Irish Porridge Recipe (Traditional Steel-Cut Oats)
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This Irish Porridge recipe is a 3-ingredient, healthy, and hearty breakfast that's delicious to make in the morning without soaking oats overnight. It's creamy, with a hint of cinnamon, and sweetened with a drizzle of Irish honey.
Serve this porridge on its own, or alongside a slice of Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk or Irish Barmbrack with a cup of Irish breakfast tea.
Irish Porridge Recipe Overview
What to Love: This recipe is inspired by my Irish grandmother's morning porridge-making technique. Easy to make and deliciously hardy with warm spices.
- Recipe Time: 2-3 minutes of prep, 30 minutes of cooking
- What You Need: Medium-sized saucepan
- Servings: 2-4 servings
Why I Love Irish Porridge
A warm bowl of Irish porridge is more than just breakfast-it's a timeless tradition. Made with steel-cut oats and slowly simmered until creamy, this simple dish has been a staple in Irish kitchens for centuries. Whether served with a swirl of cream and brown sugar or a pat of butter and golden syrup, it's the kind of meal that nourishes body and soul.
My Irish grandmother often said that porridge was a stick-to-your-ribs kind of breakfast. And she raised a lot of rowdy boys on a shoestring budget.
I love to begin a fresh new day with a nourishing breakfast. Favorites among our readers are oatmeal, healthy egg bites, or breakfast quinoa.
Traditionally, Irish porridge would be soaked and left to sit on the stove overnight. This recipe utilizes a quicker approach for my often busy days.
And if you want to do it right, a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea is a perfect way to begin a beautiful new day!
Irish Porridge Ingredients
- Steel-cut oats - the key to authentic Irish texture
- Water or milk - milk gives a creamier finish
- Salt - just a pinch, traditional in Irish recipes
- Optional toppings - brown sugar, cream, berries, butter, or jam
Variations and Serving Suggestions
Irish porridge is endlessly customizable. Here are some favorite ways to serve and enjoy it:
- With cream and brown sugar - a classic Irish topping combination
- With golden syrup or honey - for natural sweetness
- Topped with jam or fruit compote - try raspberry, blackberry, or marmalade
- With a spoonful of Irish butter - melts beautifully into warm oats
- With dried fruit - like raisins, sultanas, or dates stirred in while cooking
And if you're planning a St. Patrick's Day gathering or Irish-themed brunch, don't miss our comforting Irish Seafood Chowder or hearty Irish Pub Food ideas.
How to Make Irish Porridge
Step-by-step instructions are also in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a quick overview of how I make Irish porridge.
Boil the water.
Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Once it boils, add the steel-cut oats, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
Simmer the oats.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and as needed.
Serve the porridge.
Ladle porridge into bowls, add cream (and or butter if desired,) and sweeten with a drizzle of honey and fresh berries.
Recipe FAQs
Irish porridge is made with steel-cut oats, which are whole oat groats chopped into pieces. This results in a coarser texture and nuttier flavor than traditional rolled or quick oats used in American oatmeal.
You can, but the result will be softer and more like traditional oatmeal. For a truly authentic Irish porridge, stick with steel-cut oats (often labeled as Irish oats in the U.S.).
Substitute water, oat milk, almond milk, or another plant-based milk for the liquid. Many non-dairy options still produce a creamy porridge.
Absolutely. It's a great way to meal prep for the week. Store leftovers or make a new batch and refrigerate in an airtight container or separate into single portions for convenience. It reheats well on the stovetop or microwave with a splash of milk or water.
What Makes This Irish?
Irish porridge is traditionally made with steel-cut oats-often called pinhead oats-which are whole oat groats chopped into small pieces. Unlike rolled oats, they take longer to cook, but reward you with a creamy, chewy texture that's unmistakably hearty and satisfying.
The tradition of eating oats in Ireland goes back centuries, thanks to the island's mild, wet climate-especially in counties like Kildare and Meath-which produces some of the world's finest oats. In fact, oats have been a staple of Irish cuisine since at least the 5th century A.D.
🍀 Tradition Says...
In Ireland's Welcome to the Stranger (1847), porridge-then called stirabout-was described as "the staple food of the great mass of the people." It was typically eaten with milk, honey, or butter. The wealthier classes used fresh milk and sweeteners, while the poor relied on water or buttermilk with salt butter.
And if you're wondering what an "Irish knob of butter" is, as mentioned in the recipe card below, it's not an exact measurement, but is commonly considered about 2 tablespoons (30 grams). Just enough to melt into the warm oats and make every bite feel like comfort in a bowl.
This simple porridge, once a daily breakfast in Irish homes, remains beloved today for its nourishing quality and humble roots-especially when paired with a cup of tea or Irish Soda Bread Muffins.
More Irish Recipes
We have an entire category at 31Daily dedicated to Irish recipes and St. Patrick's Day. From breakfast recipes, like this one, to Irish Afternoon Tea, pub recipes, soups, seafood stews, Irish soda bread, and more.
- Irish Pub Recipes
- Colcannon
- One Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Irish Scones
- Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk and Raisins
You can find all of our Irish recipes here →.
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Easy Irish Porridge Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel-cut oats like Irish oats or pinhead oats
- 3 ½ cups water or milk
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
For Serving
- cream
- honey or brown sugar
- knob of butter (the Irish way)
- fresh berries
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Once it boils, add the steel cut oats, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt.
- Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and as needed.
- If the oats are firmer than you like, stir an additional ¼ cup of water until the desired texture is reached.
- Ladle porridge into bowls, add cream (and or butter if desired,) and sweeten with a drizzle of honey and fresh berries.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
There’s something truly special about beginning your day with a cozy wholesome breakfast. This is one of my favorite porridge recipes, simple, hardy, and connects me to my Irish heritage. ☘️