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Brainstorming the flavor of our next muscle-building overnight oats recipe, I figured out I couldn't go wrong with one of the most popular flavors in America.
The result was this quick High-Calorie Peanut Butter Overnight Oats recipe with 939 calories, 39 g of proteins and many complex carbohydrates.
Déjà vu, anybody?
After all, this nutritionist certified in personal training and strength and conditioning has become a fan of oat dishes. Overnight oats, peanut butter oatmeal, granola recipes, oat muscle-building smoothies and shakes, I did them all.
But I'll quit blowing my own horn. Let's start exploring the recipe.
For this overnight oats recipe, you'll need the following kitchen equipment:
To make these peanut butter overnight oats, you'll need the following ingredients:
If you're on a gluten-free diet, use rolled oats with a clear gluten-free label.
If you're on a dairy-free or vegan diet, swap low-fat milk for plant-based milk, like oat or almond milk. Also, you can swap the whey protein powder for plant-based protein powders.
In case you're allergic to nuts, you can replace peanut butter with a type of seed butter.
First of all, low-fat milk softens the crunchy texture of the oats, making them easier to chew.
Second, whey protein powder boosts the overall proteins in the dish.
Moreover, salt highlights the flavors in our overnight oats recipe and provides iodine.
Rolled oats are the core ingredient of this recipe and a rich source of complex carbohydrates.
Peanut butter, which counts among the cheapest high-calorie foods, brings the main flavor of our overnight oats. Also, it adds calories, healthy fats and creaminess, just like the chia seeds.
Honey sweetens this breakfast dish. Since honey is considered added sugar, we ensured it doesn't represent more than 10% of the overnight oats' total calories.
The apple adds flavor, vitamins, and extra carbohydrates.
Below are the step-by-step instructions for making our high-calorie peanut butter overnight oats recipe.
Pour the low-fat milk into the empty jar.
Add the whey protein powder and the table salt over the milk. Mix using a spoon or a small whisker.
Add the rolled oats over the salted protein milk in the jar.
Add the chia seeds over the soaked oats in the jar.
Pour the honey to sweeten the dish.
Add peanut butter over the chia seeds and mix everything well with a spoon.
Chop half of a medium apple and top the jar with the pieces.
Use a spoon to mix everything in the jar. Screw the lid and place it in the fridge for 8-12 hours.
Take the High-Calorie Peanut Butter Overnight Oats out of the fridge, grab a spoon and enjoy. If you're in a hurry, you can even eat the oats on the go.
When you taste these oats, you'll sense the popular peanut butter complemented by the apple's juiciness and delicious flavor.
If you would like to include more peanut butter dishes in your muscle-building diet, you can try our 700-calorie Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie or our High-Calorie Protein Granola Bars.
You can prepare multiple jars of these Peanut Butter Overnight Oats in one go to save time. To ensure freshness, we recommend refrigerating the overnight oats in airtight jars and eating them in 3-5 days.
| Serving size | 474 g |
| Calories | 939 |
| Proteins | 39 g |
| Carbohydrates | 130 g |
| Fiber | 19 g |
| Added sugars | 23 g |
| Fats | 33 g |
| Saturated fats | 7 g |
| Unsaturated fats | 26 g |
Vitamins: A, E, C, D, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B12.
Minerals: calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, copper, manganese, chromium, molybdenum, boron.
Other compounds: choline and flavonoids.
Our high-calorie peanut butter overnight oats can bring many health benefits. Let's explore some of them.
Here are the reasons why our peanut butter overnight oats recipe helps you build muscle:
Let's delve deeper into each of the characteristics above.
Since our peanut butter overnight oats are high-calorie, they will help you keep a caloric surplus.
After all, the recipe delivers 939 calories per serving, about half of a 2000-calorie diet. This is because our overnight oats are made with many good sources of calories. For example, oats are among the best weight-gain foods for females. Also, peanut butter counts among the high-calorie nuts and nut butters and the high-calorie foods.
If you don't know what caloric surplus means, know it's eating more calories than you consume. And it's essential for building muscle. The International Society of Sports Nutrition has the same position. In 2017, after reviewing over 140 scientific articles, they concluded that people who want to build muscle efficiently should follow diets that get them into a "sustained caloric surplus."
You can eat high-calorie overnight oats when cutting as well. In this case, you'll need to make sure you stay on a caloric deficit.
Besides boosting calories, these banana walnut overnight oats make for a muscle-building pre-workout meal. Since one serving has 39 g of protein, it will also help you maximize your muscle-building efforts. Good news for those of you bodybuilding.
Trying to find out how much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building, researchers came to the following conclusion.
