Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats (Oil-Free)

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Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats are a delicious breakfast, dessert, or snack that are super easy to meal prep and super satisfying. Made with goodies like flax and more, these healthy vegan overnight oats will fill you up and are great for on-the-go.

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You are going to love this breakfast recipe. It has chocolate, fruit, and creamy tender oats. What’s even better is that is has a LOT of staying power. I love making these for a snack or dessert too, but prepare to be full for quite a while after eating these!

Overnight oats are a great meal prep breakfast. You only need about 5 minutes to make them, and then they’re ready in a few hours (or overnight, hence the name)! They last in the fridge for a few days too, so you can prep multiple days at once.

Just pack up your oats in these cute breakfast jars (or use whatever containers you have) and take them on the go once they’re set! I love how portable they are. I’ve often taken them to work for lunch, or kept them in a little cooler in the trunk when we’re going to be out of the house all day. That way I know I always have healthy food with me and don’t have to eat something that’s not on my plan.

Finally, overnight oats are soooo versatile. I’ll definitely be coming out with other flavors soon!

Ingredients

See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.

• Rolled Oats: I personally only use One Degree Organics Sprouted Rolled Oats to make overnight oats. This brand is certified glyphosate-free, gluten-free, non-GMO, and organic. I buy a 5 pound bag at Costco for a really good deal and for some reason, I feel like these rolled oats are thicker than other brands and I enjoy the texture a lot. Sprouted grains have more available nutrients too!
• Ground Flaxseed: You can purchase it ground, but I prefer to grind my flaxseed whenever I need it with my spice grinder. Flaxseed is loaded with tons of nutrients.
• Wheat Germ: This is a ground substance you can buy in the breakfast cereal aisle of your grocery store (it’s near the oatmeal) and it has a slightly nutty, toasty flavor. Wheat germ has a lot of important nutrients. It also has dietary fiber which helps give our chocolate cherry overnight oats more staying power.
• Cocoa Powder: It wouldn’t be chocolate cherry overnight oats if there weren’t any chocolate! I just use unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Unsweetened Soy Milk: I almost exclusively use soy milk in my kitchen and I only use the kind that comes in a shelf stable carton. This is because I can find organic non-GMO soy milk that’s literally made from just organic soybeans and water. I love to use this type of soy milk for sauces, my morning tea, and making my homemade soy yogurt.
• Sweetener of Choice: I personally used date paste in this recipe which is just made by blending 1 cup of pitted medjool dates and 1 cup hot water, but you can use any sweetener you like. Other WFPB-friendly choices include date syrup, pure maple syrup, or date powder.
• Frozen Cherries: It wouldn’t be cherry chocolate overnight oats without cherries! I added pitted frozen cherries (dark sweet cherries) to the overnight oats the night before. They thaw overnight in the fridge and some of the cherry juices leak down into the oats which tastes delicious, in my opinion. Fresh cherries will work but you have to pit them yourself and they won’t leak much juice since they stay pretty firm for a while.
• Cacao Nibs, Optional: To be a little fancy, you can add a sprinkle of unsweetened cacao nibs on top if you want! They also add nice crunch and more chocolaty goodness.

Substitutions

• Rolled Oats: I’ve seen people use steel cut oats for overnight oats instead of rolled oats with some success. Some folks say you need more liquid. And many say that the oats turn out chewier. You’re of course welcome to try it! I would not recommend using quick oats or instant oats, though. These are already chopped so finely that you might just end up with mush.
• Ground Flaxseed: You can also use chia seeds (you don’t have to grind these since the liquid will make the chia seeds gel which makes them softer to chew and easier to digest), hemp seeds, or any other seeds you like. I do recommend using some kind of seeds or nuts, as it helps give our overnight oats their staying power.
• Wheat Germ: You can leave this out if you don’t have it or if you are gluten-free. Oat bran is another good option, and as long as you buy a brand that’s certified gluten-free, it will work for people who can’t have gluten.
• Cocoa Powder: If you’d prefer to use cacao powder, which is generally considered to have more minerals and antioxidants, then you definitely can. Just keep in mind that cacao tends to be a little more bitter in flavor, so you may need more sweetener.
• Unsweetened Soy Milk: You can use any plant-based milk you have on hand. Keep in mind that non-dairy milks in the refrigerated section of the grocery store tend to have a higher water content so your sauce may be slightly less creamy.
• Sweetener of Choice: I gave some healthy sweetener options in the section right above this, but of course use whatever you like/have on hand.
• Frozen Cherries: You can use any other fruit you have on hand, though it will make the recipe something different than cherry chocolate overnight oats! Other good options include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mango, etc.

