The Best Cinnamon Rolls Overnight Oats Recipe
This cinnamon roll overnight oats recipe (aka cinnamon bun overnight oats) creates overnight oats that taste exactly like the real deal – you get all those amazing bakery flavors without any of the work.
Creamy oats get loaded with warm cinnamon spice and pure maple syrup, then topped with a delicious cream cheese swirl that’ll make you forget you’re not eating an actual cinnamon roll.
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The best part? You literally just toss a few simple ingredients into a mason jar, jam jar, or teacup the night before, and wake up to what feels like dessert.
And you can make it even more indulgent by adding chopped pecans, walnuts, or chocolate chips. This quick and easy cinnamon roll overnight oats recipe is perfect for busy weekday mornings when you want a lovely breakfast with minimal effort.
These cinnamon overnight oats are absolutely incredible – they literally taste like you’re eating a cinnamon bun for breakfast! Here’s the cool part: you can make the cinnamon frosting two ways, depending on what you have in your fridge.
Option one: mix cream cheese with yogurt for a classic, creamy frosting taste. Option two – mix cottage cheese and cream cheese together for a higher-protein version. Both ways are amazing, but I recommend the cottage cheese version.
I know, cottage cheese sounds weird, but it gives these oats this slightly tangy flavor that’s like sourdough cinnamon rolls – you know that amazing tangy-sweet combo? It makes these overnight oats ridiculously good, and you get way more protein to keep you full all morning!
If you made this cinnamon roll overnight oats recipe, I would love it if you gave me a star rating ❤️ It would mean a lot to me 🥰
Why You’ll Love These Cinnamon Rolls Overnight Oats:
- Tastes like a cinnamon roll – all those yummy bakery flavors in a jar
- Easy meal-prep in mason jars or jam jars at the beginning of the week
- Budget-friendly – no expensive ingredients
- Use gluten-free oats and dairy-free milk to make it gluten-free and vegan.
- Customize with chopped pecans, walnuts, chopped apples,….
- Perfect for busy mornings – just grab and go
- High protein overnight oats option – use cottage cheese and/or add protein powder
Ingredients for Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats
There are three layers – the cinnamon oats base, the creamy frosting, and the final cinnamon sugar swirl. Don’t get overwhelmed by the ingredient photos. It really is simple to make. And you only need a mason jar or a jam jar and another small bowl or cup to make these delicious cinnamon bun overnight oats.
Base Ingredients:
- Oats – Old-fashioned rolled oats, aka rolled oats
- Milk – dairy milk, oat, almond, soy, cashew, rice milk – any plant-based milk will
- Chia seeds – optional, but they make the overnight oats creamier
- Maple syrup – pure maple syrup is best, but you can use imitation, date syrup, or brown sugar
- Vanilla extract – you can use imitation, but the pure stuff tastes better
- Cinnamon – the essential ingredient in Cinnamon rolls 😉
- Pinch of salt – balances the sweetness
Ingredients for the Overnight Oats Cinnamon Roll Sugar Swirl:
- Brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar. I like dark brown, because it has that deep molasses flavor, but light brown is very nice as well.
- Cinnamon – essential
- Chopped pecans or walnuts (optional), or honey-roasted pecans or maple roasted nuts
- Chopped dates or raisins (optional) – if you like your cinnamon buns with dried fruit 🙂
Ingredients for the “Cream Cheese Frosting”:
- Cottage cheese – the “secret ingredient” in this cinnamon roll overnight oats recipe. Cottage cheese gives you that nice tangy flavor that’s like sourdough cinnamon buns. It blends beautifully with the cream cheese and cinnamon to make a delicious frosting for your cinnamon overnight oats. And cottage cheese gives you that nice protein boost.
- or Greek yogurt – or plain yogurt; full-fat works best, but you can also use low-fat. Use Greek yogurt if you don’t have any cottage cheese.
- Cream cheese – softened, for that cinnamon bun flavor
- Maple syrup, brown sugar, or honey to sweeten the frosting. I prefer maple syrup, as you get that lovely maple-y flavor, but brown sugar, honey, rice malt syrup, etc also work well.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract is best, but you can use imitation. You can even leave it out if you like, but vanilla adds to the flavor, so you need less sugar I find.
Optional Add-Ins
- Chopped or grated apple for that apple cinnamon flavor
- Raisins
- Chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds
- Honey-roasted pecans or walnuts, or maple nuts
- Chocolate chips or chunks
- Nut butter for extra protein
- Protein powder – well, for even more protein 😂
Instructions to make Cinnamon Bun Overnight Oats
Make the creamy frosting:
- Add cottage cheese (or yogurt), cream cheese, vanilla, and maple syrup directly into the mason jar or jam jar you are using for your overnight oats.
- Mix the ingredients until smooth. Then transfer the “frosting” to another small bowl. You will be adding them to the top of your cinnamon overnight oats.
Make the cinnamon overnight oats base:
- Add rolled oats, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, cinnamon, and chia seeds (if using) to the now-empty jar.
- Stir or shake the ingredients until well combined.
Note: The chia seeds are totally optional. They do make the overnight oats creamier and more like a pudding (dessert 😂). But they are totally optional. You can see from the photos how different they look.
