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.
[print_this]
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.
[/print_this]
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…!
Mmmmm… VOO… can’t wait for it to warm up so I can fully enjoy them in the morning again!
I use chocolate protein powder in mine rather than carob powder and it works well. Would love to try carob at some point tho.
My Super Bowl treats are going to be a variety of baked wonton cups. You get some crunch and the chance to play with different flavor combos!
Great post! I love overnight oats in the summertime, but its just too cold for them right now.
Agreed! Love them but only have them once in a while in the winter
I LOVE overnight oats! I have tried making them with instant oats also and it works well too, just less chewy! Yum!
Oooh this looks good! I make something similar with oats, yogurt and almond milk but I really like the idea of skipping the yogurt and subbing in cocoa and nuts. This would be killer cold or hot!
You should make fried (or baked) black bean sweet potato balls! They are so good and really easy to make!
Angela, it’s because of your and the VOOs that I started to eat really healthy in the morning and slowly my eating pattern has changed! Oh VOO how I love thee. :D oooohhh maybe you should re-create a vegan/healthified spinach artichoke dip or something of that sort : P
Looks fantastic, but for some reason, I can’t get over the texture of Overnight Oats. :/
Mmm I had VOO for breakfast this morning! I do like to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds, just enough to take the chill off.
For party food, I like warm dips served with homemade focaccia bread. And beer, of course :D
I’m making these roasted carrots again!! They are SOOOO GOOD and are a healthy break from all the chips and dips :)
http://www.cookteen.com/spicy-roasted-carrots/
BOO you winter!!! Go away!! LOL. I’m currently in the icky ice/snow/wind storm but luckily it’s not too awful here! :)
Mmmmm, overnight oats. I need to make these again!! For super bowl food, anything small is always fun. Dips are great, salsa, maybe a super healthy vegan ranch dip. A spin off of your raw cookie dough cookies would be yummy!! Thanks for all of the great recipes!
This looks wonderful, I need to try overnight oats!
Last Superbowl I did raw vegan burgers with collard wraps, raw ketchup and hemp nacho sauce – it was a pretty big hit with my non-vegan family. This year we may not watch it at all, if the weather’s nice, it might be a perfect, uncrowded day to head into the mountains for snow fun.
I’ve used steel cut oats as well. They don’t soak up as much liquid but I like them, really chewy and perfect for parfaits with banana soft serve.
Most definitely use regular oats! I made the mistake of using quick oats and ground flax my first time, and it was much too liquid. Your recommendations are spot on:)
Sunshine will be here soon :D I’m not really in to football so I won’t be watching :/
Make spinach artichoke dip!! My fav, except never had a vegan version!
Your overight oats look so cream and delish! And the carob powder….I am more of a cocoa powder girl. I dont usually keep carob powder on hand but after seeing these, i need to pick some up.
Love your tips on the VOO’s.
And your recipes page…OMG that took you more than 4 minutes :)
CONGRATS and THANK YOU as i know that was about as much fun as watching paint dry. Thank you, Angela for taking all that time to do that! :)
As far as the instant oats go, you can definitely use them but cut back on the liquid- instead of 1 cup, I’d use 1/2-2/3 cup (depending on how loose you like them), otherwise you’ll end up with liquidy oats!
Do the walnuts get soggy soaking overnight? I’d be inclined to add them on the top in the morning since I like mine to add a bit of crunch! Just wondering… :)
Looks so good!
What do you think about adding brown sugar to oatmeal? Do you stay away from sugars?
I use carob in my oats, too! People always knock it for not being like chocolate, but it’s supposed to be good in its own right…. right?!