
Happy February 1st!
I don’t know about you, but I celebrated the end of January this morning. We are one month closer to Spring and for me it is all about the little things in the deep of Winter. Today, we are bracing for a big snowstorm traveling up from the US tonight into Wednesday. If it is anything like I saw on the news, it is going to be a big one! Last night, Eric said we should hit up the grocery store and ‘stock up’ and I had to laugh because we probably have enough food in this house to survive until retirement.
But this post isn’t about Old Man Winter, it is about breakfast!
If you are new to the blog, you might not know about my obsession with Vegan Overnight Oats and Vegan Overnight Oat Parfaits, but a quick glance at my breakfast category on my Recipes page will explain things a bit better. Don’t say I didn’t warn you though.
Vegan Overnight Oats are mixed before you go to bed at night and you do not cook it, so there is literally zero preparation in the morning. You stick the spoon in and you enjoy the doughy goodness.
It is also perfect for those mornings when turning on the stovetop might pose a risk to yourself or others. My melted spatulas thank me.

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Carob Banana Chia Vegan Overnight Oats
For the rest of my Vegan Overnight Oat recipes, see here.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup Almond milk (or your choice)
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 1 tbsp carob powder (I buy it at bulk Barn)
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- Tiny pinch of kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp walnuts, chopped (optional, or use other nuts)
- 1 ripe banana, chopped
- Maple syrup to drizzle, to taste (optional)
Directions: Mix the dry ingredients (oats, carob powder, chia seeds, optional walnuts, salt) in a medium sized bowl with a whisk. Now pour in the milk and pure vanilla extract, Whisk well until all clumps are gone. Finally, Stir in the chopped ripe banana. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight. You can cover it, or leave it under covered. When ready, give it a good stir and enjoy. Drizzle a bit of maple syrup on top if you wish! You can get creative with different mix-ins too.
Nutritional info (Serves 1, not including walnuts): approx. ~450 kcals, 14 grams fat (includes 6.3 g Omega-3 & 1.9 g Omega-6), 20 grams fibre, and 16 grams protein.
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I have been receiving a lot of vegan overnight oat questions, so I thought I would do a quick VOO FAQ.
1. Can I substitute flax seed for chia seeds?
I have heard that you can substitute ground flax for the chia seeds in Vegan Overnight Oats. Once I tried using whole flax seeds and it did not work out great, so I never recommend using whole flax seeds. Because ground flax doesn’t absorb as much liquid as chia seeds, you may have to reduce the amount of milk you use (maybe 1/4 cup). If at all possible, use the chia seeds though because they really work lovely in this recipe.
2. Can I substitute cocoa powder for carob powder?
Carob powder is much sweeter tasting than cocoa powder, so I would not recommend substituting it 1:1. If you do not have carob powder, you could probably use 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder if you wanted to, but the recipe will work without either!
3. Can I use instant oats instead of regular oats?
I have not tried using instant oats before, but maybe a reader has tried this and can comment on this in the comments section? My guess would be that the instant oats do not absorb as much liquid as the regular oats. I also really enjoy the chewiness of the regular oats.
4. I don’t have almond milk, can I use rice, soy, cow’s, hemp, oat, etc. instead?
You can substitute any kind of milk you desire!
5. Is the banana necessary?
The banana (in this recipe) is what gives the VOO some sweetness. If you do not want to use a banana, I would suggest adding 1-2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup to stir in or maybe try using dates. I have also successfully used Vega Choc-o-lot protein powder and it worked great to sweeten it up.
6. Do I cook the Vegan Overnight Oats or heat them in the microwave before eating?
Nope! There is absolutely no cooking involved in this recipe.
Step 1: Place your oats, chia seeds, walnuts, carob powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk.

Step 2: Pour in 1 cup of Almond Milk (or your choice of milk) and the 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Whisk well until all the clumps are gone.

Step 3: Add in the chopped bananas.

Whisk and smash some of the bananas into the mixture. This will help incorporate the sweetness throughout.

Step 4: Place in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight. During this time, the chia seeds and oats will soak up the liquid and thicken up.

