Quick and Easy Quinoa and Oatmeal Porridge

I have eaten a lot of oatmeal and cream cereals for breakfast over the course of my 34 years, but haven’t tried a whole lot of porridge or congee. I found a recipe online that, while I liked, didn’t turn out 100% for me. I wish I could remember where I found that recipe.

Anyways, this is my spin on that recipe. I use quick oats as that is always what we have in my house. I’ve never had steel cut oats now that I think about it. I have also taken to using a 1-minute quinoa blend to go with it. Since my grandfather is not a fan of quinoa, I don’t always have it on hand and have taken to just buying the Minute Ready variety.

If you have uncooked quinoa and steel cut oats, this will obviously take a lot longer. The consistency is my desired consistency, you can play until you get what suits your preferences.

And…while I am admittedly lactose intolerant, I ignore that fact and use half and half versus a lactose free or dairy free alternative. This can give you two servings of a hearty breakfast or it can give you 3-4 smaller portions and still be satisfying and hearty.

Quick & Easy Oatmeal & Quinoa Porridge with Fruit Compote

• Servings: 2-4
• Prep Time: 5 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins
• Difficulty: easy
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A quick and hearty breakfast using quick oats, one minute quinoa, and topped with a fruit compote of your choice.

If you have bananas that are nice and solid, you’ll want to slice a whole one and split it between the bowls of porridge as a topping. If your bananas have hit the overripe stage, you’ll want to do what I do and mash the suckers and stir them directly into the porridge.

Porridge Ingredients

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup half and half or milk alternative
• 1 cup white & red quinoa, cooked
• 1 tbsp crunchy no-stir peanut butter with molasses
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 medium banana, sliced or mashed

Cooking the Porridge

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water and half and half to a low boil…well it doesn’t really boil, you just want it to start releasing some nice steam.
2. If you are using Minute Quinoa, toss this in the microwave to cook during this time.
3. Add the oats to your hot liquid and lower the heat to medium low. Stir to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened and oats are cooked through.
4. Add the prepared quinoa and the brown sugar. Cook for an additional minute, stirring until the quinoa and sugar is well incorporated.
5. Remove from heat and stir in your peanut butter.
6. If you are using overripe bananas, you would add them in during this step.

I prefer to make a blueberry compote, but you can use whatever fruit you prefer. I’ve also used raspberries and blackberries and black cherries. You can get started on this while your porridge is cooking so they’ll both be ready at the same time.

Fruit Compote Ingredients

• 1/2 a pint of blueberries (fresh or frozen both work just fine)
• 1/4 cup sugar (really depends on the sweetness of the berries, suit your taste)
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (optional, I use this for acidity if the blueberries are super sweet)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• dash of cinnamon (optional)

Make Fruit Compote

1. In a small nonstick saucepan, add your blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice if you are using. Stir them together gently. Turn the burner on medium heat.
2. When the blueberries start to release their juices, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Be careful not to turn your fruit to complete mush…unless you like it that way.
3. Add your cinnamon if you’re using and stir gently to incorporate.
4. After 5-10 minutes, remove your fruit from the heat and add the vanilla extra. Stir to combine.

Now it is time to bring everything together. Split your porridge between 2-4 bowls. Top with desired amount of fruit compote. If using fresh banana slices, add those on top of the compote. You can also add whatever other toppings you’d like…chia seeds, ground flax, nuts, other fresh fruits.

I will also add some extra half and half if I feel the porridge is too thick to suit my taste. Usually not a whole lot. Like a tablespoon or so. My grandfather, being my grandfather, fills the bowls the rest of the way up with half and half until it’s super soupy.

To note, if you don’t have a stove or want to deal with watching over stuff while it cooks, you can make this quite easily in the microwave. Well…I have never made fruit compote in the microwave, so I can’t comment on that, but I can tell you how I do the porridge portion in the microwave.

I use a 1-quart microwave safe container (I am in love with Pampered Chef’s Micro-Cookers). Add your milk, water, and oatmeal. Stir so its all nice and combined. I do use the lid on the MicroCooker, but you can heat without covering if you have to.

Microwave on high for 1.5 minutes. Remove. Stir in your brown sugar and the mashed banana if you are using it. Cover and return to microwave for 1.5-2 minutes. Make sure your liquid doesn’t boil over on you. I’ve had that happen a few times because I didn’t pay attention. This method…it shouldn’t, but you never know.

When that’s done, let it sit covered to finish cooking. Now, take your Minute Quinoa (or pre-cooked quinoa) and cook for 1 minute.

When that’s done, you can dump it into your oatmeal mixture and stir in the peanut butter.

I have crushed strawberries in my freezer, so I would have some unthawed just for this and top the porridge with strawberries instead of blueberry compote. If you are using sliced banana, put it on top.