Make delicious cinnamon overnight oats for a tasty start to your day. The creamy rolled oats soak overnight in almond milk and a warm, comforting cinnamon flavor. Do yourself a favor and wake up to a breakfast that comes together while you sleep. Plus, it’s vegan and gluten-free!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easily customize the recipe to include your favorite toppings like fresh berries, nuts, or a dollop of yogurt.
What You Need to Make this Recipe
- Oatmeal: Old-fashioned rolled oats produce the best results, whereas steel-cut oats come out chewy since they don’t absorb the liquid properly, and quick oats turn out mushy.
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds provide texture, protein, fiber, and healthy fat.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a warm and savory flavor.
- Milk: You can use almond milk, water, dairy, or other alternatives like oat, soy, or coconut milk- like we do for our overnight oats with coconut milk.
- Sweetener: Sweeten cinnamon overnight oats with a simple combination of vanilla extract and brown sugar.
- Toppings: A sprinkle of cinnamon to garnish should do the trick, but feel free to get creative.
Additions and Substitutions
- Dairy – Add Greek yogurt or cottage cheese to increase the protein and creaminess of the overnight oats. Cottage cheese seems like a strange ingredient in oatmeal, but it’s a great addition to breakfast treats and desserts- try our cottage cheese ice cream!
- Fruit – Top cinnamon overnight oats with fresh fruit like strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, or banana slices.
- Nuts – Finish the oats with chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts.
- Nut Butter – I love melting almond butter and drizzling it over the top, but you can use any seed or nut butter.
- Sweetener – Replace the brown sugar in the recipe with honey, agave, monk fruit, or stevia. For a protein boost, sweeten the oats with your favorite protein powder. Our protein overnight oats is an example of how we use it.
How to Make Cinnamon Overnight Oats
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Divide the oats into two containers and top them with one teaspoon of chia seeds and a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
Step 2: and a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
Step 3: Pour almond milk, vanilla extract, and brown sugar or honey over the oats; stir to combine. Then, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Expert Tips
- Store overnight oats in a jar with room to spare since the oatmeal and chia seeds expand as they rehydrate, and so will any mix-ins you add.
- It’s a matter of preference. I find a 1:1 ratio of one part old-fashioned oats and one part almond milk for the best result, but I add more if I include chia seeds since they absorb more liquid. Use less milk if you want thicker oatmeal and more if you like it runny.
- Despite the name overnight oats, they only need to soak for 2-3 hours before you can enjoy them. However, the longer you soak the oats, the softer they will become.
- Stir the oats before digging into them.
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Serving Suggestions
The best thing about overnight oats with cinnamon is flexibility. All you need is oats, milk, ground cinnamon, and toppings or mix-ins to take them to the next level. Here are a few suggestions to consider.
- Chocolate Chips, Cocoa Nibs, Cocoa Powder
- Chocolate or Vanilla Protein Powder
- Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds
- Agave, Maple Syrup, Monk Fruit, Fig Jam
- Greek Yogurt, Cottage Cheese
- Almond Butter, Sunflower Seed Butter, Peanut Butter, Nutella, Cookie Butter
How Long do Overnight Oats Last?
- Refrigerate – Most overnight oat recipes keep for three days in the refrigerator. If the oats seem dry after sitting in the fridge, add another splash of almond milk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the benefits of cinnamon in oatmeal?
Cinnamon is a common spice with a long history of use in cooking and traditional medicine. It offers a range of health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-microbial properties; it also has brain-boosting effects (the perfect way to start the morning) and improved insulin sensitivity.
Is cinnamon in oatmeal good for you?
Starting your day with a combination of cinnamon and oats can be a fantastic way to kick off your morning. Oats are a rich source of heart-healthy nutrients and packed with energy-boosting carbohydrates to fuel your day; combine that with the health benefits of cinnamon, and it’s a win-win!
More Overnight Oats Recipes:
Cinnamon Overnight Oats
- 2 Airtight Container
- ⅔ cup rolled oats gluten-free, divided
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds divided
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground, divided
- 1 cup almond milk divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract divided
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar divided
- Divide the oats into two containers and top them with one teaspoon of chia seeds and a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
- Pour almond milk, vanilla extract, and brown sugar or honey over the oats; stir to combine. Then, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Store overnight oats in a jar with room to spare since the oatmeal and chia seeds expand as they rehydrate, and so will any mix-ins you add.
- It’s a matter of preference. I find a 1:1 ratio of one part old-fashioned oats and one part almond milk for the best result, but I add more if I include chia seeds since they absorb more liquid. Use less milk if you want thicker oatmeal and more if you like it runny.
- Despite the name overnight oats, they only need to soak for 2-3 hours before you can enjoy them. However, the longer you soak the oats, the softer they will become.
- Stir the oats before digging into them.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.