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Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal with Almond Butter

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Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeI’ve made a lot of lifestyle changes on my weird little wellness odyssey. But there’s probably no area that’s been made over more thoroughly than my morning routine.

This is a generous term for what I had been doing in the past. As a freelancer who works mostly from home, I’ve found it hard to keep any sort of routine. That’s not to say that I sleep in until 11am every day—quite the opposite. Without an office or any healthy boundaries that would help define the ever-aspirational goal of “work-life balance,” it’s not uncommon for me to come downstairs from my sleeping loft, sit down at my desk while the coffee is brewing, look up five hours later and realize that I’m still in my underwear and the coffee is still sitting on the counter.

Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeMaple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeI’m never ravenous in the morning. But I need to eat a little something in order to make it until noon without sticking my face in one of the five Tupperware containers of leftovers in my fridge at any given moment.

Because I cook for a living and usually some part of my day is spent in the kitchen, I consider myself off-duty in the morning. Like most people, I reach for the most convenient, least time consuming option available for breakfast, which is usually a Kind bar, or one of its organic contemporaries – something that just involves ripping open the plastic and going to town. But as I discovered during the first month of my health journey, the problem with my beloved breakfast bars was the sugar.

Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeMaple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeMaple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-Free
My initial quick fix was single serving green smoothies. During busy weeks though, even cleaning one measly Cuisinart mini prep bowl was enough to bring my best healthy breakfast intentions to their knees. After this happened a few weeks in a row, I knew I needed to change my tactics. And thus, my love affair with overnight oatmeal was born.

To be honest, I found the idea of raw oatmeal at first to be a little off putting. The containers of it at Juice Press were one of the few items in the fridge that I didn’t feel like would taste like deliciously over-priced mush.

But once I tried the system of mixing oats with milk and letting them “develop” in the fridge overnight, I realized how delicious the end result can be. Then I started adding mashed banana and chia seeds to my overnight oatmeal recipe and the texture became even more silky and pudding-like. The oats still have some bite to them, and along with the chia seeds, which plump up after a few hours in the fridge, you get this killer weekday porridge that tastes good cold or hot.

Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeMaple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-FreeMy favorite part about getting in the overnight oatmeal habit is that you can make as many servings as you want for the week ahead and portion them individually. So In honor of my dear blog friend Christina Lane’s virtual baby shower, I made the recipe below serve two, as she is the queen of tiny desserts, dinners and breakfasts for you and your plus one. I’m so thrilled that her next food chapter will need to include an extra spoon.

If you’ve been in a breakfast rut and are in search of a make ahead idea from a fellow lazy cook, look no further. This overnight oatmeal recipe is perfect to whip together in advance of a busy week, especially the kind that may or may not include bringing a new child into the world.

Happy baby shower Christina!

Xo

P

p.s. If you haven’t already, I would love it if you could give FMP your official virtual high five in this year’s Saveur Food Blog Awards! I’m nominated for Best Special Interest Blog – vote here.

Recipes
Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal Recipe with Almond Butter and Banana in the Refrigerator | Raw, Healthy, Vegan, Gluten-Free

Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal with Almond Butter

Print Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup mashed banana, from 1 large
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt
  • 1 cup gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, mix together the almond milk, banana, almond butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Fold in the oats and chia seeds. Divide between 2 small bowls, ramekins or mason jars. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Top with sliced bananas, slivered almonds and some extra maple syrup, or enjoy as is. For a warm oatmeal, pop the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!

Find out what other people made for Christina’s virtual baby shower!

Fizzy Grapefruit Margaritas from Well Plated

Earl Grey Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream from Country Cleaver

Mini Bourbon and Bacon Tater Tot Casseroles from Climbing Grier Mountain

Maple-Chia Overnight Oatmeal from Feed Me Phoebe

Lemon Cake for Two from Keep It Sweet Desserts

Mini Raspberry Pavlovas from The Baker Chick

Almond Berry Cake Parfaits for Two from Edible Perspective

Peanut Butter Bourbon Blondies from The Frosted Vegan

Mixed Berry Mascarpone Scones from Bluebonnet Baker

Greek Yogurt Funfetti Cupcakes for Two from The Housewife in Training Files

Bourbon Barbeque Sliders with Bleu Cheese from Saucy Pear

Steak Fajita Tacos for Two from The Sweetphi Blog

Mango Madeleines from Stetted

Citrus Salad with Mint, Honey, and Lime from Rachel Cooks

Parfaits for Two from Order in the Kitchen

Peanut Butter Chocolate Mouse with Coconut Whipped Cream from Joyful Healthy Eats