Make the cinnamon sugar swirl:
- In a small bowl or cup, add cinnamon and brown sugar.
- Give it a good little mix and then add chopped nuts, raisins, or dates, and give it another little stir.
Assemble the cinnamon roll overnight oats:
- Top the oat mixture in the mason jar/jam jar with the creamy frosting.
- Refrigerate overnight or for at least 3-4 hours.
- The next morning, top with the cinnamon sugar swirl and nuts.
- Add extra cinnamon, maple syrup, chopped apples, maple-roasted nuts, or chocolate chips for an extra layer of flavor and texture.
Note: If you are using nuts, it’s best to add them right before eating, so they retain their crunch. So don’t add the cinnamon sugar swirl with nuts until the next morning. But if you are not using nuts, you can top with the cinnamon sugar topping before you put the overnight oats in the fridge.
Tips & Variations
- Add nut butter or protein powder to boost protein content even more. If you add protein powder, be sure to add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of milk to your oats, otherwise, they might be too dry.
- It’s best to add the nuts right before eating so they keep their crunch.
- Add a sprinkle of pumpkin spice for a slight twist on the traditional cinnamon bun flavor. Perfect for the Fall and Christmas time 😀
Growing up, my Latvian grandmother always had cottage cheese in her fridge. And I still love to incorporate it in my cooking. You might enjoy these recipes with cottage cheese:
- Cottage cheese blueberry muffins that are naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup and topped with cottage cheese frosting.
- Banana cottage cheese muffins – moist and sweet.
- Avocado cottage cheese dip – perfect veggie dip or spreading on a sandwich instead of butter.
- Cottage cheese avocado toast – cottage cheese on toast is a Baltic cuisine staple 😀
Serving suggestions
Traditionally, overnight oats are often served in mason jars or jam jars. That works really well. It’s perfect for storage and an easy grab-and-go breakfast.
But overnight oats cinnamon roll look beautiful served in a teacup. If you have some lovely teacups that you’re not quite sure what to do with, try serving your overnight oats in them. They look so pretty – and the cool part is that you can put some fresh strawberries, blueberries, bananas, or chopped nuts in the saucer.
Looking for other breakfast ideas with oats? Try these oat filled recipes:
- Super easy Maple overnight oats
- Delicious Nutella overnight oats
- Overnight oats with raspberries and cacao powder
- Chocolate chip oatmeal cookies made without brown sugar – ok, possibly not a breakfast item, but they are delicious and they do have oats 😂 And you could have one for morning tea – and that’s close enough to breakfast in my book…
Maple Overnight Oats FAQ
Storage
- These cinnamon rolls overnight oats will keep refrigerated for up to 3 or 4 days and actually improve in flavor overnight.
- Add nuts right before you eat them, so they say crispy.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. I love using the Bonne Maman jam jars as they have a wide opening and I can eat directly from the pot 😉
- I have not tried freezing them.
So hopefully I have convinced you to try this cinnamon bun overnight oats recipe. Really – you know that feeling when you stop for coffee and grab a cinnamon roll, and it’s this perfect little morning or afternoon pick-me-up?
You can have that same café experience right at home – except it’s fresher, way more delicious, costs a fraction of the price, and it’s already waiting for you in your fridge when you wake up. And it’s full of protein.
I really hope you love these Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats!
If you do, I would really love it if you could leave a star rating and comment in the comments section below or from the recipe card. 🥰
Cinnamon Roll Overnight Oats Recipe Card
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Cinnamon Rolls Overnight Oats Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Mason jar or Jam jar or glass container or tea cup
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 measuring spoon
Ingredients
Overnight oats base:
- 1/2 cup Old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon Milk dairy milk, oat milk, almond milk, or any plant-based milk
- 1 tbsp Chia seeds (optional – see note 1) Add 2 tablespoons extra milk if using chia seeds
- 2 tsp Maple syrup Pure maple syrup tastes best but you can use imitation. Or use 1 tablespoon brown sugar.
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract pure vanilla extract is best
- 3/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
- pinch Salt
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl:
- 1 tsp Brown sugar light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tbsp Pecans or walnuts optional, plain or honey roasted, chopped.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 3 tbsp Cottage cheese or Greek yogurt or plain yogurt, unsweetened. See note 2
- 1 1/2 tbsp Cream cheese softened
- 1 tbsp Maple syrup or 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the Overnight Oats base:
- Put oats, cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla extract and milk in a mason jar jam jar or glass container.
- If using a mason jar or jam jar, simply cover the jar tightly and give it a good shake, so that all the ingredients are well mixed. If you don’t have a top, just stir well with a fork or spoon.
To make the cinnamon swirl:
- Place the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a separate small cup or bowl.
- Mix well and make sure there are no clumps.
To make the cream cheese “frosting”:
- Place cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla, and maple syrup in a small bowl or cup and mix with a fork until smooth.
To assemble the cinnamon rolls overnight oats:
- Place oats mixture in a mason jar, jam jar or teacup.
- Gently place the 'frosting" in the jar or teacup, holding the overnight oats mixture.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon swirl sugar over the top.
- With a knife or spoon, gently give a small swirl. Don't over mix, as you won't have a "swirl" and all the ingredients will mix together. It will still taste amazing, but texture-wise, it's best not to overly mix so that you can see and taste the ingredients separately.
