Name: Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 245 min
Ingredients: 1/2 c rolled oats (regular or gluten free); 1/4 c lemon yogurt; 1/3 c milk of choice (reg or dairy free, plus a bit more in the morning if seems thick); 1 tsp poppy seeds; 1 tsp fresh lemon zest; 1-2 tsp maple syrup or honey; Dash of sea salt

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If you love overnight oats, these Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats may just be your new favorite! Only 5 minutes to prep and ready when you wake up! A refreshing burst of lemon and the crunch of poppy seeds will get you ready for your day!

Lemon poppy seed overnight oats in glass jar with lemon zest and poppy seeds on top.

Why You Will Love These Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats:
Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions:
How To Make Them:
Optional Add-Ins:
Recipe Notes:
Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats Recipe

This recipe was originally published May 2018. Photos and copy were updates June 2020.

We all know I love all things lemon, but lemon poppy seed may be the only thing that can one up my other fave combo: lemon and blueberry. (Try the

lemon blueberry oats and dump cake!)

When I was in high school, I worked at a coffee shop. A local baker made lemon poppy seed bread with this sugary glaze on top and it was the most popular baked good on our menu. The best part? We didn’t sell the end pieces to customers so that is what all of the staff got to munch on for free. It was so dreamy!

Overnight oatmeal is the EASIEST breakfast to prep in advance and then have breakfast literally at your finger tips right when you wake up and these lemon poppy seed overnight oats are going to be your new favorite!

All you need is 5 minutes and you can have several servings whipped up for the week! Also try these protein overnight oats, carrot cake oats, coconut cream pie overnight oatmeal and chocolate oats for other fun flavors!

Why You Will Love These Lemon Poppy Seed Overnight Oats:

They can be made in just 5 minutes. That is seriously all you need. 5 minutes will allow you to make breakfast that will literally be waiting for you when you wake up in the morning!
Easy to customize. Make them gluten free, dairy free or if you have another dietary need, you should be able to easily adjust. You can also add in some goodies like white chocolate chips, a spoonful of cream cheese, protein powder and more!
So delicious and refreshing. Who doesn’t love the fresh lemon poppy seed flavor? This is a muffin favorite turned ready to go, hearty oatmeal breakfast!
Perfect for meal prepping! The best part of any overnight oatmeal recipe, is that they are ready when you wake up! If you love meal prepping on Sundays, whipping up 3-5 jars of this oatmeal can have you ready for the busy week.

Overhead view of glass jar with lemon oatmeal topped with poppy seeds.

Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions:

oats: rolled oats, or old fashioned oats are the best kind to use when making these lemon poppy seed overnight oats. Some people like steel cut oats in their overnight oats. I am not a fan–I stick with rolled oats. For gluten free, just make sure your oats say “certified gluten free.”
lemon yogurt: I don’t typically add yogurt to my overnight oats, but lemon yogurt makes this recipe extra creamy. If you can’t find lemon yogurt, you can just stir a bit of lemon juice into vanilla yogurt or right into the oats! Greek yogurt is another option I love, but this recipe for sure the lemon is the best!
milk: any milk you like will work best. I love whole milk to get some extra protein, but have used nondairy milks like almond milk as well and still love it.
sweetener: maple syrup is the preferred sweetener in our house for overnight oatmeal. Adjust to your own liking and use another sweetener that you enjoy if desired. Honey is great as well. You can also wait until ready to serve these oats to sweeten so you can get it to your taste. If your lemon yogurt is already sweetened you may not need much.
lemon zest: this is necessary for the refreshing lemon flavor. Fresh lemon zest will add what lemon juice just cannot. You could also add a touch of lemon extract for more lemon flavor, but the zest is what you really need!
poppy seeds: these add a subtle nuttiness and crunch to the oats. The recipe is still amazing without them, but definitely no longer “lemon poppy seed” flavored.

How To Make Them:

Literally all you have to do is stir everything up and chill in oder to make these lemon poppy seed oats–nothing to it!

Add all ingredients into a bowl or jar–really anything that you can seal and chill.
Stir it all up!
Chill for at least 4 hours and then enjoy!

Optional Add-Ins:

These lemon poppy seed oats are perfect the way they are, but there are some other ingredients you can add to give them a bit more protein, flavor or fun! Try any of the following:

chia seeds
protein powder
ground flax
white chocolate chips
shredded coconut
a touch of lemon extract (go light to start!)
a spoonful of cream cheese (for a cheesecake like tang!)
a little icing glaze over top (whisk together powdered sugar and cream or milk to desired consistency)

Ingredients to make oatmeal recipe in jar.

Recipe Notes:

Eat these oats hot or cold! You can eat your lemon overnight oats chilled or warmed up. I typically prefer mine heated, but this version I enjoy cold from the fridge.
These lemon poppy seed oats can be stored up to 5 days. Chilled and covered, these oats will keep for about 5 days. You may need to add an extra splash of milk in the morning before serving if they become too thick, or too much of the milk has been absorbed.
Add more lemon flavor if you want! You can add a splash of lemon juice. I went with just the zest and lemon yogurt, but if you love lemon, the more the merrier!

White ceramic spoon scooping into oatmeal.

Other Overnight Oats Recipes:

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