'Instant' dairy free creamy porridge

Post By Jo @ Including Cake

I love porridge... I eat it nearly every morning (or afternoon, or evening!)  I love mine creamy and chunky and packed with various mix-ins and toppings.  

However I know there are many of you porridge lovers in the other camp... creamy and smooth with no toppings other than a little sweetness.

Well, whichever camp you fall I have a super simple recipe concept you will love... why am I so sure you will love it?

• It takes just 2-3 minutes
• it requires no cooking (so great for travel) 
• It's dairy free
• you can make it as thick and as creamy as you like

Come on, have I intrigued you yet? 

The newest product in the Real Food Source Range is coconut milk powder, sold in two different varieties, a 30% oil content and a 60% oil content, both of which can be used as the basis of this porridge. I used the lower fat version in this recipe.

To get straight to the point, this is how it works:

Take one serving of porridge oats (see notes below), add 1 tablespoon of coconut milk powder, pour over boiling water, stir, cover for 2 minutes, stir, add toppings...EAT!

It's really that simple to get a bowlful of this goodness!  

creamy oats with a sprinkling of coconut sugar

A quick note on oat types and quantities:

You can use jumbo porridge oats but the result will be less thick and creamy as the boiling water will have a harder time 'getting into' the oats. This is fine for me as i like my bowl chunky with add-ins- see below.  

For a creamy bowl as the picture above, use regular porridge oats, or pulse chunky ones a few times in a processor to break them down a little.

You can also by all means use gluten free oats. The photos show GF oats. Mine were chunky so you can see the difference in the photos when I left them whole for the 'toppings' bowlful and then pulsed them to slightly finer pieces for the 'creamy' bowlful. 

You will find that you need more water if you use finer oats as there is more surface area for the liquid to work into and it thickens up more. 

gluten free oats- the whole oats and the same oats processed into finer pieces.

A good general rule. For 40g oats (approx 1 serving) add 1 tbs coconut milk powder (based on 30% oil version) and add approx. 130g freshly boiled water. Allow to sit and thicken and then add extra boiling water if necessary to your preference for the creamy bowl.

This is my porridge bowl of choice with the chunky porridge base, grated apple and cinnamon mixed through and seeds, nuts and more fruit on top!

Or for those who prefer a super creamy bowl of comfort...here you go! Complete with coconut sugar and a spoonful of ground almonds for extra nutritional value and creaminess without compromising texture. For an even less 'oaty' texture just use finer oat pieces to begin with!