Sometime during my college years, my dad and I took over almost all of the Thanksgiving cooking. We set our alarms to ring slightly earlier than normal so we could squeeze in a decent workout (and a shower!) before meeting in the kitchen to pull out pots, pans, and mixing bowls.
We started with Dad’s recipe for whole wheat bread rolls that he created while attending graduate school in Boston. After kneading the dough by hand (that’s still my favorite method and what I always do for all of my cinnamon roll recipes!) and setting it aside for its first rise, Dad lit the coals on our barbeque outside for cooking the turkey, and then we turned to great grandma’s stuffing.
Butter, onions and celery, and plenty of savory seasonings went into our largest pot, which I stirred until translucent and tender, while Dad browned a massive amount of sausage on the adjacent burner. He added that to my pot, along with more butter to melt, followed by bread cubes, chicken stock, and another sprinkling of seasonings to taste.
Once we set that aside to simmer, we punched down the bread dough, divided it into little spheres, and nestled them inside of baking pans for their second rise. Then came the regular and sweet potatoes, baking them until perfectly tender, and Mom generally volunteered to mash each for us. Everyone always looked forward to my maple sweet potato casserole—it tastes almost exactly like pumpkin pie!
At that point, we tried to fit as many dishes into the oven as possible to finish baking: the stuffing, the rolls, the sweet potato casserole, and finishing with our favorite skinny roasted Brussels sprouts. Dad brought in the turkey from outside, while I pulled out great grandma’s cranberry relish, the pecan pie, and the ultimate healthy pumpkin pie that we had prepared the night before.
With that bustling whirlwind of activity in the kitchen, chopping and slicing and handing each other spoons and spatulas, all while sidestepping each other and moving in circles around the various countertops almost like an interpretive dance, both Dad and I almost always forgot about our growling stomachs that wanted a bit of lunch during our many hours of cooking!
So this year, I’m planning ahead and making us these Gingerbread Protein Overnight Oats as a healthy breakfast to keep us fueled for all of that cooking! Dad is absolutely obsessed with all of my protein-packed overnight oats recipes (the banana bread version is one of his all-time favorites!), and with this recipe’s cozy spices and sweet, almost dessert-like flavor, I have a feeling he’ll love them just as much.
And the 16g+ of protein will definitely help too! ??
If you’re unfamiliar with overnight oats, they’re incredibly simple to make! Just stir all of the ingredients together in a mason jar or plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, place that in the refrigerator overnight, and stick in your spoon the following morning. That’s all there is to it!
So yes—overnight oats are meant to be eaten cold, straight from the fridge! Letting the oats soak up the yogurt and milk for that many hours softens them as much as if you had cooked them on the stove or in the microwave. That easy prep feels like magic, especially if you love your sleep like me!
In this recipe, the Greek yogurt provides the thick, creamy texture and the big protein punch. (It has 20g+ of protein per cup!) For the gingerbread flavor, you’ll mix in molasses, ground ginger, and a hint of cinnamon. Don’t skip the molasses! Its deep, rich flavor is half of the iconic gingerbread taste, and I love this kind. It’s cheap, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. You can generally find molasses on the baking aisle, near the honey, or around the oats on the cereal aisle, near the pure maple syrup.
For the rest of these oats’ sweetness, you’ll use one of my favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean-eating friendly, and it’s highly concentrated. You just need ¼ teaspoon to sweeten this entire jar! This is the kind I use because I love its warm vanilla flavor and don’t notice any strange aftertaste like with some other stevia products. You can find it at many health-oriented grocery stores, but I always buy mine online here because that’s the cheapest price I’ve found. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Ready for breakfast?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your overnight oats and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Gingerbread Protein Overnight Oats | | Print |
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) nonfat milk
- ½ tsp molasses
- ¼ tsp vanilla crème stevia, or adjusted to taste
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1/16 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup (25g) old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
- Stir together everything except the oats until thoroughly combined in a mason jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Stir in the oats. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
The molasses is half of what gives gingerbread its iconic flavor (with the ginger as the other half!). This is the kind that I buy. It’s inexpensive, shelf-stable, and keeps for ages. Don’t skip it!
