overnight oats

Raw Overnight Oats Chia Recipe. All Variations

Overnight Oats are a super healthy and super quick breakfast treat.

Steel-cut oats, are my rock-star grain and are perfect in this overnight oats breakfast. There’s nothing you can’t do with steel-cut oats. They are naturally gluten-free too, as long as they are marked gluten-free, which will clearly indicate the steel-cut oats were processed in gluten-free machinery. Take a look at the superfoods lineup of ingredients in this overnight oats recipe!

I highly recommend Kathy Hester’s Book OATrageous:

In her book she shares over a hundred fantastic and easy oat-based recipes, both savory and sweet, even oat-based bath products!

In my overnight oats  no cooking and makes no mess whatsoever; the steel-cut oats “cook” just by soaking them in a liquid. The resulting pudding is, just like Kathy Hester says, OATrageous! Want your rice pudding to be super delicious and super nutritious? Make it with steel-cut oats, and get optimal nutrition even at breakfast time, even at dessert time, as this dish is a good enough treat to serve for dessert too!

Below is the basic recipe just as I made it in my tinkering with raw steel-cut oats pudding on my first try, and I will include all variations. The chia seeds contribute a pleasant viscosity to the final texture, and are a worthwhile match for the steel-cut oats on every count: cute look, flavor, texture, amazing nutritional contribution.

Although I greatly value old fashioned oats and use them extensively (as a quick soup thickener, in cookies, in bread doughs, even in meatloaf, kugel and veggie burgers), for this raw overnight pudding we only want the steel-cut oats. Old-fashioned oats, shaped as thin slices, would absorb the liquid too quickly and get mushy, and you would end up with not enough texture. So: Steel-cut oats is the way to go for this overnight oats breakfast.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup steel-cut oats
  • 4 cups dairy-free milk (soy, rice, almond, cashew etc...)
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1 cup golden raisins
  • 1 cup coarsely ground almonds
  • 1 cup unsweetened grated coconut
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup, or a drop more (don't add more until you taste the finished dish. I didn't add any)
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Stir all ingredients in a mixing bowl. The mixture will look very liquidy. That's OK, overnight the steel-cut oats and chia seeds will have absorbed all the liquid. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate.

In the morning, the mixture will be thick and creamy, and ready to serve. If you like your pudding a little thinner, stir a little liquid into it. The pudding will keep several days in the refrigerator. You might want to fill serving size (8 ounces) mason jars, keep them refrigerated, and pack one to enjoy on the go. Makes about 8 servings

Variations: Play with all the possibilities and get an exciting dessert each time!

Keeping the oat/liquid 1/4 ratio at all times:

  • Soak the oats in natural (also called unfiltered) apple cider or pomegranate juice (in this case skip the maple syrup), or coconut water.
  • Substitute 1 cup coconut milk for 1 cup of the liquid for a richer dessert
  • Substitute other dried fruit for the raisins, but chop it: Apricots, dates, prunes etc...
  • Substitute ground flax seeds for the chia seeds
  • Can't have nuts? just skip them. Likewise, skip the coconut if you don't have it handy
  • Throw in 1/2 cup pure cocoa powder. In this case, use 2-3 tablespoons more maple syrup
  • Play with other natural flavorings and extracts: Vanilla, lemon, orange flower water, brandy or rum, coffee, creme de cassis, etc...
  • Stir 1 cup yogurt, vanilla or plain, in the finished dessert
  • Stir in some berries or chopped banana
4 replies
  1. Pete
    Pete says:

    Hello
    Levana that question about why is the chia pudding left out at room temperature I meant to say steel cut oats pudding why do you indicate to leave it at room temperature won’t it spoil?

    Reply

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