These Chocolate Brownie Overnight Oats with chocolate protein powder taste JUST like dessert with a creamy, rich texture. A great healthy breakfast!
If you're looking for a healthy chocolate overnight oats recipe, this is it! It's pretty similar to my Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats but simpler to make and really easy to meal prep. It takes less than 10 minutes to make breakfast for the whole week if you make a few servings!
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Chocolate protein overnight oats primarily get their high protein level from the greek yogurt (I love to make homemade instant pot greek yogurt), protein powder, and dairy that I prefer to use. It's my favorite brownie oatmeal to make because it doesn't heat up the kitchen in the morning and it's super easy for the kids to grab out of the fridge and eat.
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⭐️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's healthy - packed with almost 30g of protein, complex carbs, and fiber!
- Doubles as both a healthy chocolatey breakfast AND dessert!
- Cocoa overnight oats are very filling and delicious.
- SO many toppings you can use! Fruity or not, you can customize these to your heart's content.
- Can easily be made gluten free with certified gluten free oats, as well as vegan if you substitute the greek yogurt with a nut milk or oat milk and vegan plant based protein powder.
🛒 Key Ingredients
- Oats - regular old fashioned/rolled oats are best, steel cut or instant can be too chewy or gummy.
- Cocoa Powder - It seems like a lot but it's not too much! Makes the oats a nice, deep, dark chocolate flavor.
- Chocolate Protein Powder - helps to sweeten the oats and give more cocoa flavor, as well as packs in a little extra protein.
- Greek Yogurt - plain unflavored is what I prefer since there's no added sugar. Adds creaminess and a tangy flavor.
- Agave Nectar - a more mild flavored natural sweetener than honey and tastes amazing!
- Milk - more added protein and creaminess that water just doesn't have.
See the recipe card below for full ingredient quantities and instructions.
✏️ Substitutions
- Sweetener - I prefer to use agave nectar or honey because of their mild flavors, but you could use pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or a different sweetener.
- Milk of choice can be used, either dairy or plant-based based like almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk to make it vegan.
- Greek Yogurt can be swapped with plain yogurt, or more milk. Using more milk will make the oats a little more runny, so I suggest reducing the amount if replacing all of the yogurt with milk.
🧑🍳 Instructions
Step 1 - Mix together the dry ingredients first: the oats, cocoa powder, and chocolate protein powder.
Step 2 - Mix in the greek yogurt, milk, agave nectar, and vanilla. The oats will be runny. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for best results. Serve cold or warmed up.
🫐 Overnight Oat Toppings
- Fruit - fresh, dried, frozen, or even freeze dried. My favorite fruits that go well with chocolate oats are raspberries, strawberries, cherries, and bananas.
- Nuts/Seeds - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans, walnuts, and peanuts are a few common ones.
- Nut/Seed Butters - almond, peanut, cashew, and sunflower are all butters I have used and like.
- Chocolate - Sometimes I put some chocolate chips or Nutella on top if I need a little more happiness.
- Coconut shavings/pieces, flax seeds, chia seeds, or hemp hearts.
NOTE: Keep in mind that extra toppings are extra calories. The nutritional value of this recipe is based on the amount of overnight oats, not including any toppings.
Top Tips
- Refrigerating longer than 4 hours helps the oats to be soft and creamy.
- They are really are best served cold! These are inspired by Swiss muesli, which is a cold oatmeal breakfast made with oats and yogurt or milk.
- Eat during the summer months for a nice cold refreshing breakfast or dessert. No need to heat up the kitchen or turn on the stove!
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I make 4-6 servings at a time and save them for the week.
I love to mix up a big batch in a bowl and scoop the oats into overnight oat meal prep containers to make it quick and easy.
As long as the dairy is fresh, up to 5 days refrigerated. The oats do get softer the longer they sit, but in my opinion, only adds to the creamy texture.
Chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, or even a couple teaspoons of oat bran will work fine to thicken the brownie batter oatmeal.
To make the oats less sticky or stodgy, thin out with a splash of milk stirred in.
Milk and greek yogurt add protein and a creamy texture that water does not have. Unsweetened is best as it will take on the flavor of the ingredients you add to your oats.
You can use applesauce, mashed bananas, or coconut milk instead of yogurt, although the flavor will be slightly different.
📌 Troubleshooting
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Too thick or dry | Not enough liquid or oats absorbed too much | Add 1–2 tablespoon milk in the morning and stir |
| Too runny | Too much liquid or not enough soaking time | Use less milk next time or add chia seeds to absorb extra moisture |
| Oats are too chewy or raw | Not soaked long enough or wrong oat type | Soak at least 4 hours; use rolled oats or blend for smoother texture |
| Lacks cinnamon roll flavor | Not enough cinnamon or sweetener | Add ½ teaspoon extra cinnamon + dash of vanilla + maple syrup or brown sugar |
| Bland flavor overall | Missing salt or flavor layering | Add pinch of salt and a swirl of yogurt, cinnamon sugar, or nut butter |
| Toppings get soggy | Toppings added too early | Store toppings separately, add just before serving |
| Tastes “gluey” or pasty | Too much yogurt or overmixed | Use less yogurt or add more milk, stir gently; try layering instead of mixing fully |
🥣 More Easy Make Ahead Breakfasts:
I'm obsessed with easy high protein breakfasts with oats that you can make ahead and take on the go! Here are a few of our favorites.
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
Brownie Batter Overnight Oats
Ingredients
- ½ cup old fashioned regular oats
- 2 Tablespoons chocolate protein powder
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ cup milk of choice
- ⅓ cup plain greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon sweetener of choice (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, coconut sugar)
- pinch of salt optional.
- optional toppings: fruit, chocolate, nuts (see post for more options)
Instructions
- In a sealable jar or container, mix together oats, protein powder, cocoa powder, and optional salt.
- Add in the milk, yogurt, vanilla, and sweetener of choice.
- Top with optional toppings, cover and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Vicky Gustavison says
Can this be made without the protein powder?