Warm coconut millet porridge recipe
I don’t know what has taken me so long to share my favorite breakfast with you. Although I haven’t really been holding out on you since I did snap a picture of this delectable millet porridge a few months ago and posted it on Facebook. But I know most people want a recipe, they want DETAILS. So here it is – my most favorite, comforting, hug of a breakfast, made with a grain (really a seed) that is so underappreciated and low profile that I am ready to shine some more light on it.
I have posted two other millet recipes on this site, a pilaf with mushrooms as well as a mash with cauliflower. Neither of which has received much love in the way of comments even though I promised deliciousness, but I’m back to try again. Coincidentally, Phoebe Lapine posted a lovely millet salad with fennel and tomatoes on her site this week and I thought this is the time. Millet’s got some buzz.
I know it’s a risk to try something new, but millet is easy, non-offensive, as well as super nutritious, gluten-free and alkalizing. And when you make it taste like dulce de leche meets horchata meets chai tea, I know you’re going to love it. LOVE. I actually make a big batch of millet every Sunday so I can have this yumminess every morning no matter how busy or time-crunched I might be. Just like any other grain, you can freeze millet in batches and defrost whenever it strikes your fancy. I have a feeling most of you aren’t big on over-the-top desserts or sweets, but with a little extra sweetener I think this could even pass for a dessert, like rice pudding.
I absolutely must top something creamy with something crunchy, so a nut of sorts is always in the picture. And I am mad crazy for toasted coconut so I’ll add that too, if I have some. I wrote “optional” in the recipe next to the pistachios and toasted coconut so that you wouldn’t freak out over so many ingredients for a breakfast dish, but people, live it up and add them on!
Today’s the day to give millet a shot. No more excuses. If you don’t live near a natural foods store, you can order it from Bob’s Red Mill, Amazon or Vitacost. And if you do try this creamy, dreamy porridge, make my day and let me know about it!
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or if you prefer to use sweetened almond milk, you can lessen the added sweetener)
- ¾ cup coconut milk (I use full fat Native Forest)
- ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons – 1 ½ Tablespoons raw honey (optional)
- 2 teaspoons – 1 ½ Tablespoons Grade A maple syrup (optional)
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (this is amazing here)
- 2 cups COOKED millet*
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened flaked coconut
- 2 Tablespoons chopped pistachios or almonds or walnuts (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons toasted unsweetened, flaked coconut (optional)
- In a medium saucepan whisk together almond milk, coconut milk, vanilla, honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir in millet and 3 Tablespoons coconut flakes, breaking up any clumps of millet.
- Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, and lower to simmer. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, breaking up any remaining clumps of millet, until thickened.
- Remove from heat and serve with pistachios and toasted coconut flakes, if desired.
You can really adjust the amount and type of sweetener to your liking. For breakfast, I am fine with no sweetener or just a smidge of raw honey and maple syrup. You should try it with a little at first and then increase only if you need it. Or use your sweetener of choice, such as stevia if that suits you. I also very often eat this with goji berries and/or raw cacao nibs!
63 Comments
I made this as written and it was delicious! I made it again, this morning, and added in some uncooked riced cauliflower that I had in the fridge and it tastes great! Can’t even taste the cauli:)
Amazing!! I love using riced vegetables anywhere I can. So good and you can’t detect it. Thanks for sharing, Jill.
Hi Pamela,
What a great recipe — even my five-year-old son loves it, WITH the cardamom. We’ve quarantined for two weeks, due to possible exposure to the CoronaVirus, and I’m cooking many of your delicious recipes for inspiration, nutrition and variety. This one is real comfort good, and healthy! Much appreciated when it feels like the walls are closing in at times.
Thank you for all the great information on your website and in your cookbook. Combined with your sense of humor, which cracks me up, your approach to food makes cooking and meal-planning more easeful.
I’ve been following your website for about 7 months, bought your first cookbook, and I look forward to the next book. Thanks again!
Thank you so much, Lola! What a generous comment. I do hope you and your family stay well during this time. Glad you are enjoying all the recipes!
Man…this looks great! Can hardly wait to try! Thank you so much. Did you ever think about slow cooking it overnight?
I haven’t but I think it would turn out great. I would follow my instructions for slow cooker apple pie oats and see what happens!
