Swirled with almond-hazelnut butter for maximum indulgence and chocolate chips for texture, these protein cookie dough overnight oats are the ultimate meal prep recipe. They're delicious,and satisfying and work just as well for post-workout fuel as they do for bodybuilding or breastfeeding.
Mornings can be a mess with kids. Everyone is rushing as you try to gather lunches, homework, and clothes to rush out the door on time.
Cooking a healthy breakfast just doesn’t end up high on the list and it's why meal prep breakfast ideas will save your sanity. Recipes like protein overnight oats and protein chia pudding game be a game-changer to your for keeping you on track with your goals.
As a Certified Nutrition Coach, high protein breakfast recipes are a staple for myself and my SMASH clients because they set your day up for success.
"OMG so yummy! I can't believe this is healthy for me too 🙂". - Teri Gilson
Why You’ll LOVE The Recipe
High protein: With 15 grams of protein and just 230 calories in the small serving these protein overnight oats make for a fueling snack or a quick and easy breakfast.
Delicious: They have all the flavor of your favorite cookie dough but so much more fuel.
Versatile: Oats are more digestible after being soaked. So, this recipe is great for your tummy.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Below is a quick shot of what you need to make these cookie dough overnight oats. All of these are essential gluten-free pantry staples.
Vegan vanilla protein powder: The kind of protein you use will make a significant difference to the protein oats in both texture and taste. Learn more about the best vegan protein powders and how to use them.
Any nut butter will work for the recipe, just make sure it's a natural one and semi-fresh so that it's easier to mix.
You'll want regular oats and not quick oats. Learn more about different types of oats and how to use them. Likewise, make sure to double-check that they're gluten-free!
Love cookie dough flavor? Check out this cauliflower cookie dough or this cookie dough smoothie bowl too!
How To Make Protein Cookie Dough Overnight Oats
Making the recipe is as easy as pouring, mixing, and letting it sit! This is why it’s perfect to whip up as a fast breakfast or grab-and-go snack.
Important Teaching Tips
The vanilla protein powder you choose will make a difference in the texture and the flavor of the protein overnight oats. A fermented protein powder will require more liquid than a regular, pea-protien blend. Whey could be used too but won't absorb as much liquid. The best one for this recipe is not one that is based on pea protein. I personally like to use Botanica or Transformation Protein.
Since the cookie dough overnight oats do not contain any additional sweetener, if your protein powder is not flavored nicely, the oats won’t be either (though you can add a tablespoon of maple syrup!)
These protein overnight oats can be made nut-free (if you need it for a school snack) by using sunbutter but you’ll want to add 1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup to make up the flavor.
Store: Overnight protein oats can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days in a sealed jar.
Flavor Variations
Below are a few simple ways I adjust the cookie dough overnight oats to become a new high-protein snack.
Nut Butter: Switch up the flavors by swapping out nut butters and make peanut butter cookie dough if you need a change! These cookie dough bars give you the same flavor in a new way.
Chocolate: Using a chocolate protein powder in place of vanilla is always a delicious twist.
Drizzle: Make the oats into dessert by adding dairy-free caramel sauce or chocolate ganache to the top.
Varying The Recipe For Your Goals
The recipe is written and portioned into three small jars. These are great snack-size portions perfect for small breakfasts, or paired with a hardboiled egg or two to bump it up. Or a simple snack.
The serving itself also makes an amazing gluten-free breastfeeding snack as they can be made in advance (great for moms), contain oats to help with milk supply, and help curb the ravenous feeling that comes with breastfeeding.
Of course, it also makes a tasty bodybuilding snack but for this, I would make only one portion of the recipe to bump up the intake levels a bit.
Fast, crave-worthy snacks that hit your protein goals (without tracking or extra cooking time).
FAQS
Any nut butter will work for cookie dough overnight oats but almond hazelnut is the most indulgent one. Some almond butters are sweetened so check the ingredients list before you purchase.
A hemp/coconut milk blend was used for the cookie dough oatmeal but almond milk works just fine.
