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Hey, it’s Tom Venuto, natural bodybuilder, fat loss coach, and Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle chef here. In this post, I’m going to give you the 5-minute mocha latte high protein overnight oats recipe (aka “caffeinated overnight oats”). You’re also going to see the 4 or 5-ingredient template for high protein overnight oats. Then you can make overnight oatmeal in any flavor you want. Just start with the base ingredients and then add the final ingredients and toppings. You can add different flavored protein powders, flavored yogurts, nuts, nut butters, seeds, fruit, syrups, and so on – the sky is the limit!
Nothing beats the speed and convenience of overnight oats (or overnight “proats” ie, protein oats) . No cooking or even re-heating is required. You can pull this baby out of the fridge and eat it from the jar in minutes. (No more excuses about “no time for breakfast!”) The only thing better in the early morning is when your oatmeal is caffeinated! (Like this mocha latte overnight oats recipe).
But wait. I’m getting slightly ahead of myself… first…
What are overnight oats? And what is high protein overnight oats? Let me explain…
Overnight oats are an easy way to prepare oatmeal without cooking (or even re-heating) required. Conventional oatmeal is usually microwaved, or if you want to get fancy schmany, you can cook it on the stovetop. You can even bake it (baked oatmeal is amazing!)
What you do is simply put all the ingredients into a jar. Then stir or shake until it’s well mixed. Next, put it in the fridge overnight (or at least two or three hours). Your breakfast will be ready and waiting for you in the morning.
Depending on your liquid to solid ingredients ratio, the mixture may be a liquid when you mix it at room temperature, but after refrigeration the oats (and seeds) soak up water and everything solidifies into a pudding-like consistency. Yum! You can re-heat it in the microwave if you want to, but traditionally most people enjoy their overnight oats cold.
Tom Venuto’s base recipe for overnight oats and high-protein overnight oats
Below in the recipe card, you’ll see all the ingredients for the special mocha latte flavored overnight oats. Base recipes can vary, but this is mine for any type of overnight oats:
- 1/2 cup of rolled oats
- 1/2 cup of non fat milk
- 1/2 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
Notice that’s a 2:1 ratio of liquids to oats if you count the yogurt as a liquid.
The chia seeds are optional but they are so popular in overnight oats that most people consider them a standard base ingredient. Chia seeds absorb water so they act as a thickener and help with creating a consistency like pudding. Chia seeds are also a great source of fiber and they give you healthy fats as well. Some people use flaxseeds or ground flaxseeds instead. I use chia most of the time.
Now, if you want to turn this into high protein overnight oats, the base recipe will look like this:
- 1/2 cup of rolled oats
- 1/2 cup of non fat or low fat milk
- 1/2 cup of nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/2 scoop (15g) to 1 scoop (30g) protein powder
If you browse food blogs or read through recipe books, you’ll see that protein powder is not always included. In fact, most overnight oats recipes don’t include it. But if you’re familiar with my Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle recipes, then you know I’m a protein “enthusiast.”
Eating enough protein helps you stay lean and build muscle, obviously. But protein powder supplements are also a great recipe ingredient. You can use flavored proteins to change the flavor profile too. (In this case cafe mocha high protein overnight oats). It also takes your oatmeal from medium protein to high or ultra-high protein.
Without the protein powder you still get a significant amount of protein, about 25 grams or so. That’s a good amount for a snack or average Joe, but as a complete meal for someone doing serious resistance training, it falls a bit short. Adding a half a scoop (weighing 15g) of protein powder would bump the protein to around 37 grams. If you add a whole scoop (30g), that brings it to a whopping 49 grams!
I used whey and that’s what I recommend. If you use casein, you’re probably going to need more liquid or it will be too thick.
Special ingredients for cafe mocha high protein overnight oats
for this recipe, I highly recommend you go out there and get some coffee flavored protein powder. Almost every protein powder company has them now. The names can vary (Mocha, latte, cappuccino, and so on), but they’re all basically the same thing – coffee flavored protein powder. Also make a note that many of them have caffeine added (if you want the pick-me-up).
I don’t mention brand names because I don’t want to be associated with the supplement industry. However, I will say that there is one company that has partnered with Dunkin (no affiliation!) That protein tastes pretty damn good, including on it’s own for a straight up protein shake if you forgot to make your oats the night before.
You could use make this particular recipe with chocolate protein powder, but with the cocoa added, it will have a much stronger chocolate taste than coffee taste. But if you want to make chocolate, or chocolate peanut butter overnight oats, those are also options, of course.
Normally, overnight oats have a 2:1 ratio of liquid ingredients to oats. Half the liquid ingredients is usually milk. However, this recipe is unique. As I mentioned above in the base ingredients list, milk is actually usually part of the standard base ingredients (the liquids). However, I discovered that another option is liquid egg whites.
Why egg whites? Because this is a way to boost the protein even more. A half cup of coffee contains zero protein. A half a cup of skim milk contains 4 grams of protein. A half a cup of liquid egg whites contains 13 grams. When you use cartoned liquid egg whites, they are pasteurized, so it’s okay to eat them without cooking. So, that’s why in this unique recipe you see 1/4 cup of brewed coffee and 1/4 cup of liquid egg whites.
Egg whites versus whole eggs in fat loss and bodybuilding diets
If you don’t want the added protein, or if you don’t have any liquid egg whites on hand, or if you simply prefer milk, that’s fine. There will be no difference in the taste, and little difference in the texture. The only difference is the protein content. I suppose you could even use 1/2 cup coffee and no milk or egg whites. But using egg whites is part of the reason we can get our overnight oats up to almost 50 grams of protein. (Using Greek yogurt is and protein powder are the other ways you bump the protein way up).
