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As a busy mom I try to prepare my meals in advance whenever possible. This ensures survival a.k.a being able to eat something homemade when wrangling 2 children before I head to work.
One day I stumbled across no cook overnight refrigerator oatmeal when randomly searching the internet. I don’t know how someone would even come up with no cook oatmeal, but whoever they are is a genius.
If you’ve never heard of no cook refrigerator oatmeal before you’re in for a treat. Basically what you do is mix your ingredients in a jar, throw them in the fridge overnight and TA-DA! The next day you have oatmeal, all without having to go near a stove.
I wasn’t sure if the texture of the oatmeal would be the same as cooked oatmeal, but it came out great. It comes out extra creamy from the yogurt and very flavorful.
I’ll still make oatmeal on the stovetop when I am craving hot oatmeal and have the time, but most of the time I make about 6 jars of the refrigerator oatmeal at a time so I can just grab and go.
I love this recipe because it’s so versatile, from the milk and fruit you use, to the add-ins. Let’s get started!
To make no cook refrigerator oatmeal take 1/4 cup of uncooked oats and pour them into your mason jar or container of choice. I like using 8 ounce mason jars because they are the perfect size and easy to seal, but a bowl with plastic wrap will work just fine.
You can use old fashion (rolled) oats or quick cooking oats for this recipe.
Next add 1/3 cup of milk to each of your mason jars. You can use skim milk, whole milk, and even almond milk.
Now add 1/4 cup of yogurt. I used Greek yogurt, but you can use plain/vanilla yogurt if you want. I’ve made refrigerator oatmeal without yogurt and it comes out good, just less creamy.
Time to add your sweetener of choice. I squeezed about 1 teaspoon of honey in each jar.
You can also use brown sugar, artificial sweetener, or granulated sugar.
This is all you need to create a basic refrigerator oatmeal. In the next steps you can add your flavorings and fruit of choice.
In the mason jars on the left I added 1 tablespoon of peanut butter in each and on the right I did 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder in each.
Close your mason jars and shake them until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Place your cut up fruit into each jar and stir to combine.
Cover your oatmeal and place in the refrigerator. You can store your oatmeal in the fridge anywhere from 1 to 4 days depending on the ripeness and type of fruit you’ve added.
NO COOK REFRIGERATOR OATMEAL RECIPE
Ingredients
1/4 cup old fashion (rolled) oats / quick-cooking oats
1/3 cup milk (whole/skim/almond/soy)
1/4 cup yogurt (Greek/plain/vanilla)
1 teaspoon sweetener of your choice
Add-Ins
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-2 teaspoons flax seed/chia seeds
1 tablespoon toasted coconut flakes
Fruit
bananas, raspberry, pineapple, peaches, blueberry, strawberry, apples, etc.
1) Add and mix the first 4 ingredients in your mason jar/container.
2) Add the add-in ingredients of your choice. Shake or stir to combine.
3) Gently stir in your fruit(s) of choice.
4) Place jars into the refrigerator overnight and enjoy the following day.
FLAVOR COMBINATION IDEAS
Peanut butter & banana
Peanut butter, cocoa powder and banana
Cinnamon sugar
Apple cinnamon
Peaches and cream
Piña colada (coconut and pineapple)
No cook refrigerator oatmeal has been a great way for me to incorporate more fiber into my diet. You can make this recipe as healthy or as gourmet as you want.
My favorite flavor combo is definitely the peanut butter and banana.
Have you made no cook refrigerator oatmeal before? If you have, what’s your favorite flavor combination? If you haven’t, which one do you plan on trying?
I bet my kids would dig the chocolate one and if I put strawberries in there , they would love it!
ohhh chocolates and strawberries does sound good. I think I’ll try that this week
Yummy, This looks great. I will be trying.
I have done this with strawberries/blueberries/raspberries in the summer, it’s really good and I’m really not a huge oatmeal fan. Maybe because it’s cold is why I like it this way.
that sounds really good!
I am always in awe of the people who make food in advance. I am lucky if I remember to thaw something in time to cook it.
lol I know what you mean. I think I need to focus on more crock pot/slow cooker recipes
That looks really good! PB and banana sounds great. I opt for the quick cook oats typically as a go-to, but I like this idea.
Mmm, this chocoholic is going to try this with the cocoa powder! Thanks for sharing!
lol yes and maybe some mini chocolate chips
This looks delish! I’ll have to try this soon!
I love refrigerator oatmeal! My favorite is peanut butter with raisins and cinnamon. Yum!
never thought to add raisins. I just bought some today
It impressed me when busy mom’s plan ahead. I feel like I do not have time to plan ahead because I am so busy. Haha. Kiddos to you, Fellow Mom.
Thank you. I have no clue how other moms do it. I feel happy if I can clean the house up and take a shower lol
My daughter has been asking for oatmeal every day for the past 2 weeks. The amount of dirty oatmeal pots I have washes makes me tired. I am going to try this and see if it will fill her oatmeal craving or if it HAS to be hot oatmeal. You know, the brain of a 4 year old.
LOL yes I completely understand I have a 3 year old. I try soaking the oatmeal pota but they are a pain. Maybe if they help you make it, you can also microwave a few seconds if you prefer hot
Thanks for posting this! Sounds yummy!
I have not heard of this, but I’m definitely going to try it! Think I might do it tonight! Thanks!
This looks delicious!! I will try with non-dairy yogurt and hope it works just as well. 🙂
I’m sure it’ll come out great. I might try with almond milk next time.
Yum!! What a great concept to not have to cook anything. I am all about little prep time.
This is helpful to know, especially when trying to eat better! Great pictures to follow along with as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you 😊
This is awesome! Definitely going to give this a try!
I’m trying to eat healthier and have been cooking oatmeal every morning. This would be a great option on Work days. Thanks for sharing!
Ooooh love this! So easy and delicious, definitely want to try. Thanks for sharing!
Love this idea, so simple which I love! Apple cinnamon sounds awesome!
I love me a warm, steaming bowl of oatmeal in the winter, but this looks great for summertime. Also love that it’s grab n go!
I’ll have to try this. Thanks.
I love overnight oatmeal! Great post!
Love this! Always on the lookout for make-ahead breakfast ideas. Thanks:)
I’ve seen these also, but never tried it…you’ve convinced me! Especially now that I’m nursing, and oatmeal is supposed to help. Thanks for the variety 🙂
Yes it does help! I’ve also made no bake lactation balls with oats that helped a lot when nursing my first born.
Great ideas! My daughter loves refrigerator oatmeal. I’ll have to send her these ideas!
Wow! I can’t wait to try these. Thanks.