Is there any better combination in a porridge bowl than banana and peanut butter? These two ingredients were meant to go together (well in my opinion anyway), much like raspberries and chocolate or coconut and mango. This Peanut Butter and Banana porridge is the ultimate comforting breakfast, a go to for when you are seeking a warm and hearty start to the day.

The secret to creating a creamy porridge bowl!

Ever wondered how to get delicious creamy oats? Well I’m about to let you in on a secret. To get that creamy oat base it’s all about your choice of oats and allowing them to soak.

Porridge Oats: you want to pick jumbo oat variety, one that has nice big flat flakes, this will give you a bit of a bite to your porridge. My go to are Flahavan’s jumbo oats but I know other brands offer similar.

Soaking: this is the critical part. Ideally you want to prepare your porridge base the night before and leave it to soak in the fridge overnight. But if you are short on time a few hours will do, or if you are in even more of a rush swap your water for boiling water and it will speed up the process. The soaking really gives the oats the opportunity to expand and soak up all of the liquid which then when heated later gives that creamy consistency we all crave in porridge.

What you are going to need to make this peanut butter and banana porridge.

Porridge Oats: as mentioned above, pick a jumbo variety to achieve that creamy texture that has a bit of a bite to it. If you are gluten-free choose a variety that is certified suitable for coeliac’s and this will allow you a gluten free creamy porridge breakfast

Unflavoured Protein Powder: I always choose an unflavoured powder so not to mask the flavour of the dish I am creating, but you can use a vanilla or peanut butter flavoured powder if you prefer. The addition of the protein powder just helps increase the protein percentage in the porridge, making it a little more balanced, but is by no means an essential ingredient if you would prefer to leave it out. My go to unflavoured protein brand is Form Nutrition but others I have tried and enjoy are Pulsin, Kin Nutrition and Vivolife

Unsweetened Dairy Free Milk: any dairy free milk will work but I always try to pick an unsweetened version to not add extra sweetness to the dish. I love adding cashew nut milk to this porridge as it helps make it even more creamy but soy, oat, almond or even hazelnut will work.

Water: I’ve split the liquid quantities between dairy free milk and water to try and keep the calorie count down. However, if this isn’t a concern feel free to swap this for additional dairy free milk. Or if trying to speed up the soaking process, swap room temperature water for boiling water

Vanilla Extract: adds a lovely subtle flavour to the oats, but isn’t necessary if you are using a flavoured protein powder

Toppings

One of the best things about porridge for me is the toppings! The more the merrier in my opinion. This bowl is topped with:

Sliced Banana: slice your banana just before you top your porridge bowl to avoid it going brown before you eat it.

Pumpkin Seeds: these seeds are little powerhouses and add a great crunch to the porridge. High in magnesium, zinc and a source of fibre and protein this is a lot of benefit to eating them in moderation

Peanut Butter: for me it always has to be crunchy in a porridge bowl, but you can go with smooth depending on your personal preference. The deep roast varieties always add more depth of flavour but the key point is to avoid varieties that add palm oil or sugar to their nut butters. UK supermarkets are now full of great varieties and some of my go to’s are Pip & Nut, Manilife and Meridian all of this are just 100% pure nuts.