Blueberry Lemon Overnight Oats

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

You will love this lemon overnight oats recipe because:

• It's a cheap and easy meal prep breakfast that takes less than five minutes to make.
• There is no cooking involved - it is as easy as mixing the ingredients into a bowl and storing them in the fridge or for a long soak.
• You can eat these cold and straight from the fridge in the summertime or warm the oats up in the microwave oven for winter.
• This recipe makes one serving, but you can increase the quantities to make more.
• You can make it dairy-free by using plant-based milk and yogurt.
• It is also naturally gluten-free.

Ingredients In This Recipe

The printable recipe further down the page has the complete list of ingredients, including quantities and step-by-step instructions.

Oats – You can use old-fashioned rolled or quick oats to make this recipe but avoid using steel-cut oats.

• Overnight oats made with rolled oats are thick with an almost smooth, creamy texture. 
• Overnight oats made with quick oats, when soaked overnight, are creamier and smoother than rolled oats.
• Overnight oats made with steal cut oats remain grainy and soften to a chewy and gummy texture. Also, steel-cut oats don't soak up as much liquid as rolled and quick-cooking oats. 

Milk – You can use dairy milk, almond milk, soya milk, oat milk, or other types of milk.

Yogurt - use plain dairy or dairy-free yogurt. We used our homemade yogurt in this recipe. 

Seeds – Chia or basil seeds can be used. These thicken the oats by soaking up moisture and are high in fiber.  

We used basil seeds in this recipe because it is budget-friendly.

Both chia and basil seeds are good sources of minerals and are rich in plant-based omega-3 fatty acids.

Maple Syrup – if you like your sweet oatmeal, it can be sweetened with maple syrup or honey or an alternative sweetener like white sugar or monk fruit sugar.

Lemon zest adds as much or as little as you like. When zesting the lemon, don't scrape the white part under the peel because it is bitter, and this can give the overnight oats a bitter flavor.

Vanilla extract for added flavor.

Equipment

You don't need any special equipment to make these oats, but if you are planning to make these for a grab-and-go breakfast, store the oats in mason jars or old jam jars with lids for easy transportation.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1 - Place the milk, yogurt, maple syrup, and vanilla into a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined. 

Step 2 – Add the oats, seeds, lemon zest, and sliced blueberries and mix well. Taste for flavor and adjust if necessary by adding more vanilla, maple syrup, or lemon zest. Cover and store in the fridge overnight.

Step 3 – In the morning, serve the oats with a topping of yogurt, fresh berries, and lemon zest, and enjoy.

Serving Size

This recipe makes 1 serving of about 340 grams (12 ounces) or about 1 ⅓ cups.

Calories Per Serve

There are about 382 calories in a serving (does not include toppings).

Serving Suggestions

Serve lemon overnight oats with or without a topping.

If you would like to add a topping or two, here are some ideas for you to try:

• Fresh fruit is always a nice topping, especially blueberries. You could use diced apples, strawberry pieces, peaches, or whatever fresh fruit you have on hand.
• Nuts -  like toasted almonds, peanuts, or cashews add crunch and extra flavor.
• Coconut - shredded toasted coconut is a lovely topping and goes so well with chopped toasted nuts and lemon.
• Nut butter - for extra protein, top the oats with a spoonful of peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter.

Variations

• Milk – use milk suitable for your diet, such as unsweetened milk for a sugar-free diet or plant milk for vegans, and if you don't like milk, use water instead.
• Sweeteners – like honey, sugar, or artificial sweeteners can be used instead of maple syrup.
• Yogurt – can use vanilla-flavored yogurt instead of plain yogurt. 
• Use flavored milk - like vanilla almond milk instead of plain milk.
• Make it sugar-free - by using sugar-free sweeteners instead of sugar, and use sugar-free milk.
• Use lime or orange zest instead of lemon.
• Poppy seeds - mix in 1 teaspoon of poppy seeds or sprinkle them over the top with grated lemon zest.
• Tropical flavor - use shredded coconut and use coconut milk instead of milk.

Storage

Refrigeration – Keep stored in the fridge until needed. It will keep for about five days in the fridge.

Meal Prepping

These overnight oats are great for meal prepping because they will last for five days in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Easy Recipes

You might also like to read our easy overnight oats recipe page for helpful tips and ideas or see all our overnight oats with yogurt recipes or try these easy recipes:

• Zucchini and carrot slice
• Savory sweet potato muffins
• Strawberry muffins
• Baked ham and cheese pinwheels

If you are looking for some other breakfast recipe ideas and love bananas, see our collection of Healthy Banana Breakfast Recipes.