Skip the packets of instant oatmeal and learn this recipe for creamy blueberry porridge. It’s an oatmeal porridge bursting with flavor from the homemade blueberry topping to the maple tahini drizzle and the sweet sesame crunch. And don’t forget to finish it all with half of a sliced banana and a handful of fresh blueberries for a truly memorable bowl of oats, and a healthy breakfast!
Who else is on a health kick after the New Year?
If you are trying to eat a little healthier after the holidays, oatmeal is a great way to start your day. It has tons of fiber, iron, and protein to fill you up until lunch. Not only that, it is so versatile!
This version, for example, is both healthy and indulgent, but you can modify it in either direction. Top it with an extra fistful of fresh blueberries, a few extra slices of banana, or even replace the sesame crunch with toasted sesame seeds if you’re feeling healthy. Or, if you’re feeling a bit extra, drizzle maple with reckless abandon or give yourself a little extra candied sesame.
And if you have some reservations about oatmeal, I get it. If you follow the recipes on the back of the box, oatmeal tends to be stodgy at best. And that’s why this recipe is different. Let’s talk oatmeal.
How to Make Creamy Porridge Oats on the Stovetop
If you grew up making oatmeal using the recipe on the back of the box, you probably make your oats with a 1:2 oats to water ratio. For every 1 cup of oats, you use 2 cups of liquid. I personally don’t mind making my oats this way and then topping it off with extra milk.
But recently, my husband told me he likes his oats with a very different consistency. And then his family came to town, and I made oatmeal with a 1:4 recipe (mostly to appease my husband).
Folks, it was a game changer.
What I ended up with was a thick and creamy porridge. Silky smooth. And once I poured the oatmeal and nestled my toppings into the bowl, it was a most luxurious experience. I once read somewhere that rolled oats are a misunderstood breakfast staple in that we try to force them into acting like steel cut oats – but they are not.
So, my #1 takeaway in this little oatmeal adventure is this: If you are craving the bite and chew of steel cut oats, make steel cut oats. Rolled oats aren’t chewy to begin with and any attempt to turn them into steel cut oats is subpar at best. (Which I can now say, having been to oatmeal utopia.)
Rolled oats are in a league of their own. And if you increase the oat to liquid ratio, you’ll end up with a velvety smooth porridge worthy of Goldilocks herself.
At first you’ll question my sanity. It looks like a lot of liquid. But as it starts to simmer, the oats will absorb some of the milk and water mixture, and the starches will thicken the remaining mixture.
Of course, food textures are a matter of personal preference. At the end of the day (or the start of it), what matters is enjoying what you make. If you’ve got a way you like preparing oatmeal, adjust the actual oatmeal recipe to your liking. The blueberry topping, maple tahini, and sesame crunch are still worthy of sitting atop your oatmeal.
Which brings me to your grocery list if you’re going to make this oatmeal.
Ingredients for Blueberry Oatmeal with Maple Tahini and Sesame Brittle
For the Oatmeal:
- Old-fashioned oats: Also called rolled oats, these cook in 5 minutes, which is much faster than the 25 minutes it takes to cook steel cut oats.
- Milk: I like using a mixture of milk and water to cook my oats in.
- Pure maple syrup: Any brand of pure maple syrup is fine to use.
- Vanilla extract: If you have it on hand, vanilla bean paste tastes even better.
- Salt: The salt helps bring out the flavors in the oatmeal. Skipping it = blah.
For the Blueberries:
- Fresh blueberries: You’ll need fresh blueberries to make the easy blueberry compote as well as as a few fresh blueberries to sprinkle over the top right before serving.
- Granulated sugar: You’ll use a couple spoonfuls of granulated sugar to sweeten the blueberry compote.
- Orange zest: Freshly grated orange zest livens up the blueberries.
- Orange juice: You can use freshly squeezed orange juice from the orange you zest or use a shot of cointreau.
For the Maple Tahini Sauce:
- Maple syrup: I use pure maple syrup to sweeten the porridge ever so slightly before putting it in the bowl and loading it up. I also use it to sweeten the tahini paste.
- Tahini: Tahini paste has a rich nuttiness that goes really well with the fresh fruit in this recipe. I’ve found that I don’t like tahini paste as a sauce unless it has a little maple syrup or honey to sweeten it ever so slightly, and in this recipe we also thin it out with a bit of water.
For the Sesame Brittle:
- White sesame seeds: I make sesame seed brittle for a little extra crunch and I like to crush it over the top of the oatmeal. If you want to simplify the recipe, you can skip making the crunch and simply toast the sesame seeds. (It’ll be a bit healthier, too).
- Granulated sugar
Fresh Fruit:
- Extra blueberries: I like the contrast of the cooked blueberries with the bright pop of the cold, fresh ones.
- Sliced bananas: I like to add up to half a banana to my bowl of porridge. It goes equally well with the tahini sauce and it’s a great way to get a little more fruit into your breakfast!
