You've never had overnight oats like this before! Buttermilk lends a rich, tangy flavor to lightly sweetened overnight oatmeal in this easy make-ahead recipe that tastes like buttermilk pie, but in a creamy, healthy breakfast.
In my book buttermilk can do no wrong. I often wonder why most people don't buy it. It just makes everything better. But that would be a whole other post for another day. All you need to know for now is that buttermilk makes amazing overnight oats.
Why Use Buttermilk in Overnight Oats?
Maybe you bought buttermilk for another use, like pancakes or biscuits, and are having a hard time using it up. Lucky for you, the shelf life of buttermilk is a little longer than regular milk. Overnight oats are a delicious and easy way to use up spare buttermilk. The rich, creamy, slightly tangy taste reminds me of buttermilk pie, but in the form of a healthy breakfast.
The buttermilk you'll find in stores pretty much everywhere is cultured milk, meaning it has beneficial probiotic bacteria in it that make it healthy for your gut, extend it's shelf life, and may make it easier to digest because it ferments the lactose. It's a good source of protein, calcium, and B-vitamins, so it's a great choice for the base for overnight oats!
How To Make Buttermilk Overnight Oats
Buttermilk overnight oats are super simple to make. Simply whisk the wet ingredients in a jar, stir in rolled oats and chia seeds, and refrigerate overnight for a delicious, healthy breakfast that's ready to go when you are.
Ingredient Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- I like a hint of lemon juice in these overnight oats to bring out the natural sweetness and tang in the buttermilk, but it tastes good without the lemon juice, too!
- I use 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for just a hint of sweet, but if you prefer sweeter overnight oats, add more to taste. You can also use another sweetener of your choosing, such as regular or brown sugar or honey.
- If you don't have chia seeds, you can use ground flaxseed for a dose of healthy fat, or just leave them out.
- Rolled oats are my favorite for overnight oats, but the recipe also works with quick oats or quick-cooking steel cut oats.
Still have extra buttermilk to use? Try one of these delicious recipes!
- Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes
- Healthy One Bowl Buttermilk Waffles
- Easy Southern Buttermilk Pie
- Buttermilk Spice Muffins
- Easy Sourdough Biscuits
- Baked Skillet Pancake with Cara Cara Oranges
- Blueberry Baked Donuts
- Healthy Skillet Cornbread
- Healthier Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
For even more overnight oat inspiration, head to this post!
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the comments!
PrintButtermilk Overnight Oats
You've never had overnight oats like this before! Buttermilk lends a rich, tangy flavor to lightly sweetened overnight oatmeal in this easy make-ahead recipe that tastes like buttermilk pie, but in a creamy, healthy breakfast.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: make-ahead
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ½ cup lowfat buttermilk
- ¼ cup milk of choice
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 2 tsp chia seeds
Instructions
- In a jar or other container with a lid, whisk buttermilk, milk, yogurt, lemon juice, vanilla and maple syrup.
- Stir in oats and chia seeds.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, stir and top as desired.
Notes
- I like a hint of lemon juice in these overnight oats to bring out the natural sweetness and tang in the buttermilk, but it tastes good without the lemon juice, too!
- I use 1 teaspoon of maple syrup for just a hint of sweet, but if you prefer sweeter overnight oats, add more to taste. You can also use another sweetener of your choosing, such as regular or brown sugar or honey.
- If you don't have chia seeds, you can use ground flaxseed for a dose of healthy fat, or just leave them out.
- Rolled oats are my favorite for overnight oats, but the recipe also works with quick oats or quick-cooking steel cut oats.
Keywords: buttermilk overnight oats
Polyna says
I have only ever used buttermilk in muffins, but this overnight oats recipe is remarkably good! I used almond milk for both the alternate milk and yogurt and it still thickened up nicely due to the chia seeds. I left out the sweetener in favour of a bit of chopped dates and then added frozen blackberries just before eating. I didn't add lemon -- just to confirm, adding lemon won't cause fresh milk, if used, to curdle in this recipe?
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
I've never had a problem with it curdling the milk. Thanks for stopping by!
Robin says
Just adding in here. Lemon juice will totally curdle hot milk. It curdles cold milk, but at a very, very slow rate, so you would probably not see anything with cold overnight oats. And between the chia seeds, the oats, the buttermilk, the yogurt, whatever else you toss in, you probably would not really see it, and that’s fine because curdled milk will not hurt you if it comes from a process instead of just going bad.
I made this. It's fine. Not a fan of the lemon juice, but will totally use this recipe as a buttermilk overnight oats template.
★★★
Mita says
I made it yesterday, the addition of lemon juice is a pleasant surprise. It really enhances the taste of the oatmeal. This will be my go-to base oatmeal recipe 🙂🙂
Kaleigh says
Thanks for reviewing, Mita! I'm so glad you liked the reicpe!
Angel says
Absolutely delicious just as they are or as a base recipe. I added some fresh blueberries and some unsweetened coconut and had them for lunch!
★★★★★
Janice Edwards says
I had this this morning and liked it a lot.
★★★★★
Kaleigh says
Glad you liked them!