I have a new favorite breakfast: Instant Oatmeal Jars.
It’s fast.
It’s easy.
It tastes great.
It saves me money.
I can have absolutely any combination of flavors I want. These breakfast oatmeal jars are amazing! While I found the basic idea on Pinterest, it took some testing before I found the flavors I really liked. But finally, after a long process of testing, I have some amazing combinations for you! Plus, I’ve calculated the calories for all of them for you. Yes, really. This is a fairly long post, so bear with me. It’s all good information!
I’ve also included a free printable of all the flavor combinations (including the calorie counts). Because I’m just nice like that. (haha). For the printable, all of the files are in pdf below. Or click on the image. It will open in a new window and you can either print directly or save to computer.
***Update- If you find the post below interesting, you might be interested in “Fall Oatmeal Jars: Easy, Cheap, Pick Your Favorite.” That post includes some new FABULOUS flavors (in fact, I like them better than the ones below). In addition, it includes a printable version of all the recipes along with a blank printable for writing your own!
Storing Options:
• In mason jars, make sure you use pint; you’ll need the extra space as the oats swell up. This is the option I use because I can cook them right in the jar and don’t have to mess with little baggies.
• You can store in little snack-size plastic baggies. Then pour into a bowl in the morning and follow cooking instructions.
Cooking Instructions:
• Preferred method: add between 2/3 cup and 1 cup of water or milk. Heat in microwave 2 minutes, stirring halfway through.
• Boil between 2/3 & 1 cup of water (depending upon how much fruit in jars). Stir into oatmeal jars, mixing well. Allow to sit (covered) 5-10 minutes until oats cooked.
Oats Options:
- Quaker Old Fashioned Oats- this is what I recommend. They taste great, they work well with the “process,” and they’re cheap.
- Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats (ones that cook in 5 min., no long cooking ones!)- they cook the same as the quaker, but I thought the taste was horrible! But if you’re looking for a more natural option, try this out.
Sweetener options:
- Splenda- benefit of zero calories, but some people don’t like the artificial ingredients. Many of the recipes below use it.
- Brown sugar, use 1 & 1/2 tsp. in place of Splenda below & add 25 calories per recipe.
- Maple sugar- runs approx. $20 a pound, and can only find on Amazon. If you want to invest the money, feel free. I did not.
Fruits & Nuts
- Freeze-dried fruit: this is the best option, but they can be hard to find and are fairly expensive compared to other fruit. I had to go to Trader Joe’s to find them. To balance out the price, maybe one in five of breakfast includes freeze-dried fruit.
- Dried fruit- any and all. Mix and match to find what you like.
- Nuts- any and all. Mix and match to find what you like.
Flavoring notes:
- Powdered vanilla is a good one. But it is much too expensive. If you want to invest, feel free. I’ve heard good reviews. But part of my site is saving money. So instead, I tried out two other option: vanilla protein powder and dried instant vanilla pudding powder. The pudding powder works all right, but the protein powder was better. In fact, it was great! I used the Muscle Milk vanilla. If you don’t want to use protein powder, substitute 10 grams of pudding powder.
- PB2- dried peanut butter. Sounds weird, but tastes all right.
- Spices (recipes for homemade apple pie spice & pumpkin pie spice at bottom of post)
- Extracts- if you don’t mind the extra step of adding a little bit of extract with water, this is a great idea. Vanilla is great, especially if you have good quality vanilla.
My two FAVORITE flavorings are pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice. I have posts for both of them on how to mix your own homemade (trust me, much better than store-bought mix).
2 Weeks Worth of Breakfast!
Blueberry Cream Protein (240 calories)
- 150 cal. oats (1/2 C.)
- 70 cal. dried blueberries (20 grams)
- 20 cal.: 2 tsp. protein powder (9.375 calories = 1 tsp. Muscle Milk, vanilla creme)
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
Apple Pie Spice (210 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 1 tsp. splenda
- 60 cal. dried apples, cut into smaller chunks (20 grams)
- 3/4 tsp. apple pie spice
Pecan Pumpkin Pie (250 calories)
- 150 cal. oat
- 1 tsp splenda
- 100 cal. pecans, chopped (15 grams)
- 3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Cinnamon raisin (215 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 65 cal. raisins
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
Maple & Brown Sugar (240 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar (90 calories…can use less)
- 1/2 tsp. maple extract (add immediately before adding water)
Apple Cinnamon (or Apple Cinnamon Maple) (210 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 60 cal. dried apples, cut into smaller chunks (20 grams)
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
- add dash of maple extract if you wish
Strawberry Banana (200 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 50 cal. freeze-dried strawberries & bananas
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
○ Strawberry/Blueberry/Raspberry Vanilla Protein (203 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 33 cal.: 1/3 C. freeze dried strawberries (or blueberries or raspberries)
- 20 cal.: 2 tsp. protein powder (9.375 calories = 1 tsp. Muscle Milk, vanilla creme)
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
Triple Berry (183 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 33 cal.: 1/3 C. freeze dried berries (strawberry, blueberry, etc.)
- 1 tsp. Splenda
Blueberry Almond (249 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 70 cal. dried blueberries (20 grams)
- 29 cal. slivered almonds (5 grams)
- 1 tsp. Splenda
Apple Cranberry (240.5 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 32.5 cal. (10 grams) cranberries
- 60 cal. dried apples, cut into smaller chunks (20 grams)
- 1 tsp. Splenda
Blueberry/Raspberry Walnut (235 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 20 cal. freeze-dried blueberries(5 grams)
- 65 cal. walnuts (10 grams)
- 1/2 tsp. Splenda
Maple Cinnamon (150 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 1/2 tsp. maple extract (add right before adding water)
- 1/2 tsp. splenda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Peanut Butter Banana (223 calories)
- 150 cal. oats
- 50 cal.: 1/3 c. freeze dried bananas
- 23 cal.: 1 Tbsp. PB2 (powdered peanut butter)
As I said, I tested quite a few. However, there was one I didn’t like and a few that I didn’t try (because I’m not a fan of the ingredient in general). But this is a personal preference- you might love them!
- Raspberry & Milk Chocolate (I found it bitter): 150 cal. oats, 33 calories: 1/3 C. freeze dried raspberries, 70 cal.: 1 Tbsp. chocolate chips
- Peaches & cream: 1/4 cup freeze dried peaches, pinch of powdered vanilla, and sweetener of choice
- Monkey mix: 150 cal. oats, 1/4 cup freeze dried banana chips, 1 Tbsp. coconut flakes, 1 Tbsp. dark chocolate chips.
- Pineapple coconut
- Cocoa banana- 150 cal. oats, 1/4 cup chopped freeze-dried bananas , 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- Cranberry orange pecan- 150 cal. oats, 2 Tbsp. dried cranberries, 1 tsp. dried orange peel bits, 1 Tbsp. chopped pecans.
- Cherry almond- 150 cal. oats, 2 Tbsp. dried cherries, 1 Tbsp. slivered almonds.
As I said, I found the basic concept on Pinterest. The two following sites have some additional recipe combinations, and make them a bit differently. If you’re looking for more options/info, I suggest checking them out!
“Clean Food Crush” : Instant Oatmeal Jars
“The Yummy Life”: Healthy Instant Oatmeal Packets
Printable PDF of all recipes: Breakfast Oatmeal Combos_pdf
Great post! Very thorough. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I tried to be thorough…but there are so many options! Let me know if you find some new combinations that work well.