Any sweetener may be substituted for the stevia. You’ll want the equivalent of about 3-4 teaspoons of granulated sugar. (However, you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
Instant oats (aka quick-cooking or one-minute oats) may be substituted for the old-fashioned oats. Gluten-free instant oats may be substituted as well. Do not substitute steel-cut oats; they do not soften enough.
These are the glass jars that I use. These are cheaper, very similar, and work just as well!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, high protein}
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You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♥ Classic Gingerbread with Maple Glaze
♥ Baked Gingerbread Donuts with Maple Glaze
♥ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Oatmeal Cookies
♥ Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones
♥ Skinny Gingerbread Latte
♥ Soft-Baked Ginger Cookies
♥ Cranberry Gingerbread Granola
♥ …and all of Amy’s protein overnight oats recipes!
Quick question. Do you think this can go from refrigerator to a warm up in the microwave for those who do not want their oatmeal anyway but hot? Thanks so much for all your delicious recipes. I love the breakdown on how to get a Thanksgiving dinner together.
Thanks for your sweet words Lexy! I’m glad you enjoyed the Thanksgiving prep part. 🙂 I’d be cautious in heating up these overnight oats because of the yogurt, but I’d love to hear what you think if you try the recipe!
you know the Holidays are coming when you use Gingerbread in your recipes. I Know I can always count on you for yummy healthy food xoxo
You’re such a sweetheart Beverley — that means a lot to me! Thank you! ♡
I can picture you and your dad waking up early to prep the feast!! What a blast, and this looks oh so tasty!
Thanks Brittany! There’s a reason Thanksgiving is basically my favorite holiday! 😉
These look so yummy!!
Thanks Melanie!
love the protein balance that you’ve added, thanks for sharing this, had never heard of overnight oats before
Thanks Sabrina! 🙂
My coworker recently introduced me to overnight oats. I’ve been searching around for different recipes and this is the best sounding one so far! I’ll be prepping this before bed tonight!
Thanks for posting all those memories of cooking thanksgiving dinner with your dad and for posting the recipe! Cheers!
It’s my pleasure Seth! I’m excited to hear what you thought of these overnight oats! 🙂
I am missing something on the vanilla cream stevia which I know is a liquid. 1/4 teaspoon or 1/4 dropper?
Thank you SO much for catching that Noelle! I’ve updated the recipe accordingly — it’s teaspoon. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the overnight oats!
This overnight oats recipe didn’t turn out as well for me as I had hoped it would. I doubled the recipe and made no substitutions. I might have accidentally added a smidge too much ginger. In any case, I thought the ginger flavor was a bit too strong, and I also thought it wasn’t very sweet. Interestingly, my mom could not taste the ginger, but she agreed that the oats weren’t all that sweet. She thought they were better when she added some strawberries to them. I was hesitant to add extra drops of the vanilla creme stevia because I’d already used the full amount called for in the recipe. Maybe if I make this again I will use Truvia as my sweetener, and I might lessen the ginger, up the cinnamon, and maybe tinker with the molasses.
Yikes! Ginger tends to clump, so it could be that your portion had a few of those clumps, whereas your mom’s was missing ginger. As the recipe states, you’re welcome to adjust the vanilla creme stevia to taste — which means it’s okay to add more! 🙂
Me again, gushing about how tasty one of your recipes is! I added nutmeg and cloves to this, and the taste took me right back to autumn. Wondrous. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day to you as well, Celina! 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed these overnight oats too!
OK, an update on this recipe…I decided to try something crazy. So not only did I add nutmeg and cloves, but I also tossed in some shredded coconut, added a handful of a “tropical dried fruit” blend (mango, banana, raisins), and BAM: tropical overnight oats! 😛 So. Tasty.
That sounds amazing Celina!! Hawaii is my family’s favorite vacation spot, so I’m sure your fun tropical version would be a huge hit in my house! 😉