Somewhere along the line I went from eating nothing for breakfast,
to this…
Need less to say, I haven’t looked back!
After years of having no energy throughout the day, breakfast is now my favourite meal. I never skip breakfast anymore! Contrary to what I used to believe, eating a big breakfast did not make me put on weight. I have more energy to fuel my day, stronger workouts, and I rarely snack at night time because I know a filling breakfast is not long off.
I started making Vegan Overnight Oat Parfaits last Spring as a fun way to spruce up my breakfast. The parfaits involve layering vegan overnight oats, Banana soft serve, and an array of mix-ins in a glass or jar (you can also plop everything in a bowl if you prefer not to layer them!)
Before Bed: Prep your Vegan Overnight Oats in a bowl and place in the fridge- no cooking required. Peel and chop 1 banana and place in baggie or container in the freezer.
My go-to Vegan Overnight Oats recipe:
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 1 tbsp-2 tbsp chia seeds (thickens mixture overnight)
- 1-1.25 cup non-dairy milk (I now use Eden organic soy which has 12 gram protein!)
- 1.5 tbsp carob powder or flavoured protein powder (optional)
- Maple syrup, to taste
- Fruit like blueberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, mango, banana.
In the morning: Process your frozen banana in the food processor to make creamy Banana soft serve. Grab your Vegan overnight oats from the fridge, banana soft serve, and desired toppings and layer them in a glass, jar, or bowl to make a parfait. For step by step photos see here.
Mix-in & Toppings ideas:
- Fruit (e.g., blueberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, mango, banana, etc)
- Nut butter
- Shredded coconut
- Raw buckwheat groats (adds a nice crunch)
- Cacao nibs
- Granola
- Crumbled Oat square
- Coconut butter
- Jam
The result is a healthy breakfast that tastes just like a frozen dessert. :) It is great for warmer weather when you don’t want a hot bowl of oats.
On really hot days…well, things can get a bit out of control…
Here are some of my favourite parfait recipes:
Chocolate Cake Batter Vegan Overnight Oats
Peanut Butter and Jam Vegan Overnight Oats
Strawberry Carob Vegan Overnight Oats
Strawberry Banana Softserve and carob Vegan Overnight Oats
Homemade Strawberry Jam Carob Vegan Overnight Oats
Blueberry Vanilla Banana Soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats
Cherry Chocolate Bomb Vegan Overnight Oats (My FAV!)
Banana Soft Serve Vegan Overnight Oats
Banana Split Vegan Overnight Oats
Gingerbread Pumpkin Vegan Overnight Oat Parfait
My breakfast this morning was a fun take on Neapolitan ice cream.
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Neapolitan Vegan Overnight Oat Parfait (Vanilla, Chocolate Carob, Strawberry)
Yield: 1 serving
Vegan Overnight Oats:
- 1/3 cup regular oats
- 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
- 1-1.25 cup non-dairy milk
- 1.5 tbsp carob powder (or sweetened protein powder)
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- Maple syrup, to taste
Directions: Mix together in bowl and place in the fridge overnight. Stir well in morning & add maple syrup to taste.
Banana Soft Serve:
- 1 large frozen banana, chopped
- 2-3 frozen strawberries (to make strawberry soft serve)
Directions: Process frozen banana in food processor. Remove half and place in bowl. Now add a few strawberries into the processor and process to make strawberry soft serve. Now you have both vanilla and strawberry soft serve.
Toppings I used:
- Chopped strawberries
- Blueberries
- Homemade granola
- Buckwheat groats
- Shredded sweetened Coconut
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I got to eat two of them because the jars were extra small.
Two parfaits > One parfait.
This looks so cute, I love strawberries, I am sure I am going to love this.
I wish you could make me breakfast! Those neopolitan parfaits look to die for (and I don’t even like neopolitan ice cream).
I’m a little confused; when you say “regular oats” do you mean oatmeal or rolled oats? I used real whole oats, and after two nights in the fridge, they are certainly not ready to eat….
Rolled oats :)
Oh okay, no wonder! I was thinking “whole oats” since nothing had been done to them (i.e. “regular” oats as opposed to “rolled” or “steel-cut” etc). Thanks; I’ll give it another try!
I can never get my overnight oats to look like that but they taste delicious still!
Does anyone know what I can use instead of Chia seeds? My store doesn’t sell them.
I tried my first bowl of VOO this morning after awhile of salivating over your pictures and recipes. I added in Maple Syrup, Strawberries, and bananas… DELISH! Keep the fun recipes coming because I am SOO INTO THIS!
LOVE the parfaits! They are beautiful!
Question…can you make the overnight oats with steel cut oats or just regular oats? Have you ever made a big batch for the week ahead of time?
They’re all so pretty!! Looks like melting ice cream!
I just discovered your blog and this has got to be one of the best things I’ve ever seen!
looks awesome! can I come over for breakfast? ;)
Jen
Mmmmm!
All this looks so goooood!
I am like you were I don`t eat breakfast. I am definately going to try these out. I just found your blog at a perfect time as I want to switch to a vegan diet!
OMG, this recipe is amazing! I just found your website last night, and I printed out a ton of recipes and tried this one on my kids this morning. My 5-year old son is allergic to wheat, dairy, eggs, nuts, and peanuts, so we often get in a rut when it comes to foods. Not only was this recipe super easy, it was delicious! It took me minutes to throw together last night, and all three of my children and my husband savored every bite. The clincher is that it was extremely healthy! I am now a believer and look forward to your recipes. Today’s hemp power salad looks awesome, too! THANK YOU!!
Hey Anne-Michelle, Thanks so much for your kind words! I’m so happy that you are enjoying the recipes. :)
Would it be healthy to eat one of these for breakfast everyday?
Maybe a really silly question, but are you cooking the oats before you make your VOO???
Nope they just soak overnight! Magic :)
Do the chia seeds make the oats slimy? I have a hard time getting slimy stuff down. For example, I have a hard time eating my daily tablespoons of ground flax seeds, since they are vile sprinkled raw on most things. I always try to get away with eating them in baked goods instead, although I don’t mind them at all when they’re mixed with plenty of sugar and sprinkled on oatmeal porridge or French toast.
Yes the chia seeds to make it slimy I’m afraid! I know people who toss it into a blender to make it smooth so maybe that could work for you?
Darn! Maybe I’ll try the blender idea sometime.
This was delicious! Thank you so much for sharing it, will definitely be making it a lot from now on. I substituted half of the milk for yoghurt to make it extra creamy :)!
Planning on making the neapolitan parfait in the morning but confused about the instructions. Send like I should mix all of the first list of ingredients together yet in the picture its send as though the chia seeds are separated from the oats and carob mix
Hi Lisa, yes you mix all the ingredients from the first list together in a bowl. Let it sit overnight in the fridge. Hope this helps!
Sorry, seems like… Not “send”. Using my phone :-\
Can I make the soft serve overnight too? My fiancee wakes up after me and I’d hate to wake him up with a whirring blender :)
Help! It’s my first time trying overnight oats and it did not work at all… I used all your ratios but in the morning I just had soaked oat soup :-(
I used almond milk (we have a dairy and soy allergy over here) and I used a heaping tbsp of chia seeds and also a tbsp of flax
I also used quick oats. It was between that and steel cut and I assumed quick would absorb better but maybe then I used too much milk??
Anything here stand out as the cause of my soupy oats??
Add more chia seeds and it will thicken up in the fridge in about an hour! :)