Other ingredients in high protein overnight oats
You’ll sometimes see overnight oats recipes with only skim milk and oats and chia as base ingredients. I always use yogurt in mine because it’s part of what makes these oats thicker and creamier. To keep the fat and calories down, I use non fat Greek yogurt .
In this recipe, I used plain Greek yogurt, which is unsweetened as well as unflavored. In other overnight oats recipes you might want to use flavored yogurts for a certain taste as well as sweetness. A problem with many flavored yogurts is the added (refined sugar). Fortunately there are yogurt brands with low sugar. (For example Two Good has only 2 grams of added sugar). There are also sugar-free brands of yogurt made with with stevia.
You may want to add a sweetener, either from packets or a spoonable type. Adding sweetener is optional, depending on the recipe. Most protein powders are sweetened already and if you add fruit, that might be sweet enough for you. In recipes where I use sweetened, flavored yogurts, sweetened protein powder and fruit, I usually don’t add sweetener. In this mocha latte high protein overnight oats, since plain Greek yogurt is used, I add one or two packets of the erythritol / stevia combo.
Is erythritol a healthy sweetener, and does it really have zero calories?
In the case of this special coffee flavored overnight oats recipe, I used only 1/4 cup of egg whites along with 1/4 cup of brewed cold coffee (still a total of 1/2 cup of combined liquid). I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m guessing you could use 1/2 cup of milk with some instant coffee instead of egg whites and brewed coffee.
Overnight oats toppings
This recipe comes in at 412 calories which may be just right for many people on fat loss programs. For me, that’s a little low, so I add fruit on top. The last time I made this I used strawberries (pictured above). I’m sure it would be great with bananas as well.
It’s usually best to add the fruit in the morning when you serve the oats. If you leave fruit (and certain other toppings) in the jar overnight, they can sometimes get soggy.
If you wanted fewer calories or if you wanted to keep it around 400 but still enjoy the fruit, you could scale down the base ingredients slightly.
Remember that when you mix up your oats, at first it will be a thinner liquid. After at least a couple hours in the fridge, the oats and chia seeds soak up liquid and it thickens into a nice creamy texture like pudding. Following this recipe verbatim, it comes out perfect (thick and creamy) ever time. However, if you ever fail to get the consistency you want, just play around with the ratios of dry to liquid ingredients it comes out just like you want it.
Also remember, that from the 4 or 5 base ingredients, you can get creative and make endless variations of overnight oats. So far I have a bout a half a dozen different flavors and I’m still working on more. I chose the caffe mocha as my first one because I love coffee and caffeine in the morning. Plus, this is an original and unusual oats recipe you don’t hear about every day.
High protein overnight oats prep and serving ideas
As I mentioned above, most people eat their overnight oats cold. I’m sure some people like cold oats on a warm summer morning, but would prefer hot oats on a cold winter morning. I like mine chilled any time of the year. But go ahead and quickly microwave yours if you like.
Obviously the name overnight oats refers to the way they are usually made. You mix it up the night before and then it’s ready for breakfast the next morning. You’ll probably see most recipes tell you to soak the oats overnight for at least 8 hours, but here’s a little secret: “Overnight” oats should be ready to eat after as little as 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator. That’s good to know if you want to make them early in the morning and have them for brunch.
Being a meal in a jar, this is also portable and you can take it with you for a meal on the go. You wouldn’t want to leave your oats at room temperature for too long, but you could certainly take it with you for lunch and it will still taste great.
This is a good recipe for meal prep too. Make these in batches by lining up a bunch mason jars and bang them out like an assembly line. Overnight oats will keep in the refrigerator for 4, maybe 5 days. I do think however, it’s best within 2 days. If it sits in the refrigerator too long, the texture may change.
The 16 ounce mason jars are the most popular storage container, but you could also use a large glass, a bowl or re-use any jar you have lying around (peanut butter jar, pickle jar, etc). Just make sure you seal it airtight when you refrigerate it.
Enjoy these mega high protein overnight oats, and if I see any interest or feedback in the comments and or high recipe ratings, then maybe I’ll be back with some of my other overnight oats flavors.
Tom Venuto,
Founder & CEO, Burn the Fat Inner Circle
Author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle (BFFM)
Author of The BFFM Guide to Flexible Meal Planning For Fat Loss
To browse hundreds of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle recipes CLICK HERE (Inner Circle members only)
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Mocha Latte High Protein Overnight Oats
Equipment
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1 Mason Jar
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Old fashioned oats (oatmeal)
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, plain, nonfat
- 1/4 cup liquid egg whites (pasteurized)
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup brewed coffee
- 1 Tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 packet sweetener (stevia, etc)
Instructions
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In a glass jar add oats, chia seeds, sweetener, protein powder and cocoa powder
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Add greek yogurt, pasteurized egg whites and brewed coffee (cold is fine)
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Seal jar tightly and shake vigorously or stir until ingredients are mixed
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Refrigerate overnight (or at least 2 to 3 hours) so oats have time to soften, absorb liquid and everything gels into a creamy consistency like pudding
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Serve chilled (heating optional)
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Optional: top with fresh fruit (strawberries, banana etc.)
Nutrition
Tom Venuto has been a trusted natural bodybuilding and fat loss expert since 1989. He is also a recipe creator specializing in fat-burning, muscle-building cooking. Tom is a former competitive bodybuilder and today works as a full-time fitness coach, writer, blogger, and author. In his spare time, he is an avid outdoor enthusiast and backpacker. His book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and now as a hardcover and audiobook. The Body Fat Solution, Tom’s book about emotional eating and long-term weight maintenance, was an Oprah Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine pick. Tom is also the founder of Burn The Fat Inner Circle – a fitness support community with over 52,000 members worldwide since 2006. Click here for membership details
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