Morning Fuel: Can You Add Protein Powder To Overnight Oats

Looking to power up your morning with a high-protein breakfast? Adding protein powder to your overnight oats is a good and simple way to start your day on the right foot.

You can add protein powder while preparing your overnight oats to be able to have a protein-packed oatmeal ready to eat in the morning. This is a quick and easy way to boost your protein intake for the day first thing in the morning.

Below, you’ll learn how to make overnight oats with protein, my simple 3 ingredient overnight oats recipe, the benefits of adding protein powder to your overnight oats, and more.

Adding Protein Powder To Your Overnight Oats

Adding protein powder to your overnight oats is pretty simple, and there’s really no need to complicate it.

Making protein overnight oats all comes down to mixing three separate ingredients together (protein powder, oats, and your choice of a liquid) in a mixing bowl until thoroughly mixed and then portioning them out into individual containers to let them sit in your fridge overnight.

And if you want to make your protein overnight oats a little more special. You can obviously add other ingredients to the mix as a topping. And I’ll give you a few tips on fillings and toppings later in this post to spice things up a bit.

The ratio I use is simple: I use 1 packet of instant oatmeal, 1 scoop of protein, 1 cup of milk for 1 individual serving. And you can multiply that by how many servings you want to make.

You can play around with different amounts of your liquid to make your overnight oats with protein powder thinner or thicker.

How To Make Protein Overnight Oats With Protein Powder

This is a very simple protein overnight oats recipe. You can adjust and tweak it as you please, and down below, I’ll give you tips on how to spice up this protein overnight oats recipe a bit further.

Now, let’s get started with how to make overnight oats with protein powder. The first thing you’ll want to do is gather all of your ingredients together.

Ingredients

Below are the 3 ingredients you will need in order to start enjoying protein overnight oats. Make sure you are using ingredients that taste good to you and your taste buds.

This will ensure the best chance you’ll enjoy your protein overnight oats since everyone has different taste buds and preferences.

Oatmeal:

You can use whatever type of oats you like. Whether that’s rolled oats or instant oats, the only thing that matters is what you like and enjoy.

I personally prefer flavored instant oats over the traditional rolled oats you can buy in bulk. The instant oats tend to taste better since they are already flavored, and I also like the texture of instant oats compared to traditional rolled oats.

Go with what you are familiar with, and feel free to experiment with either good old-fashioned rolled oats or any other kinds.

Protein Powder:

For protein powder, I recommend going with a good old-fashioned whey protein powder. If you use casein protein powders, they tend to be very thick and can mess with the consistency of your overnight oats.

Also, I like to use a good-tasting vanilla protein powder. Its flavor is not overpowering, and vanilla protein powder tends to go well with all different kinds of flavors of oatmeal.

This gives you the opportunity to mix up the flavors of your protein overnight oats so you’re not stuck having to eat the same flavor of overnight oats over and over again.

But you are free to choose any flavor of protein powder you like to make your protein overnight oats.

I know chocolate protein powder is another popular flavor that people like to mix with cinnamon and brown sugar oatmeal. I’ve tried this and can vouch that this combo is really good.

Water or Milk:

The last ingredient you are going to need is either water or milk.

I’ve personally tried both, and since you are mixing protein powder with your overnight oats, you can actually make a really low-calorie option by skipping the milk.

I personally only use water when I am really counting and watching my macros. The protein powder gives the overnight oats enough creaminess without milk that it’s still enjoyable to eat.

But if you’re not really watching calories or counting macros and you want extra creamy overnight oats, then I encourage you to try making your protein overnight oats with milk.

This will give your oats a creamy texture and also add some thickness.

Also, keep in mind you can play around with other types of milk with your overnight oats, like soy milk, oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, etc.

Just keep in mind that different kinds of milk will change the taste and texture of your overnight oats.

Putting It All Together And Waiting

So those were the 3 ingredients you need. Now, let’s talk about how to prepare your high-protein overnight oats together.

I personally like to make overnight oats in bulk for meal prep. You can choose to do the same or just make an individual serving to try out first.

If you are making your overnight oats with protein powder in bulk for a meal prep. Then, you are going to want to use a mixing bowl to add all the ingredients together.

For 1 serving, you can make your protein overnight oats in the same container you are going to use to refrigerate overnight.

And the ratio I use for 1 serving is 1:1:1

Which is 1 instant packet to 1 scoop of protein powder to 1 cup of milk or water.

And if you want to make this in bulk, I would just multiply everything by however many servings of overnight oats with protein powder you want to end up making.

For example, if you want to make 5 servings in bulk. I would do 5 packets, 5 scoops of protein powder, and 5 cups of milk. Then, portion your overnight oats in 5 separate containers.

Adding More To Your Protein Powder Overnight Oats

Now, let’s talk about adding a little extra to your rolled oats with protein powder in order to spice them up a bit.

