Lemon Blueberry Overnight Oats

Made with fresh blueberries, lemon zest, chia seeds, and Greek yogurt, these lemon blueberry overnight oats are a quick and easy protein-packed breakfast that is a perfect grab-and-go meal for busy mornings.

I love overnight oats and I’ve shared plenty of overnight oat recipes on my blog. Not only are they an easy and healthy breakfast but they are incredibly versatile and can be flavored in so many ways. Once you’ve got the basic formula down, you can switch up the flavor with different berries, fresh fruits, dried fruits, sweeteners, and spices depending on the time of year or what you’re in the mood for.

What You’ll Need for Lemon Blueberry Overnight Oats

Oats: As you may have guessed, oats are the base of any overnight oat recipe. Be sure to use rolled oats or quick-cooking oats as steel-cut oats will not absorb the liquid or soften very well.

Blueberries: Both frozen and fresh blueberries will work in overnight oats, feel free to use whatever option you have available. I find frozen berries provide better flavor as their juices mix into the oats as they thaw.

Lemon: While you can use lemon juice or lemon zest, I think lemon zest adds a more intense flavor to the oats.

Chia Seeds: Including chia seeds in overnight oats help to thicken the mixture and provide a creamy texture, however, you can omit them if needed.

Milk: While this recipe calls for regular cow’s milk, you can use almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or soy milk in overnight oats.

Yogurt: Adding yogurt, especially Greek yogurt, helps to boost the protein content of the overnight oats, however, you can also use regular yogurt or coconut yogurt if needed.

Honey: Add a generous drizzle of honey to enhance the sweetness of the berries. If you don’t like honey, maple syrup will work too.

Vanilla Extract: A touch of vanilla helps to bring out the lemon and blueberry flavors.

Salt: Season your oats with a pinch of salt to balance the flavor.

While I used blueberries, as this is a lemon blueberry overnight oats recipe, you can certainly use other berries such as raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries, or any combination of berries that you enjoy.

How to Make Them

Making overnight oats is as simple as 1, 2, 3! If you can pour, stir, and wait, you can easily make these blueberry lemon overnight oats.

Add all of the ingredients to a mason jar or bowl.
Stir the ingredients until they are well combined.
Place them in the refrigerator and wait.

Honestly, that’s it. Overnight oats don’t require much skill to prepare, just a little time in the fridge to do their thing. So, you can make them the night before and wake up to a delicious grab-and-go breakfast.

Dietary Adaptations

Need to make overnight meet your personal dietary needs? No problem, here are some simple swaps.

Gluten-Free: Use certified gluten-free oats. While oats are inherently gluten-free, they can become contaminated in production facilities so be sure to use certified gluten-free oats to avoid cross-contamination.

Dairy-Free: Swap the milk for non-dairy milk of your choice and use coconut yogurt or soy yogurt instead of cow’s milk yogurt. However, note that these substitutions will decrease the protein content of the recipe.

Vegan: Swap the milk and yogurt for plant-based alternatives made of coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk.

What can I add to my overnight oats?

Once you’ve got the basic overnight oat recipe down, the topping options are endless. Here are some of my personal favorite toppings for overnight oats:

Almond butter
Peanut butter
Granola
Honey
Maple syrup
Shredded coconut
Hemp seeds
Pumpkin seeds

Not to mention, you can top your overnight oats with additional fresh fruit for an extra boost of fiber and flavor.

Storage & Reheating

Overnight oats can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. While they are texturally best on day one or day two, they can be made in advance as a meal prep idea for a whole week. The longer they are left in the fridge, the softer the oats will get, which can be less appealing for some, and the liquid may separate slightly from the oats, however, this can be solved by simply stirring the oats before eating them.

Are overnight oats healthy for you?

Absolutely! Complete with protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats, overnight oats are a well-balanced breakfast that works well any day of the week.

Oats are gluten-free whole grains and contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Moreover, oats are rich in a specific type of fiber, known as beta-glucan, which has been shown to lower levels of bad cholesterol (1).

Making overnight oats with cow’s milk and yogurt helps to increase the content of protein, healthy fats, and calcium, while the inclusion of fresh fruit, like blueberries, helps to add additional fiber and micronutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, and potassium (2)(3).

How many calories in overnight oats?

The calorie content of overnight oats will vary based on the ingredients used and portion size consumed. This lemon blueberry overnight oats recipe contains 438 calories, 7 grams of fat, 70 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fiber, and 21 grams of protein per serving.

To decrease the calorie content, reduce the portion size, use low-fat dairy milk and yogurt, and/or reduce or omit the honey.

To increase the protein content, add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to the mixture.

To reduce the fat content, use 0% milk, 0% Greek yogurt, and/or omit the chia seeds.

To reduce the added sugar content, reduce the amount of honey used or omit it completely. Note: The recipe will still contain sugar as there are naturally occurring sugars in the milk, yogurt, and blueberries, as well as small amounts in the oats.

More Healthy Overnight Oat Recipes: