Searching for a delicious and nutritious breakfast recipe? Look no further than cranberry walnut overnight oats! This recipe is easy to make and perfect for busy mornings. Plus, it’s packed with healthy ingredients like fiber-rich oats, protein-packed yogurt and milk, and antioxidant-rich cranberries. Who’s ready to give it a try?!
This post was first published in 2014 and has been updated in 2022.
Ingredients
Here’s a photo of everything you’ll need to make this recipe, along with selected ingredient notes:
- Greek yogurt – Adding plain Greek yogurt helps make the overnight oats creamy, and adds a punch of protein. If you don’t have plain on hand, you can use vanilla or coconut instead – both taste great in this recipe. (If you use sweetened yogurt, you can cut back on the maple syrup).
- Cranberries – You’ll use both fresh (or frozen) cranberries, as well as dried cranberries. Let’s hear it for a double dose of cranberry deliciousness! As a heads up, if you use frozen cranberries, there’s no need to defrost them prior to using.
- Coconut – I prefer using unsweetened coconut, but sweetened works fine too!
- Oats – You’ll want to use rolled oats (sometimes called “old fashioned oats”) for this recipe; they have the best texture for overnight oats.
Step by Step Instructions
You’ll find the full recipe ingredients and instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s a helpful overview.
Good news – this recipe couldn’t be easier! First, toss all the ingredients in a mason jar.
Shake it up until well combined, then refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, take it out and dig in!
Recipe FAQ
Here are some common questions that may come up as you prepare this cranberry overnight oats recipe:
Rolled oats work best in overnight oats. Steel cut oats are not recommended as they generally tend to stay too firm without cooking.
Yes, just substitute a milk alternative and dairy-free yogurt in place of standard milk and yogurt. Keep in mind the protein content will typically be lower with these alternatives.
Overnight oats are best enjoyed within five days of making them.
Nutrition Benefits
This recipe is a slam dunk for active women! Not only can you meal prep it ahead of time for a quick, on-the-go breakfast, but it’s also great for fueling those fitness goals. You’ll get…
- Healthy carbs – This recipe is rich in nutritious carbohydrates like oats, dairy, and cranberries. These carbohydrates help supply energy for your workouts, especially intense exercise.
- Protein – You’ll get 19.5 grams of protein in these cranberry overnight oats, which makes it great for supporting muscle repair and recovery from exercise.
- Fiber – Did you know 95% of people don’t get enough fiber each day? The cranberries, oats, and chia seeds in this recipe help contribute fiber to support digestive and heart health.
- Magnesium – This mineral plays a role in everything from energy production to bone health to exercise recovery (read more in this post about magnesium for runners). These overnight oats provide 31% of your daily needs.
- Iron – While this mineral is important for everyone, iron is especially essential for active women. You’ll get 19% of your daily needs in this recipe.
More Overnight Oats Recipes
If you’re looking for more overnight oat inspiration, check out these delicious recipes:
- Matcha overnight oats
- Caramel pumpkin overnight oats
- Blueberry high protein overnight oats
- Lemon overnight oats
You can also check out this roundup with healthy overnight oats recipes with lots more ideas!
I hope you enjoy these walnut cranberry overnight oats as much as I do. If you get a chance to try it, feel free to leave a recipe rating or comment below.
Cranberry Walnut Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry rolled oats
- ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- ½ cup nonfat milk
- ¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ½ tbsp pure maple syrup
- ½ tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tbsp dried cranberries
- 2 tbsp chopped walnuts
- 1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients together in a mason jar. Shake well and refrigerate overnight.
- In the morning, enjoy cold! As an alternative, reheat in microwave (remember to remove the lid) for 1:30 to 2:00 minutes.
Notes
- Feel free to adjust the maple syrup amount per your taste preferences. You can also use sugar free maple syrup if you’d prefer.
Nutrition
Share: What are your favorite flavor combinations for overnight oats?
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I thought oats (and all grains) were harmful if not first cooked? Why is not this
true for Oats? It seems they are full on anti-nutrients if not cooked, and may not
be digestible for some people. Do you have any links or science to put my mind at
ease on eating these raw, as far as safety so the raw oats don’t harm the gut? Thanks.
Hi Nelle, good question. I do not see any reason it would be unsafe to eat overnight oats (or even small amounts of raw oats that are blended into a smoothie). I’m guessing you are referring to the phytic acid when you say “antinutrients”. Phytic acid is present in many foods; not just raw grains. While it’s true that phytic acid may combine with certain vitamins/minerals to reduce their absorption, I would (personally and professionally) only be worried about this if a person was consuming large amounts of foods with phytic acid. Someone eating a balanced, healthy diet with a variety of foods can meet their vitamin/mineral needs even despite the “antinutrients” in certain foods. Also, soaking the oats overnight (as is done in this recipe) would decreases the phytic acid content. And if you were still worried, you could pop it in the microwave to heat it up in the morning (which I think makes it taste better!) if you wanted to cook it.
I don’t have any quick links handy to peer-reviewed research, but both these articles are pretty well written:
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/reasons-raw-soaked-oats-are-a-must-try/
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-phytates-phytic-acid
I am SO tired of the Nazi food police! If Nelle knows “oats and all grains” are harmful if eaten raw, why even ask the question?
Crissy, I love your recipe and am trying it tonight: putting my first batch in the fridge. I’ll try it uncooked and then nuke it a bit, to see the difference. Thanks so much for sharing! (I also love your recipe of Egg Muffins with Veggies; it is so versatile.)
I’ so sorry to have struck a nerve with you. When she posted the recipe I was excited, as it suggested to me the chance that maybe oats are not harmful when raw. I tend to learn a lot from others’ experiences and feelings on the safety of certain foods/cooking, as I am not perfect in knowing all the true answers. Thanks for any understanding you can have on this, as my intentions were not to be the police. And thank you for expressing your feelings.
Yup, raw oats might be deadly poisonous.
Questions are always welcome on my blog Nelle. There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so I’m happy to try and provide some answers if I can. 🙂
Hope you enjoyed the overnight oats, Emilia! I’ve got another overnight oats recipe from a guest poster that will be coming up shortly on the blog.
I did try them this morning and they were delicious. I didn’t have coconut, but will try with it next time, for a different taste. I also like to mix raw rolled oats with Greek yogurt and leave it in the fridge. The next morning I add honey and some hamp seeds. Also very good.
I loved this recipe! I tired it yesterday morning and it kept me full until lunch. I heated mine up because I just don’t like cold oatmeal. I will make this again and I’m going to buy (okay, honestly I’m going to swipe a few from my Momma’s kitchen) more jars to prep this in since I only have one. I used sweetened coconut, unsweetened plain almond milk, reduced sugar crasins, and pecans. I will have to refigure the nutritional info on MFP, but thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. I did have a question about the oats I can use. I used Quaker quick oats (1min) because that was all I had in the cabinet besides steel cut oats. I saw some oats last night at a local health food store and considered buying them. They were Bob’s organic rolled oats. The cook time was 3-5 minutes I think. Would this work for the recipe? Since they’re soaked overnight I guess the 1:30-2 min cook time would be plenty?
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it! I always heat mine up too – but I just love the convenience of having it all prepped so it only requires a quick pop in the microwave. 🙂 The rolled oats will work great in this; I use them all the time. And yes, since they’re soaked, the only real purpose of the cook time is just to heat it up if you prefer it warm.
I’ve heard of people making overnight oats with steel cut oats too but I haven’t tried it myself personally; I worry it might be a bit too chewy (but I’ll probably give it a try at some point!) 🙂