This is especially true if you aren’t using flavored oatmeal and just using regular rolled oats.

Here are a few things you can add as mix-ins or toppings to give your overnight oats with protein a little flavor boost!

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are one of the most popular ingredients to add to overnight oats with protein powder recipes you find online. And I see why.

Chia seeds are packed with fiber, healthy omega-3 fats, and other vitamins and minerals.

Just keep in mind if you do decide to add chia seeds to your overnight oats with protein powder that, they will absorb some of the liquid and moisture for themselves.

So, you might need to add a little more liquid and play around with the ration if you are going to start adding different ingredients to your oats with protein powder.

Almond Butter Or Any Other Nut Butter

Oats with protein powder alone can be pretty boring…

Another great way to spice it up is to add some almond butter, peanut butter, or any other nut butter to your overnight oats.

I personally recommend trying out some cookie butter. Especially if you have a big sweet tooth like me. That alone is a game-changer.

Fresh Berries

Berries are a great way to add a little natural sweetness and freshness to your oats. Also, they provide a good source of vitamins and minerals.

My favorite berries to add are blueberries. But feel free to experiment with other berries like strawberries and raspberries as well!

Chocolate Chips

A quick and easy way to spice up overnight oats with protein into a sweet treat.

The chocolate chips, in my opinion, help give your oatmeal a nice little crunchy texture, which is a nice change of pace.

You can also experiment with yogurt chips, white chocolate chips, or toffee chips.

Pure Maple Syrup

Suppose you made your overnight oats with regular rolled oats. Then, it might need a little help in the flavor department, and maple syrup is a quick and easy way to give your oats a little bit of sweetness.

Also, maybe you are like just me; you prefer to use natural maple syrup as your sweetener instead of any artificial sweeteners.

Coconut Flakes

I love adding coconut flakes to give my oats a nice tropical and nutty taste. Especially when you pair this with the right fruits, it can definitely hit the spot and really enhance the flavor of your overnight oatmeal.

Fresh Fruit

Fresh berries aren’t the only fruits you can use. You can add in other fresh fruits like pineapple, apple, grapes, bananas, etc., to help boost the flavor.

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is a popular choice to add to overnight oats with protein powder to give it some richness and more depth in flavor.

Also, if you add fruits with your yogurt, it’s a great way to turn this healthy overnight oats recipe into something like a fruit parfait you can enjoy.

These are just a few things you can add and mix into your overnight oats to give them a boost in flavor. But you can literally add anything you think will go great with it. So don’t be afraid to get creative.

Which Flavored Protein Powder Works Best With Overnight Oats

From personal experience, I think whey protein powder is the best type of protein to add to your overnight oats.

As for the flavor, honestly, that’s up to you to decide, but below are some things I’d consider when choosing a protein flavor.

Vanilla Protein Powder

Vanilla protein has the most neutral flavor out of other protein powders and is probably the one that will pair well with any flavored oatmeal out there.

Chocolate Protein Powder

Chocolate is great with certain types of flavored oatmeal, but if you are using good old-fashioned oats like steel-cut oats or rolled oats.

Chocolate protein is a good way to amp up the flavor of your overnight oats made from old-fashioned rolled oats or steel-cut oats.

Other Protein Powder Flavors

I think you can’t go wrong with vanilla when you are using flavored oatmeal to make overnight oats with protein.

But if you are using regular oats, then any of your favorite protein powder flavors will most likely help boost the flavor of regular oats.

How To Add Protein Powder To Oatmeal

You are going to have to be careful if you want to add protein powder to regular hot oatmeal.

Here’s a post on a more detailed guide answering the question: can you add protein powder to oatmeal?

The thing with protein powder and high heat is it tends to get clumpy and not dissolve properly. It’s by no means impossible, but there are a few steps you need to take that I’ve discussed in that guide in order to be able to mix the two properly.

Be sure to read it if you want to mix hot oatmeal with protein.

Benefits Of Oats With Protein Powder

The biggest benefit of making overnight oats with protein powder is you get to enjoy a healthy breakfast option loaded with a good amount of carbs and protein for the day.

Also, it’s easy to prepare the day before, and you’ll conveniently have a healthy breakfast ready to go for you in the morning.

Which is why it is such a popular meal to eat before morning workouts.

Final Thoughts On If You Can Add Protein Powder To Overnight Oats

Now, you’ve probably gotten your answer on whether or not you can add protein to your overnight oats.

And adding protein to your oats is a great way to boost your protein intake for the day and get your day started with some healthy carbs.

And now, take the info about how to make overnight oats with protein using those 3 simple ingredients and play around with it to make it your own.

Try out different oatmeal, proteins, toppings, add-in, and even different types of milk.

It’s a simple snack to make, and I’m sure you will find a combo that you will enjoy eating day in and out.

If you do, be sure to let me know about it! I’d love to try it out and maybe even feature it on my blog for others to try as well!