This simple and delicious recipe for Healthy Overnight Oats with Cherry Chia Seed Jam is vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and perfect for busy mornings!

Healthy Overnight Oats with Cherry Chia Seed Jam

In the past two weeks I’ve eaten my weight in cherries. Ha, but really, I’ve had a lot. They’ve been finally showing up at the grocery store and while a bit expensive (ok, a lot expensive right now…ugh!) they are just too good to pass up. This is definitely my favourite dairy free overnight oats recipe to make in the summer because the cherries play such a key role! I mean I always love quick, healthy overnight oats but in the summer I have to put to use fresh in-season fruits and the cherries really are the “cherry on top” in this overnight oats recipe. During the rest of the year I will make this recipe but swap out the cherry chia seed jam for other homemade berry chia jams using frozen fruit like blueberries and raspberries (see my chia seed jam three ways here). I made this healthy overnight oats recipe with the cherry chia seed jam back in 2015 and it’s been very popular on the blog (it actually got shared by Whole Foods a while back and cause my blog to blow up for a week…in a good way!!). Because the old photos needed some work I figured it was time this recipe got a revamp and I’m SUPER happy with how it turned out!

Chia is one ingredient I absolutely love to use and sneak into recipes. I also sneak chia into Hemlsey, my two year old daughter’s food all the time. The nice thing about chia seed is that it’s really a digestive regulator. Whether you deal with sluggish digestion or have a nervous digestive system or IBS, chia works to make things run nice as smoothly because it turns into a gel-like consistency when consumed. That’s why it works so great for homemade jams as it gives the consistency of gelatin, without the gelatin, and a nice amount of added fibre and healthy fats. 

The cherry chia jam in this healthy overnight oats recipe is layered between creamy soaked oats (in almond milk) and smooth natural almond butter. The flavour is incredible and I love the combination of the sweet and tart cherry jam with the nutty almond butter and creamy oats. 

Healthy Overnight Oats for Non-Morning Folk

Healthy overnight oats have always been my go-to breakfast for nutrition clients who are NOT morning folk. I used to have a lot of clients that would roll out of bed at the very last minute, rush around their house in a frenzy, and head out the door to work without grabbing a single bite of breakfast… you know who you are, hehe! This type of recipe was the best for them because it requires ZERO preparation time in the morning and it’s portable so they could eat it in the car (maybe not now since it’s considered distracted driving?) or as soon as they got to their desk at work. All the preparation, which is very little, is done the evening before and the magic happens all on its own in the fridge overnight. I’m someone who needs to eat almost as soon as I get up in the morning but I still like healthy overnight oats because then I don’t need to spend any time preparing breakfast. Hemsley also loves overnight oats so it’s a win for both of us and makes mornings less stressful.

With the right ingredients, healthy overnight oats come together in a flash providing a healthy balance of complex carbohydrates for morning energy, healthy fats, and blood stabilizing protein! The perfect breakfast that beats any fast-food breakfast out-of-the-park when it comes to nutrition!

For this recipe I keep it simple with gluten free rolled oats, vanilla plant-based protein powder, fresh cherries, chia seeds, pure maple syrup, vanilla, almond butter, almond milk, and sliced almonds (plus a sprinkle of hemp seeds for good measure!). The combination of delicious flavours is enough to get anyone moving in the morning with a smile on their face (not to mention that the fibre-packed chia seeds also get “other things” moving in the morning, if you know what I mean, so really, it’s a win-win!). 

I hope you have had a chance to peruse the blog since I’ve relaunched my new theme and are loving the new look as much as I am. I find the whole flow of the site really makes it so much easier to navigate my recipes and lifestyle content. It’s about time that recipes like this one aren’t lost in cyberspace a month after I post them on the blog. Now you can easily find all of my healthy overnight oats recipes on the blog by simple selecting the breakfast tab on my recipe search tool. 

I’d love to hear if you have made healthy overnight oats before and what ingredients are your fave to use? Also, have you checked out the new theme? I’d love feedback on that too! Tell me in the comments section and be sure to pin the photo below the recipe to save this post for later, and of course, share the love!

Continue to Content

Healthy Overnight Oats with Cherry Chia Seed Jam

Yield: 1-2

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Inactive Time: 12 hours

Total Time: 12 hours 5 minutes

A delicious and healthy overnight oat recipe with cherry chia seed jam. Vegan, gluten free, and healthy!

Print

Ingredients

For the Healthy Overnight Oats:

• 3/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
• 1/4 cup plant-based vanilla protein powder of choice
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut yogurt (or greek yogurt)
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (depending on preferred sweetness)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon almond butter

Cherry Chia Jam:

• 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a small bowl add the cherries and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, mash with a fork or masher until cherries are broken apart into small pieces and there is an ample amount of juice from the cherries in the bowl.
2. Stir in the chia seeds, pure maple syrup and vanilla and set in the fridge to thicken.
3. In a large bowl add the oats, protein powder, almond milk, yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and stir to combine.
4. To a mason jar (or split between two jars for smaller servings) add 1/2 of the oats, then layer with 1/2 of the cherry chia jam, then add in the other half of the oats, top with the rest of the cherry jam and the almond butter.
5. Close the jar and place in the fridge overnight.
6. In the morning, remove from the fridge and sprinkle with slivered almonds or hemp seeds and enjoy cold or warm up in the microwave.

Pin me!

Have a wonderful Sunday!