I Thought I Hated Oatmeal—Until I Tried Key Lime Pie–Inspired Overnight Oats

It may be a bit of a hot take, but I hate oatmeal. I know my opinion isn’t shared by most people. Oatmeal is my husband’s go-to morning meal. When we go camping with friends, they always have jars of overnight oats in their cooler.

And I know oatmeal is good for you—it’s rich in fiber, which can help lower your LDL cholesterol, help your digestion move along more efficiently, support healthy weight management and more. Since my health care provider would like to see my LDL drop, I probably should add it to my breakfast rotation. But I’ve been resisting. Until I took a bite of Key Lime Pie–Inspired Overnight Oats.

For a few months, I had been stirring up jars of overnight oats for our 12-year-old daughter, Lila. No matter how early she woke up, she never managed to have time to sit down and actually eat breakfast, so she’d grab something on the way out the door to eat on our seven-minute drive to school. So overnight oats were a great option. They weren’t too messy to eat in the car; plus, they provided good morning sustenance for our multisport athlete. 

Wanting to change up her favorite combo of peanut butter and raspberries (peanut butter always added the night before but raspberries stirred in just before eating, duh Mom), I decided to make a batch of Key Lime Pie–Inspired Overnight Oats. Our family adores Key lime pie—we always order it if it’s on the dessert menu, and I often make it when friends are coming over for dinner. I knew my family would love the recipe. 

I stirred up the oats, milk, chia seeds, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest, salt and vanilla and divided the mixture among the jars. Then I combined some Key lime yogurt and lime juice, spooned it on top of the oat mixture and popped the jars into the fridge. I was feeling lazy so I skipped making the graham cracker crumble, deciding that I’d just sprinkle each serving with some crumbs before eating instead.

The next morning, Lila grabbed the jar I had at the ready to eat in the car. “Wow, Mom, these taste just like Key lime pie!” she told me as she dug in for another bite. Since the car ride to school is short, she didn’t finish the whole jar, so it sat next to me in the cup holder on the way home. When I ran into my husband in the kitchen, he said, “You can make those again.” But he declined her leftovers since he had already enjoyed a serving for breakfast that morning. 

I looked at what was left in the jar. I hated to compost what she didn’t eat, but there also wasn’t enough to save. Knowing these dessert-inspired overnight oats have taken the internet by storm, I decided to find out what all of the hubbub was about and took a tentative bite. Huh. Pretty good. They didn’t have that indescribable sticky texture that cooked oats have, which I’m guessing is why I don’t like oatmeal. I finished the few spoonfuls that were left and looked at our overnight oat recipes to decide which ones to make next. Maybe I’ll even eat them next time, too.