Truly sugar free porridge recipe with healthy topping options. This recipe is easy to make, healthy and surprisingly tasty. I’ve included suggestions for toppings, including some very low sugar options such as spice mixes and fresh fruit.
This recipe is for one medium sized porridge bowl/portion, so if you are cooking for the whole family, just increase the recipe by the number of people you are cooking for.
Why make this recipe?
- Sugar free recipe
- Healthy
- Easy to make
- Can be made dairy free/vegan/vegetarian
The main ingredients
Oats
You can use any oats you have, including gluten free oats.
The final consistency of the porridge depends on what type of oats you use, but I usually go for proper old fashioned oats (Scottish oats) as they have a thicker texture (and don’t get too mushy). I usually make this porridge just for me, so I use the microwave to boil my porridge. You can double/triple the recipe and use a saucepan on the hob or a large bowl in the microwave to prevent your porridge from overflowing.
Milk
You are welcome to use any milk you have at hand – full-fat, semi-skimmed, skimmed, dairy free or any plant based milks. You can even make this porridge with just water. The taste will change slightly depending on what type of milk you use.
Salt
Add a tiny pinch of salt to bring all the flavours together and make the porridge less bland
Top tips
- If you don’t have milk, use water instead and add a table spoon of yoghurt, cream or powdered milk in just before you serve your porridge.
Sugar free porridge toppings suggestions
No sugar toppings
- Seeds – pumpkin, sunflower, chia, seasame or poppy seeds
- Pinch of warming spice – cinnamon or any mixed spice (see list below)
Low sugar toppings
- Dark Chocolate
- Peanut Butter
Medium sugar toppings
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
Higher sugar toppings – much higher in sugar
- Bananas
- Pineapples
- Milk Chocolate
High sugar toppings – natural, but high in sugar
- Dried Fruit
- Maple, Date, Agave syrup
- White chocolate
Seasonal toppings suggestions
Spring
Elderflower Syrup
Summer
Strawberries & Cream – Few chopped up strawberries and table spoon of cream cheese mixed into the porridge
Augumn
Plums & Cinnamon
Blackberries
Pumpkin Puree & Spice
Apple & Cinnamon – chopped up fresh apples and sprinkles of cinnamon
Winter
Christmas Spice & Irish Cream
Gingerbread & Spice – Few gingerbread biscuits crushed with a sprinkle of Gingerbread Spice
Stollen Porridge – Small chunks of marzipan with a sprinkle of Stolen Christmas Spice Mix
More oats recipes
- Spiced Apple Oatmeal >>
- Brownie Batter Oatmeal >>
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Oatmeal >>
- Overnight Oats with Peanut Butter >>
- Bacon grits breakfast bowl >>
Sugar Free Porridge
Equipment
- microwave or a saucepan on a hob
Instructions
Make it on the hob
- Measure out the oats and add to a smaller saucepan together with the milk and few grains of salt.
- Stir the porridge mixture and bring to a boil.
- Turn down the heat and carry on stirring until your porridge thickens a little. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Add more milk if the mixture looks too thick
- Take off the heat, pour into a bowl.
Make it in the microwave
- Add all ingredients into a medium size bowl.
- Place into a microwave and cook for 2 minutes. Check and stir after each minute or 30 seconds depending on your microwave. Leave to rest for 1 minute in switched off microwave.
- Serve straight away with toppings of your choice or on it's own.
Learn how to bake bread at home with my practical bread making e-book. Step by step techniques, photos and tips on how to bake artisan bread, sourdough and enriched dough treats. Find out more and 
I wasn’t convinced that this recipe will work, but actually it wasn’t too bad. I’m trying to stay away from sugar, so I reduced the amount of sugar that I normally have on my breakfast porridge. Next day I tried it again with less sugar and added some cinnamon. It’s lovely to try different spices instead of sugar, so I’ll carry on! Thank you for sharing this recipe.