Are overnight oats good for weight loss? They can be! Learn to make my healthy overnight oats recipe for weight loss; it’s filling and only about 300 calories! Learn how to prepare oats for weight loss, tips on how to eat oats for weight loss, and more! It's easy to make gluten free, high protein, or vegan breakfast oats for weight loss!
Need a healthy breakfast idea that will help you in losing weight? Then consider adding my weight loss overnight oats recipe to your life!
I’ve noticed that I tend to do a lot of snacking mid-morning when I skip breakfast. Enjoying some heart-healthy overnight oats after I wake up helps keep me from overeating later in the day.
Of course, I don’t have to eat overnight oats to have a nutritious diet if I don’t want to. I could have a high protein frittata with eggs, veggies, and cheese. A fruit and yogurt bowl or some sweet potato toast would be other great ways to start the morning.
However, I think enjoying healthy overnight oats for weight loss is a great idea. It’s a grab-and-go meal for busy weekdays mornings that’s already portion controlled.
Plus, you can add lots of wholesome whole grain oats, fruit, and dairy while skipping the brown sugar, refined grains, and added oil. It’s far more nutrient-dense than your average breakfast muffin or pastry. You should find that it fills you up on far fewer calories than muffins and pastries too.
And that’s a major key to weight loss- you need to maintain a calorie deficit with (hopefully!) filling and nutritious meals. Some people do this with low carb and keto diets. Others (myself included) find ways to make grains like oatmeal low calorie and filling.
Jump to:
- 📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
- ⭐ Low Calorie Overnight Oats Benefits
- 🥘 Ingredients
- 🍽 Equipment
- 🔪 How to Make Healthy Overnight Oats for Weight Loss
- ️️🌡️ Leftovers
- 🥣️ Low Calorie Oatmeal Toppings and Mix-Ins
- 💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
- FAQs
- 👩🏻🍳 More Overnight Oats Recipes for Weight Loss
- 🍳 Other Low Calorie Breakfast Recipes
- The Disclaimer…
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
📋 Calories, Net Carbs, Protein
One serving of this healthy overnight oatmeal for weight loss has 318 calories, 41.4 grams net carbs, and 24.6 grams protein. In general, I’d aim for a breakfast of 300-500 calories if you want to lose weight. (This is for folks who eat 3 meals of 300-500 calories each and 1-3 100-200 calorie snacks per day.)
Women shouldn't maintain a diet under 1200 calories per day and men shouldn’t maintain a diet under 1500 calories without medical supervision. Though very low calorie diets can be an effective means of weight loss, they can increase the risk of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. A doctor or dietitian can help ensure you’re losing weight safely.
The average number of calories you can eat daily while losing weight varies by individual. A 300-calorie breakfast will not be enough food for some people. Active people in larger bodies may be able to lose weight while eating more calories than someone inactive who just wants to lose a few vanity pounds.
⭐ Low Calorie Overnight Oats Benefits
What are the benefits of overnight oatmeal for weight loss? Here are some reasons to include this easy recipe in your morning routine:
- Healthy breakfast: The fresh blueberries and whole grains here are so much better than sugary breakfast cereals, in both nutrition and taste. It's got no added sugar (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, etc.), no refined grains, and it’s packed with whole foods.
- Inexpensive: Oats are cheap! I get a huge pack of rolled oats at Costco, and they last practically forever.
- Easy meal prep: Just mix your overnight oats with some liquid ingredients, layer in a jar with fruit, and refrigerate. You eat overnight oats cold, so no cooking is required. I love meal prepping breakfast 2-3 days ahead with this overnight oats recipe.
- Portion control: Overnight oatmeal makes it easy to eat a low calorie breakfast, because the ingredients are already portion controlled. Pack the jar with some foods rich in protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and you’ve got a complete meal.
- Protein: Oatmeal is a carbohydrate food, but when you make overnight oats with Greek yogurt and milk, you get filling protein. Soy milk and protein-fortified almond milk are some plant based protein alternatives.
- Fiber: Fiber adds bulk to meals to help keep you full. Whole grain oats and fruits both provide fiber. This healthy overnight oats recipe for weight loss provides 6.1 grams fiber per serving.
- Heart healthy: Oats contain beta glucan, which may help improve your cholesterol levels. Additionally, oats may be replacing breakfast foods in your diet that are high in saturated fat.
