Jamaican Oats Porridge (Vegan, GF)

Start your day with this satisfying and heart warming Jamaican Oats Porridge. Delicious super creamy vegan island style oatmeal made with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, a plant based milk of your choice and sweetened with coconut condensed milk.

If you are looking for a creamy breakfast bowl that takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, then you definitely need to become acquainted with this porridge.

It's tasty, healthy and packed with energy boosting nutrients that the body needs.

Growing up my family like most Caribbean households ate porridge for breakfast. We didn't consume it daily but there wasn't a week that went by without having a huge bowl.

I would sometimes feel like I was spoiled for choice, some days we would have Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge and other days it would be Green Banana Porridge

Whatever the case, breakfast was fun filled and delicious alike. You can even make something random like this Vegan Caribbean Breakfast that's made from scramble tofu, leafy greens, pear (avocado) and plantain.

Jamaican oats porridge was also on rotation as well. I love it so much that I just had to share another childhood favourite of mine with you all.

One thing I should add is that Jamaican/Caribbean oats is more on the creamy side. We generally don't use steel cut oats and the texture of the our oatmeal is very smooth almost to the point where the oats looked like they have dissolved..

In terms of appearance you definitely won't see the oatmeal that's absorbed most of the milk, you know that mushy/dense textured oats. This is more of a gruel or congee texture

Jamaican oatmeal focuses more on flavour, sweetness and texture in no typical order with quick oats or old fashioned (rolled oats) being the preferred choice.

The different types of oats

The length of time your porridge will take to cook depends on which oats you are using

Steel cut (aka Irish oats): Yield a chewy and nutty texture. They are whole grain hulls that have been cut once or twice with steel blades hence the name. They take at least 20 minutes to cook through.

Old fashion oats: These are whole grain that have been toasted, steamed, flatted and flaked. Due to their coarse texture they tend to hold their shape when cooking and absorb a lot more liquid. They take 10-15 minutes to cook through.

Quick oats: These oats have been cut, steamed and rolled thinner. These oats yield a more silky smooth texture and take about 5 minutes to cook. This is my favourite type to use.

Instant oats: They have been pre-cooked and pre-dried for immediate use. These oats tend to pop up in sachets and are usually microwave friendly and take 1 minute to cook.

Ingredients you need

• Oats: choose from the options above and use your preferred cooking oats
• Plant based milk: Use a creamy plant based milk that is full fat so coconut, almond or cashew milk work best.
• Cinnamon/nutmeg/vanilla (not pictured): all are used for flavouring, don't skip!!
• Coconut condensed milk: This is the game charger sweetener which makes the porridge uber creamy!
• Pink salt: a pinch of salt to balance things out

The steps

• In a medium sized saucepan, add the water and plant based milk then bring to a boil (Picture 1 & 2).

• Once boiled stir in the cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla (picture 3 & 4).
• Reduce the heat to medium and pour the oats into the saucepan while continuously stirring so the oats are evenly combined and doesn't clump (picture 5).

• Allow the porridge to cook for 5-7 minutes and stir frequently to avoid sticking. If the porridge thickens up too much during the given time add a splash of water
• Finally, pour in your coconut condensed milk and pink salt and sweeten to taste (picture 6).

Other flavours and toppings to try

• Citrus: why not add the zest of a lemon/lime/orange
• Warming spices: Ginger, mace, star anise, bay leaves,caraway
• Garnish: Banana, strawberries, mango, pineapple, raisins, toasted coconut, nuts/seeds

Do oats need to be soaked overnight?

If you struggle to break down the starch then yes you may want to use the liquid that the recipes calls for and soak overnight instead. Then follow the rest of the instructions.

Is it normal for the porridge to thicken as it cools down?

Yes,  If you leave the porridge overnight or to cool down completely it will thicken up. You can obtain its original texture by adding a splash of water/milk when re-heating.

Do oats contain gluten?

No, oats are gluten free and safe for people who are gluten intolerant. Usually the problem with gluten exposure lies with the facilities or the handling process.

Depending on how sensitive you are to trace contamination, you may want to purchase oats that are specifically labelled as "gluten free".

Notes and tips

• If the porridge thickens once cooled, add a splash of water/milk to restore its original texture
• Feel free to use whatever plant based milk you prefer. I like rotating between coconut and almond milk.
• This recipe has a higher milk content but you are more than welcome to use half milk and half water
• For a creamy consistency I highly recommend using my Vegan Condensed Milk recipe.
• You can use coconut sugar, agave or maple syrup but the porridge won't be as creamy.
• Use a non sticky saucepan to avoid excess sticking.
• Once the oats are added to the pot, keep on stirring to avoid an uneven consistency.
• The time the oats take to cook will depend on which ones you are using quick oats take 5 minutes and old fashion oats take 10-15 minutes.
• If you are using old fashion oats you will most likely need to have 1-2 cups more of milk/water on standby to add if/when the porridge thickens up.

other porridge recipes you may like