Protein Overnight Oats with Protein Powder
By Carine Claudepierre
Published on 05/11/2021 - Last updated on 11/19/2023
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These overnight oats with protein powder are a healthy plant-based breakfast recipe that is easy to make ahead of and meal prep for 4 days of high-protein breakfast.
Bonus, this Protein Overnight Oats recipe is also vegan, gluten-free, and contains 18 grams of plant-based proteins per serving.
Why You Will Love These Protein Overnight Oats
An Overnight oat recipe is a healthy breakfast, a cold oatmeal recipe that doesn’t require cooking the oats and therefore makes oats easier to digest.
This vegan breakfast recipe is also:
- Easy way to make ahead in large batches
- Loaded With Protein
- Easy, healthy, and nourishing
- Perfect as a post-workout recovery breakfast
Ingredients For Overnight Oats With Protein Powder
This healthy overnight oats recipe with protein powder is the easiest way to quickly add a lot of proteins to your overnight oat recipe.
The choice of your ingredients matters when it comes to adding protein powder to overnight oats. In fact, protein powder soaks a lot of liquid in the recipe, and if you use different ingredients, the result can be very gummy to very dry.
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – This is the coarse version of oats, and it doesn’t absorb liquid as much as quick oats. That’s why it’s the best choice for protein overnight oats, as this adds texture and keeps the oatmeal creamy and smooth.
- Chia Seeds – If you don’t like chia seeds, you can use a flax meal instead, but keep in mind that flax meal adds a slightly bitter flavor to the mixture, so it’s not our favorite choice. Removing the chia seeds from overnight oats loosens up the texture and turns the mixture liquid.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk is the best choice since it’s low in calories and light in flavor. But if you are after more proteins, try soy milk or oat milk for a nut-free option.
- Sweetener of Choice – We use maple syrup, but any liquid sweetener like agave syrup or sugar-free erythritol works as well. If you use a crystal sweetener, it won’t dissolve as well.
- Vanilla Extract is my go-to boost of flavor for this recipe, but, almond extract is delicious. You can totally leave out vanilla extract if your protein powder has a strong vanilla flavor.
- Cinnamon – This is optional, but this adds a delicious flavor to the recipe and it can be replaced with pumpkin pie spices for a high-protein fall oatmeal recipe.
- Protein Powder of Choice – We used vanilla peanut protein powder made from peanuts, but any vanilla plant-based protein powder works well including hemp protein powder or pea protein powder. We didn’t try whey protein powder, but you should expect similar results.
Making Protein Overnight Oats
Here are my tips and tricks to add protein to overnight oats and still make this recipe ultra tasty, creamy, smooth, and packed with flavors.
Step 1: Bring Dry Overnight Oat Ingredients Together
First, in a large mixing bowl or airtight container, add all the dry ingredients including rolled oats, chia seeds, protein powder, and cinnamon.
Step 2: Stir Liquid Ingredients To Dry Ingredients
Stir well to distribute the dry ingredients. Then, stir in almond milk, vanilla extract, and the sweetener you love.
Feel free to skip the sweetener if you don’t have a sweet tooth or if your protein powder is already very sweet.
Step 3: Soaking Protein Overnight Oats
Seal the mixing bowl with a silicone lid and place it in the fridge overnight or at least 3 hours. Protein powder absorbs liquid very fast, and you don’t need to soak protein overnight oats as long as traditional overnight oat recipes.
We recommend giving a quick stir in the mixture 1 hour after being placed in the fridge to prevent the chia seeds from migrating to the bottom of the bowl.
Step 4: Serving The Next Day
The next day, serve the overnight oats recipe in glass mason jars, with layers of plant-based yogurt to add proteins, berries, or nuts.
Tips For Even More Protein
Many of you don’t like protein powder flavor or simply don’t have protein powder at home. The great news is that you can make protein overnight oats without protein powder. I like protein powder recipes because it’s the easiest way to add loads of protein to a recipe with just a small amount of protein powder.
