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Murielle Banackissa

Easy 5-Minute Vegan Cream of Wheat Porridge

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This quick and easy breakfast is a wonderful substitute to oats and makes for a lovely plant based breakfast on a cold winter morning.

Ingredients

  • ¼ cup cream of wheat (I use this one)
  • ¾ cup filtered water
  • ¼ cup + 2 tbsp unsweetened soy milk
  • 2 tbsp full fat coconut milk
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup , optional
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Frozen berries , thawed

Recipe

  1. Step 1

    Add cream of wheat, water, soy milk, coconut milk, maple syrup and salt to a small pot. Stir and bring to a boil.

  2. Step 2

    Once boiling, reduce heat to low, stir and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed, but you are still left with a creamy porridge texture.

  3. Step 3

    Turn off the heat and stir in vanilla extract.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer to a bowl and garnish with your favorite toppings. Here, I used unthawed berries.

  5. Step 5

    Enjoy hot or warm and with a little extra milk if you like.

Common Questions & Swaps

  • Can I make this in the microwave? I am not sure; I have personally not attempted it. If you do end up trying to make this in the microwave, I would love to know how it turns out for you and I will add this variation to this recipe.

  • Can I use any other milk instead of soy? Sure; it should work although, I find that soy has a thicker and richer texture that I personally like, compared to other non-dairy milks you find in stores (note that homemade nut milk is probably even creamier than soy and much more decadent so if you want to try that, go for it!). I would not use full fat coconut milk for the entire recipe, unless you really love love love a rich porridge.

  • Can I use another sweetener? Yes, use whichever one you prefer.

Glistening berries in a bowl of cream of wheat
Milk being poured into a bowl with cream of wheat
Spoon being taken of cream of wheat with berries
Spoonful of cream of wheat with berries

When I was growing up, once in a while, my mom would make me a dish called mannaya kasha, which is a super comforting Russian porridge, with farina as its base ingredient. If you have never heard of farina, don’t worry, I am sure you were not alone! Farina is simply hard wheat that is ground up super finely – not that intimidating ugh.

We would not have this porridge very often as kids, but when we did, I remember it was always a treat! I loved how creamy, rich and silky it was. It also had a very distinct buttery and vanilla scent which literally made my mouth water the moment I knew my mom was making some.

Funny enough, I never really learned how to make mannaya kasha and through the years I kind of forgot about it. UNTIL… Last week! I was shopping at a local grocery store and as I was walking through the aisles, my eyes just stopped on this really basic red box. It read, “cream of wheat.” Instantly, I was brought back to my childhood and to the rare evenings when my mom would prepare mannaya kasha for us. I instantly remembered the very delicate flavour and the warm cosy feeling it gave me when I had a spoonful.

Before I got too excited and actually bought this cream of wheat, I did a bit of research, since I told you that I had technically never made mannaya kasha before and was not even sure that cream of wheat was the same thing – although I had a hunch about it…

I was right, the original cream of wheat that you can find in stores is actually made of farina… BINGO!

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Wild berries in a bowl of cream of wheat
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I quickly put the box into my cart and almost immediately started fantasizing about my first bowl…

The next morning, I made myself a bowl, kind of improvising with the measurements and I fell in love… It literally brought me back to 10-year-old Murielle who was just starting to develop her palette and who loved discovering new flavours.

This porridge was delicately sweetened, rich, velvety with small hints of vanilla and coconut. I was in heaven.

Well now you know why I wanted to share this recipe with you guys so badly. Although it is incredibly easy to make and technically does not really require instructions, I wanted to share with you my favorite way to make cream of wheat and one that most resembles my childhood memories.

On that note guys, if you are into trying new breakfast dishes and are a little tired of toasts and plain ol’ oatmeal (although I have NOTHING against oatmeal, it is a true champion when it comes to breakfast!), then you must try this recipe! I think you will love it.

If you do end up trying it, make sure to share your thoughts on IG and tag me in your content (@muriellebanackissa).

Until next time!