- Zooey Deschanel’s recipe was the easiest and most satisfying of the five tested.
- Gordon Ramsay’s toasted oat version offered rich flavor but required more effort.
- Overnight oats are endlessly customizable, quick to prep, and always delicious.
Overnight oats have long been a breakfast staple for me. I’m a mom who homeschools, a work-from-home journalist, a kitten foster mommy and a lot of other things, so while it’s important to me to fuel my day with a hearty breakfast, that breakfast has to be quick and easy. Add in the ability to grab it right out of the refrigerator and take it on-the-go with me and I’m completely sold.
I’ve been making overnight oats in different variations for years. Sometimes, I keep it super simple, prepping jars of oats, milk and flavorful mix-ins like fruit or nuts for a week’s worth of breakfasts at a time. When I have a bit more time, I try really intricate recipes: ones where you add homemade, baked cinnamon apples or freshly made salted caramel sauce to the jar. I think that’s what I love most about overnight oats, how I never get bored with the concept because there’s always a new way to change things up.
EatingWell has covered lots of celebrity overnight oats recipes, which got me curious about whether any of these celebrity recipes could become my new favorite variation. On my most recent meal-prep day, when I usually make a week’s worth of the same overnight oats recipe at once, I turned to five different celebrity overnight oats recipes and made a jar of each to try throughout the week to see which one I liked best.
The Recipes I Tested
- Gordon Ramsay’s overnight oats with toasted nuts, seeds, and coconut
- Princess Diana’s overnight oats, soaked in orange juice instead of milk
- Zooey Deschanel’s super-easy overnight oats recipe with simple ingredients
- Christie Brinkley’s probiotic-packed overnight oats with fresh fruit
- Joy Bauer’s two-step, banana bread–inspired overnight oats
The Best Overnight Oats for Quick Meal Prep
Photographer: Abbey Littlejohn.
Zooey Deschanel’s overnight oats recipe was, by far, the easiest of the five. Deschanel’s recipe calls for 1 cup of oats and 1 cup of milk, along with ¼ cup of plain yogurt (I used strained [Greek-style] yogurt for extra protein); 1 tablespoon of chia seeds; a drizzle of honey, maple syrup or agave; and a big spoonful of the nut butter of your choosing. The ingredients get dropped into a glass Mason jar, then shaken (with the lid on) until well mixed.
It took me no more than 5 minutes to measure the ingredients out and drop them into a jar. I used peanut butter as my nut butter and protein-boosted milk for my milk but could really have used any kind of nut butter or milk and had as much success. The flavors in these overnight oats were so good. They were creamy, nutty and just a bit sweet. The chia seeds and hearty oats kept me full for hours, and there was lots of room left in the Mason jar to add fresh berries or nuts as a topping before eating them if I had wanted to do so.
This is the recipe I enjoyed the most because, like I said, I’m a busy lady. I love that, with this recipe, I could line up a week’s worth of jars on my kitchen counter, measure the ingredients right into them, assembly line-style, and store them in the fridge all week for a quick, yummy breakfast. I don’t know many meals you can prep for the week in just 5 minutes, but this one is legit and worth trying.
The Overnight Oats To Make If You Want a Flavorful Crunch
Photographer: Abbey Littlejohn.
Chef Gordon Ramsay’s overnight oats recipe is a bit more involved than Deschanel’s dump-and-go recipe. Ramsay recommends toasting oats, nuts, seeds and dried coconut in the oven to start. I did as he shows in an Instagram reel but wondered if the extra steps were really worth the time in the kitchen.
Ramsay also makes a honey butter on the stovetop to add to his oats, a combo of butter, honey (or maple syrup), salt and warm spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. Another extra step? I was dubious, but who am I to argue with Gordon Ramsay?
After toasting my ingredients, I add them to a large mixing bowl with dried cherries and cranberries, then tossed the dry ingredients in the melted honey butter. After adding milk, yogurt and nut butter to my Mason jar and giving it a stir, I added in the toasted, buttery ingredients and some chia seeds. I let the whole thing hang out in the fridge overnight, and when it was time to eat, I topped it with some fresh berries just like Ramsay.
The flavors were definitely boosted in this version of overnight oats. The toasty crunch of the nuts, seeds and oats was pretty delicious, as was the flavoring of the honey butter. I loved that I could use my favorite protein-boosted milk and some peanut butter for extra protein, and all-in-all, I’d say this was my second-favorite of the recipes I tried. It just takes a bit more effort, so it’s one I wouldn’t use as much as Deschanel’s dump-and-go method.
