These zucchini strawberry overnight oats are the perfect no-cook, healthy breakfast to make during those hot summer months! Easy to mix up in minutes and perfect for grabbing on a busy morning.
Overnight oats came to be because of people like me. People who are so busy they can’t see straight half of the time but still really need to eat breakfast. Someone (who is not me) had this brilliant idea to make their own fast food. Something delicious, healthy, and ridiculously easy for all the other people who are blinded by a busy schedule. And what they came up with was overnight oats.
What are overnight oats?
If you are a newbie to overnight oats, allow me to introduce you to something that may just change your relationship with breakfast forever. Overnight oats are pretty much exactly what they sound like: Oats that are not cooked, but are rather soaked overnight (typically in some sort of milk or non-dairy milk). You prep them in the evening, let them hang out in the fridge while you catch your beauty sleep. Then, in the morning, a delicious, amazing, healthy breakfast is ready for you to grab with one hand while the other mans the mascara wand as you run out the door. Overnight oats are a beautiful thing.
Why these overnight oats are pure magic…
One of the best parts of overnight oats is that the flavor possibilities are endless. If you can dream it up, likely someone else has made an overnight oats recipe based on it. For example, try my oh-so loved Chocolate Peanut butter Overnight Oats (yeah, I went there), or stick with traditional with Classic & Easy Overnight Oats. However, this recipe is a spin-off of my favorite Peaches & Cream Overnight Oats.
I grew up in Maine, and one of my fondest memories was picking fresh strawberries with my family and making them into strawberry shortcake. I simply adored how the sweet, slightly tangy strawberries blended with the rich taste of the cream. It is one of my absolute flavor combinations and was destined to be turned into an overnight oat recipe.
While inspired by a favorite dessert of mine, I “healthied” strawberries and cream up a bit for breakfast and added a classic summer veggie…zucchini….into the mix!
Zucchini? In overnight oats?
My husband likes to joke that I add grated zucchini to all the food. He isn’t wrong. Zucchini is one veggie I don’t personally enjoyed sauted or roasted, so I tend to veggie-load my own food with it so that I can get all of its planty goodness into my belly and bod.
Grated zucchini is magic, TNNers. It almost melts into recipes and I have been stirring it into oatmeal recipes for years. When dreaming up overnight oat recipes to enjoy this summer, I couldn’t help but wonder if finely grated zucchini would work.
And it totally does! This breakfast is not only delicious, healthy, and easy, but it is like summer in a bowl (who here gets my Friends reference?) and will fuel you up until lunch time for sure!
Suggested Adaptations
- Make these strawberry overnight oats dairy-free by using your favorite plant milk.
- Swap the zucchini for summer squash or carrots.
- Not a strawberry fan? Use whatever berries you like best.
- Enjoy this overnight oat recipe all year long and use frozen strawberries or grated zucchini! Let them thaw first just to make mixing everything together a little easier.
Can I make these strawberry overnight oats with steel cut oats?
Steel cut oats are extra hearty and need a lot more love (and liquid) to soften enough to eat. I haven’t tested this recipe with steel cut oats and truthfully wouldn’t recommended using them for overnight oats.
Steel cut oats do really well in the Instant Pot and slow cooker, though!
Can I heat these overnight oats up if I don’t enjoy them cold?
Totally! If cold oats don’t sound appealing to you, just zap these zucchini strawberry oats in the microwave to give them a little heat and you are good to go for breakfast.
Can I use frozen strawberries or zucchini in this recipe?
Yes, but I would suggest defrosting them first so that it is easier to mix and you don’t end up with clumps of zucchini throughout the oats.
How do I grate the zucchini for these overnight oats?
I used a box grater that I have had for years. One side has a thicker grate and the opposite has a finer grate size. You can use whichever size grated zucchini you prefer, but I found the finer the grate, the easier it was for the zucchini to disappear into the overnight oats.
Other no-cook recipes to fuel your summer
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Carrot Balls
- Vitamin C Smoothie
- Simple Spinach Mango Smoothie
- Pumpkin Chia Seed Pudding
- 5-Minute Green Goddess Dip
- Zucchini Avocado Dip
Did you try this zucchini strawberry overnight oats recipe and now you’re hungry for more?
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Zucchini Strawberry Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup finely grated zucchini
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 1 cup diced strawberries plus extra for topping
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds optional
- 1 1/2 cup milk of choice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined. Either portion out mixture into mason jars or another storage container with lids or cover bowl. Place whatever storage container you are using in fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours.
- Remove overnight oats from fridge and stir. Add more milk if needed to reach desired consistency. Garnish with extra berries, a little nut butter or whatever you desire.
- Enjoy or store in fridge for future for up to 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
Comments
Thank you for this! We have SO much zucchini from our CSA (week after week after week in July) and I’m at a loss as to what else to do with it besides grill it, spiralize it as faux pasta, add to the juicer, and hide it in baked goods. 😉 I’ll have to add this to the rotation!
Oh I am so glad I can give you fresh new ideas of how to use it!!