Overnight oats continue to be my #1 pick for budget breakfasts because they literally cost pennies, they’re a blank slate for flavors, and you can eat them either hot or cold. Every summer I trade in my hot baked oatmeals for cold soaked overnight oats because they’re just as filling, but oh so refreshing in this heavy heat. The other day I saw Golden Milk Overnight Oats on a restaurant menu and, being a huge fan of golden milk, knew that I had to try them immediately! I spiced up some milk with some turmeric and other warm spices, then used the spiced milk to soak my oats overnight. The resulting flavor was deliciously earthy and aromatic, while still being cold and refreshing! Totally a winner!
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How Many Does This Serve?
The recipe below is for ONE SERVING of these oats, but I generally make about four at a time (you can adjust the ingredient amounts in the recipe below by just changing the number in the servings box). They’ll stay good in the fridge for about five days. For everything that I listed a “pinch” of, that would be roughly 1/8 tsp once the recipe is adjusted up to four servings.
Can I Use Non-Dairy Milk?
You can use any type of dairy or non-dairy milk for these Golden Milk Overnight Oats, just keep in mind that if your milk is sweetened in any way, you may want to consider reducing the honey in the recipe. Personally, I love the way that dairy milk pairs with the earthy flavor of the turmeric and the subtle sweetness of the honey (milk + honey is such a classic flavor combo!).
What Else Can I Add?
Feel free to mix in other types of seeds and nuts with the oats, similar to what I did with my Make Ahead Seeded Oats, keeping in mind that you may need extra milk if using something absorbent, like chia seeds.
How To Serve
You can eat these overnight oats hot or cold, and you can eat them plain, or top them with whatever fun things you have hiding in your pantry. Today I added dried cranberries and some unsweetened shredded coconut. Bananas, pistachios, or almonds are also great matches!
Golden Milk Overnight Oats
Servings 1Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rolled oats ($0.06)
- 2/3 cup milk ($0.21)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1 pinch cloves ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp vanilla ($0.04)
- 1/2 tsp honey ($0.02)
- 1 pinch salt ($0.01)
Instructions
- Add the turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, honey, and salt to the milk and whisk to combine. The spices may still clump slightly, but that’s okay. They’ll loosen as they hydrate while soaking overnight.
- Add the oats to a jar or other air-tight container. Pour the spiced milk over the oats and stir briefly to combine.
- Place a lid on the container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to five days.
- To serve, stir the soaked oats and eat straight from your container or place them in a bowl. Feel free to top with fruit and nuts, if available.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Golden Milk Overnight Oats – Step by Step Photos
Here’s what I used to make my Golden Milk Overnight Oats: 1/3 cup rolled oats, 2/3 cup milk (I used whole milk for extra richness), 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1/8 tsp cinnamon, a pinch of cloves, 1/8 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp honey, and a pinch of salt (not pictured).
Make the golden milk first by adding the turmeric, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, honey, and salt to the milk, then whisking to combine. The spices may still clump a little after whisking, and that’s okay. They’ll have plenty of time to hydrate and diffuse as they soak overnight.
Place your oats in a container (something air-tight to keep refrigerator smells out), then pour the golden milk overtop.
Give the oats a brief stir, then close up your container and pop it in the fridge. This is what it looks like before soaking. It’s not even very yellow, but that changes as it soaks.
Soak the oats for at least 8 hours, or up to five days. Before eating, make sure to give them a good stir! See how yellow they are now?
As with any oats, feel free to dress them up with any fruit or nuts that you have laying around the kitchen!
Very tasty! Oatmeal was pretty runny (used soy milk and rolled oats), but otherwise, super easy and great taste 💛
I LOVE the flavors of this, but I’m not a huge fan of the “overnight oats” texture. Would you consider making a baked oatmeal version of this delicious flavor combo??
Thanks, that’s a great idea! I’ll put it on my list! :)
I love this recipe! I’ve made hot and cold versions of this, and am in love with the cool, lightly sweetened milk. It is so refreshing! Thanks for making my mornings a little easier and a lot tastier.
Would this taste ok if I cooked the oats, rather than let them sit overnight?
Yes :)
The first bite of this hits so hard! Amazing flavor. I compared it to a regular bowl of oatmeal and wondered what I was doing my whole life for breakfast!
I used coconut milk (the kind in the carton) and added a pinch of cardamom. Yum! And turmeric has so many health benefits! Can’t wait to try with flax.
Tasted great – I didn’t have cloves but that was ok. As some other comments said, the milk – to oats ratio is a little off. I use 2/3 cup oats to the milk this recipe called for and tasted great. Also added chia seeds and flax seeds.
Made this last night and enjoyed every bite this morning! I didn’t have any cloves on hand, but the recipe still tasted great. I will be adding this to my rotation of cool meals for hot summers! Thank you!
This recipe is the best, its the only oatmeal I can eat without bananas! I can’t stand overnight oats so I cooked them and it tasted just as good warm, if not better.
Toppings I would reccomend:
– frozen/fresh cherries
– cashew butter
– unsweetened almond milk
I enjoy this recipe a lot and it tastes great, but I find that it works better with 2:3 ratio of oats to milk when using Oatly oat milk. Some separation happens in the oat milk overnight and I don’t think the oats absorb it well in the jar. My oatflakes may be the culprit here either, though.
Great to know Jimmy. Thank you for sharing!
These were much better than I expected! I do think that the milk to oat ratio is a little off though. Flavors were dead on, but it was a bit too soupy for me (more like cereal than oatmeal), so I would probably mix in a dollop of yogurt and use less milk next time to thicken it up a bit. Great cheap and healthy breakfast though! Happy to not have processed sugar in my oats!
