Eggnog Overnight Oats

Creamy, hearty and seasonally on-point, Eggnog Overnight Oats are the best make-ahead breakfast! With just the right amount of holiday spice and sweetness, this easy breakfast recipe packs a lot of fiber into your morning to leave you with the best start to your day.

Eggnog Oatmeal

Find yourself googling “how to use leftover eggnog” this season?

We know so many are, and this Eggnog Overnight Oat recipe is the perfect way to do so! Eggnog oatmeal can be eaten cold on-the-go or reheated for a warm breakfast. It’s slightly sweet, full of fiber and bursting with seasonal winter flavors!

We just love overnight oats, like My Basic Overnight Oats Recipe or fun flavors like Pumpkin Overnight Oats, Strawberry and Cream Overnight Oats, or Orange Cranberry Overnight Oats because of how easy they are to make and prep ahead of time. What’s fun about this recipe is that it basically makes oatmeal, but without actually needing to cook it.

The oats sit with liquid overnight (or at a minimum for a few hours) and the liquid is absorbed by the oats, giving them the texture as if they’ve been cooked.

What Are Overnight Oats?

As stated above, overnight oats are a method of making oatmeal without cooking it. They involve mixing up rolled oats and milk, along with other ingredients, and letting them sit in the fridge overnight so they’re ready to go in the morning!

Overnight oatmeal is perfect for meal prepping and can be customized in so many different ways! I’m going to lay out the basic ingredients needed, then give ideas for add-ins and variations so you can make it just how you like!

Ingredients Needed

Here is a quick list of the ingredients needed (scroll down for the full recipe).

• Oats: I use organic, glyphosate-free, gluten-free rolled oats (see below as to why) but feel free to grab whatever rolled oats you want.
• Eggnog: Now not all eggnog is “clean” but you can use a cleaner version, like Malk Organics, or use whatever eggnog you’d like. ‘Tis the season!
• Milk: I personally use almond milk, but you can use whatever milk you prefer. And if you’re feeling adventurous, check out my Vegan and Dairy Free Milk Guide to make your own nut milks!
• Chia Seeds: Chia seeds add a little extra texture/thickness, and a boost of fiber and nutrition.
• Maple Syrup (optional): Sweetener is optional but yummy!
• Spices and flavor: Nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla extract for so much yummy flavors!
• Optional, but delicious: Pecans and dried cranberries.

Substitutions

Oats: Don’t need to be gluten-free? Use whatever brand works for you. We recommend old fashioned oats / rolled oats for this, because it gives the best bite.

Eggnog: Use whatever eggnog your family loves, or that you have on hand. Want a squeaky clean version? Try Malk Organics!

Nuts: Make this nut-free by omitting the nuts. Or you can also swap in another kind, if desired.

What Oats I Buy and Why

While you can really use any type of old fashioned rolled oats, I prefer to look for:

• Organic
• Certified gluten-free (if needed)
• Non-GMO
• Glyphosate-free (probably the most important label to me as oats are a heavily sprayed crop here in the US)

My favorite brand is One Degree Organic Foods! This checklist is important because oats are a heavily sprayed crop in the US.

What Type of Milk to Use

This recipe calls for both eggnog, and another added milk. If you use just eggnog, it will feel too sweet, and be too thick. For the added milk, use any milk you typically enjoy! We’ve tried this with almond milk, oat milk, boxed coconut milk, and regular dairy milk with overnight oats and they all work well.

How Does an Overnight Oats Recipe Work?

It’s so super simple to make eggnog overnight oats!

• Simply measure out the oats, eggnog, additional milk and other flavors and place it in a container.
• Give it a shake and close it up and place it in the refrigerator. You can leave it to sit overnight, as the name suggests, but really it is ready to consume after about 3 hours. During that resting time, the oats soak up all the liquid and transform into the creamiest oatmeal ever, ready to eat cold or served warm.

What is the Ratio of Oats to Liquid for Overnight Oats?

The only ratio you need to know when making your overnight oats is 1:1! That means equal parts liquid and oats!

Storing Overnight Oats

We love that with this recipe you can make it directly inside of the container you plan to store it and eat it from!

Any sort of small glass container with a leak-proof lid is an ideal choice. We like mason jars and glass jars, but really any container with a leak-proof lid will work.

How to Serve Eggnog Oatmeal

Overnight oats are a great and easy on-the-go breakfast!

Eggnog oatmeal can be eaten cold on-the-go or reheated for a warm breakfast.

Grab it out of the fridge, cold or if you really want to heat it up place it in a small pan and warm it up with a little extra milk on low heat (or in the microwave if you use one).

How long can you keep overnight oats in the refrigerator?

I keep my overnight oats for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

More Oat Recipes You’ll Love:

• Vegan Peaches and Cream Oatmeal Bake
• Gingerbread Oatmeal Bake
• Maple Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
• Pumpkin Oatmeal Bake