But, if you don’t enjoy protein powder flavor, or you don’t have any at home, you can make overnight oats without protein powder. To do so, replace a part of the plant-based milk with the same amount of:
- High-Protein Yogurt – Plain soy yogurt is a great option. Replace up to 1/2 cup of the plant-based milk with this to keep a nice smooth and creamy texture.
- Store-Bought Ready-Made Protein Shakes – These are already flavored and sweetened. It means you must remove the vanilla and sweetener for this recipe or the result will be too sweet.
- Nut Butter – Add up to 1/4 cup almond butter or peanut butter powder to the recipe to boost the protein content without protein powder.
- High-Protein Seeds – Stir in 1/4 cup of hemp seeds. This is the highest protein seed available on the market, and it’s the best to add protein to recipes without using any protein powder.
Best Toppings
Protein overnight oats are very blend served by themselves and it taste even better served in small jars, with layers of other ingredients, including:
- Fruits – Berries like raspberries, blueberries, or chopped apples and banana slices. Feel free to stir fresh or frozen berries in overnight oats. You can also stir the berries in the entire batch before soaking the oats overnight.
- Nuts – The best nuts are chopped pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts. They stay very crunchy even if soaked in the mixture, and they boost the protein content of your breakfast.
- Seeds – As mentioned before, hemp seeds are the best boost of plant-based protein.
- Peanut Butter or almond butter or high-protein options, and they add a creamy nutty flavor to the recipe.
- Chocolate Chips – You can use sugar-free dark chocolate chips to keep the recipe healthy and sugar-free.
- Melted Dark Chocolate – Drizzle some melted 70% cocoa chocolate to turn this breakfast into an indulgent dessert flavor.
Best Flavoring Options
The possibilities are endless, and you can add some ingredients to this vanilla overnight oats with protein powder mixture to create a range of breakfast flavors. For example, try the options below:
- Biscoff Protein Overnight Oats – Stir 1 1/2 tablespoons of Biscoff spread with the liquid ingredients and skip the sweetener.
- Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats – Use chocolate protein powder, and add 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder to the dry ingredients.
- Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats – Add 1/4 cup of pumpkin puree, decrease plant-based milk by the same amount, and add 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
Damien’s Take On These Protein Overnight Oats
I love overnight oats recipes, and not just for breakfast.
This recipe is particularly delicious – the layers of banana, chocolate, and oats make it particularly flavorsome.
This is my go-to snack after a long summer workout as it blends protein with a cold a refreshing taste.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any vegan protein powder in these overnight oats with almond milk.
Plant-based protein powders are highly recommended, like pea protein powder, almond protein powder, or peanut protein powder.
You can use vanilla-flavored powder or even chocolate protein powder in this recipe to make chocolate overnights oats.
No, you can’t make overnights oats without chia seeds, or the texture will be runny.
In fact, you need high-fiber seeds like chia seeds or flaxseed meal to add a jelly-like texture to the overnight oats. You can use white chia seeds or black chia seeds in this recipe.
Other options are to swap the 2 tablespoons of chia seeds with 2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal or 1 tablespoon of whole psyllium husk.
Yes, overnight oats are one the most healthy breakfast with a high nutrients profile, including:
High fiber – chia seeds and oats are high in fiber, and one serving of overnights oats contains 6 grams of fiber.
High protein – these overnight oats are made with protein powder, so it’s one of the highest protein breakfasts with 18 grams of protein per serving.
High nutrient profile – raw breakfasts are uncooked, which preserves all the vitamins and nutrients from grains and seeds.
Low GI – these overnights oats with protein powder are high in fiber and low in carbs keeping your blood sugar level stable for longer. Plus, if you don’t add the sweetener, one serving only contains 20 grams of net carbs and 200 kcal!
You can replace old-fashioned oats with instant oats, but you may have to add more instant oats to achieve the same creamy texture.
