5-Minute Banana Breakfast Porridge

This creamy banana porridge is a delicious way to level up your morning bowl of oats.

As a nutritionist, I’m often asked for nutritious breakfast recipes that hero budget-friendly oats. This bowlful is a firm favourite (along with this carrot cake oatmeal with quick oats – yum!), and comes together in around five minutes.

While topping porridge with sliced banana is oh so classic, this version actually cooks banana in with the oats. As the fruit warms and softens, it infuses in a natural sweetness and yummy banana flavour.

Ingredients & Substitutions

Only a few ingredients are needed to make this recipe:

• Extra ripe banana aka the ones in the fruit bowl a few days away from being banana cake – fully yellow with some brown and black flecks. The main component of unripe bananas is starch, but through ripening this converts to sugars, equating to sweetness. Fun fact, ripe fruit are naturally more flavourful – a banana will taste more, well, banana!
• Quick oats are called so because they cook fast (great for mornings when time is scarce!) into a smooth, creamy consistency. You could sub in rolled oats here, but this will need a longer cooking time.
• Milk. The key ingredient that turns oats into porridge! Use whatever is your preference or handy, e.g. nut milk, dairy milk (or even water).
• Maple syrup or honey to boost and round out sweetness.
• Coconut cream or milk and vanilla for incredible creaminess and flavour.
• Chia seeds further thicken the porridge while adding filling dietary fibre and heart-healthy omega-3 fats. You leave these out if not on hand.

Topping-wise, porridge can be a great vehicle for other nutritious ingredients. Before serving you could add a drizzle of nut butter, chopped nuts, a sprinkle of seeds or extra chopped fruit!

Nutrition Q&A

Here are a few commonly asked questions on porridge and quick oats nutrition:

• Porridge vs oatmeal – what’s the difference? Porridge and oatmeal are terms often used interchangeably. However, oatmeal exclusively refers to a porridge made with oats. Porridge is an umbrella word for a hot cereal made by boiling together a grain with milk, water or broth. In NZ we commonly refer to oatmeal as porridge, despite its broad usage!
• Are quick oats a good source of protein? Raw oats provide a good source of protein at 11-17% dried weight, which is considerably higher than many other grains (1). This, alongside your cooking liquid of choice, can lead to a relatively protein-packed breakfast. Per 250ml serve, a cup of dairy milk offers around 7-8g of protein, while soya milk is the closest alternative with around 7.8g. Nut, oat and rice work well from a culinary perspective, they’re just not as rich in protein – for comparison, rice or almond offer 1-2g.
• Is porridge a good source of fibre? Yes! Porridge made with quick oats contains a good source of both insoluble and soluble fibre. Insoluble fibre helps bulk out stools (gross, but great), assisting with keeping regular. Soluble fibre, specifically beta-glucan, partially dissolves in water, forming a thick gel-like substance. This may help promote feelings of fullness, improve blood sugar control, and even reduce bad cholesterol levels(2).

Can You Make This Porridge Vegan-Friendly?

With many readers on Nourish & Tempt vegan, I often get questions on possible ingredient substitutions for recipes. To make this dish vegan (and dairy-free!), simply do the following:

• Swap dairy milk for plant milk. Opt for dairy-free milk that has been fortified with calcium wherever possible.
• Use maple syrup instead of honey. Other friendly sweeteners like rice malt syrup or granulated sugar are AOK too.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this recipe. For more brekkie ideas made with oats try these banana oat pancakes or this peanut butter and jelly overnight oats🥜