No milk? No problem. Making overnight oats with water instead of milk is one of the most popular swaps on the blog- rated 4.36 out of 5 by over 130 readers who'll tell you it just works.
This was actually one of the very first recipes I developed for this blog, back in 2022 - the original reason was simply that we had no milk in the house one week, so I started experimenting with water instead. The one thing water doesn't bring to the table is milk's protein and creaminess, so I made up for that with yogurt, and landed on a version I actually liked better.
Once my daughter was old enough to eat with us, I kept making it that way for another good reason: I was already adding fruit puree to her portion, and didn't want the extra sweetness a milk would add on top of that. So this version just became our tried and true favorite!
For more overnight oat recipes try our Almond Milk Overnight Oats, Overnight Oats with Frozen Fruit or Overnight Oats without Yogurt.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 5 minutes of prep time is all you need to make this amazing make-ahead breakfast.
- They are nutritious and packed with fiber making you feeling full for longer.
- It comes together with just 6 simple ingredients.
- The base recipe is nut-free, vegan (if you choose a vegan yogurt) and soy-free and can easily be made gluten-free as well.
Can you make Overnight Oats with Water?
Yes, you can soak oats in water overnight instead of milk. Soaking oats for a longer period of time makes them more easily digestible as well as taste better.
To get a creamy consistency without milk, we rely on yogurt- it's essential in this recipe, stepping in to replace the creaminess you'd normally get from milk. Yogurt adds richness, protein, a subtle tang, and helps bind everything together so the oats don't end up bland or watery. Paired with chia seeds, which help thicken everything up, you still get that satisfying texture.
Why use water instead of milk
There are a few real reasons readers reach for water instead of milk in their overnight oats:
- You're lactose intolerant or dairy-free and don't want to buy a separate plant-based milk just for one recipe.
- You're watching your calories. Water adds zero calories compared to even light plant-based milks - helpful if you're trying to make room for other ingredients like nut butter or granola in your daily budget.
- You simply ran out of milk and don't want to skip breakfast.
- You want to save money. A carton of oat or almond milk isn't cheap if oats-with-water do the job just as well once you add the right mix-ins.
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Oats: For these overnight oats recipe I recommend using old fashioned rolled oats. Instant oats and quick oats are not my favorite to use when it comes to overnight oats because of their texture. They usually soak up less liquid, resulting in a quite mushy consistency. I have not tried this recipe using steel-cut oats.
- Sweetener: I used maple syrup, however any sweetener of choice such as agave, honey (not vegan) or fruit puree would work here. You can also skip it entirely when preparing for toddlers.
- Chia Seeds: Together with the yogurt, they help thicken the overnight oats. Ground flax-seeds could be used instead but won't result in such a thick texture.
- Yogurt: Is used to create the creamy consistency that we would achieve by soaking the oats in milk overnight. But the combination of water and yogurt creates some nice thick oats as well. Any yogurt of choice would work (plant based, dairy-free or traditional dairy yogurt such as Greek yogurt). Prefer no yogurt at all? Skip to "Other Liquids You Can Use" below for water-only options.
- Sea Salt (optional): The only thing that salt does to oats is enhancing the flavours even more- include only a tiny pinch tough!
- Toppings of choice
How to Make Overnight Oats with Water
Overnight oats are incredibly easy to prepare. Simply through all of the ingredients together in a small bowl or jar, pop it in the fridge overnight and add some delicious toppings of choice shortly before eating it.
To end up with the perfect overnight oats consistency, the oat-liquid ratio is important. The recipe below will leave you with a thick and creamy oatmeal. Feel free to play with the consistency by adding more or less water.
STEP 1: Whisk together ingredients. Combine oats, chia seeds, salt, water, yogurt and sweetener of choice in a small bowl and whisk well.
If you plan on enjoying the oats as a grab-and-go breakfast, use a mason jar (with a lid) instead. Alternatively, stir the ingredients together in a bowl and transfer the oatmeal to a mason jar the next morning.
STEP 2: Refrigerate. Cover the mason jar with a lid or the bowl with a plastic film and refrigerate for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.
STEP 3: Add toppings & add-ins. Add your toppings of choice such as pieces of fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, nut butters or shortly before consuming them.
In this case I opted to fill the mason jar with muddled strawberries at the buttom, followed by the overnight oats mixture and topped it off with some fresh strawberries, blueberries, nuts and even more maple syrup.
Other Liquids You Can Use
Water isn't the only milk-free option. If you want a little more flavor or creaminess without dairy, try:
- Unsweetened apple juice (half apple juice, half water) for natural sweetness.
- Cashew milk, which runs around 30 calories per cup - a good middle ground if you want more creaminess than water but fewer calories than most other milks.
- Powdered milk mixed with water, a budget-friendly, long-shelf-life option.
