Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats with Granola

Easy Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats Recipe – Gluten Free & Vegan Friendly

How to Make Chocolate Overnight Oats with Granola, Yogurt, and Almond Milk!

Hungry for a tasty twist on your easy overnight oats breakfast routine? Give this chocolate cherry overnight oats recipe a try! Between the cocoa powder and fresh cherries, it’s bursting with tons of rich, sweet, decadent flavors that will make your classic healthy breakfast feel brand new.

But, what if you want to shake things up even more? I sure did—which is why I made these chocolate cherry overnight oats with GRANOLA instead of oats! So, I guess these technically aren’t chocolate overnight oats but chocolate overnight granola… Whatever you wanna call it, it’s overnight deliciousness!

And, by prepping my granola overnight oats with yogurt and almond milk, every bite has an irresistibly thick-and-creamy texture. (Plus, I love the added nutritional boost.) After sitting overnight, the granola had soaked in that creaminess and my chocolate overnight oats tasted more like an indulgent pudding or fluffy mousse!

Of course, you don’t have to make these chocolate cherry overnight oats with granola instead of oats. But, if you’re craving some variety, making overnight oats with granola is an easy option to change up the flavor and texture to keep your healthy breakfasts interesting!

Can You Make Overnight Oats with Granola Instead of Oats?

Making overnight oats with granola is a super simple swap—just nix the oats and add your favorite granola in its place. You get to enjoy a wider variety of flavors, fun new textures, and an added dose of satisfying sweetness! It literally requires no extra effort, but it honestly takes the yumminess of these chocolate cherry overnight oats to a whole new level.

When I made this granola overnight oats recipe, I based it around one of my favorite organic & gluten free granola options: Sprouts Farmers Market’s Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola! Of course, the dark chocolate cherry flavors work perfectly for this recipe, but you can totally customize these chocolate cherry overnight oats with any granola that YOU like.

I love that this granola gluten free and whole grain, so it’s a great substitute in these chocolate overnight oats to keep my breakfast nutritious. Plus, it’s got several different crunchy grains in it which makes it even more fun to eat. Best of all, it’s SO tasty yet surprisingly low in sugar—only 6g of sugar per ½ cup, which is less than half of the sugar content in most granola brands!

Again, make these chocolate cherry overnight oats with any granola you like, any flavor, gluten free or grain free, etc. Choose whatever works for your lifestyle. But, my one recommendation when making overnight oats with granola is to look for a brand that’s lower in sugar (particularly added sugars) and made with mostly (or entirely) clean ingredients!

What if I Don’t Want to Make my Chocolate Overnight Oats with Granola?

If you don’t want to make your overnight oats with granola, you don’t have to! Simply swap out the granola in my chocolate cherry overnight oats recipe for the same amount (⅔ cup) of rolled or quick-cooking oats.

You may also want to add a dash more milk, so the oats have enough moisture to soak up overnight.

And, depending on your preference, you may want to sweeten your chocolate overnight oats to taste. Although you’ll still have plenty of flavor from the cocoa powder and fresh cherries, you won’t have the granola for sweetness! I’d recommend either sweetening your plain yogurt initially, or adding sweetener of choice into the mix before distributing into jars.

Otherwise, you can follow the chocolate overnight oats recipe as listed below!

To Keep your Chocolate Cherry Overnight Oats Dairy Free:

Besides how easy they are to make, one of the best things about overnight oats is how versatile they are. You can change up the flavors in tons of ways, and it’s easy to keep them dairy free and vegan! And the same holds true for these chocolate cherry overnight oats with granola.

Of course, you definitely want to check to be sure that your granola of choice is dairy free and/or vegan, or whatever suits your lifestyle. Or, you could even turn these chocolate overnight oats with granola into a PALEO breakfast with a grain free Paleo granola if you want!

In terms of milks, I usually prefer to make my overnight oats with almond milk to keep them dairy free. But, you can use dairy milk or any other nondairy milk that you like. If you’re looking for a nondairy AND non-nut milk, coconut milk is a great option that can also add some natural sweetness!

