Raspberry overnight oats for a cooling spring and summer breakfast
- Apr 14
- 5 min read
The 'overnight oats' trend
Overnight oats have become popular in the last few years, probably thanks to social media and Pinterest - jars with oats and fruit layered on top of each other can look very attractive.
But the idea of these 'overnight oats' is not new. They are essentially a 'Bircher Muesli', invented in 1900 in Zurich by Dr Maximilian Bircher-Brenner to aid the recuperation of his patients, served to them at supper time and called "Apfeldiätspeise" (apple diet dish).
The original recipe was to soak one tablespoon of oats in three tablespoons of water for 12 hours, add one tablespoon of sweetened condensed milk and the juice of half a lemon. Finally you should grate one whole apple (unpeeled and uncored) and add it to the oat mixture with 1 tablespoon of chopped nuts.
Bircher-Brenner himself was inspired to create this meal after a visit to a Swiss mountain pasture where he was served an oat dish of this type by - you guessed it - a woman! I'm sorry we don't know her name.
Warming vs cooling food
As our bodies crave warming foods in the cold months and cooling foods in the warm months, I have two go-to recipes for overnight oats - one for spring/ summer and another one for autumn/ winter. They give me a quick and healthy breakfast throughout the year that keeps me going until lunchtime every day.
My spring/ summer overnight oats have a freshness and tartness to them which comes from raspberries and Greek yogurt, and are slightly sweetened with honey. The addition of some seeds gives them a bit of bite and crunch, which makes them more satisfying to eat, in addition to the benefit of protein and other nutrients. My autumn/ winter overnight oats on the other hand provide warmth through spices like ginger and cinnamon and the sweetness of dates.
Which jars are good for overnight oats?
A lot of people use clip top jars (like Kilner) for their overnight oats and although they are very pretty, I find them irritating to take care of because of the rubber seals and the metal brackets. I make my overnight oats (and a lot of other things) in a Bonne Maman jam jar (not sponsored!). They have a capacity of 324ml, which is ideal for what I need for breakfast and I have outlined all the other advantages of these jars below.
Measuring cups make for quick preparation
I use a 1/3 cup measure because this makes measuring out the ingredients very speedy as you scoop the ingredients into the jar, starting with the oats. 1/3 cup equals 80ml. I make two or three jars in one go because this doesn’t take much longer than making one jar, and then I can just take my breakfast out of the fridge when I need it.
Into my spring/summer overnight oats, I put:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup milk (or oat milk)
2/3 cup frozen raspberries (I always have some in my freezer)
3 tbsp Greek yogurt (I like full fat more than the 0% fat)
2 tsp mixed seeds such as sesame, linseeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
1 Tsp honey
Layer the ingredients into the jar in that order and leave it in the fridge overnight. The most important thing is to allow the oats to soak and soften in the milk overnight as they would be harder to digest otherwise. You could in theory just mix the milk and oats the night before and add all the other ingredients in the morning, but part of what makes this recipe so easy is that if you prepare the whole jar in the evening, your breakfast is ready for you in the morning.
When you are ready to eat the oats, stir them up in the jar - the raspberries will 'melt' and turn the yogurt into a beautiful pink colour. I like to eat mine directly from the jar (it’s perfectly portable if you are having breakfast outside of your home). You can also decant the mixture into a breakfast bowl if you don’t like the idea of eating from a jar.
Variations on ingredients
Oats - you can use porridge oats or jumbo oats. Both work well, but jumbo oats will give more texture.
Milk - you can use oat milk or even water, as in the traditional Bircher Muesli. Later versions also used fruit juices to soak the oats. Traditional bircher muesli is made with apple juice or grated apples and if you don't add yogurt, you can create a lovely dairy free breakfast like this.
Fruit - I like raspberries for their colour, tartness and the fact that they disintegrate into the oats and yogurt, giving the whole mixture their lovely flavour. You can add any fruit you like, but bear in mind that banana may go brown over night and certain fruit (e.g. citrus fruit or pineapple) doesn't go well with dairy products like milk and yogurt. You can also use dried fruit like dates or raisins.
Seeds - can be replaced or combined with nuts - walnuts are lovely with yogurt and honey, a classic Greek dessert.
Honey - you may choose to leave out the honey entirely or replace it with maple or another syrup.
Why I prefer Bonne Maman over other jars
First of all, I need to state that I am not paid by Bonne Maman for writing any of this, but it is my opinion that they have a fantastic product - not only is their jam delicious, but the jars are perfect because of their shape - they do not have a ‘neck’ but have tapered sides, which makes it very easy to pour liquids in and (more importantly) out of the jars, making them easy to clean.
This tapered shape also means that you can freeze liquids in the jars as the liquid is able to expand upwards as it freezes without cracking the glass.
I also like Bonne Maman jars because the labels come off without any fuss in the dishwasher and you don’t have to spend precious time scrubbing off bits of paper and glue residue when you want to repurpose a jar once the jam is gone.
Other uses for Bonne Maman jars
Salad dressings - pour the dressing ingredients into the jar and give it a good shake to make an emulsion.
Snack jars - I fill jars with nuts, seeds and dried fruits when we go out on car journeys and may get peckish.
Foraging - I love bringing a basket of jars on a foraging walk in late summer - each of us can take a jar and pick blackberries straight into the jar. They don't go mushy and the jars also ensure we don't forage more than we need.
Batch freezing - I also use Bonne Maman jars to freeze Bolognaise sauce or other things I have batch cooked.
Edible gifts - these jars can be filled with biscuits you have made, or cookie mix.
Craft storage - perfect storage jars for non-food items such as embroidery threads, buttons, ribbons, bobbins or small craft projects you have on the go and want to keep tidy and clean.
