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This Spiced Carrot Breakfast Porridge is an easy and delicious start to your day. Made with nourishing veggies like carrots and cauliflower and then flavored with some warming spices, it'll sure be a hot cereal you'll come back to again and again. Also Paleo, AIP, egg-free, and easily made Whole30.
So you're on the Paleo or AIP Diet (or Whole30). Oatmeal is out.
Grits are out. Cream of Wheat is out. Some sort of millet quinoa porridge is out.
What do you eat if you want a hot cereal?
If you're on Paleo you could eat this Instant Pot Breakfast Porridge, but it's made from nuts and seeds so it's definitely out for the AIP diet.
FYI, AIP stands for the Autoimmune Paleo Protocol, which is a strict subset of the Paleo diet that removes nuts, seeds, nightshades, eggs, all dairy (including butter and ghee), coffee, chocolate, and a few other things for a period of time before slowly reintroducing these one at a time to determine reactions. It's an effective way for those with autoimmune disease to find relief from their symptoms and help their immune systems to calm down. See more in the Ultimate Guide to the AIP Diet
For those of you who want a warming breakfast porridge that's packed with veggies and nicely spiced, this Spiced Carrot porridge might really hit the spot!
Table of contents
The Spiced Carrot Breakfast Porridge Ingredients
This easy Paleo and AIP breakfast recipe is made primarily with two ingredients: steamed carrots and cauliflower.
Now while that sounds like a strange combo, it really works well because the carrots are naturally sweet and the cauliflower gives it bulk without much of a cauliflower taste.
However, you'll use warming spices to mask any remaining cauliflower taste (since I know many of you do NOT want that flavor in your breakfast porridge).
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These spices include:
- Cinnamon
- Ginger
- Nutmeg or Mace for AIP (Mace is a seed-free replacement for Nutmeg that tastes a lot like nutmeg)
- Vanilla Powder (this IS AIP compliant for anyone wondering since they can be consumed without chewing the seeds)
The last components of this dish are coconut milk and maple syrup. It's only 1 tablespoon of maple syrup though, so if you're on Whole30 just omit it. The carrots are sweet enough that you really don't need it.
You can use any nut or seed milk of choice if you're on Paleo or Whole30.
If you're on AIP and can't tolerate coconut, then tigernut milk, banana milk, or sweet potato milk are good alternatives.
You could also opt to add a scoop of collagen powder (I like this one by Perfect Supplements) to up the protein a bit, and a bit of coconut oil to up the fat a bit if that's a concern for you.
How Do You Make This Paleo & AIP Breakfast Porridge?
This hot cereal is really easy to make. If you're a visual person, watch the full-length video demonstration on YouTube.
You simply cut up the carrots
Time Saving Tip: I don't bother to peel them if I use organic carrots or use baby carrots that are already peels AND cut!
Also cut the cauliflower into small chunks.
Time Saving Tip: Use pre-cut fresh or frozen cauliflower florets.
and then steam them for about 30 minutes or until soft.
You'll need to blend these, so once steamed you can decide to put them into a blender, food processor, or a large bowl and use a hand immersion blender to mix.
You add the spices, coconut milk, maple syrup, and any other additions you'd like to make and then blend!
Topping ideas for this hot cereal:
But just to give you a few suggestions for toppings:
- Fresh, sliced or diced fruit or berries (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
- Raisins (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
- Unsweetened Banana Chips (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
- Melted Coconut Butter (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
- Shredded Coconut (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
- Sliced Tigernuts (Paleo, Whole30, AIP, nut-free)
- Chocolate Tigernut Granola (Paleo, AIP, nut-free)
- Apple or Pear Butter (I like this recipe by the Honest Spoonful)
- a mixture of melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and cocoa powder (use carob powder if on AIP)
On AIP and want some more topping ideas?
I have a full list of my suggested AIP-compliant toppings in my AIP Breakfast Toppings guide in the Paleo & AIP Freebie Library!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can this porridge be made ahead?
Yes! It can be made up to 5 days ahead of time and just reheated when desired. It also tastes good cold, but that kind of defeats the purpose of a WARMING porridge, eh?
Can this porridge be frozen?
