Can You Put Frozen Fruit in Overnight Oats?

Can you put frozen fruit in overnight oats? Absolutely! Here are some benefits and tips to use frozen fruit correctly.

Overnight oats are a superb healthy breakfast for busy mornings. They’re conveniently made in individual jars so you can take them into work, and perfect for hot Summer days. Meal prep them on Sunday night and have breakfast ready for the whole week.

This is pretty much my staple breakfast in the Summer because they’re so easy to make!

Overnight oats are super customizable, with different flavors and all sorts of ingredients that go great in them. Fruit is a big one because of all the vitamins in them, but do you just have to use fresh fruit?

You can absolutely use frozen fruit in overnight oats! They’re a little softer after thawing and might change the color of your oats, but they’re still flavorful and a great addition to your breakfast.

Keep reading to get more info on how to use frozen fruit in your overnight oats, as well as recipe ideas!

Benefits of using frozen fruit

• Convenient: Frozen fruit is usually already washed and chopped, so you can easily grab a cupful for your oats!
• Affordable: Fresh produce that is not in-season tends to be expensive. But the frozen versions are usually cheaper. And they’re more ripe and flavorful, because they’re frozen right at the peak of ripeness! I buy frozen berries at Sam’s Club, where they seem to be cheapest.
• Save on food waste: Because these fruits are frozen, they last longer than if they’re in the fridge. That saves you money as well as food waste!

Best fruits to use

• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Raspberries/blackberries
• Peaches

Base ingredients for overnight oats

Overnight oats are highly customizable, but here are some base ingredients I try to add every time:

• Liquid- This could be cow’s milk or non-dairy milk like cashew milk, almond milk, soy milk, coconut milk, and oat milk.
• Rolled oats- Quick oats or instant oats might work too but might have a softer texture! And I don’t recommend using steel-cut oats because of the consistency.
• Your favorite fruit- This adds extra nutrients that your body needs.
• Healthy fats- Fat keeps you full! Examples are peanut butter, chia seeds, and ground flaxseed.
• Protein- I use Greek yogurt and protein powder in a lot of my recipes! Plain Greek yogurt works, but I know vegan yogurt would be okay too.
• Sweetener (Optional)- I like to add a little honey or maple syrup if it’s not sweet enough.
• Vanilla extract

How to put frozen fruit in overnight oats

Step 1: Prepare the base recipe

Use a combination of any of the above ingredients. You can also use my recipe for Blueberry Overnight Oats, where I actually used frozen blueberries!

One thing to note is that frozen fruit releases extra liquid once it thaws. This will both make your oatmeal more liquidous and possibly change the color, depending on what kind of fruit you use.

I don’t have an exact measurement, but try adding one or two less tablespoons of liquid if you like your oats to be a little thicker.

Step 2: Add the frozen fruit on top

After giving the oat mixture a good stir, top it with some fruit! I add the fruit last so I don’t break up the fruit while stirring the other ingredients together. You can mix them in if you want, though.

Step 3: Cover and place in fridge overnight

I like to use a Mason jar for overnight oats, but a regular airtight container would work too. These are usually ready in about 4 hours, but I eat them the next day anyway so the timing doesn’t matter much.

Step 4: Enjoy!

You can eat these hot or cold! I eat them cold just because I usually make these in the Summer and want a cold breakfast.

And overnight oats are portable, so you can easily take them into work the next morning.

Serving suggestions

Looking for more topping ideas? Here are a few more you can add right before you eat:

• Nuts (Peanuts, walnuts, pecans, etc.)
• Chocolate chips
• Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter
• Extra fruit of choice
• Sweetener (Honey, maple syrup, agave syrup)

Overnight Oat Recipes

The following recipes are tried and true and are some of my favorites! They have simple ingredients and are easy to assemble. You can also customize them by adding other fruits.

Be sure to print the recipe card for the ones you enjoy:

• Blueberry Overnight Oats
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oats
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats