Craving sweets for breakfast? Put down that pastry and kick your morning off right with 14 grams of protein, 10 grams of fiber, and only 6 grams of sugar in these tasty chocolate overnight oats. Plus it is a make ahead breakfast so you do the work the night before and can just grab and go!
Nothing beats waking up to breakfast already being made. Especially when that breakfast has chocolate in it! 😱
Yessir, these overnight oats are loaded to the brim with chocolatey goodness, without the sugar overload that normally comes with it. I start a new job next week so quick breakfast prep has been on my mind lately. Although its has been absolutely fabulous getting to work the entrepreneur life with my husband this last six months, its time to get back into the regular working world for this girl. Sooo, quick breakfasts are about to become a thing.
What’s faster than making it the night before with zero prep required in the morning? Nada. Make ahead recipes rule.
If you haven’t had overnight oats yet, these chocolate protein overnight oats are a great entry recipe. With over 20 (yup, 20!) grams of protein, this recipe is made for active folks that need to kick their day off with some gusto.
The best part is that you make these the night before and the oats soften overnight in the fridge. No cooking necessary, just throw some ingredients together, stir and throw the jar in the fridge. Then, bust it out in the morning and either gobble it down on the spot or take it with you. I eat them cold, but you can pop the jar in the microwave for a minute to warm it up if you want.
When you’re in a rush to get to work, you don’t have time to stop and make a healthy breakfast. Sadly, this is a fact many mornings. Don’t let this ruin your clean eating streak though! A little planning ahead can keep you on track.
I love a good smoothie, but sometimes I know I’m going to be busy and need a good dose of complex carbs and protein to keep me full until lunch. Even that 5 minutes it takes to run the blender, pulse, and wash seems like too much time some mornings.
Sure, I could wake up earlier, but then again, sleep is glorious.
To make this easy as can be, even the prep the night before is quick. All you need is 6 easy ingredients. I used my normal whey protein powder but you can use plant based if you prefer. Or, if you have vanilla protein powder, you can skip the vanilla and just use 5 ingredients. Or chocolate protein powder lets you skip the cocoa powder.
Whatever protein powder you have on hand, don’t be afraid to experiment!
My other favorite part is that this recipe is made for two. That means that I can make sure my honey buns gets a healthy breakfast too. He’s a little wary of eating cold oats so he eats them warm. To each their own.
You can always cut the ingredients in half and make a single serving instead. No problem.
I don’t recommend pre-mixing for two mornings at once because the oats get too soft and the texture just isn’t great that second day. You can mix all the dry ingredients together at once though and then add the wet ones at night for the next morning. You can pre-mix the dry ingredients for a whole week’s worth of overnight oats at once if you want to.
Or prep two different types so that you can switch it up throughout the week. I’ve got a blueberries and cream overnight oats recipe that would be a nice switch up from chocolate. Or if you want to branch out even more, this almond chia seed pudding is one of my favs. I make the pudding both as a make ahead breakfast and a late night snack. With toasted nuts on top, its pretty much like dessert. Yum!
What are your favorite quick and healthy breakfast recipes?
Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any milk you prefer)
- 1 cup rolled (old fashioned) oats
- 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder*
- 1/4 cup plain protein powder*
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract*
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a small jar or split between two jars to keep the two servings separate. Stir well to mix ingredients and dissolve chunks.
- Place jar(s) in refrigerator overnight or for 2 hours at the very minimum (overnight is preferred).
- Remove from refrigerator before eating and stir well. Either eat directly from the jar(s) or place in a bowl. Eat within 24 hours of mixing for best results. Topping with whip cream is optional, but delicious.
- Either eat directly from the jar(s) or place in a bowl. Eat within 24 hours of mixing for best results. Topping with whip cream is optional, but delicious.
Notes
Nutrition
Hey! This looks delicious! Just to be clear, you are using vanilla beans scraped from the pod?
Oh no, I just use vanilla extract. I updated that to be more clear in the recipe with a link to the one I use. 🙂
Finally a protein overnight oats recipe I like! I think the key was using less protein powder.. All others seemed to call for a whole scoop of protein and it would be just awful. I used a vegan protein powder and it was great! I was a little worried because subbing vegan protein for whey protein doesn’t usually work well in recipes. I’m so glad I tried this! Thank you!
Good to know the vegan protein worked here! I’ve had some epic fails with subbing protein powders for each other too so I’m always nervous when I do it. Happy to hear its safe on this one! Woohoo!
To be clear, the recipe makes a serving for 2??
Yes, the recipe makes two servings. I know it’s confusing since I only picture one of them, but it makes enough for two…unless you’re super hungry in the morning!
Could this recipe be adjusted to make “cookies” iow reducing the milk or such? I’m not super with recipes but am thinking if the oatmeal was portable with small one or two, they’d be a great snack. Thoughts?
I like this idea but I think it would need some more substance to be able to form a cookie out of it. Have you tried this chocolate protein cookie recipe? It might be more in line with what you’re looking for!
If it’s a little runny how can I make it a little bit thicker?
All protein powders are a little bit different in how they absorb so tweak until you figure out what works best with yours. Maybe try a little less milk next time? You can always add more so if you know it turns out runny for you, just don’t fill the measuring cup up all the way and add extra milk in the morning if needed.
I really struggle with finding and eating a filling protein packed breakfast – and I’m a chocoholic – and this was PERFECT! I had it warm, and had 30g protein powder per serving. Brilliant. Thank you!
I struggle with it too! Half the time I end up eating a second breakfast around 9:30 or 10 because I didn’t get enough protein. Not with these oats!
Hi, what size jars is this for?
I think that was a 20 oz. jar. That’s for two servings though!
Thanks! Had these today, reminded me of cocoa krispies which I loved when I was a kid, thanks for sharing!
I LOVED cocoa krispies too!! Those and fruity pebbles were my jam. Alas, we had to grow up someday so we’ll just call this the grown up version of cocoa krispies. 😉
Have you tried this adding more protein powder? I generally use two full scoops in my morning shake but I have a feeling that would be way to much for this recipe?
I haven’t tried adding more protein powder to this recipe but have in others and personally didn’t like the results. It was too chalky for me. You might be able to stomach it better than I can though! Maybe if you used chocolate protein powder instead of the plain protein powder and cocoa powder?
Is there anyway to skip the maple syrup? I’m not a fan of maple, but I like the sound of the recipe otherwise.
Sure, there are tons of options! Maybe try honey? I like using maple syrup because it is thinner and easier to mix in but if you stir enough, honey will dissolve and do the trick of sweetening the oats up. You could try coconut sugar too if that sounds more appealing.
Okay maybe dumb question but I’ve never made overnight oats before… cook the oats first yeah?
No! That’s the beauty of overnight oats. By soaking overnight you don’t have to cook them first. The oats absorb the liquid and are soft by morning. Laaaazy recipe. 🙂
Yum! This looks delicious! I’m going to have to try this with a kick of cayenne.
I never would have thought of cayenne and chocolate together – let me know how it goes!