Do you think that this would work in a rice cooker, like quinoa does, in the same water to millet proportion?
I would guess so, but it’s just a guess since I’ve never tried it in a rice cooker. Sorry!
I don’t know what took me so long to try this… I ate it for an early lunch and the leftovers in the fridge taste just like my favorite indian dessert, kheer! amazing! thank you!
Because I never taught it in a class. Isn’t it the best? xo
Fantastic recipe!! I have made it two days in a row now for my family and we definitely prefer it over oatmeal now. Thank you for sharing 🙂
So nice to get out of the oatmeal rut, too! Thanks, Kiki!
I am using millet flakes, do I roughly follow the same instructions – pre-cook and then assemble with the rest of the ingredients?
Thank you!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! II was feeling a bit lost when it came to breakfast. I have given up gluten. But your recipe completely made my day. Loved every bite.
Mmmmm…love this one, too. Thanks for writing in! 🙂
I make this two-three times a week and top it with Mark Bitman’s vegan spicy apple jam. Thanks for posting!
Whoa. What’s Mark Bittman’s vegan spicy apple jam? Need to investigate that one! Thanks, Melody!
1] My Gripe:Early stage cataracts make things look darke. So old folks like me have a harder time reading type of the pale gray kind as is used in your site and so many others lately… What is the matter with BLACK ??? Are Web-Developers trying to save ink??? Black would really save eyestrain… and would certainly be appreciated…
2] Despite all the above gripe I really enjoyed this site, and cooked a batch at once… The package recipe called for 1Tbsp of olive oils and 1 cup of millet to roast/fry+ stir till it is tan, before adding 2 cups hot water to it. Simmer it 20-30 minutes. My terrible sweet tooth led me to grate 1/2 a banana in the bottom of a cereal bowl,add 1 cup millet top it with 1/3 cup cooked cranberries, stir it in, and then top it with ANDES,1Tbsp Crème de menthe chips ….talk about one good dessert…!!! thanks- I am going to try all your recipes too, now that I found Millet/Quiona… and thank you for the tip on soaking grain in slightly acidified H2O…
Your comment made me laugh! I have no idea why my web developer chose gray type. Bummer. I will talk to him. Thank you for the feedback, though. Would love to hear back from you if you make any of the recipes. Cheers!
Look great. I look forward to trying it.
My mom and I are trying to cut back on sugar and she found this recipe to try. We just enjoyed it together for breakfast and it was delicious! We especially loved the combination of spices. We will definitely do it again!
Great to hear! I make this very often for my daughters and myself, too!
This is Awesome!!’ I love it and so do my little Toddlers! Thank You fir sharing as I find it sooooo difficult for breakfast ideas.
What great news!! So happy it was a success with the little ones, too. 🙂
Truly delicious! The cardmom makes it the best breakfast I’ve had in a very long time. Will definetely make this again, and again!
The cardamom makes it! Thanks for writing in!
Absolutely awesome! Good fats, protein, GF, DF and so tasty!!!
I second that!
Oh wow!!!!!! Thank you Pamela!!!! I did this breakfast for my family here in the Caribbean, this morning and they were wowed! Definitely a keeper. I added pumpkin seeds and cranberries on top as well with my almonds and homemade toasted coconut!
How nice! I bet the pumpkin seeds and cranberries on top were fantastic. Perfect for fall!
G’day from downunder, we tried this porridge when we started our experiment going gluten free – what a sublime introduction. Thank you so much.
G’day, Katy! So glad you enjoyed this. I think millet is great!
Hi this looks lovely. I have not had millet before but I can no longer eat oats so want to try it.
Do I soak the millet over night before cooking?
Also, you say you make a batch for the week, do you just reheat a portion each day and add toppings? Or do you mean that you make enough cooked millet, then add the other ingredients each day?
I hope that makes sense!
Many thanks
Make total sense! If you want to soak the millet ahead of time, you absolutely can! It makes the millet more digestible, although millet doesn’t have as much phytic acid as other grains, so I usually skip the soaking. I cook the millet in water at the beginning of the week and then use the cooked millet during the week and add the almond milk, coconut milk, spices, etc. I like to have the millet in the fridge plain in case I change my mind a few days later and want something different.
Great thanks!
