Gordon Ramsay’s baked porridge is jumbo rolled oats baked with cream, pear, hazelnuts and vanilla seeds, then finished under the grill with a demerara sugar crust. The recipe comes from Ultimate Home Cooking and serves four to six.
As a Scot, Ramsay says he had to include porridge, but this is nothing like the water-and-salt version he grew up on. He calls the caramelised sugar top “a kind of healthy crème brûlée.” The nuts, spices and fruit take it closer to dessert than breakfast.
Baking instead of stirring on the hob is the whole point, since it frees you from standing over the pan for 20 minutes. You put the dish in the oven and walk away until the timer goes.
Gordon Ramsay’s Spiced Baked Porridge
Course: BreakfastCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy5
10
minutes35
minutes380
kcal45
minutesA Scottish-inspired breakfast from Ultimate Home Cooking that trades constant hob-stirring for 35 minutes of hands-off oven time. Ramsay has four different porridge recipes across his books, from a 10-minute stovetop version to this indulgent baked one with pear, nuts and a golden demerara top.
Ingredients
150g jumbo rolled oats
Seeds from 1 vanilla pod
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus extra to sprinkle
50g whole blanched almonds
50g blanched hazelnuts
75g raisins
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped small
500ml milk, plus extra for serving
200ml double cream
2 tbsp demerara sugar
Directions
- Preheat: Set the oven to 180C (350F).
- Mix the base: Combine the oats and vanilla seeds in a bowl, rubbing the seeds through with your fingers. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, hazelnuts, raisins and pear and mix well.
- Add the liquid: Stir in the milk and cream, then pour into a baking dish. Dust with a little extra grated nutmeg.
- Bake: Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the oats are completely softened and the liquid is absorbed.
- Caramelise: Heat the grill to its highest setting. Sprinkle the demerara sugar over the top and grill for 3-4 minutes until the sugar melts and forms a crust.
- Serve: Serve warm with extra milk on the side.
FAQs
Why bake porridge instead of cooking it on the hob?
Ramsay says baking “takes away the pain of having to stir it constantly on the hob.” The oven gives gentle, even heat from all sides, so the oats absorb the liquid slowly and come out creamier than any stovetop version.
The result is also smoother, because the cream and milk combine gradually instead of bubbling and reducing too fast. His overnight oats skip the heat entirely by soaking in the fridge. That’s the fastest option but gives a cold, raw texture rather than this warm, custardy one.
Why use jumbo rolled oats instead of quick oats?
Jumbo oats hold their shape during the long bake and give each spoonful a proper chewy texture. Quick oats dissolve into mush within 10 minutes, losing all structure, and the finished porridge comes out gluey rather than creamy.
The vanilla seeds need rubbing through the dry oats with your fingers before the liquid goes in, which coats each flake evenly. Vanilla extract added to the milk would work, but the tiny black seeds give a stronger, more fragrant hit because they sit directly on the oats.
How does the crème brûlée top work?
The demerara sugar goes on after baking, not before, so it stays on the surface. Three to four minutes under a hot grill melts it into a golden caramel layer that shatters when you tap it with a spoon.
This is the same principle Ramsay uses for his crème brûlée, where demerara caramelises under the grill or with a blowtorch. If you have a blowtorch, it works here too and gives you more control over how dark the crust gets.
How does this compare to his other porridge recipes?
He has four across his books. The Fit Food apple pie version is stovetop with dates and apples, 231 calories and much lighter. The BSK version uses whole milk, cream and an apple cinnamon compote, while the Fit Food quinoa porridge adds protein from seeds at 315 calories.
This baked version is the richest at 380 calories because of the double cream and nuts, but also the most impressive for guests. His homemade granola uses the same jumbo oats baked with honey and almonds, so the two pair well if you want crunch on top.
Can you make it healthier?
Swap the double cream for more milk and it drops to about 280 calories. Use maple syrup instead of demerara for the top, though you lose the crackle. Ramsay’s Fit Food porridges show he is comfortable making lean versions, so the swap is not a compromise, just a different approach.
The pear can be swapped for apple or banana, but ripe fruit is important because unripe chunks stay hard even after 35 minutes of baking. His scrambled eggs on the side make a savoury-sweet breakfast combination.
