I can’t wait to get home from this business trip tonight and make a batch of these strawberries and cream overnight oats. It’s the perfect recipe for an oaty breakfast for my awaited homecoming tomorrow morning.
I’ve been on the road for nearly ten days straight, stopping home for 24 hours to see my family. Luckily, this is my last trip scheduled in my calendar for a while… so it’s time to hunker down and finish testing recipes and writing my second cookbook. You can find the first cookbook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
One of the things I’ve learned recently is that sometimes, things don’t always go according to plan. I’m learning to be be more graceful and not so hard on myself with the unexpected. Last Thursday, I traveled to Miami to a conference where I was hosting a dinner for a group of bloggers in behalf of California Strawberries.
That morning, I dropped the kids off at school and drove myself to the airport. “On time” is what the flight status said when I left (I live an hour away from the airport).
When I went to park my car, the long term parking lot was closed (they were filming a movie). I was re-routed to another parking lot to a floor that was mid-construction. I immediately felt that something was off already. I normally park somewhere around 4F –consistency is the only way I remember where my car is parked when I am traveling often. Ok, so I parked in 2C. Bad juju is what I felt coming on.
Typically, New Orleans to Miami is a 1h 55min flight. Around 1h 45min, the captain said that there was bad weather in Miami and we would circle around to wait for the bad weather to pass. Another hour goes by. Captain makes another announcement that we would circle until we were able to land or be re-routed to Tampa (5hr drive time to Miami) to refuel.
After two additional hours of circling, we needed fuel, and they rerouted the plane. 5 hours or more in a plane… and I only got to Tampa! Once landed, we sat on the runway for another hour before they refueled the plane and another hour before we were able to get off the plane to stretch our legs (there were no open gates). Two hours later, I was off the plane, grabbed coffee, and picked up a Starbucks “I was here” mugs. This, my friends, is what 9h in an airplane looks like.
Half the plane left, others stretched out sleeping, and a few sat at the gate waiting to hear news. Me? Happy to get another “I was here” mug from Starbucks (the ONLY thing I collect), stinky, and hungry.
Needless to say, the dinner went on without me. I was pretty mad at the situation, not at the inconvenience, but at the fact that I wouldn’t be able to honor my commitment. Of course, the weather wasn’t something I could control and the awesome people at California Strawberries understood. The rest of the weekend was awesome.
Sunday morning I left Miami and mentally prayed that my flight would be on time. My daughter’s recital was that afternoon and I didn’t want to miss it. Just when I thought “oh-oh” … we boarded on time and landed on time! I was able to drive myself straight to the recital and show up 2 dances before hers. All was good in my world.
When I saw her face light up upon seeing me right before her performance –you know I snuck in the back to give her a kiss– I felt calmer.
I was home for a day and then went to New York for work all week. I’ve been there meeting magazine editors, meetings with my attorney, and developing some potential projects.
Instead of leaving some of these strawberry overnight oats for my husband to have for breakfast, I left him with the Bananas Foster Overnight Oats and Almond Butter Overnight Oats. These strawberry ones are my favorite. It’s nice to have a his and hers recipe, you know?
The process of making the oats is essentially the same as the other recipe, but the topping is different. I like to make this with steel cut oats but you can also use old fashioned oats. Quick oats won’t work as well. The “cream” comes from using whole milk or coconut milk… so if you use non-fat milk it won’t be as creamy.
All you have to do is put your jars in the fridge overnight and they will be ready in the morning. I sometimes eat them hot, other times I eat them cold, right out of the jar. I hope you like these as much as I do.
Strawberries and Cream Overnight Oats
These homemade strawberries and cream overnight oatmeal jars are fresh and delicious. Enjoy them cold out of the fridge or warmed for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave.
- Yield: 1
- Category: Breakfast
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup oats, old fashioned or steel cut (not quick oats)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground flax seed
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup strawberries, sliced
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Instructions
- In a glass jar, layer oats, ground flax, milk, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Top with strawberries and refrigerate.
- In the morning, stir to combine, top with maple syrup and enjoy.
Notes
You can use steel cut oats or old fashioned oats for these. Quick oats will be runny so you’ll have to reduce the liquid.
If you like warm oats, heat them up in the microwave for 30seconds to a minute.
Want more overnight oats? Check out these other delicious recipes
Leave a Reply 43 comments
Have you tried this with frozen strawberries? Does it work as well? We can buy fruit much faster than we eat it, so I have a bunch of frozen that I thought I could use for this.
frozen strawberries will work fine if you don’t mind them being a bit slushy when they defrost in your oatmeal.
How much of this can your children eat each? Do they each get their own jar or do you double (triiple?) the recipe and use a larger jar?
I’d like to make these but not sure how much my kids will eat They are 10, 8, and 6.
This is a single serve recipe. If you double or tripe the recipe I still recommend you put it in individual jars. My 8 year old eats nearly all of one. 1/4 cup of oats is the same thing that’s inside a single serve oat packet.
Can we use honey instead of maple syrup?
absolutely. Honey is an option too.
Made last night delicious!!!! I didn’t have ground flax. I used almond milk and regular rolled oats and honey. I usually don’t like oatmeal but this is great and ready to eat in the am! Making again tonight !
