This Spiced Carrot AIP 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, egg-free, and easily made Whole30.
So you're on the AIP Diet (or Paleo 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 AIP Breakfast Porridge Ingredients
This easy 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
- Mace (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, but if coconut doesn't work for you and you're on AIP, tigernut milk or banana 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 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) and cauliflower into small chunks 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!
Toppings for This Spiced Carrot AIP Breakfast Porridge
Toppings definitely seem to be a struggle on the AIP diet since a lot of regular go-to's like nuts and seeds are omitted.
However, there are still a TON of things that you can do.
I have a full list in my Paleo & AIP Freebie Library that you can access and print (along with a bunch of meal plans, recipe books, guides, etc).
But just to give you a few suggestions for toppings:
- Fresh, sliced or diced fruit or berries
- Raisins
- Unsweetened Banana Chips
- Melted Coconut Butter
- Shredded Coconut
- Sliced Tigernuts
- AIP Chocolate Tigernut Granola
- A compliant Apple or Pear Butter (I like this recipe by Bon AIPpetit)
- a mixture of melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and carob powder
Get the rest of my suggestions 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?
I've only tested it for a few days, but it seems to come out pretty good if you freeze and then thaw and reheat.
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!
Spiced Carrot AIP 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 AIP Breakfast Porridge (Paleo, Whole30)
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 Mace (Nutmeg if you're not on the AIP diet)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Powder
- 13.5 oz can Coconut Milk or Tigernut Milk or Banana 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.
This recipe was part of Phoenix Helix's amazing Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable # 285!!
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!
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?