Swiss Oatmeal (overnight oats/cold oatmeal)

07

Zachary has the best memory. If I don’t want to leave home without something or forget an item at the store, I just ask Zachary to remind me. He’s really good at reminders. Ever since having this “cold oatmeal” for the first time, he’s been reminding me every weekend eve to prep it (during the week he eats breakfast at school). We actually had a meltdown on a recent Saturday morning where we couldn’t eat this because I didn’t have any yogurt to make it the night before. You’d think I’d decided to just not give him breakfast altogether or something. Or boil him in oil. (Sometimes during the most epic of tantrums, I imagine that’s what the neighbors think we must be doing.)

A while back, I had a coupon for a free Swiss oatmeal. It sounded really weird to me. Cold oatmeal? I mean, I don’t even like hot oatmeal all that much, and this seemed even less likely to be tasty. But it was free, right? So I got it, and I was so surprised at how much I liked it. I had been seeing overnight oats all around the blogosphere and honestly didn’t even realize it was the same thing (probably because I scroll past many an oatmeal post). The night before you plan on eating this, you mix together oats and milk. There’s no cooking involved. As I was skimming recipes, I noticed some called for draining the milk the next morning whereas others didn’t. Some mixed in yogurt and some didn’t. Ultimately, I went with the easiest approach—mix together the milk, oats, and yogurt the night before. No draining required.

The next morning, you just add your favorite fruits, nuts, whatever you want, really. Sometimes I’ll also add raisins the night prior so they plump a bit overnight. Honestly, the best way I can think to describe this is yogurt with soft oats mixed in. I realize that doesn’t sound like the most appealing thing, but it’s quite good. And, it’s a great cold breakfast alternative to cereal. Healthier, too.

I’ve used almond milk and almond “yogurt” here, but obviously you can use the standard cow’s milk equivalents. I haven’t tried it, but I imagine coconut milk/yogurt would also be great. Which actually just made me think I should add toasted coconut to this next time, regardless. I’ll tell Zachary to remind me. 🙂

Updated June 2014 to  add: We’ve now eaten this about a million times. I usually make a larger batch for all of us and use equal parts milk, oats, and yogurt. Easy to remember! And noted below.

 

Swiss Oatmeal (overnight oats/cold oatmeal)

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7 thoughts on “Swiss Oatmeal (overnight oats/cold oatmeal)

  1. You know how we’re totally twins separated at birth? We’ve been doing cold oatmeal for breakfast a ton this summer. My kid loves it and it’s much less messy than cereal. Except I usually mix in peanut (or almond) butter and banana instead of yogurt. One time I added chocolate chips – and my strange child pulled them all out and told me they were “yuck.” So now I stick with berries.

  2. Haha kids and their memories, especially when it comes to food they like 😛 I’ve never had cold oatmeal but I am long overdue for a change-up in the breakfast department! Sounds great!

  3. Loved this oatmeal, Elly! I changed it up quite a bit but kept with the 3 core ingredients of oats, yogurt & milk (I used coconut) and it’s so good. I wasn’t sure what I’d think about cold oatmeal but the texture is perfect for me and I love how it isn’t cement-like as cold hot oatmeal is. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Glad you liked it, Tara! I’ve been switching up the mix-ins/toppings quite a bit and I like that it’s so easy & adaptable.

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