Healthy Chocolate Strawberry Protein Oatmeal

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This protein-packed chocolate strawberry oatmeal is perfect for those who need a quick and healthy breakfast that is so sweet and delicious!

It's been quite a while since I've shared an oatmeal recipe! For many months I've had the time to make some awesome savory breakfasts! But now starting a full-time job, I really do need to rely on some simple and quick breakfasts, though of course I'm not going to sacrifice on taste. So predictable me, here is a chocolate oatmeal recipe! And let me tell you that these oats are really going to blow your mind, trust me! Even though I like switching up my breakfasts, I surely would make this over and over again!

Tools Needed

• Saucepan
• Wooden spoon
• Whisk
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

What You’ll Need for Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal - Only a Handful of Ingredients!

• Rolled oats
• Cocoa powder
• Chocolate protein powder
• Vanilla extract
• Milk
• Strawberries
• Maple syrup

Are you convinced to give these a try? These oats are protein-packed with the milk (if you use dairy milk) and protein powder. You could use vanilla protein powder if you like, but these hot oats are going to be double chocolate for double the fun with the chocolate protein powder and cocoa powder. I’ll always go for extra chocolate, how about you!

Strawberries for a Refreshing Addition!

I decided to use strawberries to top these oats because it’s been awhile since I had strawberries and I thought the vibrant red would complement the chocolate quite well! Strawberries are also so delicious, and they have so many nutritional benefits! They’re jam-packed with antioxidants, they’ve been shown to prevent heart disease, stroke, cancer; and they can help reduce blood pressure thanks to their high potassium content.

Strawberries never cease to amaze me after I rediscover them while creating recipes! I never realized how much strawberries can pack a punch! I loved them so much in my strawberry shortcake pancakes that I just had to incorporate them in some oatmeal!

Why Protein Powder?

This is my first recipe for a protein oatmeal recipe, also known as “proats.” I suppose I’m late to the party, but I saw the trend of adding protein powder to oatmeal and wanted to see for myself what that gives. If I haven’t stressed it enough, I’m a huge chocoholic. So, I had chocolate protein powder on hand, and decided to make these oats double chocolate by also adding cocoa powder. Yum! For me, double or triple chocolate is always a must!

In my other oatmeal recipes without protein powder, I’d have to say they’re still quite packed with protein. I use dairy milk which is a great source of protein. I also add peanut butter quite frequently, which is rich in protein and healthy fats.

Adding protein powder just makes it convenient to get in some protein if you feel your breakfast is lacking some. Protein helps with satiety, which I think is really important to start your day! Nothing is worse than having your tummy growl mid-morning and you’re just counting down the seconds till lunch! Besides the nutritional benefits of protein powder, I’ll tell you this: I actually found that the protein powder does add to the creaminess of the oats! So there’s a taste bonus there too!

Take the Oats Off the Heat!

This step is extremely important and don’t overlook it! When you’re adding protein powder to hot oats, make sure you take your pan off the heat! Otherwise, the protein powder will curdle and you won’t have a very pleasant result!

How to Make This Protein-Packed Chocolate Strawberry Protein Oatmeal

Let’s start by adding oats and milk into a pot over a stove on medium heat.

Bring this to a simmer, stirring every 30 seconds. Keep cooking until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

Then, add the cocoa powder.

Using a whisk, combine the cocoa powder with the milk and oats, ensuring that the cocoa powder is entirely mixed in.

Now pour in the vanilla extract and continue to whisk.

Now is the time to remove the pot from the heat! Add a scoop of protein powder in the oats and whisk vigorously. Keep whisking until there are no lumps.

Then, transfer to your serving bowl.

Top with the strawberries and drizzle maple syrup (if desired), and your delicious chocolatey, protein-packed breakfast is ready!

For the perfect healthy and speedy weekday breakfast that tastes just like a dessert, be sure to give this protein-packed chocolate strawberry oatmeal recipe a try! Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

Tips for the Best Chocolate Protein Oatmeal

For the creamiest result, cook the rolled oats and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring continuously until the mixture comes up to a simmer. Stir in the cocoa powder and vanilla and let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until thick and creamy. Take the pan off the heat before whisking in the chocolate protein powder — adding it off the boil keeps the protein from clumping and going grainy. Finish with a drizzle of maple syrup and fresh strawberries, and serve warm.