So glad you loved those Janet! If you loved these, try the bananas foster recipe. They are out of this world.
Could chia seeds be sub’d for the flax seed? I’m new to using his seeds so don’t quite have a grip on how these work yet lol
You sure can Amy. the flax is ground though.
I would add the chia seed when you are ready to eat it rather than the night before, or add more liquid if you are going to add it the night before. Chia will absorb the milk much more than flax. Though that sounds interesting adding it the night before with additional liquid – it would be chia pudding oatmeal 🙂
You are right on this one… which is why I suggested the additional liquid. My kids can’t stand the “crunchy” seeds.. which is why when I use them I add them the night before… super pudding like!
I don’t see where you suggest the additional liquid when using the chia seeds…?
FYI – I added chia in my last batch of bananas foster. I used rolled oats, but did not reduce the milk. Then I added 2 tsp chia (note to those that not made the bananas foster – one batch is 4 servings, or 2 for me :-), and so if I were to add the chia in the above, it would be 1/2 tsp). I also kept the flax.
Sorry Marie, I mentioned it in a comment above. This recipe will work the same as the bananas foster. Glad you were able to adjust it to your needs!
I am psyched to try this. I saw the bananas foster recipe first, but we don’t like bananas cooked, so this idea looks super! I’ve got some In the fridge for tomorrow!
Let me know how you like them Polly! Of course, heating up is optional 🙂
Tried this with steel cut oats. By morning they were still hard; had to then cook them on the stove for a long time, continuing to add more liquid until they were soft enough to eat (even then they were a little chewy, but I didn’t feel like waiting anymore). May try this again with rolled oats, but won’t try steel cut anymore.
I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you Kelly. I use steel cut oats for this all the time and the work fine.
Is there a reason I should wait until morning to add the maple syrup? In your bananas foster version, the maple syrup goes in the night before. I’d rather put it all together and be done with it 🙂
This is just what I’ve been needing. We are always rushed in the morning and end up eating unhealthy prepackaged cereal or oatmeal. I love that I can prep thiis the night before and its just waiting for me. Thanks! And, I ordered your cookbook…can’t wait.
thank you Colleen! forward me your pre-order receipt and I will send you a signed plate!
This is the first overnight oats recipe that I’ve liked. It’s DELISH!! I eat it quite often for my yummy brekkie. Thanks!!!!
★★★★★
Oh wow. This was delicious. The oats were a different texture, but it had an addictive quality. This will be awesome to make when school starts again and our mornings get crazy.
I didn’t have strawberries, so I used raspberries and blueberries.
Thank you!
blueberries work too!! yum!
Yummy! I made this for my niece first with steel oats. She loves oatmeal but didn’t like the texture and said it didn’t taste strawberry enough and I left it in the fridge for two days before she ate them. I made them a second time with old fashion oats and added some strawberry syrup from your strawberry milk recipe and score she loved it, it had that extra strawberry taste she wanted!
★★★★★
Yes, steel oats are definitely an acquired texture.. my kids don’t like them. I do! 🙂 I am thrilled they were a success with that additional strawberry touch !
Hi Laura, I dont follow your blog, but I found your recipe on Pinterest for the Strawberries and cream overnight oats. Just wanted to let you know that we absolutely LOVE this recipe. At first glance I wasnt sure about it…It seemed too soupy…But that’s actually what I love most about this recipe! Its nice and creamy and just sweet enough. And once heated its the perfect consistency. I use 2% lactaid free for mine and fat free for my husband and we both love it. I heat for 1 minute then add the syrup. Perfection. I also find that I like it with the strawberries chopped up into tiny pieces better. Thank you for a great recipe!
★★★★★
Oh! forgot to mention, I also use the old fashioned oats instead of steal cut…I love the texture the old fashioned oats give.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you liked the recipe KB!
can you only make this the night before or could you make a few in advance for the week?
I make these once and keep them in my fridge 3-4 days.
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These are great! I included some chopped raw almonds. They add a very nice occasional crunch, as well as protein. These are going to be a stable during strawberry season for me. 🙂
★★★★★
lol, *staple
chopped almonds? what a great idea! I’d love the crunch too.
If I warm these up in a pan of hot water on stovetop (no microwave), will it affect the strawberries? Will they get mushy?
they will soften up Vicky but I wouldn’t say “mushy”. Enjoy!
Thank you! I ate it cold and loved it! My husband ate the bananas foster and just loved it! This is a man who has never eaten oatmeal in the 23 years we’ve been together! So thank you!! I just received both your cookbooks today and I’m so anxious to try out the recipes. I have 4 sons (6-15), so I always have hungry taste testers 🙂
★★★★★
I’m so excited that the overnight oats were a big success! I hope you enjoy the recipes in the book. It looks like you’ll have some happy testers! 🙂
Awesome, looks delicious. Never tried overnight oats before. Thinking of adding blueberries, and dare I say dried cranberries.
★★★★★
I have just tried overnight oats for the first time this week. Had them right out of the frige and I just loved it. Wish I knew of this years ago. I’m trying your strawberries and cream tonight. I am replacing the milk with greek yogurt since I dont have milk. I’m looking forward to trying all your recipes, they sound yummy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
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