Birthday Cake Overnight Oats are soft creamy oats with Greek yogurt partied up with vanilla wafers, strawberry jam, almond extract, white chocolate chips, and rainbow sprinkles for sweet birthday cake flavor. Fun birthday breakfast idea, or great way to start any morning on the right foot.
For more dessert overnight oats recipes, try Snickers Overnight Oats and Cookies and Cream Overnight Oats.
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❤️You're Going to Love These
- Indulgent nutritious, delicious breakfast: Wholesome ingredients like Greek yogurt and oats to keep you full.
- Easy recipe to make ahead: Prep birthday cake oats the night before in small mason jars for a few days of grab-and-go breakfasts.
- Decadent cake-inspired flavors: Sweet strawberry, a hint of vanilla and almond, and colorful sprinkles taste like a bite of birthday cake.
- Customizable toppings: Add whipped cream, fresh berries, or extra sprinkles.
- Family favorite: Birthday Cake Overnight Oats is a fun and festive breakfast kids and adults will love.
🎂Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Vanilla wafers. A few crushed vanilla wafers soften overnight and add sweet vanilla cake flavor. You can use any kind of cookies -- butter cookies, shortbread, or Golden Oreos would be great.
- Rolled oats. Old-fashioned oats are the best type of overnight oats because they soften to a creamy consistency without falling apart. For a chewier texture, try quick-cooking steel cut oats. Quick oats may be used if you will be eating these the next day -- they get mushy after a couple of days. I don't recommend instant oats -- they're too processed and get really mushy.
- Any type of milk. Use any kind of dairy or dairy-free milk. I use unsweetened almond milk. Soy milk or oat milk will also work.
- Greek yogurt. You can use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt -- nonfat, low-fat, or full-fat. If your yogurt is quite thin, add just a couple of tablespoons while they soak overnight, then stir the rest in right before eating. Otherwise, the oats may be too runny.
- Extracts. A little almond extract and vanilla extract add subtle birthday cake flavor. Use more or less to taste.
- Strawberry jam. Strawberry jam sweetens the oats and gives subtle strawberry flavor -- and reminds me of childhood birthday cakes. You can use another flavor of jam or sweeten your oats with honey, real maple syrup, or brown sugar instead.
- White chocolate chips. For crunch and more creamy vanilla flavor. Add more or less to your taste preferences or substitute with milk or dark chocolate chips.
- Sprinkles. Jimmies, the rod-shaped ones, are less likely to bleed.
🫐Variations or Substitutions
- Fresh fruit: Add toppings like berries, apple chunks, banana slices, or whatever seasonal fruits you love.
Yogurt: Try different varieties, such as vanilla, chocolate, caramel, or fruit-flavored Greek yogurt.
Nut butters: Mix in a spoonful of almond butter, peanut butter, peanut butter powder, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter for richness.
Chia seeds: Boost nutrition by adding chia seeds. If using, increase the milk to ½ cup and plan to stir in more the next day if it thickens too much.
Chocolate: Stir in ½ tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder for chocolate birthday cake flavor!
Add-in tips: Ingredients like chia seeds, cocoa powder, or protein powder can make the mixture thicker, so you may need to add another splash of milk in the morning.
🥣How to Make Birthday Cake Overnight Oats
Step 1: In a small bowl or mason jar, crush the vanilla wafers with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients, using ⅓ cup Greek yogurt, and stir well. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
Step 2: The next morning, top with the rest of the yogurt and any other toppings -- fresh berries, more sprinkles, chocolate chips, toasted nuts, crushed cookies
👉Helpful Hint: Thin or thicken as needed: If the oats are too thick, add a little more milk. If they're too runny, stir in more yogurt or drain off the liquid.
✅Top Tips
- Use rolled oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats are perfect for overnight oats, offering a soft creamy texture. Quick oats may break down too much, leaving you with a mushy consistency.
- Chill: Allow at least 6 hours of refrigeration so the oats can fully absorb the liquid and flavors. Prepping them the night before ensures the best texture and taste.
- Mix: Stir the oats in the morning to make sure everything is well combined.
- Layer: Create a breakfast parfait by alternating layers of oats, yogurt, fruit, nut butter, and granola for a fun twist.
- Try different add-ins: Mix in cocoa powder, your favorite protein powder, or a little peanut butter
🎁Storage
Store birthday cake overnight oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
❓FAQs
I only recommend quick oats if you will be eating the overnight oats the next day and you enjoy a softer texture. After a couple of days, the texture of quick oats becomes mushy. Read more about the best type of oats for overnight oats here.
If you like the chewier texture of steel-cut oats, quick-cooking steel cut oats are great in overnight oats. Regular steel-cut oats may also be used, but only if they have a couple of days to soak. Read more about how to use steel cut oats in overnight oats here.
Yes! Just because you're not cooking them, doesn't mean you can't have them warm. Heat them in the microwave in 30-second increments until warm.
😋More Delicious Overnight Oats Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
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📖 Recipe
Birthday Cake Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 2 vanilla wafers
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup milk of choice
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, divided (save some for topping) plain or vanilla, non-fat, low-fat, or full-fat
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 tablespoon strawberry jam
- 1 tablespoon white chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon sprinkles (jimmies) + more for topping
Instructions
- In a small bowl or mason jar, crush the vanilla wafers with a wooden spoon. Add the rest of the ingredients, using ⅓ cup of the yogurt. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. The next day, top with the rest of the yogurt (about 2 ½ tablespoons) and more sprinkles.
Notes
- Thin or thicken as needed: If the oats are too thick the next morning, add a little more milk. If they're too runny, stir in more yogurt or drain off the liquid.
- Use rolled oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats are perfect for overnight oats. For a chewier texture, try quick-cooking steel-cut oats.
- Adjust sweetness: Sweeten to your taste by using more or less jam. Or skip it.
- Chia seeds: As an option, add one tablespoon chia seeds with the oats and increase milk to ½ cup and the stirred-in yogurt to ¼ cup.
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