French Breakfast Puffs from Stephie Cooks

Blueberry Vanilla Cream Hand Pies from Eats Well With Others

Banana Pudding Cheesecake from The Domestic Rebel

Check out the other great dishes from this week’s Food Network #SensationalSides below

Weelicious: Mushroom Barley
Virtually Homemade: Easy Yellow Rice
The Wimpy Vegetarian: Mujadara with Roasted Tomatoes and Greens
Jeanette’s Healthy Living: Indian Spiced Quinoa Pilaf with Peas
The Heritage Cook: White and Wild Rice Pilaf
The Mom 100: Red Quinoa Salad with Arugula, Artichoke Hearts and Olives
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Wild Mushroom, Sweet Pepper & Leek Risotto
Red or Green: Spicy Barley Risotto
Taste with the Eyes: Brown Rice Noodles paired with Tamarind Fish
The Cultural Dish: Three Ways to Make Risotto
Creative Culinary: Rice and Egg Bowl with Salmon and Peas
Swing Eats: Stir-Fried Quinoa with Chinese Vegetables
FN Dish: 5 Quirky Grain Switch-Ups You Gotta Try

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  3. Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says

    April 14, 2015 at 9:37 am

    I find it’s always hard to get a healthy morning routine going too, so I loved hearing your story, and seeing this recipe! It looks super healthy and delicious, I’m totally going to have to try this 🙂

    Reply

    • Phoebe Lapine says

      April 14, 2015 at 11:05 pm

      Thanks Phi! It’s definitely still a struggle for me. That snooze buttons haunts my early morning dreams. But having a nice breakfast already made to wake up to helps get me up and at em more so than anything else. Thank you for stopping by!! xo

      Reply

  4. Frankie says

    April 14, 2015 at 9:56 am

    I was always dubious that they really got the gluten out of oatmeal so I never tried it, but if you’re running this recipe I know it’s safe. While I believe in starting the day with protein instead of carbs, this looks like a great mid-afternoon snack.

    Reply

  9. Emily says

    April 14, 2015 at 10:41 pm

    This looks like the perfect filling breakfast or even a satisfying dessert. Almond butter with bananas is a combo that I find pretty irresistible. Beautiful, beautiful pictures!

    Reply

  10. Erin@WellPlated says

    April 15, 2015 at 6:42 pm

    I can so relate to the issues with setting boundaries when working from home. These are the perfect solution to have tasty breakfast at the ready. Thank you so so much for joining the shower!

    Reply

  14. Marcy says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    Hi!! This looks AMAZING. Quick question though, it says….

    Cook Time: 24 hours

    Total Time: 24 hours, 5 minutes

    But the recipe directions say overnight…will it be ok to set for just 12 hours? or do you need to start it 24 hours in advance?

    Can’t wait to make this!! Game changing!

    Reply

    • Phoebe Lapine says

      November 2, 2015 at 8:58 am

      Sorry for the confusion Marcy! Yes – 12 hours is definitely sufficient. I’ll update the timing in the recipe, as most people do not sleep for 24 hours 🙂 It could probably sit for even less time. You can always taste it and see if the oats are soft enough. Let me know what you think! xo

      Reply

  15. Getpokefied says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:43 pm

    I think this looks delicious, but I’m not sure how something with two tablespoons+ of maple syrup is lower in sugar than a bar? Maple syrup is pure sugar!

    Reply

    • Phoebe Lapine says

      November 2, 2015 at 8:57 am

      I suppose it depends on which bars you like, but the ones I was eating had upwards of 20 grams of sugar! Kind bars are a bit better, but the serving size feels a lot smaller than a bowl of this oatmeal. If you are really watching your sugar, you can easily reduce the maple syrup in this recipe – tis the beauty of cooking, rather than ripping open a package 🙂 Enjoy!

      Reply

  17. courtney says

    March 7, 2016 at 10:42 am

    we’ve started making this 2-3 times a week as a nice alternate to mix in with our usuals: slow-cooker steelcut oatmeal, granola & yogurt, and – husband’s favorite – peanut butter & jelly toast. 🙂

    comes together quickly, so i throw it all in a bowl in a few minutes while dinner is cooking. makes breakfast a breeze – remove from fridge & heat! i like to microwave it as-is and put a splash more nondairy milk on top to loosen it up. we’ve made it with peanut butter & honey, too, when that’s all we’ve got in the pantry.

    great way to get the day off to a running (and well nourished) start!

    Reply

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