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Learn how to make overnight oats for weight gain with my high calorie overnight oats recipe. This healthy breakfast tastes like dessert, helping you eat enough to meet your goals. Get tips on making it gluten free, high protein, or vegan (if that’s your preference). These oats are perfect for anyone who needs extra calories in a balanced, nourishing way without relying on empty-calorie treats.
There can be many reasons someone may have difficulty gaining weight. If you’re struggling, your physician can help identify any underlying issues. Once medical concerns are ruled out, diet modifications can go a long way to help with weight gain.
When trying to eat more, it’s easy to lean on cookies or cakes, but those are often full of refined sugar, flour, and oils with low vitamin and mineral density.
This carrot cake overnight oats recipe gives you dessert-like flavor with nourishing ingredients. There are no refined grains or added oils, just whole grain oats, raisins, and whole milk dairy for a naturally high-calorie, satisfying breakfast.
It’s rich, sweet, and protein-packed enough to be a meal. Not a fan of carrot cake? I have additional ideas below for more ways to make your overnight oats high calorie.
💪 Overnight Oats for Weight Gain Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make overnight oats for weight gain:
- 1/3 cup dry rolled oats
- 5.3-ounce container vanilla Greek yogurt (use a whole milk variety)
- ½ cup grated carrot
- ¼ cup half and half
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (divided)
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons pecans (chopped)
- Toasted coconut shreds, additional grated carrot (optional, for topping)
Get a printable recipe card below!
For the best texture, use quick oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. Steel-cut oats tend to stay too firm, and instant oat packets may turn mushy. Quick-cooking steel-cut oats may work, but they have not been tested in this recipe.
To increase calories, choose full-fat dairy. Greek yogurt is highly recommended because it has more protein than regular yogurt and serves as the main protein source in this recipe.
For containers, pint-sized wide-mouth mason jars are a great option. The squat versions are especially convenient since they are easy to fill and eat from.
However, any food-safe container will work, such as Tupperware, a large mug, glass, or bowl. Just be sure to cover it before refrigerating.
🥣 How to Make Overnight Oats for Weight Gain
Grate the carrot. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the oats, yogurt, carrot, half and half, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, raisins, and pumpkin pie spice.
Put the mixture in a pint-sized jar (or similarly sized container) and cover. Refrigerate the oats for 8 hours (or overnight).
Whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and the cream cheese.
Put the overnight oats into a bowl and drizzle this cream cheese icing on top. Alternatively, you can add the icing to the jar on top of the oats.
Top the overnight oatmeal with chopped pecans, toasted coconut, additional shredded carrot, and anything else you’d like. Enjoy!
How to Store Overnight Oats
Store this overnight oatmeal in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I like to prep several jars at once to make meals easy throughout the week.
You can also freeze individual portions for up to three months. Let them fully thaw in the fridge before topping and eating. Just note that the texture may be softer after freezing and thawing.
🥜️ High Calorie Oats Toppings and Mix-Ins
If you don’t like the flavor of carrot cake, there are so many other ways to make high calorie overnight oats! You can mix and match your favorite ideas below to make something that appeals to you.
Here are some other high calorie mix-ins for overnight oats:
- Peanut butter and other nut butter (almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter, etc.)
- Seed butter (sunflower seed butter, tahini)
- Added fats such as olive oil (by volume added fats are some of the highest calorie foods)
- Full-fat coconut milk
- Heavy cream
- Cottage cheese (look for 6%)
- Cooked egg yolks (for savory overnight oats)
- Protein powder (whey protein or dairy-free plant-based protein)
- Dry milk powder
- Peanut powder
- Mashed banana
- Dried fruits (e.g., dried apricots, dried apple, dried cranberries, dried mango)
If you use protein powder in overnight oats, make sure to pick one with a flavor you enjoy. You will be able to taste it!
Dried fruits are usually a better option than fresh fruits if you want to make oatmeal high calorie. Dried fruit has the water removed, shrinking it down in size (and concentrating the calories). You will get more calories from dried fruit compared to fresh for the same volume of food.
Added sugars (and ingredients high in them) aren’t my top picks for making overnight oats high calorie. However, in certain circumstances they can be a good option to help with weight gain:
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Agave
- Fruit concentrates
- Juice concentrates
- Coconut sugar
- Brown sugar
- Chocolate milk (whole milk variety)
- Mini chocolate chips
Finally, don’t forget about these high fat overnight oatmeal toppings:
- Nuts (walnuts, sliced almonds, macadamias)
- Seeds (flax seeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds, hemp hearts)
- Shredded coconut
- Whipped cream
Watch How to Make It!
Overnight Oats for Weight Gain (High Calorie Recipe)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup rolled oats, dry
- 5.3 ounces vanilla Greek yogurt (whole milk variety)
- ½ cup grated carrot
- ¼ cup half and half
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 tablespoons whipped cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
- toasted coconut shreds, additional grated carrot (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- Grate the carrot. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the oats, yogurt, carrot, half and half, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, raisins, and pumpkin pie spice.
- Put the mixture in a pint-sized jar (or similarly sized container) and cover. Refrigerate the oats for 8 hours (or overnight).
- Whisk together the remaining 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and the cream cheese. Put the overnight oats into a bowl and drizzle this cream cheese icing on top. Alternatively, you can add the icing to the jar on top of the oats.
- Top the overnight oatmeal with chopped pecans, toasted coconut, additional shredded carrot, and anything else you’d like. Enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
💭 Expert Tips from Dietitian Summer Yule
This is a level 3 recipe (weight maintenance and active lifestyles). To gain weight, your overall diet needs to be in a calorie surplus, meaning you eat more calories than you burn. Choosing meals that don’t fill you up too quickly can help you meet this goal. While processed “junk foods” are high in calories, they often lack important nutrients. For healthy weight gain, focus on calorie-dense foods that also offer vitamins, minerals, and protein. When making overnight oats for weight gain, pay attention to the macronutrients. Protein is important to make it a balanced meal, but too much may leave you feeling full too soon. Including healthy fats like whole milk yogurt, nuts, or seeds adds calories without as much volume, which can be helpful. Fat provides more than twice the calories per gram compared to protein or carbs, so don’t shy away from full-fat ingredients when trying to gain weight. These nutrient-rich options support your goal in a healthier way than ultra-processed snacks. For vegan overnight oats, use yogurt alternatives and plant-based milk such as soy milk or protein-fortified almond milk. To make it gluten free, choose certified gluten-free oats and check labels on add-ins like whipped cream cheese, which can contain hidden gluten. Nutrition information is for one serving without the optional toppings.
nutrition info 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 inaccurate, so please don’t sweat the numbers too much.
“To taste” means to your preferences, which may have to be visual to follow food safety rules. Please don’t eat undercooked food x
Nutrition
🧇 Other High Calorie Breakfast Recipes
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Hello! I’m Summer, a registered dietitian and home chef who loves to cook, eat, and create recipes for you! Every recipe on this site has been tested by me to help ensure your success in the kitchen. All eaters are welcome here 🙂
Thank you for sharing. Will definitely try. Can I use Gluten Free Rolled Oats – Protein Rich Oats from True Elements – a clean label food brand Gluten Free Rolled Oats – Protein Rich Oats for preparing this recipe? Please let me know if I can do that? Also the recipe looks so delicious and I can’t wait to try this out !! YAYY !
Hi Siddhi, Yes, your favorite brand of rolled oats can be used. Thank you for visiting, and let me know when you try the recipe!