Overnight Oats With Quick Oats: Less Milk, Less Mush

Most overnight oats recipes say “old-fashioned rolled oats only,” which isn’t much help when the only canister in your pantry says Quick 1-Minute. The good news: overnight oats with quick oats work fine. They just behave differently. Quick oats are the same whole grain as rolled oats, rolled thinner and cut smaller, so they drink up liquid faster. Pour in the full rolled-oat amount of milk and you get porridge soup by morning. Cut it back and you get a jar that’s thick, creamy and closer to pudding than to chewy oats.

Below is the ratio I use, the full recipe, four flavors, and the mistakes that make quick-oat jars mushy.

The Quick Oats Overnight Oats Ratio

For rolled oats, the usual base on this site is 1/2 cup oats to 3/4 cup milk (see our overnight oats recipes hub). For quick oats, drop the total liquid by about a third and let some of it be yogurt:

• 1 part quick oats (1/2 cup)
• 1 part milk (1/2 cup)
• 1/2 part Greek yogurt (1/4 cup)
• A small spoon of chia (2 teaspoons) to hold it all together

Why the yogurt? Quick oats break down more than rolled oats do, so the jar can lose its structure. Thick Greek yogurt gives back some body and adds protein without adding more thin liquid. If you don’t have yogurt, use 1/2 cup milk alone; the jar will be a little looser but still good.

Overnight Oats With Quick Oats Recipe

Makes: 1 jar · Prep: 5 minutes · Chill: at least 2 hours

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (40 g) quick oats
• 1/2 cup (122 g) 2% milk
• 1/4 cup (60 g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 2 teaspoons (8 g) chia seeds
• 2 teaspoons (13 g) maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt

Method

1. Stir the yogurt, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon and salt together in a jar until smooth.
2. Add the quick oats and chia seeds and stir until no dry oats are left.
3. Wait 5 minutes, then stir once more so the chia doesn’t clump at the bottom.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
5. Stir before eating, loosen with a splash of milk if it’s too thick, and add your toppings.

Per jar (without toppings): about 318 calories, 17 g protein, 47 g carbs, 8 g fat and 6.5 g fiber. I calculated these from USDA FoodData Central values for Quaker quick oats, 2% milk, nonfat Greek yogurt, chia seeds and maple syrup (sources at the end).

Quick Oats vs Rolled Oats for Overnight Oats

Here’s how the four common oat types compare when you soak them cold. The liquid amounts are what I’d use for 1/2 cup of oats.

Oat type	Liquid for 1/2 cup oats	Minimum chill	Texture next morning	Verdict
Old-fashioned rolled	3/4 cup milk	About 6 hours	Thick, soft, a little chew	The classic
Quick oats	1/2 cup milk + 1/4 cup yogurt	About 2 hours	Smooth and creamy, no chew	Good, with less liquid
Instant (packets)	Not recommended	Under 1 hour	Pasty, especially flavored packets	Make hot oatmeal instead
Steel-cut	Needs heating first	Overnight, after a short simmer	Chewy and firm	Only if you like a lot of chew

Little Broken’s side-by-side test of three oat types found the same pattern: quick oats soften faster and can go mushy, while steel-cut oats don’t get soft enough without a few minutes of cooking first. So if a recipe gives you a rolled-oat ratio, it will be too wet for quick oats. That’s the single biggest fix.

Nutrition-wise, quick oats are still a whole grain. USDA lists Quaker Quick Oats at 13.7 g protein and 9.4 g fiber per 100 g dry, and a 1/2-cup (40 g) serving is the same size as rolled oats on most labels. The difference in a jar is mostly texture, not nutrition. If you eat oats most mornings, here’s what happens when you eat oatmeal every day.

How Long Do Quick Oats Need to Soak?

Two hours is enough. That’s the real advantage of quick oats: you can mix a jar after lunch and have it as an afternoon snack, or mix it when you get home and eat it after a workout. Little Broken also recommends at least two hours for any overnight oats, ideally overnight.

