Author Notes
We met tahini and chocolate in cookies years ago. These overnight oats are like that, just breakfast-fied—and much, much quicker to make. Assemble the night before a busy morning, then grab and go as you're scurrying out the door. —Emma Laperruque
Test Kitchen Notes
There really is nothing more convenient than a solid, soul-warming overnight oats recipe, and this one will soon become a go-to. Featuring milk, chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a secret ingredient—okay, fine, it's tahini—these oats hit that delightful balance of savory and sweet. Just keep an eye out for the texture, as you don't want the mixture to get too thick before it soaks. If you don't feel like chopping the chocolate into chunks, you can use bittersweet chips or nibs. Taste as you go, and adjust the ratios to your own liking for that perfect recipe. And you can also pop the oats in the microwave for a few seconds in the morning to take the chill off, which is especially nice if it's cold outside. You'll love how easy it is to grab-and-go a homemade breakfast when you're trying to get yourself and everyone in your household out of the door.
As for toppings and beyond, the possibilities are pretty much endless. Emma, who developed this recipe, has a few suggestions for you: "In the morning, if you want to treat your overnight oats to a quickie garnish, sprinkle on top: any fresh fruit that wouldn’t have wanted to soak (think blackberries, raspberries, strawberries), chopped nuts, or granola (oats on oats!)."
Need some more concrete ideas? A few pairing suggestions:
Almond milk + almond butter + strawberry jam, with freeze-dried strawberries on top.
Soy milk + pumpkin butter + toasted pecans + crumbled graham crackers.
Coffee-milk + chocolate syrup + toasted hazelnuts on top. —The Editors
Watch This Recipe
Tahini-Chocolate Chunk Overnight Oats
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Prep time
5 minutes
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Serves
1
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
rolled oats
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1/2 cup
whole milk or soy milk, plus more as needed
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1
big spoonful well-stirred tahini
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2 tablespoons
chocolate chunks, preferably bittersweet
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1 teaspoon
(or more) maple syrup
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1/4 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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1 pinch
(or more) kosher salt
Directions
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In a bowl or jar, stir the oats, milk, tahini, chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add more milk to reach the desired thickness (keeping in mind that it will get thicker as it “sleeps”!). Taste and adjust the maple syrup and salt accordingly. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Stick in the fridge and let soak for 8 to 12 hours.
Emma is the food editor at Food52. Before this, she worked a lot of odd jobs, all at the same time. Think: stir-frying noodles on the fly, baking dozens of pastries at 3 a.m., and writing about the history of pie in North Carolina. Now she lives in New Jersey with her husband and their cat, Butter. Stay tuned every Tuesday for Emma's award-winning column, Big Little Recipes (also the cookbook in November 2021!). And see what she's up to on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.
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