In fact, instant oats contain less fiber, and it’s less liquid absorbent than rolled oats.
As a result, if you swap one for the other, the texture of your overnight oats with protein powder can be very liquid.
More Overnight Oat Recipes
Do you love overnight oats? You may also like these healthy plant-based recipes:
Did You Like This Recipe?
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Overnight Oats with Protein Powder
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats - note 1
- 2 tablespoons Chia Seeds - black or white
- 2 scoops Protein Powder - we used Macro Mike Vanilla protein powder (1 scoop about 40g)
- 2 cups Almond Milk
- 2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add old-fashioned rolled oats, chia seeds, protein powder, and cinnamon. Stir to distribute evenly.
- Stir in almond milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Seal the bowl with a lid, refrigerate overnight. I recommend stirring the mixture 1 hour after you pop it in the fridge. This prevents the chia seeds from sinking to the bottom of the bowl.
- The next day, serve in small serving jars with peanut butter, dairy-free yogurt, fresh berries, and nuts.
Best overnight oats recipe I’ve tried, and my whole family will finally eat them!!! Thank you!!
Thank you! I totally agree with you on that, we also love this recipe
Delicious! I have a silly question, though; the Nutritional Information lists 25 mg of cholesterol. Since all of the ingredients are vegan, where does the cholesterol come from?
Thank you! Wow, what an eagle-eye comment! Yes, it’s not supposed to have any cholesterol.
Hi, thanks for so many great recipes, always a pleasure to receive them.
I have been having breakfast for years making something similar but I add:
ground sunflower seeds heaping tablespoon
ground flax heaping tablespoon
ground pumpkin seeds heaping tablespoon
one banana
tehina heaping tablespoon
organic peanut butter heaping tablespoon
blueberries 50 gram (frozen)
yoghurt 150 ml
My main meal of the day! Keeps me health (no medical problems whatsoever) and full the entire day! Also being physically active keeps me going at 72+ years.
Can I make this in tiramisu ?
Yes you can – use my Tiramisu Overnight Oats for inspiration!
Could I replace the almond milk with a protein drink and skip the protein powder?
It will change the ratio of milk you need because protein powder absorb some of the liquid. The best would be to follow my traditional overnight oat recipe using your protein milk instead.
I made this on Monday – it was SO easy and delicious. I’m making my second batch now for the rest of the week. I add 50g of frozen berries on top of the mixture in the jars, they defrost in the fridge overnight and make the oats extra yummy 🙂
Hi,
This is the most delicious breakfast I’ve EVER had. I can’t believe something healthy is that delicious. 10000000% will make again.
Are the topping ingredients blueberries, chocolate etc included in the calories?
Thank you so much for this lovely review! The nutrition panel is without the toppings.
Is this also gluten free?
Can I substitute coconut milk for almond milk?
You must use a certified gluten-free oat brand if you are intolerant to gluten. The remaining ingredients are gluten-free. Any milk can be used.
Hi there
I like my breakfast hot, can I warm it a little bit in the morning?
Absolutely!
Does this work without chia seeds and does anyone know the nutrition without?
Yes, it won’t thickened as much, you can add a few more tablespoon of oats to balance that.
After I mix it together, can I prep it into 4 containers each holding 3/4 cup of mixture?
It doesn’t seem like enough for a serving.
Absolutely!
Wonderful!
I’ve been using this recipe for over a year, basically making a triple size batch for weekly meal prep. It’s super easy, tasty, and every neighbor/workout bro I’ve shared it with has given it 5 stars.
Do you ever add plant based yogurt ?
Yes, you can swap 1/4 cup of milk for any plant based yogurt you love.
This is my first time trying overnight oats (not an oats person) and this recipe is fantastic! So versatile and filling. Thank you!
Hi! I would love to try this recipe with a combo of my Juice Plus vanilla protein powder plus my PB2 peanut butter powder. Do you have any suggestions for how I might edit the measurements if I did this?
