Coconut Milk Overnight Oats

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When tomorrow is going to be chaotic, there’s nothing smarter and more delicious, than fast, nutritious, and energizing Coconut Milk Overnight Oats!

There’s just no ingredient in this recipe that’s not nutrient-dense (especially if you use mini dark chocolate chips). In fact, this recipe is packed with healthy compounds like brain-boosting blueberries, whole-grain rolled oats, and satiating, energizing medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). MCTs are profoundly satisfying and help fight cravings, hunger, and prevent obesity. So on a day when you have a big test or presentation, these are a smart and delicious breakfast to throw in the microwave and enjoy before heading out the door for your day.

What I love about Coconut Milk Overnight Oats is that the sweet, tropical milk flavor contrasts so nicely against the chocolate and plump, sweet blueberries. The blueberries, in turn, contrast so nicely against the maple syrup and comforting oatmeal flavor. All the flavors here just complement one another so well that you end up with a symphony of great flavors that will leave you so satisfied, you won’t be starving by lunch, and all these neuro-protective, cognition-enhancing compounds like anthocyanins in the blueberries and quercetin in the coconut meat will help you perform at your absolute best!

How to Use Organic Coconuts to Prepare Coconut Milk Overnight Oats

Although this recipe is super-fast to prepare, with prep taking at most 3 minutes (unless you use fresh coconuts), you might want to use your own market-fresh coconuts. I would if you have good organic ones at your grocery. If so, you’ll want to know how to extract the water and split them open. First, you can tell a fresh coconut by (a) making sure you hear lots of liquid sloshing around inside and (b) that the coconut has a real brown color, not green or light tan. Give them a good “thump!” They should not sound hollow. Making coconut milk, however, is too time-consuming and pretty expensive, too. It’s made from pressing coconut meat through cheesecloth. That would take a lot of coconuts. By this in a can or chilled and organic if you can.

To split your coconut: take one of those blueberries and squeeze some of its juice into two of the coconut’s eyes. Now, place a white or light towel over top the coconut and press and leave it there to protect your eyes from flying debris. See your blue eyes? Now take a hammer to a screwdriver handle and pop two holes where the coconut’s eyes are: one, to let in air, the other to spill out all that yummy, nutritious coconut water you can drink as you fix your overnight oats!! Now, whack those eyes with the claw of the hammer lightly and you should see a definite crack in the shell at this point–enough to get a table knife in there to pry that coconut open so you can scrape out all that delicious meat and chef knife it into bite size little squares and rectangles–the size you’d see in cereal or oatmeal.

Ingredients

1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
1 teaspoon chia seeds
2-3 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
2-3 tablespoons blueberries (fresh or frozen)
2-3 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds

How to Make Coconut Milk Overnight Oats

Step 1: Add the rolled oats, light coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and chia seeds in a wide mouth mason jar or a container with a lid.

Step 2: Sprinkle in the unsweetened coconut flakes and give all the ingredients a good stir.

Step 3: Seal the container and place it in the fridge to set for at least 8 hours, or overnight.

Step 4: When ready to eat, give the oats a stir. You can enjoy them cold, or if you prefer it warm, heat in the microwave on Medium for about 2 minutes. Top with mini chocolate chips, blueberries, and almonds before serving.

FAQs & Tips

How to Make Ahead and Store?

To store this you can freeze whole mason jars full of everything but the maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut milk, because all these other ingredients can be frozen for three whole months. Just freeze them right in the mason jars, then defrost for a few hours on a warm windowsill and add your liquid ingredients. When freezing with mason jars, just make sure you don’t fill them all the way to the top–things expand as they freeze and you don’t want to pop your jars or crack them, and let your ingredients get subject to freezer burn.

What does it go well with?

For variations on this recipe, try strawberries, peaches, or yummy raisins and cinnamon in place of the blueberries. Talk about delicious.

How do I make it creamy?

For even creamier overnight oats, substitute rich, heavenly coconut cream for the coconut milk, and enjoy this creamy concoction that is sooo satisfying.

What can I swap the chia seeds for?

For a variation on the chia seeds — which are so super-healthy, try pine nuts or walnuts. These are both heart-healthy and full of omega-3s in the form of ALA!

What if I can’t find organic cocunuts?

If organic coconuts aren’t available, use organic, unsweetened coconut flakes for the most healthy available.

Serving Suggestions

For a big Sunday breakfast, make this just one of your dishes, along with a side of my Baked Eggs or for beverage ideas, serve with my Copycat Starbucks Vanilla Spiced Latte.