds into overnight oats if your kids like them.

I know from experience that some kids take offence to the ‘little black bits’ in other words the seeds, but they’re tasteless and take on the flavors of the foods they’re mixed with, so they can be a good addition and way to add some extra nutrition.

Favorite Toppings

The topping variations you could add to overnight oats is almost limitless. I’ve added in this post the three ways we have these most often.

Of course as lots of Moms will know your kids can’t just all like the same thing and be happy to eat it, they want variations and to put their own stamp on things, and this recipe allows for that. Hey, if they’re old enough, get them to make these themselves!

Kids Overnight Oats 3 Ways

These are the ways we like the most. Overnight oats are SO versatile, free free to add just about anything you fancy.

I will say that adding banana, while delicious and a fab sweetener booster, will cause your oats to be slightly brown in the morning which while is fine to eat, can look a little unappealing!

Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

I have one child who’d eat peanut butter for breakfast lunch and dinner, so this was the obvious choice for his overnight oats.

I tried originally to mix the peanut butter (you could use any nut butter) into the basic mix of oats and liquid, but being quite thick, it caused the oats to not evenly absorb the liquid and you ended up with a ‘clumpy’ kinda overnight oat ‘thing’.

And so now we make it a far better way. I make the basic base, add a little sweetener and then i add a layer of peanut butter on top of the oats before sealing the pot and popping in the fridge overnight.

Come morning, you have your creamy oats and a layer of peanut butter to ‘crack’ and mix in yourself. It’s been a big hit doing it this way, and so I see no reason to change :)

Fruity Overnight Oats

We’ve spent some time playing around with fruit toppings for these oats and now I think we’ve cracked it. Using a mix of half frozen fruit and half fresh fruit makes these taste AWESOME!

Frozen cherries and blueberries work really well, either a mix of both, or one or the other.

Because your frozen fruit holds so much water, as it thaws overnight it’s being absorbed by the oats.

You end up with a richer tasting oatmeal because the oats take on the fruit flavor, but you also get the most amazing colored overnight oats! While some might say they look messy, I think they look beautiful!

When I’m doing this I add some fresh fruit to the top of the oats, mostly for decoration and texture :)

The fresh fruit on the top can be anything. Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, whatever you have to hand can be used. I chop it into small pieces, of halve it, depending on the age of the child.

*One thing to be aware of if you’re doing this: The extra moisture in the fruit will cause the volume of the oats to rise more than usual. Make sure you don’t fill your pot to the brim, or you’ll have fruity overnight oats all over your fridge!

Cinnamon Overnight Oats

Sometimes the simplest things are the best, right? One of my kids is a cinnamon fiend and so this was her creation. Although it’s not very creative. Or maybe that’s where the genius is!

Cinnamon overnight oats are simply the base recipe with a heaped teaspoon of cinnamon added to the mix.

I sprinkle a little cinnamon and coconut sugar on the top of the oats before sealing the pot, it gives it a nice topping to stir ion come morning, but these are really overnight oats in a pretty simple form.

Of course you can do this with Nutmeg, or another spice you like. And if your kids like them, this version is great with some chopped nuts on top: Walnuts, Pecans, or Almonds work well with this.

Storing Overnight Oats

Once you’ve made your overnight oats and divided it between your dishes you can keep them in the fridge for up 2 3 days, making this awesome for make ahead breakfasts through the week.

Pop some food wrap over the top of your overnight oats if you’re not eating them the morning after you’ve made them to help keep them fresh.

How To Make Overnight Oats For Kids

Ingredients

1 Cup Oatmeal
1½ Cups Milk Dairy, coconut, almond
¼ Cup Maple syrup Or honey
Toppings as required

Instructions

In a large bowl, add the oatmeal, milk and maple syrup
Combine well and heat for 2 minutes to help combine the ingredients. Stir well
Divide between your dishes and add your toppings, letting them sit on the surface
*if you’re making the cinnamon version of overnight oats, mix the cinnamon before filling your dish

Kids Overnight Oats Recipe

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