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Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan)

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Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Rolled oats, chia seeds, and oat milk yield thick overnight oats that are topped with delicious macerated lemon basil blueberries. This vegan and gluten free breakfast recipe doesn’t require any cooking and comes together with less than 10 ingredients!

The summer heat has arrived and with it a general apathetic mood when it comes to cooking in the kitchen. I’ve reached the point where I only want to eat things that don’t require adding extra heat to the house from the oven and stove. But I also don’t want to sacrifice flavor for the sake of keeping cool as a cucumber. Luckily, these overnight oats with macerated lemon basil blueberries are anything but boring and flavorless! The great thing is that there is minimal prep involved and absolutely NO COOKING! They’re pretty much all I want to eat for breakfast these days.

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog
Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Why You Should Make These Overnight Oats

  • You don’t have to turn on your oven or stove!
  • There’s minimal effort involved as most of the magic happens overnight in the fridge.
  • The macerated lemon basil blueberries taste like a dreamy summer dessert.
Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

The Recipe Components

OVERNIGHT OATS – rolled oats, chia seeds, sea salt, and oat milk are stirred together then parked in the fridge overnight. This allows the chia seeds to gel and the oats to absorb the milk which yields a thick porridge. Before serving, you’ll stir in some unsweetened yogurt to make the oats creamy and dreamy.

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

MACERATED LEMON BASIL BLUEBERRIES – blueberries, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and lemon basil (or regular basil) get cozy together for a rest in the fridge overnight. The sugar draws out the juices of the berries, yielding a flavorful sauce. Lemon and basil flavor the blueberries, making them taste like a dreamy summer dessert.

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

How to Make Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries

When it comes to fruit, maceration is the process of softening it and drawing out its juices. In this recipe, we’re doing this with a small amount of sugar! You’ll add your blueberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar to a bowl. Using a fork, you’ll mash up about a third of the berries until you begin to see them releasing juice. The key to achieving the best macerated blueberries is to not skip the mashing part! Mashing up some of the berries ensures they get nice and juicy.

After you’ve mashed some of the blueberries, add the basil. Stir everything together, then let the mixture sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes, making sure to stir it every 10 minutes. After this, you’ll put your berries in a container in the fridge to rest and macerate overnight.

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Looking for More No-Cook Summer Recipes?

Summer is hot so why add more heat to the equation with your stove or oven?! Try these delicious no-cook summer recipes instead:

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog
Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog
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Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Overnight Oats with Macerated Lemon Basil Blueberries (vegan)

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  • Author: Courtney West
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 2–3 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Rolled oats, chia seeds, and oat milk yield thick overnight oats that are topped with delicious macerated lemon basil blueberries. This vegan and gluten free breakfast recipe doesn’t require any cooking and comes together with less than 10 ingredients! 

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup oat milk, or other non-dairy milk
  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoons lemon basil, minced (regular basil works great, too!)
  • 4–6 tablespoons plain vegan yogurt, for serving

Instructions

The night before you’d like to enjoy your oats, stir together the rolled oats, chia seeds, salt, and oat milk in a bowl or a pint jar. Cover this mixture and set it in the fridge to thicken overnight. 

Put the blueberries in a bowl along with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar. Mash up about a third or a half of the berries with a fork until you begin to see some blueberry juices, then stir in the basil. Allow the blueberry mixture to sit out at room temperature for about 30 minutes, making sure to stir every 10 minutes. Cover the blueberry mixture and place it in the fridge to rest overnight.

When you’re ready to serve your oats, stir in the plain vegan yogurt, then top it with some of the macerated lemon basil blueberries and enjoy! 

This makes 2-3 servings. Make sure to enjoy your oats and blueberries within 3-4 days. 

Notes

  • You can use regular sweet basil instead of lemon basil. I used lemon basil since I have a lot of it in my garden!
  • Feel free to use any non dairy milk you like here. I tend to prefer oat milk or cashew milk.
  • Make sure to factor in the time to allow everything to rest in the fridge overnight!
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: breakfast

Did you make the recipe?

I love to see what you’re making so feel free to tag me on Instagram @courtweststudio!

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries

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Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

A toasted fig leaf-infused milk forms the basis for these vegan and gluten free pudding cups. Each cup is layered with crushed chocolate wafer cookies, toasted fig leaf pudding, and summer berries.