Yes! Freeze in individual portion sizes (I like 1.5 – 2 cup servings) directly into a freezer-safe bag or container, or freeze first into Soupercubes or silicone muffin trays, then pop out once frozen and store in a freezer-safe container or bag. (I personally like freezing into 1 cup portions for this as they aren't as flat as when you freeze the mixture spread out in a bag. This just means they won't thaw/reheat as fast from frozen if they're in 2-cup “blocks.” But if you remember to take it out the night before to thaw in the fridge then 2-cup blocks are fine)
Freeze for up to 3 months. It won't go bad after 3 months, it just starts to get freezer burn and starts to taste more like “freezer.”
Can I use a different veggie than carrots?
If carrots aren't your thing, diced and peeled butternut squash, pumpkin, or sweet potato also could be used instead. Or maybe try parsnips as they're a slightly sweet root vegetable that imparts a different flavor than carrots.
Do you have other AIP breakfast recipes?
Sure do! I have a few different ones –
- 10 AIP Breakfast Ideas
- AIP Sweet Potato Porridge (just the video for now)
- AIP Pumpkin Pie Coconut Parfait
- Nourishing Breakfast Bowl (AIP, Paleo, Whole30)
- AIP Cassava Flour Pancakes
- and also a whole AIP Breakfast Cookbook!
More Helpful AIP & Paleo Resources in the Freebie Library
If you find this recipe helpful, you may really enjoy the resources in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library! There's a “dump” freezer meal plan, a list of AIP-compliant breakfast toppings, and so much more. Plus, you'll get even more ideas sent to your inbox! Get the password here.
Spiced Carrot Breakfast Porridge Recipe
I hope you enjoy! If you make this AIP porridge I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingonpaleo!
Spiced Carrot Breakfast Porridge (Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
Ingredients
- 8 medium Carrots
- 1 small head Cauliflower (or appox 8-10 oz bag frozen)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg (use Mace spice if you're on the AIP diet or omit it)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Powder
- 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk (or Tigernut Milk or Banana Milk or Sweet Potato Milk)
- 1 tbsp Maple Syrup (omit for Whole30)
Instructions
- Cut the carrots and cauliflower into small chunks and then steam for 30 minutes.
- Put into a blender, food processor, or large bowl to use with a hand immersion blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Serve.
Notes
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This recipe was part of Phoenix Helix's amazing Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable # 285!!
I made this for breakfast this morning! It was amazing, I couldn’t taste the (leftover from the night before) cauliflower at all or the coconut milk! Perfect fall or winter breakfast!
Can you freeze this? How long does it last in fridge?
Yeah, sorry – all that info is up in the Frequently asked questions but I should move it to a “Make Ahead” section. You can store in the fridge for up to 5 days and yes, freeze for up to 3 months. Read what I wrote up above for how to best freeze it though!
What did you top yours with?
Oh weird – this is another case where I guess I mentioned it in the YouTube video but forgot to put it in the post! Sorry about that! I used sliced pears, raisins, and melted coconut butter.
Can you start to give the nutrition facts with the recipe’s. I am watching my calorie intake. Thanks
I’ve been working on adding the nutrition facts on some recipes but it’s a long and slow process as the recipe plug-in data is often wrong so I have to check each ingredient. In the meantime I highly recommend just plugging the data into myfitnesspal.com to get what you need. That’s what I do with my Type 1 Diabetic son’s meals to figure out nutrition data and it works really well and is super quick.
This recipe has become a regular breakfast staple for me! Buying riced cauliflower and pre-shredded carrots makes this a 5-10 minute start-to-finish recipe (depending on your cooking method). I don’t even have mace or vanilla powder and still love it!
I would love you know how you made it with the rice cauliflower and shredded carrots?
I don’t know how J. did it, but I could imagine just spreading those on a tray in the oven at like 350-425 F for 10-ish minutes would work great. You may need to add a bit more liquid when blending to compensate for some drying that occurs in the oven, but I think that would work. Or you could steam them if your steamer basket has really small holes so the things don’t fall through.
This was phenomenal!!! I topped with a little sliced banana, chopped walnuts (I’ve safely reintroduced), and a smidge of coconut butter. So good! Thank you!
Can I swap vanilla extract for the vanilla bean powder?
Yes, you can. Technically you should use an alcohol-free version if you’re on strict AIP – but you could probably get around that if you don’t have that by adding it when the potatoes are still pretty hot and maybe reheating a bit on the stove to cook the alcohol off.
How could I swap the cauliflower for a Low-FODMAP option?
Hmm, you could swap it for some mashed sweet potato or squash…
I was thinking maybe parsnip?