Cherry overnight oats with chocolate chips are a fresh, cold, creamy and delicious way to enjoy breakfast in the summertime! Great for making ahead too!

This week is straight-up kicking my butt.

I guess it started Monday morning when I woke up to an email from my CEO saying our company had been sold to an overseas media company.

Um, OK...

That has been followed by ALL the meetings to go over ALL the things. I'm also in the middle of two major projects at work that are taking up all kinds of extra time.

We've thankfully had some fun evenings this week -- including a farm-to-table meal tonight with some local fellow foodies and influencers -- but that also means I'm trying to cram everything into even fewer hours.

Oh, and my son's 6th birthday party is Saturday morning, so I'm trying to get everything ready for that.

And I'm spent. And it's only Thursday. Or maybe, already Thursday! Yup, always trying to spin it positive.

But enough of the semi-whining, I'm gonna get on to the cherry chocolate goodness we are featuring today.

If you’ve been around a while, you know we love us some overnight oats.

First, I shared my basic overnight oats with you — it’s our go-to base recipe and three flavor mix-in ideas to try.

But of course I couldn’t stop there!

I’ve also made strawberry overnight oats (2 ways in that post) and chocolate overnight oats (3 ways in that post). Peach overnight oats are great in the summertime.

What can I say, I like options!

Also, I have young kids who love a certain food one day and want something totally different the next. Anyone else??

So I’m always trying new ways with oatmeal.

And today it’s my cherry overnight oats with chocolate chips.

These are such a fun, fresh way to wake up in the summer when you want something delicious but also cold.

(We live in the South and it can be really hot and humid at 7:30 a.m. No hot oatmeal happening on those days!)

These overnight oats are creamy and delicious, with tons of bright cherry flavors running throughout. They have a bit of tartness too, but it’s really mellowed with the other ingredients, including a touch of honey.

They’re great for back-to-school season too, when you need to have breakfast prepped and ready to go on those crazy mornings the first few weeks.

(Who am I kidding? The mornings stay crazy throughout the school year!)

Plus, my 8-year-old daughter is cherry obsessed, so I had to make a cherry version of overnight oatmeal for her!

And who can resist a little chocolate at breakfast for a fun treat?

Now, I’ve got some notes and substitutions coming up for this recipe. Just tryin’ to be helpful.

If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.

Notes on cherry overnight oats:

Yes, the oats really do go in raw for refrigerator oatmeal. It seems strange, but all the milk and yogurt helps to soften the oats as they sit in the fridge overnight, so that by morning, they are no longer raw and are ready to eat.
Also, we do eat these cold straight from the fridge, not warmed up. It’s not at all like eating cold oatmeal (which would not be very tasty). It’s more like a yogurt-oat-fruit parfait of sorts – creamy and wholesome and scrape-the-jar good!
These 8 oz. jars are a fairly small serving size. It’s plenty for my young kids, but my husband and I usually pair it with some other fresh fruit or small morning snack. You could also double the recipe and use a larger mason jar to make a bigger serving.

And while the recipe is written for a single jar, I highly recommend you make several at a time to have on hand for breakfasts throughout the week. I mean, while you're at it...

In fact, I’ve made as many as 8-10 oatmeal jars at a time for the week for our family to enjoy. They keep just fine in the fridge for 5-7 days.

How to make overnight oats:

Add all of your ingredients to your jar or container -- oats, chia seeds, honey, milk Greek yogurt and in this case, vanilla, cherries and chocolate chips. Then stir it all together until everything is well mixed. It's that simple.

The magic happens overnight in the fridge, as the oats soften and absorb the liquid and bring everything together.

In the morning, they are thickened up, super creamy and ready to enjoy cold, straight from the fridge.

Breakfast waiting on you for a change - how nice!

Also, these are naturally gluten-free, so long as you use certified gluten-free oats.

Want to make dairy-free overnight oats? Totally do-able!

I actually did this for years because my daughter had a cow’s milk allergy when she was younger that she thankfully outgrew.

How to make dairy-free overnight oats:

- Use soy milk or almond milk as the milk in this recipe.

- Substitute goat milk yogurt for the Greek yogurt. (I find it at Trader Joe’s.) You could also use a coconut or soy yogurt but those may impact the flavor a bit more.

- Be sure to use dairy-free chocolate chips.

And since no one should be left out of this deliciousness...

How to make vegan overnight oats:

- Use soy milk or almond milk as the milk in this recipe.

- Use a coconut milk or soy yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt. Try to go for as neutral a flavor as possible.

- Use agave or maple syrup as the sweetener in place of the honey.

- Be sure to use vegan chocolate chips.

And finally, I use 8 oz. (half-pint) canning jars that I got as a set from Amazon for this recipe.

They are great for all of our overnight oatmeal jars and I also use them all the time for shaking up small batches of homemade salad dressings.

I also like these plastic lids because they’re easier to clean than the metal ones that come with the jars.

I hope you give these a try for a cold, delicious summer breakfast and an easy back-to-school meal prep recipe.

XO,

Kathryn

P.S. Check out all of my healthy oatmeal recipes for lots more inspiration!

Yield: 1 serving

Cherry overnight oats with chocolate chips

Name: Cherry overnight oats with chocolate chips
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 8 h 10 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats; 1/3 cup milk of choice; 1/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see notes); 1 teaspoon chia seeds; 1 teaspoon honey; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 2 teaspoons mini chocolate chips (plus extra for topping if desired); 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cherries (about 3-4 cherries)

Cherry overnight oats with chocolate chips are a fresh, cold, creamy and delicious way to enjoy breakfast in the summertime!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

¼ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
⅓ cup milk of choice
¼ cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (see notes)
1 teaspoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon honey
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons mini chocolate chips (plus extra for topping if desired)
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh cherries (about 3-4 cherries)

Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to a small jar (at least 8 oz). Carefully mix together until well combined.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. The jars will keep in the fridge for at least 4-5 days.
Enjoy cold straight from the fridge.

Notes

The recipe is for a single jar but I highly recommend you make several at a time. It’s easy to line up a row of jars and add your ingredients to each one so you have multiple breakfasts ready to go for the week.

These jars are naturally gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free oats.

To make these dairy-free, you can use soy or almond milk, goat's milk yogurt or coconut milk yogurt or soy yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt and dairy-free chocolate chips. You can make them vegan by doing the above and using agave or maple syrup in place of the honey.

These 8 oz. jars are a fairly small serving size. It’s plenty for my young kids, but my husband and I usually pair it with some other fresh fruit or small morning snack. You could also double the recipe and use a larger mason jar to make a bigger serving.