Thank you!
I guess you could replace some of the milk by juice, if you add PB2 decrease the protein powder by same amount to avoid the result to be too dry.
Hi, I eat overnight oatmeal almost everyday. I’ve never used chia seeds and my oatmeal comes out perfect every time. Mind you, I’ve never liked nor eaten oatmeal until I discovered the overnight version. I use, rolled oats, strawberries, blue berries, milk and maple syrup. Sometimes I add pumpkin seeds and coconut flakes. Now that I know you add protein powder, I’ll be adding it also.
You don’t list the measurement for each ingredient?
Scroll up , the recipe is in the recipe card above this comment section, enjoy!
Adding protein powder to my OO was a huge help in keeping me satiated. I make mine a little differently, with 4 mason jars lined up, I add in the dry ingredients to each one, frozen blueberries and then enough plant milk to the top-cover and shake and put in the fridge. So basically, I just do the math divided by 4. I don’t use sweetener or vanilla because that’s already in the vanilla protein powder. Thank you for this great idea!
What size are the glass containers you have in the picture? I want to make it, then store it in the fridge in individual servings.
They are about 1/2 cup size
If I was making these ahead for meal prep, how long would they last? Could I use this recipe and eat one each day for 4 days?
I keep mine up to 2 days in the fridge, as soon as there’s no fruits, it can last up to 4 days in the fridge. Otherwise, freeze and thaw the batch the day before in the fridge. Enjoy
I can’t find the exact protein powder you’re referring to. On the Macro Mike site I only see a Hawaiian Salted Vanilla flavor and a Vanilla Buttercream flavor. Is it one of those you’re using?
Any protein powder works very well in the recipe, the Hawaiian protein powder on Macro mike is the one we use the most. The almond range is under their premium tab
Question: how can the calories be correct when 1 cup of these oats has 300+ cals?
You are not eating 1 cup of rolled oats per serve. The recipe serve 4 breakfast, the whole recipe contains 1 1/2 cup of rolled oats so one serve contains 6 tablespoons of oats, so 1/3 of the calories from a cup of oats and so roughly 100 kcal from oats. Remaining calories are from the added ingredients, per serve, one serve is 3/4 cup of the prepared recipe, recipe is evenly divided in 4 batch
Great recipe! Except, I would leave the vanilla extract out. I made my first batch with the full teaspoon and couldn’t eat it. I made my second batch with half of a teaspoon, and even though I can finish it, it’s still not great.
Very interesting, I’ll definitely attry this .
Thank u
Very cool recipe it looks like a delicious breakfast though I will try it with steel cut oats.
Just a small edit here, avoiding cooking rolled oats doesn’t accomplish too much. Rolled oats are subjected to a significant amount of heat as part of the steaming and rolling process to flatten them.
I don’t think steel cut oats soften very well if soaked overnight, let me know how it goes!
I make overnight oats with steel cut oats a lot but I cook a big batch of steel cut oats and freeze so I can use them whenever, plus for overnight oats I let the oats cool and then use a portion in my overnight oats and add ingredients to that and they come out very tasty and add more liquid after if I need to
I’ve tried steel cut and it didn’t do anything. I tossed it. Trying old fashioned rolled oats tonight.
Yes, the recipe mentioned that you must use rolled oats, steel cut oats won’t make smooth and creamy overnight oats. Enjoy !
Can I add the fruit, nuts, peanut butter, etc. to the jar the night before, or does it need to be added the next morning?
Thanks so much…can’t wait to try this!
Sure, add them in the mix the day before. It will work just fine, no need to thaw the fridge either. Enjoy!
Hi, how many are 2 scoop of protein in grams?
1 scoop of our protein powder in about 36-40g
Please send me the link to make this vegan over knight. Oats
To see the recipe, simply scroll up before this comment section. Enjoy!