High protein, high fiber, and surprisingly delicious. These sweet and creamy cottage cheese overnight oats are one of my favorite healthy breakfasts as a dietitian. With five simple ingredients and just minutes of prep, you’ll have a balanced meal prep breakfast that leaves you feeling fuelled and energized.
You’ll also love my protein baked oats, fluffy egg white oatmeal, and chocolate protein overnight oats. Explore my other healthy oatmeal recipes.
Recipe Highlights
- Super filling. Thanks to 40 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber, this nourishing breakfast will keep you full for hours. Check out more high protein and high fiber recipes.
- 5-minute breakfast. The perfect pre-ahead breakfast that’s ready in under 5-minutes. If you struggle to find healthy options for busy mornings, save these cottage cheese overnight oats.
- Wheat-free. If you’re sensitive to gluten or just looking to switch things up, this wheat-free breakfast is a great option. Just make sure to choose certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- Sweet but low sugar. These creamy overnight oats are sweet and delicious with next to no added sugar. You could also try my 4-ingredient protein overnight oats.
Key Ingredients And Swaps
- Rolled oats: I recommend using “large flake” or “old fashioned” oats, not quick or instant. Any of these will technically work, but the larger flakes produce a much better texture with more chew and bite. Do not use steel cut oats – they won’t absorb the liquid properly.
- Cottage cheese: I like using low-fat cottage cheese because it has a little fat for satisfaction and texture, without adding too many extra calories. You can use non-fat or whole milk cottage cheese if preferred.
- Vanilla protein powder: I use the vanilla whey from Leanfit (we buy this from Costco), but you can use any flavored protein powder you like. Just make sure it’s finely milled for a smooth texture – and don’t use unflavored!
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and detailed recipe.
How To Make Cottage Cheese Overnight Oats
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a jar. Stir, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Step 2: Right before eating, stir and add toppings. Enjoy!
Miranda’s Tips
Tips From My Test Kitchen
I test a lot of overnight oats recipes, so I’ve come to learn some tricks and tips for the perfect batch. Here’s what I recommend:
- Refrigerate overnight. You can technically eat overnight oats after a few hours in the fridge, but the flavors and textures work better with longer chilling time. If you can, prep these the night before you plan to eat them, or a few days in advance.
- Use large flake oats. Skip instant or quick oats, and use a larger flake for the best texture. Do not use steel cut oats.
- Use a good protein powder. The flavor of your protein powder is front and center here, so pick one you genuinely enjoy and love to eat. I use the vanilla whey powder from Leanfit, which we buy at Costco.
Topping Ideas
- Nuts and seeds: Add 1-2 tablespoons of crushed nuts or seeds like pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, ground flax, or even chia. This will add some healthy fats and fiber, and help your oats feel more filling.
- Nut butters: Instead of whole nuts and seeds, you can also top with a tablespoon of natural nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter. Look for options with just nuts and salt on the label for less added sugar.
- Fresh fruit: Berries, chopped apple, chopped pear, kiwi, mango, or any fruit you like work great as a sweet and fiber-packed topping. Add ½ cup or more.
- Frozen fruit: If you don’t have fresh fruit on hand, add ½-1 cup of frozen berries or fruit of choice on top of your oats before chilling them. They fruit will defrost and melt in the fridge overnight – then, just mix them in before eating!
- Fun stuff: Feel free to top your cottage cheese overnight oats with a few teaspoons of nutella, jam, honey, maple syrup, granola, chocolate chips or other fun toppings of choice.
- Swap flavors: Feel free to swap vanilla protein powder for other flavors like chocolate, cinnamon cereal, or strawberries and cream to mix up the flavor.
More Overnight Oats Recipes
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Cottage Cheese Overnight Oats
Creamy, high-protein, and super filling. Try these delicious cottage cheese overnight oats for a quick and healthy meal prep breakfast.
Equipment
- jar or food container with lid
Ingredients
- ½ cup large flake oats
- ½ cup milk, I use 2%
- ⅓ cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, I use Leanfit vanilla whey
- 1 tsp maple syrup or honey, optional
Instructions
- To your jar or food container, add oats, milk, cottage cheese, protein powder, and maple syrup. Stir until combined, with no chunks of protein powder remaining.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, or for a minimum of 4-hours.
- When you’re ready to eat, stir and add toppings of choice. Enjoy!
Notes
- Topping ideas: nuts, nut butter, fresh or frozen berries, chopped fruit. Scroll up to the blog post for details and more ideas.
- Use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- You probably won’t need maple syrup if you use a well-flavored protein powder, but you’re welcome to add and adjust as needed.
- Nutrition facts calculated without maple syrup or sweeteners.
Nutrition
Calories: 412kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 442mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 229IU | Calcium: 392mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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