These savory oatmeal recipes put a new spin on the classic sweet oatmeal preparation. Combine the warm, creamy taste and texture you love from oatmeal with your favorite savory breakfast ingredients, like fried eggs, bacon and scallions. Recipes like our Savory Oatmeal with Cheddar, Collards & Eggs and our Sriracha, Egg & Avocado Overnight Oats are healthy, filling and so flavorful.
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Savory Oatmeal with Cheddar, Collards & Eggs
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Have you tried savory oats yet? It's a nice change-up from the sweet way oatmeal is typically served, plus you get a full serving of vegetables. Serve with hot sauce, if desired.
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Shrimp & Chicken Congee
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This recipe for savory rice porridge comes from EatingWell's Test Kitchen manager, Breana Lai Killeen, who shared it for Father's Day because it is one of her father's favorite dishes. "In the U.S., this dish is called congee, but in Hong Kong, we call it jok," she says. "My dad's version was always pretty bland, but this recipe is adapted from one in the cookbook A Place at the Table from a Laotian chef who, just like me, is a first-generation Asian raised in North Carolina." Congee can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and leftovers freeze well.
Oats get a new life in this savory dish, serving as the backbone for a satisfying combo of sausage, greens, tomatoes and herbs.
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Sriracha, Egg & Avocado Overnight Oats
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If you love avocado toast, give this savory overnight oats recipe a try. The oats soak overnight for easy "cooking." In the morning, just top with a fried egg, avocado and Sriracha for a satisfying, healthy breakfast.
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Slow-Cooker Overnight Barley Porridge
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At 6 grams per 1-cup serving, barley is high in fiber compared to many other whole grains. And it has high levels of prebiotic fiber, making it great for promoting healthy gut bacteria. Like oats, barley contains beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber that's been shown to improve blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Fast-growing and drought-resistant, this ancient grain is an important crop in West Africa. It's a type of millet, making it gluten-free. Fonio's light and fluffy texture and mild flavor make it work equally well with sweet and savory toppings.
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Slow-Cooker Overnight Brown Rice Porridge
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Using a slow cooker makes it easy to cook up almost any whole-grain porridge while you sleep. Short-grain brown rice slow-cooks to a soft and sticky texture reminiscent of rice pudding. Brown rice stands up to the long cooking time better than white, plus this whole grain contains some magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine and niacin (which get stripped from white rice).
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Arroz Caldo
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Arroz caldo, a bowl of comforting rice porridge seasoned with plenty of ginger and garlic, has countless variations throughout the Philippines. The porridge can have a variety of toppings, such as hard- or soft-boiled eggs, crispy tofu, crispy garlic bits or crispy shallots, lime, lemon, nutritional yeast and so much more. For a change of pace, you can swap cubed smoked tofu for the chicken. Quinoa, wild rice, cauliflower rice and other grains can also be substituted for the jasmine rice. Feel free to increase the amounts of garlic and fish sauce for an even more flavorful porridge.
We cut down the cooking time for this healthy chicken stew by fortifying store-bought broth with chicken and aromatics and then using the flavorful liquid to both simmer the rice and make the gravy. Try subbing five fresh curry leaves if you can't find the Indonesian bay leaves.
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Kinche (Cracked Wheat)
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This Ethiopian buttery grain porridge recipe is often served for breakfast, but you can also top it with other dishes like messer wot (spiced lentils) or gomen (Ethiopian-spiced collards) for lunch or dinner and eat it in place of the traditional flatbread, injera.
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Slow-Cooker Overnight Quinoa Porridge
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This slow-cooker porridge recipe features quinoa. Quinoa is a gluten-free pseudocereal (it's a seed!) that is a nutritional powerhouse and a complete protein. It contains a wide array of vitamins and minerals, including phosphorus, manganese, zinc and iron, many of which Americans don't get enough of.
