PB&J Overnight Oats

Name: PB&J Overnight Oats
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1 cup old-fashioned oats; 1 1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk; 4 tbsp all-natural peanut butter powder; 2 tsp chia seeds; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 tbsp maple syrup; 1 cup fresh strawberries (sliced); 4 tbsp freeze-dried strawberries

February 10, 2020 Frank Mastrandrea Comments 0 Comment

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There were several previous versions of this recipe before the one you see here, but this was the first one that tasted distinctly like childhood. In a good way, of course! Once I had that, I knew I already had a combination that brought 50% of your daily vitamin C requirement, nearly eight grams of protein and six grams of hunger-satisfying fiber to start the day off right!

Added bonus? No need to cut the crusts off!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup vanilla unsweetened almond milk
4 tbsp all-natural peanut butter powder
2 tsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup fresh strawberries (sliced)
4 tbsp freeze-dried strawberries

There are two ingredients on this list which could be considered “specialty” items: the peanut butter powder and the freeze-dried fruit, but let me suggest that both would make wonderful additions to your everyday pantry.

The peanut butter powder works great in smoothies, baking, or any recipe that calls for peanut butter. Aside from its health benefits, it’s so much easier to work with than regular peanut butter! Give it a try!

Speaking of easy… freeze-dried fruit makes an amazing, portable snack. It’s literally what it says it is: freeze-dried fruit. No additional sugar or anything. Adds a wonderful texture to recipes when you can keep from eating it right out of the bag!

First Step: The “PB”

First up is making the peanut butter base for each of the four servings.

Start with the dry ingredients: 1/4 cup of old-fashioned oats, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter powder, and 1/2 teaspoon of black chia seeds.

Next, add 1/4 cup of vanilla unsweetened almond milk (plus two additional tablespoons), 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well well and set aside.

“J”: Stage One

For the jelly portion of the recipe, we use strawberries two ways.

First begin with one cup of fresh strawberries (sliced or chopped). Add a tablespoon of maple syrup and blend until you have a smooth puree. Typically, one cup of sliced strawberries will yield about 1/2 cup of puree. Set this aside.

“J” Stage Two & Assembly

Now it’s just putting everything together.

Take your peanut butter base and top it with a heaping tablespoon of freeze-dried strawberries. There’s about five calories in a tablespoon here, so it’s ok to be generous.

Next, divide the strawberry puree evenly among the four servings and spoon atop the freeze-dried strawberries. I normally use a tablespoon to do this, as it will break down to about two tablespoons per serving.

Seal and refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours but preferably overnight. In the morning you can eat it cold or, as I would recommend, warm it for 30-60 seconds in the microwave first and enjoy it warm.

Notes & Variations

This recipe calls for making four servings, but except for the puree, the remainder could easily be adjusted to make a single serving or any number you wanted. So for that reason, if you do wish to adjust the quantity, you just need to play around with the amount of fresh fruit you use. 1/4 cup of strawberries and 1/4 tablespoon per serving.

Also, if you’d like to try this with blueberries instead of strawberries it works just as well. The calories are higher as blueberries are a more calorie-dense food. But the recipe is exactly the same.