Chocolate Overnight Oats (Healthy Breakfast Recipe)

Our healthy Chocolate Overnight Oats recipe is the perfect make-ahead breakfast to make busy mornings easy. It takes 5 minutes and 5 ingredients – and the whole family will love it!

Weekday mornings in our house are busy. Three kids. Two different schools and bell schedules. Three different needs and preferences.

And honestly, I’m not the best morning person, so cooking first thing in the morning is not my fav. I will make egg scrambles, breakfast sandwiches, and maybe some frozen waffles in the toaster. 😂

But my jam is making things ahead of time (like the night before when I make dinner) so that we can just grab and eat (or go!). 

Some of my favorite make-ahead breakfast ideas are:

• ​​Stuffed Breakfast Biscuits (AKA Breakfast Bombs)
• Baked Oatmeal Recipe With Fruit
• Bacon, Spinach & Potato Frittata Muffins
• Freezer Breakfast Burritos

And now I have a new one for you! After the way my kids devoured my Apple Cinnamon Overnight Oats, I thought it was time to build on that.

Say hello to Chocolate Overnight Oats! This recipe is absolutely genius. And who doesn’t enjoy chocolate anytime (but especially at breakfast)?

Plus, as a parent, there are lots of reasons to love overnight oats – even chocolate ones! Now you can meal prep breakfast in a snap, and oats are a good source of fiber.

But the BEST part of Chocolate Overnight Oats is that they’re healthy, loaded with fiber, and will keep you full until lunch!

Chocolate Overnight Oats Ingredients

You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this yummy chocolate oats recipe!

• Old-Fashioned Oats – also called rolled oats
• Milk – your favorite kind
• Brown Sugar – light or dark
• Cocoa Powder
• Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips or dark chocolate chips

NOTE: For full recipe details, please refer to the handy printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. 

How To Make Chocolate Overnight Oats

This recipe is SO easy!

Step 1 – Layer The Ingredients

In a mason jar with a lid, add the ingredients in this exact order:

Milk, oats, brown sugar, and cocoa powder last.

Step 2 – Mix Them Up

Next, give the mixture a quick stir with a spoon to incorporate the ingredients.

Step 3 – Seal The Jar

Fill individual mason jars with overnight chocolate oats mixture, then seal each jar with the lid and shake for at least 30 seconds.

Step 4 – Let Them Sit Overnight

Place the jar in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Step 5 – Serve Them Up!

When you are ready to eat and serve, remove your chocolate overnight oats from the refrigerator and microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Do not microwave if you prefer it cold for a warm summer morning. 🙂

Step 6 – Add Toppings (Optional)

Top with a few extra chocolate chips for a little extra boost of chocolatey goodness.

Step 7

ENJOY!!!

How to Serve

Well, all you REALLY need to do is pull a jar out of the fridge, open it, and enjoy your chocolate overnight oats!

However, if you want to add a few toppings, here are some ideas:

• Fresh fruit such as sliced bananas or fresh berries
• Splash of milk
• Nuts or seeds – peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds or pumpkin seeds would all be yummy
• Coconut flakes

Expert Tips

• When filling the jars, make sure you leave room at the top for the shaking process and also for the expansion of the oats as they soak up the milk and get warmed up the next morning.

• After you take the oats out of the fridge, give them one quick stir before eating or heating. This will ensure that all the fantastic flavors are well-combined into every bite.

• A good tip to remember when preparing your overnight oats is to make sure the jar has a wide enough opening to make it easy to prep and eat the oats from the same container. I prefer wide-mouth mason jars 😉

• If the oat mixture is a little too thick after sitting overnight, you can add a splash of milk before stirring and heating to thin it out just a little.

Variations To Try

• Top with some sliced bananas or shredded coconut. Or add them all to the warm overnight oats. YUMMY!

• Add some raspberries or blueberries to the top of the warm or cold oats before serving.

• Drizzle a little warm peanut butter on top just before serving for an added boost of flavor and protein.

• Stir in some flax seed meal for those healthy Omega 3s!

• Drizzle a little honey or maple syrup on the top for a little extra sweetness. 😉

• Swap out the brown sugar for coconut sugar.

• Want even more protein? Add a scoop or two of plant-based protein powder. I recommend plain, vanilla, or chocolate protein powder flavors!

Make it Gluten-Free

To make this recipe gluten-free, you need to ensure your oats are gluten-free. Oats are naturally gluten-free but are often processed in plants that also process wheat, creating cross-contamination.

I would also recommend verifying on the packaging of your oats – as well as your chocolate chips and cocoa powder – that they are gluten-free.

Make it Dairy-Free

To make this recipe dairy-free, use non-dairy milk, such as almond milk, oat milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or soy milk in this recipe.

Also, verify that your cocoa powder and chocolate chips are dairy-free before using them!

Make it Sugar-Free

You could swap out the brown sugar for a stevia powder. Just go into it knowing that this recipe will taste different.

FAQs

Here are a few common questions I see readers ask about making this recipe. If you have a question but don’t see it answered below, please leave it for me in the comments!

More Hearty and Delicious Recipes To Try

• The Best Chili Mac Recipe
• Blueberry Muffin Mix Pancakes
• Easy Three Bean Slow Cooker Chili
• Healthy, Delicious, Nutritious Turkey Rice Soup
• Best Beef Stroganoff

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