I do this with quinoa (minus the cinnamon, cardamon) and love it! About to make it with millet and I just know I’m going to love it, too! Thanks
Quinoa iss great, too! I actually love the texture of quinoa, but the blandness of millet is easier to work with here. Hope you enjoy it!
I can’t believe I have never heard or tried Millet before. Its dreamy creamy. Will try it with coconut milk soon for uber health breakfast meal.
Let me know if you do!
Hi, I’m a student and so looking for cheap, easy and healthy recipes. What would this be like with just milk, water and some sort of sweetener like normal porridge? Are the extra ingredients such as coconut milk necessary or are they just to suit your own taste? I personally don’t like coconut so would be happy not to add it! Thank you x
Thanks for your question! The coconut milk thickens it up a bit and adds a nice flavor that I like. But you can finish it off with just milk, it just might be not be as creamy as with the coconut milk. It will still be delicious. The key flavors are the cinnamon, cardamom and the sweeteners. If you just add sugar, it will be different, but certainly less expensive. At least you’re making your own hot cereal instead of instant packets — those things are a fortune for low quality ingredients.
I made your millet porridge this morning after a friend told me how fabulous it was. She wasn’t wrong! I LOVED it! I made it in my Thermomix so it turned out a bit runnier than yours looks in the pictures which was fine by me. Thank you so much for sharing such a fabulous recipe. It is definitely going on my favourites list and I’m looking forward to trying more of your offerings. 🙂
So glad to hear that, Susie!
Just tried millet for the first time tonight and loved it.Your recipe looks delicious so will try it soon. How much cooked millet is a normal serving size for one person?
1 cup of cooked millet has about 200 calories, 41 grams of carbs and 6 grams of protein. In this recipe, I give a range for the serving sizes because not everyone eats the same amount. I personally eat 1 cup of cooked millet for breakfast. Hope that helps!
I just got around making this wonderful breakfast. I could not find organic coconut milk. I found a recipe on line to make it out of dried coconut for pennies a serving and very easy. I will make this again, and soak the millet first.
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. I am going to make your Southwestern Quinoa Salad for 80 people at my fundraiser in June.
Look at you making homemade coconut milk! How fabulous! Hoping your big event goes well in June — I’m sure it will be wonderful 🙂
I love my oatmeal, but it has been getting old for me, too. I just tried this recipe this past weekend and was astounded by how wonderfully delicious (and healthy) breakfast could be. Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! I swear I eat this 4 days a week and I still loooove it. 🙂
You definitely made a “millet believer” out of me, although I think I was actually snared by the coconut:) The recipe is yummy and even better than a coconut pudding. I’m looking forward to trying it as a dessert and MAYBE even attempting your other millet recipes. Thanks for all your great culinary ideas!
Made this as a dessert to your vegetable curry…Delicious!! Thank you for the great recipe!! I also wanted to tell you that cauliflower mash is a favorite in the family now also.
Joann, that is a perfect match with the curry — yum! So nice to hear about the cauliflower mash, as well. Thanks!!
Hey Pamela do you believe in soaking grains
overnight with apple cider vinegar?? (To make it
Easier to digest)
I have started soaking my oats, rice etc after reading
Nourishing Traditions.
I do, Sharon! I soak all my grains and legumes overnight, either in plain water or with a little whey added (from yogurt). I mention it here: https://pamelasalzman.com/pantry/ I haven’t gotten into the habit of soaking nuts and seeds, though (unless it’s for almond milk or cashew cream.) I need to buy a dehydrator!
How much dry millet will make 2 cups of cooked millet?
Good question! It usually expands by about three times. So 1 cup dry should become 3 cups cooked. If you only want 2 cups cooked, start with 2/3 cup dry.
Thanks! I can’t wait to try this.
Just made this. It’s so delicious! Thanks for another great recipe.
How awesome! Thanks for giving it a go and letting me know 🙂
OMG! Making this next week! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Oldmeal is getting OLD! What a great alternative!
Did you just write “Oldmeal?” HA! That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day. Yes, make this, you’ll love it.
um…LOOKS AMAZING. We have so much cooking ESP going on! This reminds me so much of the coconut rice pudding I make. It was the first recipe I posted to FMP, so holds a special place in my heart. Will have to try this. xoxo
Crazy! Just took a peek at your coconut rice pudding which looks like heaven. xoxo