Overnight Oat Parfait Recipe

Overnight oat parfaits are one of the easiest and most filling breakfast recipes one could hope for. There are plenty of benefits to these oats, and they're packed full of nutritious ingredients that will make your morning feel guilt-free. Seriously, these humble cereal grains pack a serious nutritional punch. Oats are full of fiber, and they're good at keeping your stomach feel full and avoiding extra snacking.

Chef and recipe developer Maren Epstein of Eating Works shares that there are plenty of things to love about this simple recipe. "I like how delicious it tastes. It's like eating an apple pie without the guilt," she shares. And Epstein notes that apples are a pretty great compliment health-wise to the aforementioned oats. "Apples are filled with vitamins and phytonutrients. Oatmeal is good for regulating blood sugar and keeps you full." So, really, what's stopping you from making this tasty, easy, and healthy breakfast as soon as you can?

Luckily, this recipe calls for just a few ingredients. Not only are most of them super healthy, but chances are pretty good that you'll have some of them in your kitchen already. You will need 1 cup of flax milk and another cup of oatmeal. In terms of oatmeal, you can just use your favorite brand. In addition, you'll need coconut oil.

In addition, get cinnamon, brown sugar, and water. To complete the list, grab apples and apple butter, the former of which you can buy ready-made. Then again, if you're feeling ambitious and have access to a few simple kitchen tools, you can also make apple butter at home.

For the first step in the process, take out a mason jar. These things really come in handy for many recipes and they're simply a must for overnight oats, as they stand up well to extended time in the fridge and don't stain or react with some ingredients like other materials do. 

Go ahead and add your flax milk and oatmeal together into the jar. Seal the lid and then shake the jar vigorously so that everything gets well combined. Stick the jar in the fridge for 8 hours. Yes, that may seem like a long time, but consider that you can go to bed in the meantime. Another significant benefit of overnight oats is that it saves you time. That's in large part because "you don't have to cook the oats," as Epstein notes. "The blend of milk and oat does the work for you!"

While your overnight oats are in the fridge chilling, it's time to stew your apples. Get out a saucepan and turn the heat to low. Toss in the coconut oil and let it slowly melt. Once the oil has melted into a liquid, you can put in your sliced apples. In addition, you will also want to add your cinnamon, sugar, and water into the pan at this time.

Allow the apples to cook until the bottom of the saucepan is almost dry, which means that the apples have absorbed all of the liquid. It should take about 10 minutes to achieve this step.

Now is the time for your artistic skills to shine. We must mention that another great part about this recipe is that it's very aesthetically appealing, meaning you should certainly feel free to take a few snaps of your assembled oats jar if you feel so inclined. Take out your mason jar to put together the parfait. Add ⅓ of the oatmeal mixture to the bottom of the jar. After that, add ¼ cup of apple butter.

Last but not least is ⅓ of the apples. Repeat the process one more time and then top the oats with one more layer of oatmeal. Use the extra apples as a garnish and season with cinnamon. And, while mason jars are pretty useful here, if you don't have one, that's okay. "Any container will work for this recipe that doesn't leak," Epstein shares. 

Now that the parfait is done — meaning it's been soaked overnight and then assembled — you can get ready to enjoy it. These overnight oat parfaits will definitely be filling on their own, making for a wholesome meal that can be a great star to your day. 

But if you want to pair these oats with something else, you can definitely do so with ease. "This is a sweet recipe so it would be paired well with something savory like a quiche," Epstein suggests. If you're keeping with the breakfast theme, perhaps some scrambled eggs or even a mini souffle would work well for you. 

And, as far as leftovers, Epstein shares that they will be good for one week, assuming that you're storing them in airtight containers in the fridge. This means that if you want to make them in advance for the week, you are able to do so!