After 1 hour in the fridge, it looks like this…

Thick, doughy, chewy, and strangely addicting.
I used to think overnight oats looked so gross (and I guess they still do a bit!), but this is one of my favourite breakfasts now. It really grows on ya, I promise!

Soooo…the Super Bowl is coming up this Sunday and we are having a couple parties this weekend. This means that I have some food prep to do this week!
My questions to you today are 1) What food should I make for the Super Bowl?, 2) Will you be watching the Super Bowl or making anything fun? Appetizers, finger foods, dips, main entrees, pizza, desserts, drinks? So much to choose from…!
Recipes like these make me wish I wasn’t allergic to bananas!
I’m making artichoke and crab dip- and maybe chicken wing dip, too!
I am a big fan of “miniture” anything for snack food! The cutier the better. I know you will get creative for the Super Bowl.
I am laughing because our oats today are sooooo similiar!
Have a great day. :)
Yes, I too have you to thank for my VOO mania! I make endless varieties, but I usually incorporate a spoonful of hemp seeds and a sprinkle of cinnamon. I have found that if I use Yu vanilla basmati rice milk and throw in a spoonfull of currants or raisins, it tastes exactly like rice pudding – yum!
Can’t wait for the spring, this winter is getting me depressed. Overnight oats are so awesome, I love them, now that I’ve learned how to make them properly :)
We love to do parties where we whip up a bunch of dips and then provide all sorts of dippable things and then everyone can make their own combos of what they dip in what. I just did this type of party on the weekend (your hummus was big hit by the way!) I used 2 different hummus dips, your fruit dip, a nacho bean dip, a cookie dough dip, salsa and a spinach dip. For my “dippables” (is this even a word??) I used raw veggies, nachos, fruit, animal crackers, pretzels, bread, flatbreads and pita chips. It was a huge hit with the men and the women and everything was vegetarian so I could eat EVERYTHING (which I’m ashamed to say I did :-)
The oats look delicous. And I love your comment “we have enough food here to last until retirement” but your husband wants to stock up in case you are snowed in! Have a good day, stay warm!!!
Haha, I like all the FAQs about the overnight oats.
I would say lots of finger foods, or entrees you could eat with your fingers. And a dessert of course. Are you going to be making all vegan food?
I’m excited to see what you make for the Super Bowl!
Spinach artichoke dip and homemade hummus for our party, along with a place of delicious nachos:) I’d like to make some kind of delicious sparkling punch drink– maybe something with hibiscus tea, lemonade, and rosewater with club soda!
Everybody’s cooking and using carob these days– well, bloggers, that is :)
I need to get me some, but it’s quite expensive, and my bulk doesn’t sell it. For now I’ve just been using cocoa powder, but carob is definitely on my list!
Chili dip with avocado! I have never tried carob and I am little hesitant to for some reason
I’m definitely going to busy myself making some yummy superbowl treats since I’m not at all interested in the game :-)
I have a whole lot of chia seeds, but I just have no idea what to do with them. I’m thinking this would be perfect!
Kale chips (aka crunchie kale) I made it for the first time today and its really good and healthy to! Like marrying the man you love and finding out he is rich.
Sabrina
ps I got the recipe off of youtube but its pretty much kale pieces with olive oil and salt or nutritional yeast baked in the oven for 10-15 mins.
I’m going to a neighborhood superbowl pre-party. I will probably take stuffed shrooms, mediterranean kabobs, &/or pimento cheese made with Daiya. Can’t wait to see what you concoct.
I love overnight oats, but not in the winter. Once in a blue moon during the cold months I’ll crave overnight oats though. I can’t wait for it to warm up… well, after our blizzard that is! I’m pumped about the blizzard that’s going to hit Chicago!
just discovered your website! i can tell i will be a huge fan! i can’t wait to try this recipe and the green monster one!
thanks for blogging!
I am soooo dreading the storm too – it is supposed to hit Michigan around 7pm tonight… Why can’t it be summer?!
Your overnight oats look amazingggg… Sometime I like to nix it up and eat things that are supposed to be hot, cold – especially chilled soup :)
I tried Overnight oats for the firrst time a couple weeks ago and now I’m obsessed!