Maple Brown Sugar Overnight Oats are filled with warm and cozy flavors of brown sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon for a healthy, filling breakfast you can make the night before. Perfect meal prep breakfast recipe for busy mornings.
If you love overnight oats, you have to put Snickers Overnight Oats and Cookies and Cream Overnight Oats into your breakfast rotation!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, you'll get more FREE recipes and tips from my Midwestern kitchen to yours!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Midwestern HomeLife
Brown sugar overnight oats are a quick and easy way to have a delicious, ready-to-eat breakfast waiting for you in the morning. They’re creamy, lightly sweet, and endlessly customizable—just add your favorite toppings like nuts, fruit, a drizzle of maple syrup, or maple pecan granola.
❤️You're Going to Love These
- Warm and cozy flavors. The combination of maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon feels like a hug and tastes like a cinnamon roll!
- Filling, healthy breakfast. Wholesome oats, protein-packed Greek yogurt, and almond milk are sure to keep you satisfied all morning.
- Make-ahead convenience. Meal prep ahead for a quick grab-and-go snack or fast, easy breakfast option you don't have to think about.
- Customizable. Add your favorite toppings like fresh fruit, nuts, or granola.
🍁Ingredients
See recipe card at the bottom of the post for the full list of ingredients and exact amounts.
- Rolled oats. Old-fashioned oats are the best option for any overnight oatmeal recipe because they soak up the milk without losing their texture. Quick-cooking steel-cut oats are also a great choice if you like a chewier texture. Quick oats are okay, but get a little mushy by day 2. Instant oats (like the kind in packets) will get way too mushy.
- Any type of milk. Any kind of dairy or dairy-free milk like soy milk, oat milk, or almond milk will work here. We always use unsweetened almond milk in our overnight oats.
- Greek yogurt. Whole milk full-fat, low-fat, or non-fat Greek yogurt may be used. If your yogurt is quite thin, you may need to add a little less, like 2 tablespoons, and stir in more in the morning, just so it doesn't get too runny.
- Brown sugar. Dark brown sugar is my favorite because of the deep, rich molasses flavor. Light brown sugar may also be used.
- Maple syrup. Use pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup, for the best flavor.
🫐Variations or Substitutions
- Fresh fruit: Top with fresh berries, diced apples, banana slices, or your favorite seasonal fruit.
- Yogurt: Experiment with different flavors like vanilla, caramel, chocolate, or even fruit-flavored Greek yogurt.
- Sweetener: Swap in honey, agave syrup, or a liquid sweetener of your choice.
- Nut butters: Stir in a spoonful of peanut butter, peanut butter powder, almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.
- Chia seeds: For an extra nutritional boost, add chia seeds and increase the milk to ½ cup. Be prepared to stir in more milk the next day if needed.
- Spices and extracts: Add a pinch of nutmeg, pumpkin spice, or a splash of almond extract for extra flavor.
- Chocolate. Stir in ½ tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder or a handful of chocolate chips.
- Notes about add-ins: Adding ingredients that may thicken the mixture, such as cocoa powder, protein powder, or chia seeds, might require adding more milk. Start small, you can always add more liquid the next morning if needed. It's easier to thin the oats right before eating than thicken them.
🍌How to Thicken Overnight Oats
What should you do if you open your oats, ready to dive in, and they're runny? Here are a few quick ways to thicken them:
- Add chia seeds. Stir in 1-2 teaspoons of chia seeds and let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes to thicken.
- Use nut butter: Stir in a spoonful of peanut butter, almond butter, or sunflower seed butter. It will add creaminess and help thicken the mixture.
- Mash a banana: Adding a mashed banana thickens the oats and sweetens them naturally.
- Greek yogurt: Stir in a dollop of Greek yogurt for an instant boost in creaminess and thickness.
- Powders: Sprinkle in a bit of cocoa powder or protein powder. They’ll absorb some of the liquid while adding flavor.
- Strain off the liquid. If none of these are handy, simply drain off a little excess liquid.
🥣How to Make Easy Brown Sugar Overnight Oats
Step 1: Stir all of the ingredients, using ⅓ cup yogurt, in a small bowl or mason jar until well combined. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
Step 2: The next morning, give them a good stir and top with the rest of the yogurt, chopped pecans, brown sugar, maple syrup, and flaky sea salt.
👉Helpful Hint: Adjust the consistency to your liking. If your yogurt is very thick, you may need to add extra liquid. If it’s thinner, use less. When preparing overnight oats for the first time, start with a thicker mixture—it’s easier to thin it out the next morning with a splash of milk than to fix overly runny oats. See notes above for tips to thicken oats.
✅Top Tips
- Choose rolled oats: Old-fashioned rolled oats provide the ideal texture—soft but not mushy. Quick oats tend to break down too much, resulting in a mushier consistency.
- Allow enough chill time: Let the oats rest in the fridge for at least 6 hours to absorb the liquid and flavors. For the best taste and texture, prepare them the night before.
- Stir before eating: Give the oats a quick stir before digging in to ensure everything is evenly mixed.
- Adjust to taste: Add extra milk, sweetener, or toppings in the morning to suit your preferences.
- Try layering: For a fun breakfast parfait, layer oats with yogurt, fruit, nut butter, and granola.
- Experiment with add-ins: Stir in cocoa powder, protein powder, or a pinch of salt for extra flavor and nutrition.
🎁Storage
Store brown sugar cinnamon overnight oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Store toppings in a separate container and add right before eating.
❓FAQ
Instant oats tend to become too mushy, while steel-cut oats don’t soften enough overnight. Old-fashioned rolled oats are the best option for creamy oats with the perfect texture. Read more about the best type of oats for overnight oats.
Overnight oats are best eaten within 3-5 days. If adding fresh fruit, it’s best to add it just before serving to keep it fresh.
Yes! If you prefer warm oats, heat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Add a splash of milk to adjust the consistency if needed.
Yes, you can easily make this easy overnight oats recipe dairy-free by using plant-based milk (like almond, coconut, or oat milk) and a dairy-free yogurt alternative.
😋More Easy Breakfast Recipes
💌Let's Stay in Touch
Follow Midwestern HomeLife on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, and subscribe via email to receive all of the latest recipes!
📖 Recipe
Brown Sugar Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup milk of choice
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, divided nonfat, low-fat or full-fat
- ½ rounded tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- Optional toppings: fresh fruit or berries, chopped pecans, brown sugar, maple syrup, flaky sea salt
Instructions
- In a small resealable bowl or mason jar, stir the oats, milk, ⅓ cup yogurt, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt until well combined. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight.
- The next morning, stir and top with the remaining yogurt (about 2 ½ tablespoons) and toppings such as pecans, a sprinkle of brown sugar, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a little flaky sea salt.
Notes
- Adjust to taste: Use more or less sweetener, and adjust the toppings in the morning to suit your preferences.
- Thin or thicken as needed. The type of yogurt you use may make the oats thinner or thicker than desired after soaking overnight. To thin, add more milk. To thicken, stir in more yogurt, peanut butter, or protein powder, or simply drain off the excess liquid.
Leave a Reply