Longer is fine too. Quick oats don’t keep thickening forever the way chia pudding does, but they do get softer each day. In my kitchen, the texture is best within the first 2 days. After that the jar is still safe to eat if it’s been cold the whole time (see storage below), it just turns more like smooth porridge.

4 Easy Quick Oats Overnight Oats Flavors

Make the base recipe, then add these. Wet add-ins go in with the milk at step 1; crunchy ones go on in the morning.

• Blueberry vanilla: stir 1/3 cup blueberries into the jar at night. Frozen berries work and will bleed purple through the oats, which looks great.
• Apple pie: add 1/3 cup grated apple and an extra pinch of cinnamon. Grated apple releases juice, so skip 1 tablespoon of the milk.
• Peanut butter banana: whisk 1 tablespoon peanut butter into the milk first, then top with sliced banana in the morning. Our peanut butter overnight oats post has the no-clump trick in more detail.
• Chocolate: mix 1 tablespoon cocoa powder with the maple syrup into a paste before adding the milk, then add 1 extra tablespoon of milk because cocoa soaks some up.

Why Quick Overnight Oats Turn Mushy (and the Fixes)

• Too much liquid. This is almost always the cause. Start with 1/2 cup milk plus 1/4 cup yogurt; you can always add a splash in the morning, but you can’t take it out.
• Watery yogurt or fruit. Regular (non-Greek) yogurt and juicy fruit both add liquid. If you use them, cut the milk by 2 tablespoons.
• No binder. Without chia or yogurt, quick oats can separate into a layer of thin milk over a layer of paste. Two teaspoons of chia keeps it creamy all the way through.
• Stirring only once. Chia sinks and clumps if you don’t give it a second stir after 5 minutes.
• Mixing toppings in too early. Granola, nuts and seeds go soft overnight. Add them right before eating.

Want a little chew back? Swap 2 tablespoons of the quick oats for rolled oats, or top the jar with toasted nuts. It’s the easiest way to get texture without changing the ratio.

Can You Meal Prep Overnight Oats With Quick Oats?

Yes, but I’d make smaller batches than with rolled oats. Mix two or three jars at a time instead of five, since quick oats soften more as the days go by. If you want a full Sunday plan, our overnight oats meal prep guide splits the week into two short rounds, which suits quick oats even better.

How long do they keep? Keep jars in a fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below and eat them within 3 to 4 days. FoodSafety.gov’s cold food storage chart doesn’t list overnight oats by name, so this follows the 3 to 4 day window it gives for leftovers like soups, stews and cooked dishes. Since this recipe contains milk and yogurt, don’t leave jars sitting out on the counter.

FAQ

Can you use instant oats for overnight oats?

You can, but I don’t recommend it. Instant oats are cut even finer than quick oats and turn pasty in a cold soak, and flavored packets usually come pre-sweetened. If instant oats are all you have, use the same ratio as above and eat the jar within a few hours.

Can you mix quick oats and rolled oats?

Yes, and it’s a nice middle ground. For a half-and-half jar, use 1/4 cup of each and about 2/3 cup total liquid. You get the faster soak of quick oats with some of the chew of rolled.

Can you heat overnight oats made with quick oats?

Yes. Microwave the jar (without the lid) for about 1 minute, stirring halfway, and add a splash of milk because heated quick oats thicken fast. Add toppings after heating.

Looking for more make-ahead mornings? Try our overnight oats with yogurt, the chia seed base recipe, or these breakfast meal prep ideas.

Sources

• USDA FoodData Central via getfoodfacts.com: Quaker Quick Oats, dry (FDC 174640), 2% reduced fat milk (FDC 746778), Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat (FDC 170894), chia seeds, dried (FDC 170554), maple syrup (FDC 169661).
• FoodSafety.gov, Cold Food Storage Chart.
• Little Broken, What Kind of Oats for Overnight Oats?

Want another flavor? See all our overnight oats recipes, with protein and calories for every jar.