This simple recipe for zoats – or healthy overnight oats with zucchini (courgette), lemon and blueberries – makes a delicious and healthy summer breakfast.
I love overnight oats, or bircher muesli, for breakfast in summer. All you need to do is soak the ingredients in milk overnight and you have a ready made breakfast waiting for you in the morning. Over winter we’ve been eating porridge most days (when I say we, I mean the grown ups and Little S – my two big kids won’t touch it unfortunately) but now the days are getting warmer we’ve switched back to overnight oats.
As I’m always looking for recipes that up our vegetable intake – seeing as we’re meant to eat 10 a day – I decided to play around with a courgette overnight oats recipe and the result is this – courgette (or zucchini), lemon and blueberry overnight oats, aka zoats. It’s absolutely delicious so please give it a try!
Once you have your overnight oats base you can add whatever toppings you like, such as extra fruit, nuts and seeds. I like a spoonful of nut butter or you can make it sweeter with some honey or maple syrup. This recipe is suitable for vegetarians and if you use a plant-based milk for vegans as well. I used oat milk but it’s also delicious with almond milk.
We usually enjoy our overnight oats cold straight from the fridge but if you prefer you can warm it up a little.
If you like this why not try this carrot cake bircher muesli or this hazelnut and chocolate overnight oats.
Here’s how to make zoats – healthy overnight oats with courgette, lemon and blueberry:
Healthy overnight oats with courgette (zucchini), lemon and blueberry
Ingredients
- 150 g oats
- 1 grated courgette peeled if preferred
- zest and juice of a lemon
- 100 g blueberries
- 40 g chopped almonds
- 1 tbsp flaxseeds optional
- 400 ml milk I used oat milk
Instructions
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Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
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Pour over the milk and stir.
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Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
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Serve with more fresh fruit and nuts or seeds if liked. A spoonful of nut butter stirred through is also delicious.
Pin healthy overnight oats with courgette, lemon and blueberry for later:
I’m adding this to this week’s CookBlogShare linky hosted by Recipes Made Easy.
What a creative overnight oats recipe idea! Love the courgette with lemon and blueberries, must be so delicious! I much prefer raw caurgette to cooked. Stumbled:)
Thanks Monika, it was a really delicious breakfast.
I love over right oats and really should make them more often. I like how you have sneaked in a vegetable here x
Thanks Jenny – really need all the help we can get if we’re going to eat ten a day!
Oh wow, what a clever idea for overnight oats. Love it. 🙂 x
Thanks so much Julie! The lemon makes it taste so fresh and delicious
I will try this, I do expect complaints from the kids, but it is worth to try!
My big kids wouldn’t even try it but my two year old didn’t notice that it wasn’t grated apple!
As you know I am new to overnight oats – I would never have thought of putting courgette in. But, I think I have one in the fridge so will give it a go #cookblogshare
Ooh let me know what you think if you do try it. We really enjoyed ours x
Courgette, really? Just saw this on Cookblogshare and was so curious to check. I make pudding with courgette but never tried eating raw. How does it taste like?
It tastes great – I think it’s a lovely vegetable to eat raw, especially young ones in the summer.
Now that really is sneaky Mandy 🙂 but such a great idea!
Angela x
Sneaky by name, sneaky by nature!
Overnight oats is great, isn’t it? I’ve never thought to add grated courgette but now you mention it, I can see what a fab idea that is.
I make mine with yoghurt, and have it at room temperature. I first discovered OO in 1998, when it was part of a month-long diet plan one of my colleagues introduced me to! It didn’t have a name back then though, and the first time I heard of overnight oats was around six or seven years ago, when suddenly my chums were raving about it. I had no idea what they were on about until someone explained it to me…
“Oh, yeah”, I said, “I’ve been making that since the last century”!!
LOLOL!
It’s so good and definitely my favourite summer breakfast. I think I first had it around 10 years ago in a cafe in Cusco, Peru of all places!! The courgette works really well, especially with the lemon.
Since you asked so nicely I am going to try this tomorrow. I’ve just picked some home grown blueberries and I have all the other ingredients (except the flax seed) so it would be rude not to. Thank you for sharing on #CookBlogShare
Would love to hear your opinion if you do make it!