Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats (Naturally-Sweetened!)

Start off your day with these decadent-tasting AND ultra nutritious chocolate cherry overnight oats! Made entirely with whole foods like oats, cacao, flax, cherries, and almond butter, they’re also naturally-sweetened solely with a date, so there’s absolutely no added sugars! Vegan & naturally gluten-free.

It’s peak summer so I’m back with another no-cook, very easy, delicious and super nutritious summer breakfast recipe. Look, it’s hot out, and personally I’m not trying to think too hard about what to eat every day, especially in the mornings right after I wake up. And maybe you aren’t either! Luckily, there’s a super nutritious breakfast that requires almost zero effort in the morning. And no, it’s not toaster strudel or cereal. Enter overnight oats.

Overnight oats are one of my favorite breakfasts because they’re absolutely delicious and incredibly nutritious, so they leave me super satisfied! Oh, and they require (nearly) zero work in the mornings, which is also key. I’m always thinking about new flavor concepts (which, if you have a request, definitely let me know here or on Instagram!), especially ones that involve seasonal ingredients. This summer, I was particularly inspired by some of the best sweet cherries I’ve had in my life. I knew I wanted to incorporate them into my breakfasts, and since cherries and chocolate are an irresistible combo, I paired them with cacao in This ultra chocolate-y yet also summer-y overnight oats recipe!

Why You’ll Love these Overnight Oats

Incredibly nutritious. These overnight oats are made entirely with whole plant foods - whole grain oats, nuts, fruit, seeds - meaning they contain all the fiber and nutrients found inside each and every one of those ingredients, which makes them a super nutritious breakfast option to kick off your day with! And just as importantly, these taste so incredible that if you didn’t know exactly how they were made, you wouldn’t necessarily know that they really are so good for you just from tasting them. No need to down some brownish green smoothie concoction while holding your nose shut with one finger.

Super satisfyingly delicious flavors. On top of being really nourishing, the flavors here also bang. 💥 Cherry 🤝 chocolate = 🤤, obviously. It’s a classic flavor combo that I seemingly can’t get enough of since I’ve used it to flavor not just ONE recipe (a nutritious smoothie), not just TWO recipes (whole grain scones), but THREE recipes (an indulgent no bake-tart). Here, once again, cherries combine with a chocolate-y oat base for a deliciously satisfying breakfast that you’ll (probably) be sad to finish because it’s so good.

Naturally-sweetened (no added sugars!). Since these oats get their chocolate-y flavor from cacao, which is quite bitter, they need some sort of sweetener to balance that out. While maple syrup or even sugar could do that, you can actually achieve that same (or arguably much better 😉) result by swapping in a Medjool date, which is a whole food! To do that, we blend a Medjool date with the plant milk before adding it with the oats, which infuses the date’s natural sugars into the plant milk mixture, striking that perfect balance of sweetness without needing to use any other sweeteners. Plus, you’ll get all the added benefits from the date, (including fiber, vitamins, potassium, and more), which you wouldn’t get from any non whole food sweeteners (maple syrup, sugar, etc.) because they are essentially devoid of nutrients.

Easy to make. Making overnight oats doesn’t involve any cooking, let alone any crazy techniques, since you (more or less) just combine all the ingredients together and let them sit overnight to soak and infuse their flavors. In this recipe, there’s the added extra steps of separately 1) mashing your cherries to break them down a bit and release some juices, and 2) blending a date with the milk to incorporate sweetness into the oats. But other than that, the process remains the same: you combine everything together, let the oats sit in the fridge overnight, and breakfast is ready to grab in the morning!

And if you want visual proof of just how easy it is, here’s a short abbreviated video of the process!

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A post shared by Teo Draeger | Vegan Recipes (@teostinykitchen)

Ingredient Overview

Rolled oats. The base ingredient in overnight oats! Not only are oats incredibly tasty, they’re also whole grains that are loaded with lots of vitamins, nutrients, fiber, and protein, making them an incredibly nutritious food to start your day off with. Just make sure to use “rolled” or “old-fashioned” oats, and not “quick” oats, for the right texture.

Ground flaxseed (flax). To give the oats a big boost of omega-3 fatty acids 🧠 (plus a bit of protein and fiber!), as well as to thicken their final texture. In addition to being one of the richest sources of essential omega-3 fatty acids, flax is also associated with countless more health benefits. For that reason, I try to make sure I get my dose of flax in every single day, and overnight oats, as well as smoothies, are both easy and delicious ways to accomplish that!

Cacao powder. For that chocolate flavor! Cacao powder, which is unroasted and different from the cocoa powder, is a whole food that’s loaded with antioxidants (especially flavanols, which are associated with increased brain function and lower blood pressure), fiber, and even protein (!), along with iron, potassium, and magnesium.

Fresh sweet red cherries. 🍒 These combine with the cacao to give the oats their namesake cherry chocolate flavor! Before adding the cherries in, don’t forget to mash them up a bit, rather than just pitting and halving them. Mashing them breaks them down and releases some of their juices, which is essential in getting the cherry flavor to shine through.

Non-dairy milk. To soak the oats! Oat milk is my go-to in overnight oats, but feel free to use your favorite non-dairy milk!

Medjool date. To sweeten the oats naturally, which avoids the need to add any sweeteners! Using a date, which is a whole food, in place of typical sweeteners like maple syrup or sugar, takes the nutrition up a notch since dates are packed with fiber, antioxidants, potassium, and other nutrients, instead of just the sugars you’d get from using sweeteners (all sweeteners are practically void of nutrients). And since it is a whole piece of fruit, it does need to be broken down first, but that’s done quite easily just by blending it with the non-dairy milk before mixing that in with the oats!

Almond butter. To add in extra flavor depth, healthy fats, a bit of protein, as well as providing the necessary creaminess that gives the oats their satisfying texture!

Toppings (optional, but delicious!). In the mornings, I love adding in some toppings for some textural variety and added nutrients! For some crunch and extra chocolate-y notes, you can’t beat some cacao nibs here. (Or for some extra chocolate-y notes but without the bitterness of nibs, a few chocolate chips would be delicious, too.) I always add in a sprinkle of hemp seeds for a small boost of protein, fiber, vitamins, and healthy fats. And while these oats are quite cherry-y, if you want even more of that 🍒 flavor, feel free to add in a couple extra fresh cherries.

More Overnight Oats Recipes

If, like me, you’re a massive fan of overnight oats, or are looking for something different, here are a few more flavors to try! And as a bonus, all of these are also 100% naturally-sweetened, so they don’t contain any added sugars.