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My first winter in grad school, the professors played a mean joke on us. Our classes started at 8 am three days a week and 7:30 am the other two. With the sun barely above the horizon, the temperatures weren’t much higher, and a thick fog rolled in every night with water droplets so big it almost felt like you took a second shower just by walking outside. Â
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I started to dread my morning alarm clock, so to sleep in as long as possible and prolong the inevitable walk across campus, I began making my breakfast and lunch the night before. With enough papers to grade in the evenings, my meal prep as very basic and usually consisted of fruit and dry cereal, plus veggies and a sandwich, but every once in a while if I had an extra 5 minutes to spare, I mixed up overnight oats.
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I usually kept things simple—milk, yogurt, cinnamon—but occasionally I threw in raisins to make them taste like my favorite oatmeal cookies or fresh fruit for a juicy twist. Although I may not have thought of them all with my brain so full of chemistry, the possibilities really were endless!
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These Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats were one of my favorites. I just needed 5 standard pantry staples, nothing strange at all. And they’re so full of chocolate that they practically taste like a cross between hot chocolate and brownies!
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For those of you who haven’t heard of overnight oats, they’re really easy to make. Simply add all of the ingredients to a jar or container with a lid, stir, cover, and let them chill overnight in the fridge. It’s a way to eat your oatmeal cold, but it still has the same soft texture as when you cook it on the stove. They’re great for the summer or breakfasts on the go!
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I generally lean towards old-fashioned oats for these because I love their thick, hearty texture. Quick-cooking (aka minute or instant) oats will also work too, if that’s all you have in your pantry, but since we’re letting them sit for at least 8 hours (get as much beauty sleep as you can!), it isn’t necessary.
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To boost the protein in these chocolaty oats, I turned to Greek yogurt. I’m not a fan of protein powder in my smoothies or overnight oats just yet. I haven’t quite gotten past its slightly grainy texture. Maybe someday! But for now, plain nonfat Greek yogurt adds the protein I want, as well as an irresistible creamy richness.
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Since the yogurt alone won’t quite soften the oats all by itself, you’ll also add a tiny bit of milk. The mixture may look a little watery at first, but the oats act like little sponges while you sleep and soak up most of the moisture.
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All of the chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder. You’ll need 2 tablespoons, and if you’re a chocoholic like me, make sure they’re heaping! To balance it out, add a little sweetener, however much you need to make your taste buds happy.
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Then in the morning, grab a spoon and enjoy!
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| Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats | | Print |
- ¼ c (25g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free if necessary)
- ½ c (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ c (60mL) nonfat milk
- 2 tbsp (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2-3 tsp (9-14g) Truvia (or other sweetener), to taste
- Add all of the ingredients in the order that they’re listed to a mason jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Stir to combine. Screw on the lid, and refrigerate the oats overnight or at least 8 hours.
Any milk and yogurt will work. However, most yogurts don’t contain the same amount of protein and thick creaminess as Greek yogurt.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, high protein}
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More overnight oat recipes from other food bloggers…
♥   Flax and Blueberry Vanilla Overnight Oats by Pinch of Yum
♥   Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oats by French Press
♥   Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats by Crème de la Crumb
♥   Ambrosia Apple Pie Overnight Oats by The Sweet {Tooth} Life
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Very filling! I find I have to add a little more sweetener, to combat the bitter chocolate and the tangy yogurt.
I’m glad you found these filling, Lisa! I hope you enjoyed your overnight oats even more with the added sweetener too. 🙂
A really lovely recipe! We are a gf/oat free house and recipe works deliciously well with rice flakes. Thankyou!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these overnight “oats” and that rice flakes worked! Thanks for taking the time to let me know. It means a lot, Hanah! 🙂
What’s the amount of calories per bowl?
The full nutrition information is actually included directly underneath the recipe box! It includes the calories per bowl. I know it can be really easy to miss, though! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these overnight oats if you end up making them!
Hi, if I use instant oats……can I make same way in the morning? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Kathryn! Yes, you can absolutely substitute instant oats. I do that quite often! For the best consistency, I still recommend making them the night before and following the instructions as written. (If you make them the same morning you plan on eating them, the oats won’t have enough time to soften, even if you use the instant variety, so they’ll still be a bit dry and somewhat toothsome.)
I’d love to hear what you think of these overnight oats if you do end up making them! 🙂
Hi there!
Any thoughts on adding some banana? If so, how much would you recommend?
Also, What about adding raspberries either with the chocolate mixture or in a different overnight oats recipe? I am curious about how that would taste.
Thx so much! I really enjoy your recipes!!
Wendy
We really appreciate your interest in our overnight oats, Wendy! You can replace the milk with mashed banana to avoid adding too much “liquid” volume to the oats and achieve a similar thick consistency. I haven’t personally tried doing that substitution in this recipe, but I referenced our banana protein overnight oats to get that measurement. 😉 It could be that much banana overpowers the cocoa powder taste (I’m not sure since I haven’t tried!), so you could also try using 2 tablespoons of mashed banana and 2 tablespoons of milk, depending on how strong you prefer the fruit vs chocolate flavor.
We actually have a lot of different overnight oat recipes that you might be interested in trying as well! There are several that use berries and you could easily substitute raspberries in any of those! I’d love to hear what you think if you decide to try any of these overnight oats recipes! 😉