Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

The easy breakfast is simple and utilizes that delectable combination of chocolate and peanut butter.  It only takes about 5 minutes to whip these up and uses just 6 simple ingredients that you may already have on hand. For more chocolate oatmeal dishes try my chocolate raspberry overnight oats or chocolate baked oatmeal recipe.

They’re also great for school mornings!  Just grab one out of the refrigerator, add some fruit on the side, or try vegan fruit salad with lime juice or summer berry salad. Now you have a very filling breakfast for yourself or your kids.  They’re not just great for busy mornings, but they also work well as a snack or a not-super-sweet dessert.

I add maple syrup for a touch of sweetness because the cocoa powder doesn’t have any sweetener in it.  As for the peanut butter, well peanut butter makes everything delicious.

For easy overnight oat recipes using simple ingredients try basic overnight oats with flaxseed, cinnamon overnight oats, applesauce overnight oats, vegan pumpkin overnight oats, or mango overnight oats (using frozen mango).

What are Overnight Oats?

Overnight oats use a method of softening uncooked oats without cooking them.  Instead of cooking your oats in the microwave or stovetop with liquid, they are soaked in liquid for at least a few hours or overnight. The result is a creamy texture for a cold no-cook method for making peanut butter chocolate overnight oats.

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Chocolate peanut butter oatmeal uses simple ingredients, but please see the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and exact measurements.

Old-fashioned oats - Rolled oats are the base for my easy overnight oatmeal recipes.  I like to stick to old-fashioned oats for the best texture, not steel-cut oats or quick oats.

Dairy-free milk - Any non-dairy milk will work.  Try it with unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, soy milk, or cashew milk.

Ground flax seed - Ground flaxseeds can be substituted with ground chia seeds or whole chia seeds. For more recipes with flaxseeds try flaxseed pudding with banana and strawberries.  Just a personal preference, but if I use chia seeds in overnight oats, I prefer to use 2 teaspoons of chia seeds instead of 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds.

Unsweetened cocoa powder (special dark 100%) - Add for the chocolate flavor.  I prefer the flavor of Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this delicious breakfast, but if you prefer the flavor of regular unsweetened cocoa powder then use it.

Natural peanut butter - I use natural peanut butter that contains only peanuts and/or salt, and no added sugar or oils.  If your peanut butter does not contain salt, you may want to add a small pinch of salt to bring out the flavors.  Try the vegan chocolate peanut butter overnight oats with crunchy or creamy peanut butter. 

The peanut butter can be substituted with almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, or even sunflower seed butter for a nut-free version. For peanut butter flavored oats try overnight oats with PB2.

Maple syrup - Pure maple syrup can be substituted with your sweetener of choice.  Depending on how sweet you like your overnight oatmeal, try 1 tablespoon of maple syrup.  If you prefer it less sweet then try 2 teaspoons.  Adjust to suit your preferences.

Tips for chocolate peanut butter overnight oats

• If one portion is too small then increase the oats to however much you want and increase the milk by the same amount.  Instead of one portion being ½ cup oats and ½ cup milk, try ⅔ cup oats and ⅔ cup milk if you need more calories. Then increase the rest of the ingredients accordingly.  If you add cocoa powder or protein powder, you’ll need more milk.
• I prefer an overnight oats ratio of 1:1 for oats and dairy-free milk, but if you prefer a thinner consistency, add a splash of milk before serving. For this particular recipe, the cocoa powder soaks up more milk, so I add an additional tablespoon of dairy-free milk while making it.
• You can add the tablespoon of milk the next morning if you're unsure how thin or thick you like your oats.
• If you leave out the ground flax seeds in your chocolate peanut butter overnight oats then they won’t be as thick.

Storage

Chocolate peanut butter overnight oats don’t have to be made in jars, feel free to use any airtight container with a lid.  The oats don’t contain fruit so they will last in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days.  So a batch of overnight oats can be made at one time for the school/work week.

Multiple servings can be made and mixed, then stored together.  Just scoop out your desired portion size the day you want to eat it.  Another option is to prepare each individual serving in its container.

Topping ideas

The vegan overnight oats can be eaten as is or add your favorite toppings.

• Bananas
• Chopped peanuts
• Cocoa nibs
• Vegan chocolate chips
• More peanut butter
• Sliced strawberries
• Oil-free granola
• Raisins

Related recipes

• Simple overnight oats
• Mango overnight oats
• Overnight oats with banana and cinnamon
• Chocolate raspberry overnight oats
• PB2 overnight oats

I hope you enjoy this recipe for healthy chocolate peanut butter overnight oats!  If you liked the recipe, feel free to rate it and leave a comment.