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I Make Overnight Oats for Thirty Cents a Serving and They Actually Taste Good
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items Spending five dollars every morning on a smoothie bowl or grabbing a drive-through breakfast sandwich adds up fast. If you've been telling yourself you'll start meal prepping but every recipe calls for seventeen specialty ingredients, this is the lin...
Sections
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The Base Oats and Milk That Keep It Under Thirty Cents
Sweeteners and Flavors That Don't Taste Fake
Cheap Toppings That Make Each Jar Different
Jars and Prep Supplies That Save Time Every Sunday
The Base Oats and Milk That Keep It Under Thirty Cents
I used to overthink this part and buy fancy oat brands that cost four times as much. Turns out the store brand works identically and the milk swap alone saved me almost two dollars a week.
Grab this giant canister and do the math. It works out to like eight cents per serving. I've tried steel cut for overnight oats and they stay too chewy, but these old fashioned ones absorb perfectly by morning.
Great Value 100% Whole Grain Old Fashioned Oats, 42 oz
Switch to this if you've been using name brand almond milk for no reason. Tastes the same in overnight oats, and one carton lasts me almost two weeks of jars. For anyone watching their grocery bill who assumed almond milk was a splurge.
Almond Breeze Original Almondmilk, Half Gallon (1.89 L)
Use this instead of almond milk if you want your oats thick and creamy. My roommate thought I was adding cream to mine. Nope, just whole milk and a good overnight soak. Stock up because it pulls double duty for coffee.
Great Value Whole Vitamin D Milk, Gallon
Try this one if dairy and almonds are both off the table. It gives the oats a slightly sweet, almost vanilla-ish flavor without adding sugar. Perfect for anyone doing plant-based on a real budget, not a Whole Foods budget.
Great Value , 2% Reduced Fat Milk, Half Gallon, 64 fl oz
Pair this with tropical toppings like mango and you basically wake up on vacation. Thinner than regular coconut milk so it doesn't turn your oats into concrete. Wish I'd tried this combo before I spent a year making boring vanilla jars.
(4 pack) Great Value Coconut Milk, 13.5 fl oz, Can
Toss two tablespoons into each jar before it goes in the fridge. This is what makes the texture thick instead of soupy. One tub covers about ten servings, so it barely moves the cost needle. For anyone whose overnight oats always turned out watery.
Great Value Greek Plain Nonfat Yogurt, 32 oz Tub
Sweeteners and Flavors That Don't Taste Fake
My first batch of overnight oats tasted like wet cardboard because I skipped seasoning entirely. These six things rotate through my weekly jars and none of them cost more than a few bucks.
Use a half teaspoon per jar. That's it. The difference between boring oats and oats that smell like a bakery when you open the lid. One bottle lasted me four months and I make these five days a week.
Great Value Pure Vanilla Extract, 2 fl oz
Throw a quarter teaspoon in every single jar, no exceptions. It masks that raw oat taste and makes the whole thing smell incredible at 6 AM. For anyone who gave up on overnight oats because they tasted too plain.
Great Value Kosher Ground Cinnamon, 2.5 oz
Drizzle this on top right before eating, not the night before. Mixing it in early makes it disappear into the oats. A little goes far and this bottle genuinely lasts weeks even with daily use.
Great Value Organic Strained Raw Honey, 16 oz
Swap this in when you want a fall flavor without buying pumpkin spice everything. One tablespoon per jar is plenty. Way better than the corn syrup stuff I grew up putting on pancakes, and it's still under four dollars.
Great Value Pure Maple Syrup, 12.5 fl oz, US Grade
Stir in a tablespoon for chocolate overnight oats that taste like dessert. My kid thinks it's pudding and I haven't corrected him. For anyone who needs breakfast to feel like a treat or they'll skip it entirely.
Great Value Baking Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 8 oz Tub
Drop a big spoonful into the jar the night before and let it melt into everything. By morning it's this rich, nutty base that keeps you full until lunch. I stopped buying protein powder once I started adding this.
Great Value Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 oz, Smooth Spread
Cheap Toppings That Make Each Jar Different
Eating the same exact overnight oats five days straight killed my motivation the first time I tried meal prepping. Now I rotate toppings so Monday and Friday taste completely different, and nothing here breaks a dollar per serving.
Toss a handful on top the night before. They thaw overnight and create this natural strawberry syrup in the jar. One bag covers almost three weeks of breakfasts. Way cheaper than fresh berries that go bad in two days.
Great Value Sliced Strawberries, 64 oz (Frozen)
Keep a bag of these in the freezer at all times. They turn the oats purple overnight which honestly looks cool, and the flavor is sweet enough that you can skip added sugar entirely. Perfect for anyone trying to cut back on sweeteners.
Great Value Blueberries, Frozen Fruit, 48 oz Resealable Bag
Sprinkle these on right before eating, not the night before, or they get soggy. Adds a crunch that makes the whole thing feel more like a real meal. One bag stretches across dozens of servings because you only need a pinch.
Great Value Sliced Almonds, 4 oz
Crumble a few on top when you're tired of slicing a fresh banana every morning. They add a sweet crunch and they never go brown in your jar. Snag these for lazy mornings when you want zero prep.
Great Value Sweetened Banana Chips, 12 oz
Scatter a small handful on your chocolate peanut butter jars and suddenly it's a breakfast that gets you out of bed. My coworker saw my jar and asked if I was eating a sundae. Total cost added per serving is maybe three cents.
Great Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips, 12 oz Bag
Stir in a teaspoon with the oats the night before. They thicken everything up and add a little protein without changing the flavor at all. For anyone whose oats are always too liquidy no matter what ratio they use.
Great Value Organic Chia Seeds, 32 oz
Jars and Prep Supplies That Save Time Every Sunday
I wasted my first month washing out random Tupperware that leaked in my bag. Getting the right containers turned Sunday prep into a fifteen-minute task instead of an annoying chore I kept skipping.
Get the 16 oz size, not the tiny ones. You need room to stir without oats flying everywhere. I prep five every Sunday and the extra jars rotate through the dishwasher. They've survived a year of daily use with zero cracks.
Ball, Glass Mason Jar, 32 Oz. Quart, Regular Mouth 12-Count
Use these if mason jars feel too trendy for you. The lids seal tight enough that nothing leaks in my work bag. Grabbed these when my old plastic containers started smelling weird no matter how many times I washed them.
Mainstays Plastic Food Storage Container Set, Gray
Swap these onto your mason jars if you're tired of the two-piece metal lids that rust after a month. They screw on fast and don't leak. Should have bought these from day one instead of replacing rusty rings constantly.
Mainstays Plastic Wide Mouth Mason Jar Lids Pack of 8
Pre-portion dry ingredients into these on Sunday. Each bag gets oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, and whatever mix-ins you want. Then every night you just dump a bag into a jar, pour milk, done. Fifteen seconds of effort.
Great Value Freezer Guard Double Zipper Gallon
Keep a set in your oats canister so you're not eyeballing portions. I spent weeks wondering why my oats were inconsistent before I realized I was scooping wildly different amounts every time. Solved the problem for three dollars.
Mainstays Stainless Steel 4-Piece Nesting Measuring
Toss a few in your work bag for the mornings you forget a real spoon. I ate overnight oats with a pen cap once before I started keeping these in my desk drawer. Not my proudest moment, but a fixable one.
Great Value Everyday Spoons White Cutlery