How to Make Blueberry Oatmeal Porridge with Maple Tahini and Sesame Brittle
Oatmeal
- Put all oatmeal ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium low, stirring frequently, until milk has been absorbed and mixture has thickened to your liking. I cooked mine for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat to Let cool and thicken up slightly.
- Sweeten to taste with maple syrup.
- Top with maple tahini sauce, blueberry compote, half of a fresh banana, a handful of fresh blueberries and some crushed sesame brittle or toasted sesame seeds.
Blueberry Smash
- Combine the blueberries, the sugar, the water, orange zest, orange juice, and cardamom in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and lowering the heat if necessary.
- Remove from heat and use a potato masher to gently smash the blueberries. The mixture will become thick and jammy as it cools.
Make Maple Tahini Sauce
- Add all of the maple tahini sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Make Sesame Brittle
- Place the sugar in a small pan and let it melt at medium-low heat. Once the sugar starts melting, you can start to stir it with a spatula. Stir it pretty much constantly.
- As the sugar melts and turns to amber color, remove the pan from the heat immediately, add the sesame seeds directly to the pan, and stir. Make sure sesame seeds are mixed with melted sugar evenly. After they all mixed, use the spatula to spread the caramelized sesame seeds on to a parchment paper. Be careful as the mixture is extremely hot.
Additions and Substitutions
Substitutions
- The oatmeal: Replace these rolled oats with any other whole grain you might use to make a breakfast porridge (think quick oats, steel-cut oats, amaranth, brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc.). Just make sure you adjust liquid and cooking time for the grain you opt for. The toppings for this bowl will go with any warm breakfast bowl. Simply prepare your porridge to your liking and then make the toppings (tahini, blueberries, sesame brittle) for your bowl.
- Skip the sesame brittle: Although I love the crunch and sweetness the sesame brittle adds, you can also skip it. It will save you 5 minutes in the morning and also make the bowl a little healthier.
- Coconut milk instead of milk, or any dairy-free alternative for that matter: almond milk, oat milk, etc.
- Brown sugar instead of maple syrup to sweeten the oatmeal.
- Any nut butter: You can make a sauce to drizzle over the oatmeal with any nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter), although depending on its original consistency, you may need to loosen it up with a little more water. If I were going to replace the nut butter used, I’d probably also swap out the nuts used in the brittle as well. (So almond butter with almond brittle, for example.)
Things You Can Add to Your Blueberry Porridge
It’s oatmeal, so really you can’t go wrong adding odds and ends that help clean out the fridge. Go wild and use your imagination: blackberries, raspberries, toasted coconut, etc.
Final Thoughts:
You can make all of the oatmeal toppings overnight. Refrigerate blueberries in an airtight container. Store sesame brittle in an airtight container or Ziploc bag on the counter. Store maple tahini in an airtight container on the counter.
Looking for some more great breakfast inspiration? Try my pistachio chocolate chip muffins or zhuzh up your coffee with this blackberry simple syrup (a personal favorite of mine!).
📖 Recipe
Blueberry Porridge with Maple Tahini and Sesame Brittle
Ingredients
Oatmeal
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats old-fashioned oats
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups milk
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Blueberry Smash
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- Bring to boil and boil for 3-5 minutes or until blueberries pop
Maple Tahini Sauce
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 tablespoons water
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
(Optional) For the Sesame Brittle
- ¼ cup sesame
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Misc. For Garnish
- 2 bananas sliced – ½ banana per bowl
- Optional Handful fresh blueberries per bowl
Instructions
Oatmeal
- Put all oatmeal ingredients in a saucepan and cook on medium low, stirring frequently, until milk has been absorbed and mixture has thickened to your liking. I cooked mine for 12-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat to Let cool and thicken up slightly.
- Sweeten to taste with maple syrup.
- Top with maple tahini sauce, blueberry compote, half of a fresh banana, a handful of fresh blueberries and some crushed sesame brittle or toasted sesame seeds.
Blueberry Smash
- Combine the blueberries, the sugar, the water, orange zest, orange juice, and cardamom in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally and lowering the heat if necessary.
- Remove from heat and use a potato masher to gently smash the blueberries. The mixture will become thick and jammy as it cools.
Maple Tahini Sauce
- Add all of the maple tahini sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until smooth and creamy.
Sesame Brittle (If Making)
- Place the sugar in a small pan and let it melt at medium-low heat. Once the sugar starts melting, you can start to stir it with a spatula. Stir it pretty much constantly.
- As the sugar melts and turns to amber color, remove the pan from the heat immediately, add the sesame seeds directly to the pan, and stir. Make sure sesame seeds are mixed with melted sugar evenly. After they all mixed, use the spatula to spread the caramelized sesame seeds on to a parchment paper. Be careful as the mixture is extremely hot.