- Delicious: I took the flavors from one of my favorite quick breads for this recipe. It’s a sweet overnight oats recipe that tastes like a treat!
🥘 Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make overnight oats for weight loss:
- Dry oatmeal
- Plain Greek yogurt (nonfat)
- Milk (2% milk, 1% milk, or skim milk)
- Sugar-free maple syrup
- Lemon zest
- Poppy seeds
- Fresh blueberries
Find quantities of each ingredient in the recipe card at the end of the article!
Use old fashioned rolled oats or quick oats for this recipe. Using instant oats may lead to overly mushy overnight oatmeal and steel cut oats may not soften enough.
I use sugar-free syrup in this recipe to keep things added sugar free and lower in calories. Using real maple syrup instead adds 40-50 calories per serving.
If you don’t like the blueberry lemon poppy seed flavor I’ve got going on here, no worries. Check out the overnight oats toppings and mix-ins section below for lots of ways to flavor oatmeal.
Special diets: Make vegan overnight oats for weight loss with protein-packed soymilk and soy yogurt. Use oats that are certified gluten free for gluten free overnight oats for weight loss. It’s easy to tweak this recipe to fit a variety of dietary needs.
🍽 Equipment
To make weight loss overnight oatmeal, you need an overnight oats container. I like to use a pint-sized wide-mouth mason jar with lid. The lid helps keep dust and food crumbs out of the jar while it sits in the fridge.
You don’t have to use a glass jar however, about any food-safe container can work for overnight oats. Break out your Tupperware, other plastic containers, a bowl, or a large mug. Simply cover the container with plastic wrap if it doesn’t have a lid.
🔪 How to Make Healthy Overnight Oats for Weight Loss
Let’s make low cal overnight oats! This is so super easy.
In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the oats, yogurt, milk, syrup, lemon zest, and poppy seeds. Put the half the mixture in your pint jar (or whatever food-safe container you’re using). Layer half the fresh blueberries on top.
Now put the rest of the oat mixture in the jar in an even layer. Finish with the rest of the fresh blueberries. Put the lid on the jar (or use plastic wrap) and refrigerate overnight.
You can enjoy this breakfast straight from the fridge after at least 8 hours. You don’t have to cook overnight oats. And you shouldn’t, as it may kill the beneficial bacteria (AKA probiotics) in the yogurt.
️️🌡️ Leftovers
Overnight oatmeal is made for storage! Keep this low calorie overnight oatmeal recipe in the fridge for 2-3 days. I usually make several jars at once for an easy weekday breakfast option.
You can freeze some overnight oats recipes, but I don’t recommend it with this one. The fresh blueberries will get mushy on you with thawing and freezing.
🥣️ Low Calorie Oatmeal Toppings and Mix-Ins
There are SO MANY ways to make low calorie overnight oats! Mix and match the ideas below to make something that sounds good to you.
Fresh fruit and frozen fruits are some of my favorite low calorie mix-ins for overnight oats. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Bananas
- Apples
- Pears
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Plums
- Apricots
- Persimmons
- Pineapple
- Mango
- Mandarin oranges
- Papaya
- Kiwi
- Pomegranate
- Canned pumpkin (which is botanically a fruit!)
Dried fruits (raisins, etc.) have the water removed, which means you get more calories in a smaller volume. For this reason, they are not my top pick for low calorie overnight oatmeal.
To make overnight oats low calorie, you should also use only small portions of high fat foods. Fat is a concentrated source of calories, with 9 calories per gram. Fats can turn a low calorie breakfast into a high calorie one quickly.
That said, it’s important to get some healthy fat in the diet. You get some fat from dairy and poppy seeds in this recipe.
Peanut butter, almond butter, nuts, sunflower seeds, full-fat coconut milk, cream, granola, and shredded coconut are other high fat foods. Flax seeds, chia seeds, and hemp seeds are good options for omega-3s (ALA).
Spices and extracts can add lots of flavor to overnight oats for very few calories. Vanilla extract, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice are some options. Cacao nibs or cocoa powder offer a much lower calorie chocolate flavor than chocolate chips.
Finally, here are a few options for low calorie overnight oats with added protein:
- Dry milk powder
- Peanut powder
- Cooked egg whites (for savory oats)
- Low fat cottage cheese
- Kefir
- Skyr
- Protein powder (dairy-free plant-based protein or whey protein with no sugar added)
💭 Expert Tips from a Dietitian
This is a level 1 recipe (may help support fat loss). Here’s something that may be surprising: you can eat overnight oats for weight gain OR for weight loss! It’s your overall calorie balance that leads to losing weight or gaining weight, not a specific food.
