This is a fantastic savoury porridge made with steel cut oats from the cookbook Simply Vibrant from one of my favourite blogs, Golubka Kitchen.

Often savoury porridges aren't vegan-friendly, relying a lot on cheese or eggs, but this porridge gets its richness from buttery pine nuts and a savoury hit from loads of fresh greens – which also makes it the perfect thing for this weird winter-to-spring transition. The base is creamy and the texture of the steel cut oats makes this porridge almost have a breakfast risotto vibe.

For some more savoury breakfast recipes, try my vegan baked beans, healing Ayurvedic kitchari, or easy quinoa congee.

A bowl of porridge with greens and pine nuts.
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Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

This recipe is from a cookbook so the ingredients and instructions are directly from the book. These are my suggestions to adapt it here.

  • Steel cut oats: you can adapt this recipe to be made with rolled oats, but they only need a few minutes to cook and you'll need just two cups of liquid.
  • Coconut oil: use ghee if that's part of your diet, or even something like olive oil.
  • Water: the recipe specifically calls for purified water. I use tap water.
  • Milk: any type of non-dairy milk, but note that some homemade plant milks will thicken when cooked, like oat milk.
  • Chard: kale and spinach are good subs, as are other greens like beet tops.
  • Pine nuts: use another nut or seed if preferred. Slivered almonds are nice.

Top Tips

  • Toast the oats: taking the time to toast the oats in oil before adding water adds a big flavour boost – don't skip it.
  • Use those stems: one of the key elements of this cookbook is to use every part of the vegetable and have less kitchen waste. This includes frying up chard stems, and it's delicious!
  • Note the time needed: while this is an oatmeal recipe, steel cut oats need about 40 minutes to cook fully so this is more of a weekend recipe.

How to Store

Storage: keep the porridge in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days, and reheat with a splash of milk. The greens aren't as good when stored like this.

Freezing: transfer fully cooled porridge to an airtight container and freeze for up to a month. If you're doing this, I recommend freezing the plain steel cut oats, and then frying the nuts and chard to add once it's thawed.

If you make this Savoury Oatmeal or any other whole food breakfast recipes on Wholehearted Eats, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more WHE, follow along on Instagram or subscribe for new posts via email.

Recipe

A bowl of porridge with greens and pine nuts.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Vegan Savoury Porridge with Chard

A vegan savoury porridge made with steel cut oats, swiss chard, and pine nuts from the Simply Vibrant cookbook. This is a great warming breakfast.
Reprinted with permission from Simply Vibrant, copyright © 2018 by Anya Kassoff. Published by Roost Boulder, a diminutive of Shambala.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Servings: 6
Author: Anya Kassoff

Equipment

  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Medium saucepan
  • Cooking pan
  • Wooden spoon

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or ghee, divided
  • 1 cup steel cut oats
  • 3 cups purified water hot
  • Sea salt
  • 1 cup almond or coconut milk
  • ¼ cup pine nuts
  • 5-7 chard leaves stems and leaves separated and chopped

Instructions

  • Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the oats and stir until golden and fragrant. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn down to simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • After the 25 minutes are up, add the almond milk and simmer, partially covered, for another 15 minutes.
  • While the oats are cooking heat a pan medium low heat. Melt the remaining coconut oil with a pinch of salt and toast the pine nuts. They burn quickly, so keep an eye on them. Once toasted remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.
  • Increase the pan to medium heat and add the chard stems. Saute until soft, about five minutes.
  • When the porridge is cooked stir-in the chard leaves and cooked stems. Remove it from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes to allow the leaves to wilt.

3 Comments

  1. Aah I have been seeing so many beautiful recipes from this cookbook, and I have to say I think this is one of my favorites so far. I keep meaning to try making savory porridge (so late to the game) and this recipe sounds perfectly flavorful and cozy. Cannot wait to try! Also to get my hands on this book! xx

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