- Mineral water, if you prefer a slightly different mouthfeel - some readers say it's their go-to.
Expert Tips
- !Toppings!: Choosing delicious toppings is crucial when it comes to creating a flavorful oatmeal recipe. Oats themselves taste slightly sweet and nutty but are otherwise quite neutral in their taste, that's when toppings come into play! Choose whatever you like, preferably different ones with different textures and tastes. Below you'll find some ideas.
- Rolled Oats: I prefer using old fashioned oats for overnight oats recipes in general. Using quick or instant oats might work but they usually soak up less liquid, leaving you with a mushy, thinner consistency.
- Batch Cooking: The following recipe makes one single serving. The good thing about overnight oats is that they usually keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, making them a great prep ahead meal. You could make larger batches on Sunday- that way you'll have some delicious breakfast ready for the whole week. I highly recommend adding your toppings shortly before consuming it though!
- Warm breakfast: Overnight oats can also be heated- put them into the microwave (using a microwave save bowl) for a minute or so and you'll end up with a warm bowl of porridge.
- Ready-to-go: Prepare them in a mason jar or any other jar with a lid. Add your toppings in the morning (or bring them with you in a separate smaller jar) and add them shortly before consuming.
Topping & Add-In Ideas
- Fresh Fruit: Fresh fruit is a must for almost any oatmeal recipe. I chose to add some muddle strawberries as well as blueberries, nuts and more maple syrup but you can add whichever toppings you like. Use any fresh fruit of your choice and play around with combining different ones.
- Dried Fruit: They add even more fiber and sweetness. I prefer dates (maybe cut them in half first), cranberries, raisins or figs.
- Nut Butters: add a generous scoop of Homemade Almond Butter, peanut butter or any other nut butter of choice.
- Nuts & Seeds: Sprinkle with some flax seeds, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds to add some additional texture.
- Caramel: For any caramel lover out there I hiiighly recommend trying this 2-Ingredient Vegan Caramel Sauce as a topping.
- Applesauce: such as our Homemade Unsweetened Applesauce adds some nice creaminess as well as cozy apple flavors. Otherwise, you could a mashed banana.
- Cacao Powder: Add in some cacao powder for some chocolatey flavors!
- Protein Powder: A great way to add more protein to this healthy breakfast.
Storage
These overnight oats keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
FAQs
Plain water and oats taste pretty bland on their own. But with the yogurt, chia seeds, sweetener, and toppings in this recipe, you won't notice the difference.
You can, but the texture will be much thinner and less creamy - yogurt is what does that work here, not water. You could try using applesauce or mashed banana instead of yogurt but the taste won't be the same. I do have a recipe for Overnight Oats without Yogurt, maybe that helps.
Yes - especially with dairy yogurt in the mix, refrigeration is the safe, reliable choice. Room temperature works short-term only with dairy-free yogurt or no yogurt at all. For a warm oatmeal I like to pop it into the microwave for a few seconds in the morning.
📖 Recipe
Overnight Oats with Water (No Milk)
Ingredients
Overnight Oats
- ½ cup (50 g) old fashioned oats *see notes
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ¾ cup (170 g) water
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 3 tablespoon plain yogurt of choice (dairy-free, vegan, Greek...)
- tiny pinch of salt (optional)
Muddled Strawberries (optional)
- 1 cup (120 g) fresh strawberries
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl or mason jar and thoroughly stir until well combined.
- Cover with a lid or plastic and put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Taste and adjust sweetness.
- Serve with toppings of choice (see suggestions below).
- If you choose to add the muddled strawberries from the photo, put 1 cup of fresh strawberries, together with your sweetener of choice into your food processor. Pulse a couple of times until strawberries turn into a puree. Alternatively you could mash them with the back of a fork.
Video
Notes
- Types of oats: We recommend using old-fashioned rolled oats for the perfect consistency. Instant or quick oats usually soak up less liquid resulting in a thinner less chewy texture. I have not tried this recipe using steel-cut oats.
- Consistency: feel free to add more or less water or yogurt if you prefer a thicker or runnier oatmeal.
- Warm breakfast: These oats can also be heated- simply put them into the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- Storage: Refrigerate in a sealed container or mason jar for up to 4 days (though they taste best within the first day or two).
- Topping & Add-In Suggestions: Fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, seeds, nut butter, 2-Ingredient Caramel Sauce, protein powder, apple puree, cacao powder...
Janice says
Hi Katie, could I omit the yogurt and use the milk powder or powdered peanut butter PB2 instead ? Thank you.
Katie says
Hi Janice, well the yogurt will add some creaminess and therefore thicker texture but you can also skip it. You can also use PB2 instead (in fact I'm also sometimes adding it to my overnight oats) but this will also make it slightly thicker. I hope that helps. 🙂