Overnight Oat Parfait Recipe By Tanya Flink, Switch4Good Content Manager

There was a period in my life when I ate a bowl of oats almost exclusively for breakfast (and sometimes lunch) every day for three years. It’s nourishing, satisfying, easy, cheap, comforting, and unbelievably versatile. On my morning run, I’d think about what kind of oatmeal I’d make for myself that morning—baked chocolate and peanut butter, morning glory, carrot ‘cake,’ banana peanut butter … I could go on. This overnight oat parfait recipe is one I used when I knew I’d have no time to prepare my beloved oats in the morning. Take five minutes to make it the night before, then wake up to a gorgeous layered glass of creamy oats, luscious nut butter, and sweet berries. Take my recipe and customize it to your tastes (or whatever you have in the fridge).

Serves one

Ingredients

1/2 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
1 cup of non-dairy milk
1/2 very ripe banana, mashed*
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (or 1/3 teaspoon almond extract)
1/3 cup berries or diced fruit
1-2 tablespoons nut or seed butter

Instructions

1. Combine oats, non-dairy milk, mashed banana, salt, and vanilla in a mason jar or air-tight container. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 2 hours).

2. Once chilled, layer ingredients in a glass in this order: half the oats, half the nut butter, half the berries, remaining half of oats, remaining half of nut butter, remaining half of berries.

3. Grab a spoon and dig in.

Notes
*If you’re banana-averse or don’t have any bananas, use half a teaspoon of stevia or a tablespoon of maple syrup. Don’t throw out the other half of the banana! Peel, slice, and freeze it in an air-tight container or plastic bag. Frozen bananas make for amazing nice cream!

Mix it up (flavor pairings)

Chocolate PB: Mix in a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder (or chocolate peanut butter powder). Layer with peanut butter.

Blueberry Poppyseed Lemon: Mix in a teaspoon of poppyseeds, swap the vanilla for a squeeze of lemon juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon, layer with blueberries and cashew butter.

Strawberry Almond: Swap the vanilla for 1/3 teaspoon almond extract. Layer with sliced strawberries and almond butter.

PB&J: Swap the fruit for a layer of jam.

The Elvis: Layer oats with sliced bananas and peanut butter.

Photo credit: Justin’s