Finally, to make these chocolate cherry overnight oats with yogurt that’s dairy free, opt for a nondairy variety like coconut milk yogurt, almond milk yogurt, or soy milk yogurt. Just be sure to read the labels—look for a yogurt option with little-to-no added sugar and ingredients that are as clean as possible.

Or, if you didn’t need your overnight oats with yogurt to be dairy free, go for Greek yogurt! It’s a great option to give your healthy breakfast an added boost of protein and nutrition.

How to Make Overnight Oats with Granola

If you know how to make overnight oats the classic way, then you know how to make overnight oats with granola too: just mix, transfer to jars, and refrigerate overnight!

To make these chocolate cherry overnight oats with granola (or with actual oats, if preferred), start with a large mixing bowl. First, add your yogurt of choice, sweetening to taste if needed.

Depending on the type of yogurt and how sweet your granola is, you may or may not need to sweeten your yogurt. Or, if you’re making these chocolate overnight oats the classic way, without granola, you may want to sweeten your yogurt at the start!

Next, add the remaining ingredients for your base mixture: milk of choice, your granola (or quick/rolled oats), cocoa powder, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Give everything a good mix and be sure to get all of that chocolaty goodness well-integrated!

With your chocolate cherry overnight oats base mixture at the ready, it’s time to stir in some chopped fresh cherries! I LOVE the naturally sweet, subtly tart flavor of Rainier cherries, so I try to take advantage of them as much as I can whenever they’re in season. And, they’re the perfect match for the rich flavors in these chocolate overnight oats.

But, you can of course make your overnight oats with fruit of any kind. If you don’t like cherries or can’t find them, you could use raspberries, strawberries, banana, even chopped mango! You don’t have to stick with the chocolate cherry overnight oats flavor profile here if you’re not a fan. Feel free to get creative with the flavors YOU enjoy.

Storage: How Long are Overnight Oats Good for in the Fridge?

All that’s left to do is distribute your base mixture into 2 jars and refrigerate! I designed these chocolate overnight oats with granola to yield 2 servings, but you could double (or triple) the recipe to get as many servings as you need.

And, even though I like to store my overnight oats in jars, you can store in any containers you like. Just be sure they’re airtight! Once packaged up as desired, transfer to the fridge overnight.

Now, in terms of how long are overnight oats good for once they’re prepped and in the fridge, it depends on your preference. You can store these chocolate overnight oats with granola (or regular overnight oats) in the fridge for up to 3-5 days. They’ll still be ‘good’ in the sense that they won’t spoil in that time period and will be totally safe to eat.

Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand the desire to meal prep breakfast ahead of time. But, my personal preference is to eat these chocolate cherry overnight oats fresh, after being refrigerated for just one night. They just taste so much better to me! Considering how EASY overnight oats are to prep, I think it’s worth the few minutes of prep the night before.

Do You Eat Overnight Oats Cold or Heat Them Up?

I’m always surprised when I hear this question, but I hear it a lot! Do you eat overnight oats cold or are you supposed to heat them up? Or, CAN you heat them up if you want to?

Well, I personally always eat overnight oats cold. They’re prepped in the fridge to make things easy for me in the morning, so I can grab breakfast and go—eating them cold is sort of the point for me. But, you do you!

Some people (based on what I’ve heard/seen online) DO eat their overnight oats hot. So, if it’s an option you want to explore, go for it! (Although, if you do decide to make these chocolate cherry overnight oats with granola as I did, I’d say this is probably not the recipe to try heating up overnight oats for the first time…)

I think these chocolate overnight oats are especially delicious cold, and the coolness makes my breakfast seem like an indulgent, chocolaty sweet treat. When I pull them out of the fridge in the morning, I like to serve with some slivered almonds for a crunch, some more fresh cherries, and a bit of extra granola!

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Other Easy Overnight Oats Ideas

For even more easy overnight oats recipes and healthy breakfast ideas, check out these tasty options:

• 10 Creative Overnight Oats Flavors

• Vegan Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

• Mango Overnight Oats

• Holiday Eggnog Overnight Oats

• Low Carb / Keto Overnight Oats