Date Nut Overnight Oats

Recipe by The View From the Great Island

Date Nut Overnight Oats is the best way to jump start a frosty morning — the oats soak to the perfect creamy texture while you sleep, and chopped dates, walnuts, and brown sugar add just the right amount of decadence, am style. A beautiful hot bowl of oatmeal is one of the perks of winter, and it’s as seasonal right now in February as a ripe peach is in August. I’m eating as much of it as I can get lately, because before we know it spring will have sprung and delicious healthy oats will be shoved to the back of the cupboard. If you follow this easy (life-changing) overnight method, you won’t have to lift a finger in the morning to get it ready. This overnight method is particularly great for steel cut oats, the healthiest, least processed type of oat. There are basically three types of oats you’ll find at your supermarket, here’s the lowdown if you’re confused — STEEL CUT (aka pinhead, on the left) are the whole oat groats (groats are the whole grain) that have been chopped into a few pieces. This is the most traditional form of oats for oatmeal. They take the longest …

Servings

serves 3-4

Total time

0 minutes

Courses

Breakfast

Ingredients

1 cup steel cut oats
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste (optional)
brown sugar
walnuts (chopped)
pitted dates (chopped)
milk or half and half

Method

Bring 3 1/2 cups water and a pinch of salt to a boil in a pot. Stir in the oats. Turn OFF the heat, and cover the pan. Let the pan sit on the stove overnight.
In the morning, simply reheat the oatmeal and ladle into bowls. Top with a little brown sugar, and the chopped dates and walnuts. Add cream, milk, or half and half as you like.