Oats by themselves contain a good amount of plant-based protein (roughly 11 grams per 100g of oats) along with many other healthy nutrients. Adding protein powder to overnight oats, however, takes the recipe from an okay source of protein to a high protein snack or breakfast.
Yes! If making hot oatmeal you’ll want to add the protein powder to them after boiling. If making cold oatmeal (like high protein overnight oats) you can whisk in the protein powder along with the other ingredients. Know that the type of protein powder you choose (whey, vegan, etc) will affect both the flavor and the texture of the recipe.
Overnight oats can be used to achieve almost any fitness goal depending on how they’re made. Making high protein overnight oats is a great way to use them for bodybuilding. Likewise, scaling back the calories and carbohydrates can be a great way to use them for weight loss.
Protein requirements vary from person to person based on their personal goals. However, a good rule of thumb is to take in 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight. This ratio will lend itself well to weight loss, muscle building, and health goals.
More Overnight Oats Recipes
- Chocolate topped protein overnight oats
- Easy berry overnight oats
- Espresso overnight oats
- Dairy-free overnight oats
- Peanut butter and jam overnight oats
More High-Protein Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Easy protein cookies
- Peanut butter and jam protein balls
- Edible cookie dough
- Easy gluten-free bagels
- Fudgy protein brownies
- No bake almond coconut bounce balls
- Savory blueberry protein oatmeal
- Strawberries and cream breakfast parfait
- High protein yogurt pancakes
- 4-ingredient protein pancakes
- High protein snack recipes
- 200 calorie recipes
- Easy breakfast recipes
Cookie Dough Protein Overnight Oats
Video
Equipment
- small mason jars
Ingredients
- ¼ cup gluten-free oats
- ¼ cup vegan protein powder
- ½ cup hemp milk
- 1 tbs almond hazelnut butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 tbs chia seeds
- ⅛ cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips).
- One by one add in the wet ingredients.
- Whisk until smooth and no clumps from the nut butter remain.
- Stir in the chocolate chips
- Portion into two mason jars making sure that there is even liquid in both
- Tighten the lid on the jar and let sit for four hours or overnight.
Notes
- The protein powder you choose will make a difference to the texture and the flavor. Since the protein overnight oats recipe does not contain an additional sweetener, if your protein powder is not flavored nicely, the oats won’t be either. Read the blog post to help choose the best protein powder for the recipe
- If your protein powder is pea protein based (especially if it's fermented) you'll need to add more liquid to the recipe so it's not excessively thick.
- Store the overnight oats in the fridge for up tp 4 days.
Disclaimer:
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data"
Nutrition
Enjoy this dairy-free cookie dough overnight oats recipe as part of a delicious but healthy breakfast, on-the-go snack or post-workout meal.
Overnight oats with protein powder are an easy way to sneak more protein into your diet while still enjoying something indulgent.
Sonya says
I made this recipe last night and ate it for breakfast this morning... it was so good! I've recently loved trying new overnight oats recipes and this one is a favorite. Love the cookie dough idea. Thank you!
fitasamamabear says
This makes my heart happy! So happy you liked them, cookie dough is the best flavor of life lol
Terri Gilson says
OMG so yummy! I can't believe this is healthy for me too 🙂
nancy says
wow this sounds like a wonderful and filling breakfast! pinned for later!
fitasamamabear says
Yes! It's super filling but also... cookie dough *drool* hehe
Colleen says
Overnight oats is a favourite breakfast for me and now I have a delicious new flavour. Thanks for sharing!
fitasamamabear says
It just helps keep mornings so SIMPLE. And we all need more simple. Glad you can add it into your rotation!
Tessa Zundel says
Thank you so much for this recipe AND for the FAQ section! I was going to leave a comment and ask a few questions but you answered them all in that section. 🙂
fitasamamabear says
Yay! Winning lol I try to get them all, glad it helped!
Vanessa says
Such a great way to start the morning! These definitely keep me filled up and fueled for a while!
fitasamamabear says
Yes! And cookie dough flavor never hurts hehe