DIY Gluten-free Multi-grain Porridge Recipe - Pamela Salzman Skip to content

DIY Gluten-free Multi-grain Porridge Recipe

How to make your own gluten-free multigrain porridge | pamela salzman

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day not only because it jumpstarts your brain and your metabolism, gives you fuel to get going, provides energy until your next meal, but it also sets the tone for how you feel and what you crave the rest of the day.

Hypothetically speaking, if I eat a doughnut for breakfast, my blood sugar will surge, then plummet, making me cranky and not able to think very clearly.  I will be hungry a short while later, and psychologically other things can happen.  That sugar may initiate more cravings for sweets during the day.  I might be annoyed with myself for eating something “bad” and feel depressed afterwards.  I could even think my whole day of eating has already been “ruined” and so I throw in the towel and eat a whole other bunch of crap, which we all know is a crazy thing to do, but it happens to the best of us.

Mix some grains

The key is to eat the right amount of the right combination of high quality protein, fats and complex carbohydrates at breakfast.

At least twice each week, I make a big pot of warm porridge, usually steel cut oats, but occasionally another grain or two.  I set out a bunch of different jars on the counter so everyone can make their own “power bowl” with fresh or dried fruit, nuts or nut butter, seeds, coconut, granola, and the like.

Mixed grains for porridge

Last year I decided to change it up a bit and mix a bunch of different grains I had lying around and see what would happen.  It’s always a good idea to expose yourself to more nutrients and flavors!  I chose grains that all had similar cooking times — millet, quinoa, rolled oats and “creamy buckwheat cereal.” The buckwheat cereal is just the cut version of whole buckwheat groats, so it cooks faster.  I loved it and so did my husband!  My son, who doesn’t like to try anything new, thought it was “ok.”  But he finished his bowl and eats it all every time I make it.  (I think he secretly likes it.)

Mixed grains for porridge

Many of my students have asked me for the “recipe” after seeing many a bowl of multigrain porridge on my Instagram feed.  There’s really no one recipe for how to do this.  I usually use 1 cup of mixed grains, so you can divide that equally into 1/4 cups of each of 4 grains.  Or you can do mostly oats if that’s what is most familiar to you and a couple tablespoons of the other ones.  (Mixing the grains makes for a more complex flavor than just one note.)  I like to cook with water and when the grains are nice and soft and porridge-like, finish it off with something creamy like almond milk.  If you are desperate to get more protein into your breakfast, you can certainly cook your grains with milk from the start.

DIY gluten-free multigrain porridge | pamela salzman

You can also use other grains like wheat berries (not GF), brown rice, spelt (not GF), barley (not GF) and steel cut oats, but keep in mind those take longer to cook even if you soak them the night before (which you should do — see this post for why.)

DIY gluten-free multigrain porridge with apple, almonds and hemp seeds | pamela salzman

There are infinite possibilities for toppings or add-ins, but I have included a few images of my latest creations (sorry there are no images of the porridge in the pot — the steam fogged up my camera and the pictures were a mess!) and you can check this post on some of my favorite oatmeal concoctions.  Make your next breakfast count!

DIY gluten-free multigrain porridge with turmeric, vanilla powder, walnuts, pomegranate seeds, raw cacao nibs | pamela salzman

DIY Gluten-free Multi-grain Porridge
Author: 
Serves: 3-4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup mixed gluten-free grains (I like a combination of rolled oats*, quinoa, millet, and creamy buckwheat), preferably soaked overnight in water and drained
  • 4 cups water (use 3 ½ cups of water if grains were soaked)
  • ½ - 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice (click here for how to make your own almond milk)
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the grains and water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to a simmer and cook covered.
  2. Cook until all the grains are tender, about 25-30 minutes. If grains were previously soaked, they will cook much more quickly!
  3. Stir in the almond milk according to whether you like your porridge is thick or thin until porridge is nice and creamy. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few days. Reheat in a saucepan with a little water or almond milk to desired consistency.
Notes
*Look for specially labeled Gluten-free oats if you are gluten-intolerant or are trying to limit gluten.

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Comments

7 Comments

  1. Hi pamela my name is ankush…. For multi grain porridge i usually mix wheat steel cut,ragi steel cut,rolled oats and steel cut hulled barley and its instant i just boil it in water for 5 minutes and its ready(and it keeps the body cool since the above items are cooling agents)…cannot afford quinoa because its very expensive in INDIA and i sell it since I have a small health store… But now i will suggest them to mix berries and all just like you have mentioned above… Thank you for sharing it!!

  2. Hi Pamela,
    I cook Organic whole rolled oats, Organic Quinoa and Organic hulled millet in an automatic
    rice cooker. Sometimes I have organic white rice with it instead of the oats. I am looking for more
    variety so the Creamed Buckwheat sounds like a good idea. After cooking add freshly ground organic chia
    or Linseed. I then have it with a good quality apple juice as dairy and I dont really get along. Thanks
    for your website.

    • I love combining grains for a more interesting flavor. Have you tried finishing the porridge with a homemade nut milk?

  3. Hi, I have all of these ingredients and a very large glass jar, so I am wondering if it’s okay to put all the oats/grains (and perhaps some cinnamon) into the jar, ready for me to scoop out each morning for my son. It may be a silly question, but I am new to some of these foods, so I hope these will keep just fine stored together in a ‘premix’, without anything reacting to another.

    • Not a silly question at all! It is absolutely fine to pre-mix the grains and store them that way. I don’t see why you couldn’t mix cinnamon in with it, but personally I would add it to the pot when you need it in case you’re (or your son) isn’t in the mood for it one morning. 🙂

  4. I put chia into my milk for 15 minutes before heating and adding oats to cook. It has transformed breakfast and makes regular oatmeal so much tastier. I’ll have to start experimenting with these other grains too!

    • Thanks for the tip, Erica! I’m a big fan of chia seeds. I’ve been doing a raw version of that, soaking chia and oats overnight, but not cooking it. I bet it’s delicious!


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I come from a large Italian-American family with 28 first cousins (on one side of the family!) where sit-down holiday dinners for 85 people are the norm (how, you might ask – organization! But more on that later …).

Some of my fondest memories are of simple family gatherings, both large and small, with long tables of bowls and platters piled high, the laughter of my cousins echoing and the comfort of tradition warming my soul.

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