British Porridge Recipe

Last Updated on May 5, 2022 by Ellen Christian

You will love this British Porridge Recipe for Working Class Porridge! I’ve always been a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and this is one of their recipes.

British Porridge Recipe

I found this breakfast recipe for working-class English porridge in The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, which showcases recipes used in the British television series Downton Abbey.  

This porridge recipe comes from the Sustenance for the Staff section that features recipes from the staff at Downton Abbey (reprinted with permission). I thought this was fascinating to look through.

But, I’ll admit that I was drawn more to the traditional staff food than the food enjoyed by the Crawley family that owned the castle.

I recommend you get a copy of the cookbook to experience real British or English recipes.

What is English porridge made of?

Porridge is a staple food for many people around the world. The UK, Ireland, and Australia all have versions of this breakfast treat made from rolled oats or ground oatmeal which they call porridge (a common misconception is that it’s only eaten by Brits).

In North America, we can find ourselves with two different options: one dish called “oatmeal” instead of its original name–‘porridge’.

How do the British eat porridge?

Traditionally, it is eaten with salt. At times, they add dried fruits and brown sugar. 

I like changing up the fruit I have when we eat this. You can toss in fresh berries, chunks of apple, other dried fruits, mango, fresh coconut, and a variety of chopped nuts.

This traditional recipe calls for sugar, but you can certainly use maple syrup or honey if you’d rather.

Being from Vermont, we always use syrup from our maple trees. Our neighbor sugars them for us and sends over syrup to thank us.

So, if you want an oatmeal recipe that’s ready faster than this one, you should try my Overnight Oats recipe. You prepare it the day before and put it in the refrigerator.

Then in the morning, it’s ready to go. You can make my Pumpkin Overnight Steel Cut Oats if you have a slow cooker. Or you can make Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot.

What do the English eat for breakfast?

Finally, if you’re wondering about an English Breakfast Menu for the rest of the family, they might be enjoying smoked haddock, coddled eggs, toast, fried tomatoes, and creamed spinach.

I’ll make this British porridge recipe!