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog
Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

I’ve always had a particular curiosity when it comes to all things flora. I love learning new uses for familiar and non-familiar plants alike. I especially love it when I learn that an edible variety of plant has multiple parts of it that can be used. You know, like sweet potatoes and sweet potato greens. Or squash blossoms and squashes. Or in this instance, figs and fig leaves!

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog
Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

I’ve always been curious to play around with fig leaves in my kitchen. This summer our tiny fig tree finally had enough leaves on it to not feel guilty about harvesting them so I decided to take advantage! Just in case you’ve never smelled a fig leaf, the younger ones have a scent that is a mix of vanilla and coconut. Once you toast the leaves, this scent intensifies. You’ll be staring in disbelief that such a lovely tropical scent could could come from such an unassuming leaf!

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog
Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Once I knew I wanted to infuse the toasted fig leaves into milk, I set to work figuring out exactly what I wanted to make. It didn’t take me long to land upon a vegan pudding. Initially I thought about putting the pudding into mini-baked chocolate pie shells. But then the 100-degree temps outside and the general summer exhaustion got to me. I simplified the idea and came up with these pudding cups with summer berries!

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Tips for Using Fig Leaves

  • The younger leaves will have the most pronounced flavor. If you have a choice and are able to harvest them straight from a fig tree, the younger leaves will typically be a bit softer and slightly smaller than the mature ones. I highly recommend finding a friend or neighbor with a fig tree!
  • If you don’t have a tree to harvest from, you can typically find fig leaves at specialty grocery stores.
  • Once you harvest your leaves, rinse them off and pat them dry. You want them to be completely dry before you toast them.
  • Once you’re ready to toast them, you’ll use a dry skillet (no oil or water). This process is super-quick and will only take 2-3 minutes over medium heat. After that, they’re ready to be used in the recipe!
Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog
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Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries

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  • Author: Courtney
  • Total Time: 25 minutes hands-on
  • Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

A toasted fig leaf-infused milk forms the basis for these vegan and gluten free pudding cups. Each cup is layered with crushed chocolate wafer cookies, toasted fig leaf pudding, and summer berries.

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 5 fresh fig leaves, about the size of your hand
  • 1 cup oat or cashew milk
  • 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot starch
  • 2 tbsp cane sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 small pinch of sea salt
  • 16–18 plain chocolate wafer cookies
  • 1 cup mixed summer berries such as blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium. To the dry skillet, add the fig leaves. Toast them until they become very fragrant and begin to curl up and dry out. This will take about 2-4 minutes total. 

Remove the fig leaves from the pan and let them cool down a bit. Once they’re cool enough to handle, use your hands to crush the leaves into smaller pieces and add them to a small pot. Add 1 cup of oat or cashew milk to the pot along with the fig leaves. Set the pot over medium heat. Once it comes to a simmer, remove the pot from the heat, cover it, and let the mixture steep for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, strain the fig leaves out of the milk. Set the steeped milk aside.

To a clean pot, add the 1/2 cup of coconut milk and the arrowroot. Whisk these together until no lumps remain, then add the sugar, the steeped milk, the vanilla, and the pinch of salt. Whisk to combine, then set the pot over medium heat. Whisk this mixture continuously as it heats up. Once bubbles begin to break the surface, kick the heat down to low and continue to whisk. Cook the mixture until it has thickened and evenly coats the back of a spoon. It will be a very thin pudding consistency. Pour the pudding into a container and let it chill in the fridge and firm up for 6-8 hours or overnight.

When you’re ready to assemble your cups, crush your wafer cookies to break them down into much smaller pieces. They should look like cookie crumbs. Divide the crushed wafer cookies evenly between 3-4 small jars. Next, you’ll divide the pudding evenly between the jars, spooning it over the crushed wafer cookies. Then, you’ll divide the berries evenly between the jars, putting them on top of the pudding.

Serve and enjoy!

Cover any leftovers and store them in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.

Notes

  • If you can only find chocolate sandwich cookies instead of plain chocolate wafer cookies, you can scrape off and discard the filling and use just the cookies!
  • Make sure to use a gluten free/vegan wafer cookie to make this recipe completely vegan & gluten free
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Chilling Time: 6-8 hours
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes + 1 hour for steeping

Did you make the recipe?

I love to see what you’re making so feel free to tag me on Instagram @courtweststudio!

Toasted Fig Leaf Pudding Cups with Summer Berries | seasonal plant-based recipes from The Sweet Miscellany Blog