In this recipe, we’re using low fat and nonfat dairy, fresh fruit, and sugar-free maple syrup. This gives us low calorie overnight oats with a big volume that fills the pint jar. We get fiber, protein, and fluid volume to help keep us full.
What if I made overnight oats instead with whole milk or cream, whole milk yogurt, dried fruits, and real maple syrup? I could make a jar of overnight oats that is the exact same volume. However, this jar of oats will be at least 200-300 calories more than the low calorie oats.
Would I feel more full eating the higher calorie oats with the full fat dairy, sweetener, and dried fruit? I know I wouldn’t, so choosing the low cal oats won’t mean I’ll just snack more later. I’ll feel at least as satisfied (maybe more) choosing oats made with fresh fruit and low fat dairy.
This sort of thing can be a good thing to experiment with if you want to lose weight. Do you find you feel satisfied for longer when you use fresh fruit versus dried? Does it make a difference to your feelings of fullness if you use reduced fat milk versus whole?
Paying attention to how what you eat makes you feel can help you to eat more mindfully. It can also be an early step in helping you to figure out the sort of diet pattern that may help you achieve long-lasting weight loss.
FAQs
Your portion size, what’s added to the oats, and your overall diet is more important to weight loss than the type of oats. That said, overnight oats contain more of the prebiotic fiber resistant starch than cooked oats. Resistant starch may help increase feelings of fullness during meals.
As long as you are in a calorie deficit you can lose weight with just about any food. However, I don’t recommend adopting a single food diet (such as only oatmeal) to lose weight. Though it may work temporarily, you’re setting yourself up for nutrient deficiencies, and the diet isn’t likely to be sustainable long-term.
Unfortunately, you cannot spot reduce belly fat by eating a certain food. You don’t get to decide what parts of the body the fat loss comes from as you lose weight. But, if you have excess belly fat, it will eventually decrease as you continue to lose weight.
Added sugars are calorie dense, so while you may not have to give them up during weight loss, the portion size is small. One tablespoon of white sugar has 45 calories, maple syrup has 50 calories, and honey has 60 calories.
It’s generally fine to eat oats daily as part of a varied and overall balanced diet.
The answer to this question will vary by individual. I find eating oats in the morning helps to prevent late morning snacking. You might find having oats for dinner is helpful to your weight loss plan.
👩🏻🍳 More Overnight Oats Recipes for Weight Loss
Want more recipes for weight loss overnight oats? Here are a few more low calorie overnight oatmeal recipes to try:
🍳 Other Low Calorie Breakfast Recipes
Need other ideas for low calorie breakfast foods for weight gain? I got you! Take a look at these:
- Low Calorie Baked Oatmeal Recipe
- Cinnamon Apple Steel Cut Oats (Crock Pot)
- Crustless Keto Mini Quiche
- Proats Recipe (Egg White Oatmeal)
- Baked Protein Oatmeal (Secret Ingredient!)
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The Disclaimer…
All recipes on this website may or may not be appropriate for you, depending on your medical needs and personal preferences. Consult with a registered dietitian or your physician if you need help determining the dietary pattern that may be best for you.
The nutrition information is an estimate provided as a courtesy. It will differ depending on the specific brands and ingredients that you use. Calorie information on food labels may be wildly inaccurate, so please don't sweat the numbers too much.
For more information on how the three recipe levels may help with a weight management goal, refer to my overnight oats no sugar post. Let's get cooking!
📖 Recipe
Healthy Overnight Oats Recipe for Weight Loss (Low Calorie!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup oatmeal, dry (rolled oats or old fashioned oats)
- 5.3 ounces Greek yogurt, non-fat (150 grams; plain, unsweetened)
- ¼ cup milk, 2%
- 1 tablespoon sugar-free maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- ½ teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the oats, yogurt, milk, syrup, lemon zest, and poppy seeds.
- In a wide-mouthed pint jar, layer half of the oat mixture, then half of the blueberries.
- Add the last half of the oat mixture to the jar, and top with the rest of the blueberries.
- Put the cover on the jar and refrigerate overnight before enjoying. Easy!
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