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You are going to love this British Breakfast Recipe for Working Class Porridge! I’ve always been a huge fan of Downton Abbey and British history in general. If you haven’t seen it, I really recommend that you watch it. If it’s not on currently, you can find the DVDs for sale and watch them when you have time. There are ten different seasons so you can really enjoy yourself with it!
British Breakfast Recipe Working Class Porridge
I found this breakfast recipe for working class porridge in The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook that showcases recipes that were 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 absolutely fascinating to look through. But, I’ll admit that I was drawn more to the traditional staff food than the food enjoyed by Crawley family that owned the castle.
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 traditonal 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.
Ellen Christian
Yields 2
This porridge recipe comes from the Sustenance for the Staff section that features recipes from the staff at Downton Abbey.
2 minPrep Time
15 minCook Time
17 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 2 bananas, sliced
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp packed light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp honey
- 1/2 cup cold milk
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, combine the rolled oats, water, salt, raisins, bananas, cinnamon and vanilla.
- Bring to a brief boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the liquid has been absorbed, stirring frequently.
- Add both sugars. Pour into bowls, then top each with milk and honey.
If you want an oatmeal recipe that’s ready faster than this one, you should try my Overnight Oats recipe. You just prepare it the day before and put it in the refrigerator. Then in the morning, it’s ready to go. No cooking required. If you have a slow cooker, you can make my Pumpkin Overnight Steel Cut Oats. Or you can make Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot.
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 take the porridge! Check out the fun video above for a few tips on etiquette.

Ellen is a busy mom of a 22-year-old son and 27-year-old daughter. She owns 5 blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
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