I’m the Grocery Editor at Kitchn and This Grab-and-Go Breakfast Is the Best New Thing I Tried All Week

Admittedly, I was late to the overnight oats party — and not fashionably late, years late. Looking back, it was hard for me to break away from my routine breakfast; few things were quicker, easier, and more satisfying than cereal and milk. I even stored some at whatever office I worked in at the time to enjoy after my morning commute, so I could “sleep in” an extra 10 minutes. 

After hearing so many rave reviews, I finally tried overnight oats. I made my first single-serving batch with oats, almond milk, chia seeds, and some honey. That’s it. The next morning, I topped it with sliced strawberries and, upon first bite, dubbed it my new favorite breakfast. (Sorry, cereal!) I had it three more times that week, another three times the following week, and so on — until I completely stopped making it. I either forgot, didn’t feel like it, ran out of an ingredient (usually oats), or some combination of the three. 

But this week, after a too-long hiatus, overnight oats are back in my breakfast rotation. And, bonus, they’re ready-made! All I have to do is grab a cup of Mush (more specifically, the carrot cake-flavored option) and a spoon from my kitchen and head to my office, which currently is roughly 13 steps away … in my living room. There’s no need to add water, heat, or anything. Just open and eat!

Dessert-flavored breakfast food — not to be confused with dessert food for breakfast — can be tricky to pull off. Typically these foods are on the sweeter side of the flavor spectrum, and while delicious, that’s not what I want at 8 a.m. most days. Some store-bought varieties can also taste artificial or too far off from the desserts they’re attempting to approximate.

On top of that, I have strong feelings about carrot cake and how it should taste. My mother’s recipe was passed down from her mother’s cousin, “Big Mary,” and it is perfection. No notes! (She also made amazing hamantaschen.) So when I say these Carrot Cake Overnight Oats are what I started my day with multiple times this week, that means, well, something.

Find it in stores: Mush Carrot Cake Overnight Oats, $2.49 for 5 ounces at Whole Foods

Made with almond milk, rolled oats, carrots, dates, pineapple, cinnamon, sea salt, and nutmeg, this cup of Mush is reminiscent of the carrot cake flavor I know and love, sans sugar. There are no shredded carrots or cream cheese frosting, but each bite is distinctively carrot-forward and has a lightly spiced finish, which I credit to the cinnamon and nutmeg. A dynamic duo!

The texture is also completely different from the baked version, although pleasant in its own right: It’s thick and mushy, and has a thick consistency that’s more dense than the homemade oats I once made and will one day make again … if I ever run out of these oats.

Mush overnight oats are dairy- and gluten free, Non-GMO Project Verified, Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) Certified, and Kosher. This new carrot cake flavor, along with Peaches and Cream, can be found at Whole Foods now.

What’s your go-to breakfast? Tell us in the comments below.