The Sweetest Overnight Oats—Without Lots of Added Sugar
Photographer: Abbey Littlejohn.
The recipe Princess Diana’s chef, Darren McGrady, made for her made me scratch my head a little. Rather than soak his oats in milk, McGrady chose to soak them in orange juice to give them a sweet, citrus flavor. I am a creamy overnight oats girl through and through, but I’ll try anything once.
After soaking the oats in orange juice overnight, I followed the royal recipe, folding in strained (Greek-style) yogurt and honey right there in the jar. I also added half a grated honeycrisp apple, fresh blueberries and a handful of walnuts to the jar to make sure I tried the recipe exactly as Princess Diana enjoyed it.
While the dish sounded complicated when I first read through the recipe, it was one of the easier ones I tried. The yogurt and honey helped balance the citrus tang of the orange juice, and overall, the oats tasted sort of like a breakfast creamsicle. The recipe would be great for someone who likes their breakfast on the sweeter side, without lots of added sugar.
Another Good Option for Simple Overnight Oats
Photographer: Abbey Littlejohn.
Christie Brinkley may have lived a glamorous life in her modeling days, but her overnight oats recipe is surprisingly simple to make. Brinkley’s version of this easy breakfast is all about gut health and getting probiotics first thing in the morning, so she uses a probiotic supplement, which she adds right into the jar.
Instead of splurging on a pricey supplement, I added strained (Greek-style) yogurt to the recipe, which also includes oats, berries, kiwi, walnuts and oat milk. The recipe was easy and quick to make, but I missed the added protein of nut butter. Still, it’s a solid option for someone looking for a fast overnight oats recipe with simple ingredients.
The Overnight Oats to Make If You Love Baked Goods for Breakfast
Photographer: Abbey Littlejohn.
I was really looking forward to trying registered dietitian Joy Bauer’s banana bread–inspired overnight oats recipe since it sounded simple. Bauer walks through her oat-making process in an Instagram reel, which I followed along with while making my version.
To make these oats, mix a banana with some milk, strained (Greek-style) yogurt and vanilla in a bowl and mash with a fork. When it’s smooth and creamy, add oats, chia seeds, cinnamon and salt, and store the mixture in a jar in the fridge overnight. When it’s breakfast time, top the mixture with walnuts and enjoy.
I liked the simplicity of this recipe, especially since lots of overnight oats recipes that try to capture the flavor of a baked good have tons of steps. These oats were great, a perfect breakfast for someone who’s trying to find a healthy replacement for their morning doughnut or pastry. I’d definitely make them again, though I prefer a more simple jar of oats most of the time.
My Personal Takeaways
I love trying new overnight oats recipes, so conducting this little celebrity oats experiment was lots of fun and pretty delicious. The recipes really solidified for me what a diverse and easily modified breakfast overnight oats can be. The sky’s really the limit with overnight oats, since you can put as much or as little time into the process as you want.
One of the biggest things I discovered while trying these recipes is that any old kind of oats is really fine. While I read that Princess Diana’s chef swears by rolled oats, not quick oats and Christie Brinkley prefers steel-cut oats, I used a regular old $3-canister of rolled oats from Target in all the recipes I tested and never noticed a difference in the oats texture or how well they held up.
I do not think you need to splurge on a specific kind of oats for each recipe you try: find a type that works for you and get adventurous with all the add-ins instead of worrying too much about locating a specific kind of oats. After all, the best thing about overnight oats is how quickly and easily you can set yourself up with a filling, hearty, healthy breakfast.
The Bottom Line
If you’re looking to jump into the world of overnight oats, start with a simple recipe like the one shared by Zooey Deschanel. Once you master the measurements for creating a basic overnight oats mixture that you enjoy, you can play around with add-ins. Some of my favorite things to add to overnight oats are nut butter, dried fruit and nuts, but you’ll discover your own with some experimentation.
That said, it is fun sometimes to make a more extravagant version of overnight oats, so don’t be afraid to tackle some of the more involved recipes that come across your news or social media feed. That’s the beauty of overnight oats: the protein-packed, grab-and-go breakfast can be tailored to be exactly what you want, which makes for a cheerful start to your morning routine.
