The Best Overnight Oats Ingredients You Never Thought to Use

A quick scroll through Form’s Instagram feed will enlighten you to our love of overnight oats. While protein porridge runs a close second, it’s the overnight variety you’ll likely find us tucking into on a morning, and probably with a tablespoon or two of vegan protein powder for some additional fuel.

Overnight oats are a nourishing and super-efficient way to start the day, considering all the prep comes the night before. Once you’ve mastered the perfect ratio of oats to plant-based milk, the next logical step is to get experimental.

To elevate your overnight oats into not just convenient nourishment, but something to look forward to in the morning, here are a few ingredients you might want to consider adding to the mix.

5 Scrumptious Overnight Oats Ingredients

Silken Tofu

Silken tofu is like solidified custard in texture, produced without separating and pressing the soy curds as happens in the production of regular tofu. Adding it to your overnight oats base can lend a creamy, pudding-like texture while also injecting an extra helping of protein to your breakfast bowl/jar.

For two servings, simply mix 85 grams of silken tofu with a cup of plant-based milk, two tablespoons of your Form protein of choice, a cup of oats and one tablespoon of chia seeds. Soak overnight, then top with fruit when morning comes.

Frozen Berries

This simple tweak goes a long way when it comes to naturally sweeten your overnight oats, while also getting the most from both the flavour and the antioxidants in your favourite berries. Try blending strawberries or raspberries with your nut milk of choice before you add your oats. As an added bonus, pink oats are all the more ’grammable!

Black Tea

For a subtler flavour boost, soak up the goodness of your favourite tea. This works particularly well with blends such as sweet chai or earl grey. Plus black tea contains caffeine and the amino acid L-theanine (a winning combo also found in our Boost nootropic supplement), a pairing shown to improve alertness and focus.

Try steeping a tea bag in hot water for 3-5 minutes depending on how strong you like it, then discard the tea bag and stir in one tablespoon of maple syrup. Let it cool for a little while before adding your oats (2 cups), nut milk (½ cup) and vanilla extract (1 tsp). We like it best topped with stewed fruit the next morning.

White Miso

Give your breakfast a Japanese twist with the addition of sweet white miso, which boasts a sweet, creamy and nutty flavour that perfectly compliments overnight oats. Fermented for a shorter period than darker varieties, white miso is the most palatable in overnight oats for its comparatively mellow taste. Try blending a teaspoon with your plant-based milk of choice and one date before mixing with your oats, then top with tahini and fresh fruit.

Raw Courgette

You might have seen this one done before under the name “zoats”, so-called for courgette’s more common name in the US: zucchini. Like with grated apples in bircher muesli, this variation of overnight oats involves replacing some of the oats in your bowl with courgette gratings. In return, you get a serving of veggies first thing in the morning. Try this recipe by Claire Fabian.