Easy Add-Ins and Swaps

This bowl is easy to make your own:

• Stir in a spoonful of peanut butter or almond butter at the end for extra richness and staying power.
• Swap the strawberries for sliced banana, raspberries, or blueberries.
• Use whatever milk you like, whether dairy, oat, soy, or almond.
• No chocolate protein powder? Use vanilla protein and an extra spoon of cocoa.

Choosing Your Oats, Milk, and Cocoa

A few choices shape this bowl before you even turn the heat on. Rolled oats are what I use, and the timing is built around them. Quick oats get you there faster but softer, and steel-cut oats need far longer than the seven or eight minutes here, so they are a different recipe rather than a substitution. Certified gluten-free oats make the whole bowl gluten free.

For the milk, use whatever you actually drink, whether that is dairy, oat milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk or soy. The unsweetened versions let you control the sweetness yourself, which matters here because most chocolate protein powder is sweetened already. On that note, taste the oatmeal before you add the maple syrup at the end. Depending on your powder you might want the full half tablespoon, or none at all. Honey or agave stand in for the maple syrup one for one.

Cocoa powder and cacao powder are interchangeable in this recipe. Cacao is simply the less processed of the two, and it tastes a little more bitter and fruity, so if you use it you may find you want that drizzle of syrup after all. A pinch of cinnamon stirred in with the cocoa is worth trying as well.

If you want more to the bowl, a spoonful of hemp seeds (often sold as hemp hearts) or ground flax stirred in at the end adds texture and a bit more staying power, and chocolate chips or extra fresh berries scattered over the top never hurt. And if the stovetop is not happening, this works in the microwave: combine the oats and milk in a large microwave-safe bowl, cook in one-minute bursts stirring between each, then whisk the protein powder in off the heat. That last part is the same rule as the pot, because protein powder turns lumpy and grainy the moment it boils.

Make-Ahead and Storage

This oatmeal keeps well for busy mornings. Cook it, let it cool, and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Reheat gently with a splash of milk to loosen it back up, and if you are adding more protein powder, stir it in off the heat so it does not go lumpy. You can also enjoy it cold, overnight-oats style.

High-Protein Chocolate Oatmeal: The Oats, the Liquid and the Cocoa

The ratio here is two thirds of a cup of rolled oats to a cup and a half of milk, and that liquid amount is deliberately generous. Protein powder thickens dramatically when it hits warm oats, so a pot that looks slightly loose on the stove sets to exactly right in the bowl. Rolled oats are what this method needs. Steel-cut oats are a different grain cut entirely and want twenty to thirty minutes of simmering rather than the couple of minutes here, so they will still be hard when the rest of the pot is done. Quick oats go the other way and turn to paste.

A small pot on medium heat is all the equipment involved, and it is worth saying medium rather than medium high heat: milk scorches on the bottom of the pan before oats have any idea what is happening, and scorched milk is a flavor you cannot stir out. One tablespoon of cocoa powder goes in once the milk is simmering. If you have cacao powder instead, use it and expect something sharper and more bitter, since cacao is the less-processed version of the same bean and has not been alkalized the way Dutch cocoa has. Either works; they just taste different.

On the milk itself, the recipe says milk and means whichever one you drink. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk is the swap I would reach for if you want to keep this lighter, and it flatters the cocoa rather than competing with it, though it makes a thinner bowl than dairy does. One useful thing about the ingredient list: there is no wheat anywhere in it, so this is naturally gluten-free provided you buy oats labeled as certified gluten-free, since plain oats are very often milled alongside wheat.

Toppings, Add-Ins and Where to Find the Nutritional Information

The recipe finishes with half a tablespoon of maple syrup and a quarter cup of strawberries, and both are doing a job. The strawberries cut the richness of a chocolate bowl, and the syrup goes on at the table rather than into the pot so you can sweeten to your own taste. Honey works in place of the maple syrup with a slightly heavier, more floral result. Beyond that: a scatter of chocolate chips melts into the surface if you add them while it is hot, hemp hearts add a nutty crunch and a little more protein, and a pinch of cinnamon warms the whole thing up. None of those three are in the recipe as written.