Easy Vegan Breakfasts: Recipe | Cocoa Nib & Pomegranate Overnight Oats

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 serving

For a long time, I didn’t know that pomegranates were edible. I thought they were for decoration. My mom used to have a jar filled with little dried pomegranates underneath the coffee table in the living room and when I was little, I liked to empty them out onto the carpet and shake them to hear the seeds inside. Many years later, when I was in college, a friend of mine mentioned eating pomegranates.

“Wait, what?! You can eat those?!”

I wasn’t completely convinced.

Eventually I tried pomegranates for myself and I came to love them, even though they’re a complete pain to prepare. My husband doesn’t think it’s worth the effort, but I do–I get excited about pomegranate season and I always feel bummed when it’s over and I know I’m going to have to wait until next fall to have them again.

With pomegranates in season now, I thought I’d try adding them to my overnight oats for breakfast. Lately when I make overnight oats, I’ve been using an equal amount of fruit and oats. It helps me feel like I’ve eaten more–because let’s face it, 1/2 cup of oats is nothing. Nothing! So I added 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds to the oats and almond milk.

And then I added chocolate. My first attempt at chocolate overnight oats was kind of icky–I realized that I don’t like cocoa powder in my oats. It’s a little too much first thing in the morning. So instead, I used cocoa nibs. They give the oats a chocolatey flavor without adding too much chocolatey flavor.

Like any overnight oatmeal recipe, there’s a lot of room for adaptation. Use your favorite kind of milk! Add chia seeds or chopped nuts instead of flax meal! Put in protein powder if you insist! Whatever. It’s all good and it’s pretty much impossible to mess up.