Grain free porridge or grits recipe (Paleo, GAPS, SCD, can be Dairy free)

It’s winter in New Zealand, and we fancied some porridge for breakfast. So I dug out this recipe from the dark recesses of my kitchen diary… Suitable for most whole food diets.

The cashews (or other nuts) give this some texture but it’s the egg that thickens up it when cooked, rather like a custard. I experimented with using extra eggs this time, which is why it’s extra yellow. But it came out rather eggier than intended, so for the recipe here, I’ve gone back to the basic 2 eggs.

Basic recipe

• ½ cup (70gms) cashews (nuts such as almonds or macadamias should also work fine)
• 1½ cups water
• 2 pastured, free range eggs
• 2 Tbs coconut flour OR 4 Tbs collagen hydrolysate OR 4 Tbs arrowroot or other starch (to help thicken)
• 2 Tbs butter, ghee or coconut oil

I used a blender to mix it. If you don’t have a blender, use a food processor, or a stick blender. The texture might be a bit different but it should still work.

Blend ¼ cup cashews, ½ cup water, eggs, coconut flour or other thickener till smooth. Add the rest of the cashews and another ½ cup water and pulse a couple of times, till the cashews are mostly chopped up but still have some texture. Pour into a saucepan. Use the last ½ cup of water to rinse out the blender and add to pan. Mix all together. Cook over a medium heat till it starts to bubble. Then turn down the heat and continue cooking, stirring often, till thick. Stir through the butter, ghee or coconut oil and serve.

Variations

Before cooking, add your choice of:

• Flavourings such as cinnamon, mixed spice, vanilla, carob or stevia
• Dried fruit
• Fresh fruit eg finely chopped apple or pear, banana, berries
• Shredded coconut for extra texture

To serve, top with your choice of:

• A little natural sweetener such as honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup
• Chopped fresh fruit
• A dollop of Greek or coconut yoghurt, or a drizzle of cream or coconut cream

In the photo below, you can see one dish with no topping and one with some sprinkled cinnamon and some diced persimmon.

If you prefer savoury

• Serve Scots style with a sprinkling of salt
• Add a handful of grated cheese with the butter or ghee, for something a bit like cheesy grits

EDIT, 2 days later - today's version had mixed spice, vanilla, and apple, and was topped with yoghurt. I put the peeled, chunked apple in with the second lot of cashews so it got "pulsed" into small pieces.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

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Some of my previous RECIPES AND KITCHEN TIPS:

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• For MORE RECIPES and my 15 step Whole Food cooking course, see my recipe website.