Health, Nutrition & Naturals

How to make Oatmeal Porridge taste better!

Oatmeal for breakfast. I can hear the groans. I’m not picky with food. And I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for the blessings of getting to choose what to eat when so many others have very little on their table, but I’m just not a fan of oatmeal porridge. I usually choose anything else over oatmeal for breakfast- anything but oatmeal. It’s just too bland for my taste buds, and I think I’m not alone in this opinion, right? Tell me you agree? Sure I can spice up my oatmeal by adding stuff in it, but in general I would rather eat something else than bother with that. That doesn’t mean I never touch oatmeal. In fact for awhile it was a staple breakfast in our house! Are you surprised?

So what am I getting at? Well, I finally learned to love oatmeal! I combined some ingredients which made it taste A LOT better. Some of these I used to already include in my porridge, but some are new.

Steps to a Better Tasting Bowl of Oatmeal!

-boil the oats in milk vs. water (or reheat them in milk if you have some left over). 
This is the most important ingredient! Milk will transform your oatmeal from blah to wow! It makes it taste like rice pudding: richer, creamier, smoother. The typical water-y oatmeal taste disappears. If you already do this, then your oatmeal tasted better than mine used to. 

– add Vanilla extract
Oooh, so, so delicious! Add as much vanilla as you like. This is the second essential ingredient. I don’t think I’ll ever eat my oatmeal without vanilla again- unless I don’t have any on hand. 

– a pinch or two of  brown sugar
Yes, it has to be sweet. Sugar makes everything taste better. Everyone in agreement say aye! 🙂 

-ground walnuts
We like grinding our walnuts very finely and sprinkling it over the oatmeal. It adds the extra crunch, protein, and omega 3 to your breakfast plate! 

– generous sprinkling of cinnamon
The only way to eat oatmeal! It’s a necessary spice for my porridge. Yum! 

Bonus: 

If you’re focused on eating a lower calorie oatmeal, you can just add the ingredients above and your oatmeal will still taste great! But for extra special days, you can add these ingredients to bring your oatmeal porridge to a royal status! 

A dollop of butter
You deserve to indulge every now and then, and breakfast is the perfect time to do it! Butter adds a silky, amazing taste to your oatmeal. Any extra calories will burn off by evening, I promise! 😉 

Fruits
chopped strawberries
bannanas
apples
grapes
blueberries, raspberries
caramelized pears
anything! 

-caramel drizzle

-apricot jam

-brûléed top like the picture below

Now that looks much better, doesn’t it? 

How do you eat your oatmeal? What are your special ingredients? 

—- And final random note —-

 I would love to see how many people around the world look up this post.  Leave a short comment telling what you were searching for when you arrived at this post, or what country you’re visiting from, and I will reply back! Like this post, share in Facebook and Instagram, pin to your Pinterest! Thanks bunches! 😀

24 thoughts on “How to make Oatmeal Porridge taste better!

  1. This looks lovely too

    2 large navel oranges
    3½ c. water
    ½ c. sugar
    ½ c. brandy
    1 cinnamon stick
    1 whole star anise
    2 large ripe Bartlett pears
    1 large Granny Smith apple
    1 large Gala or Fuji apple
    1 c. dried Calimyrna figs
    1 c. dried apricots
    1 c. dried plums (prunes)
    ¼ c. dried sour cherries
    Directions
    With vegetable peeler, from orange(s), remove 3 strips peel (each 3 inches long) and squeeze ¾ cup juice. Set peel and juice aside separately.
    In 4-quart saucepan, combine water, sugar, brandy, cinnamon, star anise, and reserved orange peel. Cover and heat to boiling on high; reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes.
    Meanwhile, peel and core pears and apples, then cut each fruit into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
    Stir figs, apricots, plums, and cherries into saucepan; simmer 5 minutes. Stir in pears and apples and simmer 10 minutes or until fruit is tender but not mushy, stirring occasionally.
    Remove compote from heat and stir in reserved orange juice. Let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Discard orange peel, cinnamon, and star anise before serving.

    1. Thank you also for this recipe! It’s lovely to see and share different recipes that people have for porridge and other foods! You enjoy cooking or finding out new recipes?

      1. Very welcome. I do enjoy it but don’t always bother to use them.
        I live alone and have chronic health issues, so no incentive to make an effort unless I am feeling reasonable.
        But I do cook for myself. I got a cupboard full of recipes and a list of them on my computer. ha haa

  2. I love porridge especially if Im unwell with a cold and sore throat. But it doesn’t taste as nice as it did when I was a kid many years ago. Neither has it the same texture.
    My dad used to make it and added cold milk to the bowl with a dollop of golden syrup and knob of butter, and it was sightly gelatinous. It was yummy.
    I do add cinnamon and use half milk half water, and sometimes I have honey in it, but I have to keep sugar intake low.
    No matter what make of porridge I have cooked it never tastes like Dad used to make it.

    1. Thank you for the comment Annette! I apologize for my late reply, I just saw it right now. Your comment actually made me hungry for some porridge so that’s probably just what I’m going to do after I reply 🙂 It’s wonderful to have great food memories from when you were young! I generally substitute honey for sugar, but when it comes to porridge, I usually use some brown sugar.

      Thank you for stopping by and commenting! Hope you have a wonderful week!

      1. Ahh hello Rebekah
        You are very welcome. I am now adding some vanilla to my porridge also.
        I have been adding cinnamon and still do.
        I also have some delicious dried fruit with it when I have some in stock
        I soak the dried fruit in hot tea after rinsing in cold water.
        Recipe came from Delia Smith originally I believe on the radio years back

        You buy some dried fruit, ( prunes, pears,apple rings, figs, apricots.)
        Wash the fruit with cold water
        Place them in a medium saucepan
        Make a teapot full of strong tea of your choice.
        Pour the hot tea over the fruit. Add some cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and/or mixed spice.
        And leave to soak and plump up the fruit for around 8 hours, overnight will do.
        Then add some honey or brown sugar and cook for about 15 mins till soft.
        Delicious for Winter
        I think the porridge we have nowadays may have different qualities due to different growing methods.
        Can’t think what else it could be.

        Happy porridge munching, Annette

        1. Hi Annette! The recipe with the fruit and cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg sounds very cozy and rich for wintertime! Thank you for sharing!

  3. Eating some porridge before the work day starts, wondering if there’s anything other than honey and fruit to bring some life to my porridge. I will be trying Vanilla extract tomorrow!
    Thanks for the post,
    Candy 😊
    England

    1. Hi Candy!

      So glad you found some ideas to make your oatmeal tasty! It’s exciting to see people from all over who share a liking for oatmeal and making it taste great. I hope you enjoy it with vanilla extract, and thanks for stopping by!

      Happy Thursday!
      Rebekah

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