Spiced Chocolate Oatmeal

“If chocolate granola, then why not chocolate oatmeal?” I asked myself a couple of weeks ago. And the response to that question to self, was this spiced chocolate oatmeal porridge. While my kid is quite a non-fussy eater, he has no love for porridge, but he does love chocolate (a lot). And lets just say my culinary experiment was a success and we plan to include this in our breakfast menu a lot more regularly and not just during Christmas.

The cinnamon sticks add some warmth and holiday flavour to what could just be chocolate porridge. A smidgen of fresh orange zest would make it even better, but I did not have oranges in my fruit basket that day.

It’s fairly child’s play – this spiced chocolate oatmeal. In a pan, take instant oats, add required quantity of water along with the cinnamon sticks. Feel free to add 3-4 cloves and some orange zest too. I avoid the former because I don’t have the patience to fish for the cloves when the porridge is ready. I like to use a pinch of ground cloves instead, along with some vanilla and nutmeg for the added festive touch.

Simmer, simmer, simmer. I’m saying that thrice, once for each minute 🙂 Dissolve some cocoa powder or a square of chocolate per person in hot milk, and add the milk to the nearly cooked oats. Sweeten it up as you like. Ladle into bowls and top with a dash of ground cinnamon and some honey.

It sure made a delicious twist to a plain bowl of oatmeal porridge.

If your kid loves anything chocolate, then do give this a try 🙂 As a special treat, you can sprinkle a few chocolate chips on the top.

So here comes, the recipe of a simple spiced chocolate oatmeal.

Spiced Chocolate Oatmeal

Spiced hot chocolate meets porridge in this utterly simple but delicious bowl for breakfast. The Christmas season is perfect to try out this recipe!

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Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Servings: 2 servings

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1/3 cup oats instant
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk whole
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
• 1/4 tsp cloves ground (optional)
• Pinch nutmeg of grated
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsps brown sugar

Method

 

1. In a saucepan, combine oats, cinnamon sticks and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer for 3-4 minutes until oats are cooked.
2. Whisk the cocoa powder into 2 tbsp milk along with ground cinnamon, ground cloves, grated nutmeg, vanilla and sugar.
3. Add this to the cooked oats in the pan along with the remaining milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes.
4. Divide into 2 bowls or cups.
5. Garnish with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Notes

Make this bowl of chocolate oatmeal even more filling by adding a teaspoon of chocolate peanut butter, chopped roasted almonds or sliced bananas.

Chocolate oatmeal is a no effort breakfast and reasonably healthy too, before the big holiday lunches.

It has the aromas from the spices, the heartiness of a porridge and decadence of chocolate. A happy meal in a bowl, indeed!