"To maximize anabolism one should consume protein at a target intake of 0.4 g/kg/meal across a minimum of four meals in order to reach a minimum of 1.6 g/kg/day. Using the upper daily intake of 2.2 g/kg/day reported in the literature spread out over the same four meals would necessitate a maximum of 0.55 g/kg/meal," Brad Schoenfeld and Alan Aragon concluded in 2018.
For example, to maximize muscle-building, an individual with 176 lbs (80 kg) needs 32-44 g of protein from one meal. Do you remember how much protein our overnight oats recipe has? 39 g.
Right on target.
Besides protein, our high-calorie peanut butter overnight oats contain vitamins that help with muscle growth.
One is vitamin B12, coming from low-fat milk. Researcher Lindsay Allen states in the Advances in Nutrition Journal that one of B12's roles is to restore methionine, an amino acid used in protein synthesis.
Besides B12, another compound that improves muscle growth is choline. It's present in our overnight oats because of the oats and the low-fat milk. The researchers behind a 2020 review of scientific studies that examined choline highlighted the compound's contribution to muscle growth and physical performance.
Our overnight oats recipe fights muscle cramps and reduces muscle damage during exercise. In return, performance increases. Our oat dish has this effect because it contains two sources of vitamin E: peanut butter and chia seeds.
A 2013 Nephro-Urology Monthly study of 20 patients with renal disease showed Vitamin E significantly reduces muscle cramps.
Moreover, a 2009 study of 21 participants published in The Journal of Physiological Sciences reached interesting results. The researchers concluded that vitamin E supplementation protects against oxidative stress and muscle damage.
More recently, a 2022 review published in Nutrients showed that even a low dose of vitamin E could prevent "exercise-induced muscle damage."
Another mineral you get from consuming our peanut butter overnight oats is zinc. And guess what? Our recipe contains two good sources of zinc, oats and chia seeds.
According to a 2020 Redox Biology review, zinc helps form new muscular cells and regenerate depleted muscle tissues.
No matter when you eat them, our high-calorie overnight oats energize you for many hours. They're rich in complex carbs, low in added sugars and abundant in vitamins and minerals that help your body produce energy.
The American Heart Association claims that complex carbohydrates will give you energy for a longer period than simple carbs, like the ones found in white bread or candies.
Fortunately, our peanut butter overnight oats are full of ingredients that contain complex carbs:
The only added sugar in our overnight oats comes from honey. Since the sugar in honey makes up only 9.8% of the recipe's total calories, it respects the recommendation in the 2020-2025 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. According to the DGA, the calories we get from the added sugar in our diet should not exceed 10% of our daily calories.
Besides carbohydrates, our overnight oats have compounds that help the body get and use the energy found in foods:
Let's look at some proof regarding the above micronutrients' roles.
A 2020 scientific review of B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, and zinc is titled "vitamins and minerals for energy, fatigue, and cognition."
Here are the sources of B vitamins in our overnight oats:
The only ingredient with notable amounts of vitamin C in our recipe is the apple.
Copper, magnesium and iron are present in our recipe because of the oats, chia seeds and peanut butter.
When it comes to phosphorus, the National Institutes of Health describes it as a component of "the body's key energy source, adenosine triphosphate (ATP)." The best source of phosphorus in our overnight oats is the low-fat milk.
As for manganese, a 2015 article reviewed manganese's effects on health. The research states that the mineral plays a role in significant physiological processes, including energy metabolism. Most of the manganese in our recipe comes from oats, chia seeds, and peanut butter.
Our overnight oats also contain chromium, which "might play a role in carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism," according to the NIH. In our recipe, chromium comes from chia seeds, peanut butter and oats.
Besides, a 2022 study on 138 soccer players states from its beginning that molybdenum plays an important role in adapting our bodies to physical training. Oats and peanut butter bring molybdenum to our overnight oats.
Our overnight oats recipe strengthens your bones and connective tissues because it contains calcium, copper, manganese, boron and vitamin C.
A 2012 review of the essential nutrients for bone health agrees. It found that calcium, copper, manganese, boron and vitamin C are commonly used to improve bone health.
Since you don't have to cook them, you can make these overnight oats in only 5 minutes. A good idea is to prepare them in the evening so you will have them ready by the next morning.
If you don't have time for them in the evening, you can prepare them in the morning and consume them as a late breakfast or snack after a few hours of refrigerating them.
Another good idea to save time is to make 3-5 portions of our chocolate overnight oats on a Sunday, place them in the fridge and eat them until the next weekend.
To follow our high-calorie peanut butter overnight oats recipe in a compressed format, use the summary below.
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