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Slow-Cooker Overnight Farro Porridge
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Originally from Mesopotamia, farro is a type of wheat with a wonderful nutty flavor and toothsome texture. It's packed with plant-based protein, niacin, magnesium and zinc. Ancient wheat strains have also been found to have higher levels of antioxidants and carotenoids, which are important for eye health.
A spoonful of cashew or peanut butter on top of your oatmeal would both be great additions because they each provide protein and fat. If you're looking to up your fat and protein in a different way, consider more nuts and seeds (like pumpkin seeds), protein powder, or greek yogurt.
Adding nutritious toppings to oatmeal can boost its flavor and contribute to its health benefits. Try adding fruit for sweetness, veggies or eggs for a savory twist, or sources of protein and fat to make it a balanced meal.
"Having oats for breakfast or incorporated into different foods as meals and snacks is a great way to give the meal more staying power and help you feel fuller for longer," says Maggie Michalczyk, RDN.
High-sugar toppings like chocolate, syrup, and dried fruit
As Best points out, "some of the worst ingredients that are mistakenly added to healthy overnight oat recipes include chocolate sauce, sugar, syrup, and dried fruit."
Oatmeal, cereal, pancakes, toast and bagels (mmm, bagels) are all high-carbohydrate foods. And while I am all for carbs—especially complex carbohydrates—it helps to balance them out with some protein if you want your breakfast to fill you up.
Good choices for breakfast foods will be ones that fill you up, so you don't get hungry again for a while, and they are nutrient-dense. Try whole fruits, eggs, wholemeal toast, nuts, and smoothies for a tasty and satisfying start to the day.
As per a couple of studies – including this 2016 paper and this 2021 paper – morning meals (aka savoury breakfasts) that don't spike your blood sugar levels can also boost your energy and concentration levels throughout the day, reduce inflammation and even improve the appearance of your skin.
Surprisingly, oatmeal is a type of porridge. Though all oatmeal is considered porridge, the term porridge does not always refer to oatmeal. Still, the two words are often used interchangeably, which can be confusing. Unlike porridge, oatmeal is always made from rolled, ground, or flattened oats.
Directions: Top oatmeal with butter, brown sugar, walnuts and milk.Serve with cottage cheese on the side. Directions: Top oatmeal with butter, blueberries, walnuts and milk. Serve with a glass of pure whey protein.
Steel cut oats take the longest to cook (and are much more pricey) but are the most filling (lowest GI). Quick oats are simply rolled oats, cut up more. Quick and rolled oats are the same price wise, but rolled are a little more filling (as our bodies have to do the cutting).
As it is bland in nature, overconsuming oats may lead to an increase in sugar intake. Opting for an oats-only diet may deprive your body of getting nourishment from other healthy food sources.
Should I eat eggs or oatmeal for breakfast? Both are good choices, in fact you'd do well to have them both. The protein and fat in eggs will help keep you full, just as the fibre in the oats, and the slow-release carbohydrates from the oats will give you steady energy until lunchtime.
Fresh fruit will add fiber, vitamins, minerals and some sweetness to your oatmeal. Fruit's fat-soluble vitamins like A, E and K will best absorb if you add in a fat source like nuts, which will also add extra fiber and protein.
According to a review in “American Journal of Clinical Nutrition”, protein rich diet boosts satiety more than carbs. Eggs are a rich source of protein and have minimal carbs. On the hand, oatmeal is a carb-rich food and does provide some protein to our body.
But on average, oatmeal porridge does raise your glucose level, as you can see in the graph below. Blood sugar also rises quite quickly, only to quickly return to pre-breakfast levels. This may also explain why some people quickly feel hungry again after a breakfast with oatmeal.
Eating foods that are high in protein, fiber, or both can leave you feeling full for longer, making you less likely to snack on unhealthy options during the morning. High protein options include cottage cheese, yogurt, and eggs. Pair these with nutritious, high-fiber foods such as wholemeal bread, oats, and fruit.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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