How to Make Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats

Watch me make this recipe or follow the step-by-step instructions below. Note that the video might start about 10-15 seconds before I start the overnight oats, due to some weird technical issue I had embedding the video.

1. Mix dry ingredients: Add half of each dry ingredient (oats, ground flaxseed, wheat germ, and cocoa powder) to each jar and mix each jar thoroughly with a fork.
2. Mix wet ingredients: Add half of the soy milk to each jar, then add your sweetener of choice to each jar. Mix well and taste. If it is not sweet enough, go ahead and add more sweetener to both jars and mix again. Inspect the bottom of each jar all the way around and make sure that everything is mixed. If you see some dry powder, get your fork in there and mix a bit more.
3. Add the cherries: I like to wait 1-2 hours to add my cherries. If I add them right away, the cherries tend to sink to the bottom and I prefer them to stay closer to the top. So if you prefer that, wait a few hours and then add a half cup of frozen cherries to each jar. If you don’t care (or if you want them to sink to the bottom), then you can go ahead and add your cherries now.
4. Refrigerate: Place lids on the jars and refrigerate your chocolate cherry overnight oats for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight. I find that about 4 hours is enough for the oats to soften to a nice texture, but that’s my preference.
5. Serve: Once ready to serve, you can add a sprinkle of cacao nibs if you like. Enjoy!
6. Store: You can store the overnight oats for up to 5 days, though after 2 or 3 days they do get significantly more soft, so keep that in mind if you prefer a slightly chewy texture to your overnight oats.

Expert Tips

• Taste it: Make sure to taste the oats before you put them in the fridge. I recommend just tasting the liquid, since the raw oats are not super texturally-pleasing. If it’s not sweet enough now, it won’t be sweet enough when they’re done, so add a little extra sweetener, stir, and taste again. Repeat until you’re happy with it! Keep in mind that syrups like maple syrup and date syrup are more concentrated so they’re sweeter than other sweeteners like date powder or date paste.
• Let it soak: Let the overnight oats soak for at least 3 hours, otherwise they may be hard to chew and not have absorbed much of the liquid.
• Adding other ingredients: I’ve given lots of ingredient substitution ideas in the “Substitutions” section of this article, but remember to try to keep the ratios the same. If you add a lot more thick or dry stuff, you may need more liquid. And if you don’t use the flax or wheat germ (and you don’t replace it with anything else), you might need less liquid.
• Try another fruit: I know this is called cherry chocolate overnight oats, but there are so many fruits that go with chocolate! While you can use fresh or frozen fruit, I especially love using frozen fruit because, as it defrosts, it can leak its sweet juices into the oats. Try other fruit such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, pomegranate, mango, and more.

Serving Suggestions

These chocolate cherry overnight oats are so filling you really don’t need anything else with them! If I was REALLY hungry though, I might serve this with a side of fresh fruit, such as fresh berries or apple slices.

If you want extra decadence when serving, try topping it with my 3-ingredient plant-based chocolate sauce.

More Plant-Based Breakfast Recipes to Try

Note that all of these links open up to my other blog but all of these recipes are plant-based and vegan. Some may use items that are not WFPBNO-compliant, but it’s easy to swap ingredients out in each of these recipes.

• Plant Based Pancakes
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chia Pudding
• Vegan Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal
• Lemon Blueberry Chia Pudding
• Banana Bread Vegan Baked Oats
• Apple Pie Chia Pudding
• Easy Tofu Scramble with Veggies
• Pumpkin Chia Pudding
• Vegan Omelette
• Easy Coconut Cacao Granola

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