Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote
Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote makes a great summer breakfast or even dessert.
Ripe, seasonal gooseberries are cooked with sugar until thick and soft. Layered between cool, creamy oats with optional chia seeds and yogurt, you’ll be racing out of bed to eat this!
To add crunch, sprinkle with granola or your favourite nuts and seeds.
With the oats and compote prepped the night before, you can enjoy the creamy, fruity combination for an almost effortless breakfast or treat at any time.
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OVERNIGHT OATS
If you’ve never made them before, don’t worry that overnight oats are a sort of stodgy, leftover cold porridge.
Whisked up with milk and your chosen flavourings, the uncooked oats become wonderfully creamy after a night in the fridge. This makes them perfect for grab-and-go or eat at home breakfasts.
I often have chia seeds in mine too. But if their gel-like texture isn’t for you then leave them out.
Mix some frozen berries in there and you’ll have a fruity as well as creamy delight. If you like raspberries and coconut, then start with my Overnight Oats with Raspberries & Coconut.
I’ve even been known to include vegetables in my oats. Take a look at my Carrot Cake Overnight Oats .
But today I want to share a recipe that shows just how good the most simply flavoured overnight oats can be, layered with a luscious fruit compote.
For the overnight oats you’ll need:
- rolled oats
- chia seeds (replace with more oats if preferred)
- 1 tsp sugar per serving
- milk
- vanilla extract
The detailed recipe at the end of this post gives ingredient amounts and instructions. But you basically just whisk everything up.
Then it’s on with a cover and pop the oats in the fridge until morning.
COMPOTES
A compote is a wonderful thing. Not quite a sauce and not really a jam, it’s simply fruit cooked in a sugar syrup.
Unlike jams, which can take a while to bubble and reach setting point, with compotes you only need to cook the fruit briefly. To my mind, that makes them perfect for making the most of a small amount of precious seasonal fruit.
Good not just for serving with overnight oats or cooked porridge, you can use compotes with pancakes, ice-creams, cheesecakes and more.
While the word compote or compôte refers to a mixture, I’m using just one fruit in this compote. And I’m not adding extra flavours such as spices or citrus either.
That’s because I wanted the natural flavour of a special ingredient to shine through.
GOOSEBERRIES
When people hear the word ‘gooseberry’, I bet most will think of those early green ones, tart and firm.
That shouldn’t be surprising as the berry is said to owe its name to the sharp green sauce made to accompany rich, fatty goose.
These days, green gooseberries are more often seen in sweet dishes such as pies, puddings and fools which require lots of sugar to make them palatable.
And we can’t forget jams of course. Full of the natural setting agent pectin, the slightly underripe green gooseberries are ideal if you want to make my Gooseberry Jam.
But for my Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote I was lucky enough to get these beautiful ruby coloured ones in my Moorland Veg Box.
Still firm but with a sweeter taste than earlier, green varieties, as I’d hoped the red dessert gooseberries made a wonderful compote.
Full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of the post. Although it only takes 15 – 20 minutes, I recommend you do it the night before so that the compote has time to cool.
Personal taste, as well as the sweetness of your gooseberries, will dictate how much sugar you’ll need to add.
For 225 grams of gooseberries, I suggest starting with one and a half tablespoons of sugar and see how you go.
OVERNIGHT OATS WITH GOOSEBERRY COMPOTE
All that’s left to do next morning is to layer up the creamy, vanilla-scented oats and the sweet-tart gooseberry compote.
Because the contrast looks so pretty, I like to serve in glasses. If you’re having breakfast on the go, pack it in a jar with a screw-top lid.
If you prefer to eat your oats from a bowl, pile them in and top with the compote, swirling them together if that takes your fancy.
A dollop of thick yogurt between the oats and the compote adds extra creaminess and will keep you fuller for longer.
For some crunchy texture, I like a final sprinkle of my Grain-Free Granola, made with toasted coconut, nuts and seeds.
Or you could just top with your favourite nuts and seeds.
Overnight oats are one of my favourite summer breakfasts. But adding a fruit compote makes them even better.
I love the contrast of cool, creamy oats and yogurt with a fresh fruit taste that’s both tart and sweet.
You can use the same method as Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote with other fruits too. I think my Rhubarb Orange Compote would be great!
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Overnight Oats with Gooseberry Compote
A great make ahead breakfast or even dessert: cool, creamy oats layered with softly cooked sweet-tart gooseberries.
Ingredients
For the overnight oats
- 90 g rolled oats
- 2 level tbsp chia seeds optional: use another 10g of oats if preferred
- 2 tsp sugar or other sweetener optional
- 400 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the gooseberry compote
- 225 g ripe gooseberries preferably dessert gooseberries
- 1½ - 3 tbsp sugar
To serve (optional)
- 2-4 tbsp thick yogurt
- sprinkle of granola or toasted nuts see Recipe Notes for Grain Free Granola recipe
Instructions
The night before
-
Make the overnight oats
Put the oats, chia seeds if using and sugar in a jar or other container and mix together.
Add the milk and vanilla extract and whisk thoroughly to combine.
Cover and leave in the fridge overnight.
-
Make the gooseberry compote
Top and tail the gooseberries (using scissors is easiest) then wash well in a sieve or colander.
Put in a saucepan with a splash of water and 1½ tablespoons of the sugar.
Bring up to a simmer and cook until the gooseberries have broken down and are soft: add a little more water if necessary and taste as the gooseberries are cooking to see if more sugar is needed. (10-15 min)
Turn the heat to moderately high and reduce the liquid until the compote is thick (3-5 min).
Transfer the compote to a jar, put on a lid and leave to cool. Put in the fridge when cold.
Next day / to serve
-
Take the oats from the fridge and give them a stir. Add a splash of milk or water to thin if necessary.
Take two glasses, serving jars or bowls and spoon a quarter of the oats into the bottom of each one.
Spoon a quarter of the gooseberry compote across each layer of oats.
Spoon the rest of the oats over the compote.
If using the yogurt, add a tablespoon or two to each portion.
Top with the remaining compote, plus the granola / nuts and seeds if using, and serve.