Will surely give this a try..
I always eat oat and this recipe will definitely add different taste for me.
Thank you Beth for this great recipe! I love it, as many many of your other recipes. All come out perfect!
can you substitute steel-cut oats for the oatmeal?
Steel cut oats take a lot longer to soften and may need more liquid as well. I haven’t tested using steel cut, so unfortunately I don’t have specific instructions I can provide.
I just made this for the first time and I love it! I am super picky but overnight oats are my go-to work breakfast. I absolutely love this recipe! It was hearty but not overfilling, not too sweet, just perfect!
So have now made this about 10 times. My wife and I love it!!! And as part of our massive new drive to eat MUCH healthier, I live that we are eating oats every day. And getting extra nuts and fruit as well that we add to it.
The only issue we ran into was the first time,the turmeric was just too much. Maybe cause it was a brand new bottle and hasn’t mellowed with a bit of age, but it just wasn’t good. I make 4 servings at a time and just cut the turmeric in half and it has been perfect for us.
Thank you Beth for getting us to eat oats every day! Will eventually try your other over night oat recipies, but still so in love with this.
And between the oats and you teaching me how to cook tofu, you really have been a huge influence on my wife and my new drive to eat healthy.
I have never used turmeric and there is such a small amount that is being used for this recipe. Is there a substitution that you could recommend?
No, unfortunately the turmeric is the key ingredient that makes it golden milk.
I have tried several versions of overnight oats and this is the best yet. I added fresh mango chunks and a tablespoon of whole flax seeds. I used 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup of kefir for the liquid. The consistency was perfect and the serving was very filling.
Great flavor. I might use slightly less milk next time to make it a little thicker.
This was amazing! Great break from my granola routine. The overnight oats don’t have the same weight as other recipes, which is really refreshing!
I somehow lost my tumeric! I added a dash of nutmeg, though and it still tasted wonderful the next day!
I’ve used my home-made muesli that already has in it nuts, seeds, raisins, candied ginger, etc. I’ve put 1/2 cup of muesli in the jar with milk, and add the suggested spices to it plus cardamom, shaken well, and stored in the fridge. Next morning I added some vanilla Greek yogurt–delish, thanks for the suggestion!
Oh wow – this is super tasty!! I added a just a twist of pepper from the grinder — pepper activates the anti-inflammatory properties in turmeric and does little impact to the flavor (if any). Also, I tossed in a little ginger. This was my first overnight oats, but not my last, guaranteed! Thanks for this recipe!!
This was delicious – I used almond milk but will probably try coconut next time, and I topped with chopped pistachios and dates.
I did leave out the cloves (I haven’t ever had those in golden milk before), and added ginger, cardamom, and black pepper. I think you’re supposed to have black pepper in order to absorb the benefits of turmeric (or so I’ve heard).
I had them this morning. I warmed them in a shallow bowl for about 2 minutes in the microwave, sliced a banana on top, and added a little butter. It was delicious. The combination of spices is perfect, and it would be great as a smoothie. Just add frozen banana or other fruit in the morning and blend. I use soaked oats in all my smoothies!
Just scraping my jar of these now!!! So delicious and filling. I made the following modifications:
– Added a tablespoon each of hemp hearts and chia seeds and I’ll probably up the milk content slightly when I make them again.
– I used soy milk because that’s what I had.
– Used about a full tsp of honey
– I didn’t have any cloves but I did have nutmeg and cardamom, so I added a pinch of each; the cardamom in particular is fantastic!!!
– Topped with frozen banana and unsweetened shredded coconut
Thanks for another winning recipe :)
Yum!!!! Husband and I made this last night and had it for breakfast this morning. It was such a refreshing change from our usual cereal for breakfast. I made it again tonight for tomorrow’s breakfast and this time around I added a lot more honey…just because :)
Oooooh, I wanna try this with Chocolate Covered Kate’s technique of making breakfast oat “cookie”! (Basically you lower the liquid amount and lay the oats flat on a plate overnight to find a firm yet soft cookie!) Will report back on results! :)
ACE, how did it turn out?
Mmmm! Like sunshine in a bowl! How yummy!
Made these last night, eating them for breakfast today. Just finished off the last of the honey so I used some stevia instead– still really good! Added some flax seeds and topped with plums and sunflower seeds. Yum!
I ate these for breakfast this morning, and they were yummy! I’ve not been a big fan of overnight oats in the past. I just don’t care for the texture with the yogurt. BUT these were not like the overnight oats I’ve had in the past at all. They are like eating oats like you would cornflakes. There’s a lot of milk, which was really cool and refreshing. I didn’t have rolled oats on hand, so I used quick oats. I was worried they would be mush in the morning, but they were just great! I topped mine with a sprinkle of pecans and raisins. Thanks for this lovely variation, Beth. They’re going to be great for summer.
The vanilla is missing from the recipe! :X
This looks so tasty though!
THanks for catching that! Fixing it now! That makes a big different in the flavor! :)
Would this work with steel cut oats if you heat them up in the morning?
Steel cut oats require quite a bit more liquid and cooking time than rolled oats, so I’m not sure they would soften enough if they are soaked in cold milk.
I’ve used steel cut oats in my overnight oats many times…the texture has a bit more “chew” to it. It’s often preferred in our household. I say give it a try!
I totally think so but they have a a bit more texture to them. One of my kids prefers overnight oats using steel cut! I like them both ways. They just have a bit more “chew” to the final product.
I stirred some of these up tonight! I can’t wait to taste them in the morning. Though I did forget the vanilla at first. It is listed under the picture, but not in the ingredient list at the top.
It’s great how easy it is to get that exotic flavor together for breakfast.