Chocolate Protein Overnight Oats

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Chocolate protein overnight oats are an indulgent treat that just happen to also be a nutritious and filling breakfast! They are loaded with protein from protein powder, milk, and Greek yogurt to help you start your day feeling satisfied.

bowl of chocolate oatmeal with fruit garnish.

Eating a protein-rich breakfast has so many benefits, including keeping us feeling full and satisfied until lunch! But, do you ever finding yourself feeling bored of eggs again, or, maybe you don't even have time to make breakfast in the morning?

If you can relate to either of those, then I think this recipe for chocolate protein overnight oats could really help you out. Plus - chocolate for breakfast!! (Maybe that is really the most important part!)

These overnight oats are so easy to prep the night before, and, they are very rich in protein from milk, Greek yogurt, and protein powder. Plus, the Greek yogurt, along with some chia seeds, give the overnight oats a rich and creamy texture that reminds me a little bit of chocolate pudding.

The rich chocolate flavor comes from cocoa powder and chocolate protein powder. But, if you don't have chocolate flavored protein powder, don't worry. I will explain how you can modify the recipe to work with almost any protein powder.

No time to cook breakfast?

Check out these other make-ahead breakfast recipes: oatmeal raisin bars, apricot balls, banana chia overnight oats, and cinnamon muffins.

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Recipe ingredients
Step by step photos
Substituting plain protein powder
Tips and tricks
A note on sweetness
Recipe FAQs
Related recipes
📖 Recipe

Recipe ingredients

ingredients for chocolate protein overnight oats with text labels.

Ingredient notes

Greek yogurt: you will need plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt.
Protein powder: this is a great time to use chocolate-flavored protein powder. My favorite is this Grass-Fed Chocolate Whey Protein Isolate (affiliate link). However, if you don't have chocolate protein powder, you can use unflavored protein powder, or another complementary flavor like vanilla, coffee, or peanut butter.
Milk: you can use any type of milk you prefer. If you want to add even more protein, try using ultra-filtered milk.

Step by step photos

Here's how to make the chocolate protein overnight oats, step by step:

dry ingredients for chocolate overnight oats in mug.

Step 1: Add all the dry ingredients into a jar or container. Stir to combine.

milk being poured into dry ingredients for chocolate protein overnight oats.

Step 2: Add the wet ingredients to the dry.

spoon stirring chocolate protein overnight oats before soaking.

Step 3: Stir everything together, being sure to stir in any pockets of protein powder or chia stuck in the corners.

overnight oats being stirred with spoon after soaking overnight.

Step 4: Cover the container and refrigerate overnight. When ready to enjoy, stir the oats again, and garnish with toppings if desired.

Substituting plain protein powder

If you don't have chocolate protein powder, you can easily substitute plain, unsweetened protein powder.
Just increase the amount of cocoa powder in the recipe from 2 teaspoons to 2 + ½ teaspoons.
And, because the plain protein powder isn't sweetened like the chocolate version (and because cocoa powder can be bitter if it's not paired with enough sweetness), I recommend adding an extra 1 - 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.

Tips and tricks

If you want to make a double or triple batch of the overnight oats, it will be easier to mix up one big batch in a large bowl, instead of making each jar individually. Try the "scale" button in the recipe card to automatically double or triple the ingredient amounts. If desired, you can then scoop the oats into individual containers before refrigerating.

When mixing up the oats, be sure that the chia seeds and protein powder are all mixed into the liquid before placing the overnight oats in the fridge. If you don't mix these in thoroughly in the beginning, it will be very hard to incorporate them after soaking.

The oats need to soak for a minimum of 6 hours, or up to 24 hours. In my opinion, the oats taste better with the longer soak. The oats can still be enjoyed for an additional 2 - 3 days after the initial 24 hours, but will become soggier the longer they sit in the fridge.

Craving even more chocolate flavor?

For a more intense chocolate flavor, you can increase the cocoa powder by an additional ½ teaspoon. (So, if using chocolate protein powder, you would add 2 ½ teaspoons, and for plain, you would add 3 teaspoons.)

However, with the more you add, the more the bitter notes from the cocoa powder will come through. If you want to add more cocoa powder, you may also want to add more maple syrup to balance the flavors.

A note on sweetness

This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. However, different flavored protein powders can have varying levels of sweetness. Therefore, you may need to adjust how much maple syrup you add to reach your desired level of sweetness.

If you're not sure how much syrup to add, I would start with 1 ½ tablespoons. Then, taste the oatmeal after it's soaked. If it's not sweet enough, you can add more at that point.

I don't recommend leaving out the maple syrup entirely, because again, cocoa powder can be bitter otherwise (has anyone else eaten unsweetened baking chocolate by mistake and thought immediately "what have I done?!").

Recipe FAQs

What kind of protein powder should I use?

Chocolate protein powder is great to use for this recipe, if you have it on hand. I prefer this Grass-Fed Chocolate Whey Protein Isolate (affiliate link). It has only 5 simple ingredients which I really appreciate.

If you don't have chocolate protein powder, any type of flavored protein powder will work that you think will go with chocolate. Vanilla would be delicious, or even coffee flavored protein powder!

If you don't have a flavored protein powder, you can easily substitute a plain, unsweetened protein powder. Again, I really enjoy this unsweetened, plain Grass-Fed Whey Protein Isolate (affiliate link).

Do I need to use protein powder?

If you don't want to use protein powder, you can still make this chocolate overnight oats recipe without it. The texture of the oats may be slightly less thick, but should still taste delicious. Even without the protein powder, the recipe still has a lot of protein from the milk and Greek yogurt. If you want to increase the protein more without using protein powder, look for ultra-filtered milk at the store! It has about 60% more protein than regular milk.

Do I have to add any maple syrup?

Since we are using cocoa powder, I don't recommend leaving out the maple syrup all together. Without any sweetness, the cocoa powder can make the oats taste a little bitter. However, you can add granulated sugar or agave syrup to taste instead, if you don't have maple syrup.

If you're looking to reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe, you can start with a smaller amount of maple syrup (or other sweetener), and add more during serving as needed. Or, you could experiment with using a sugar substitute, such as Splenda.

bowl of chocolate oatmeal with spoon chopped chocolate and fruit garnish.

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