The spooky season is here, and that means one thing: there are pumpkins everywhere. If you want to get even deeper into the Halloween mood, try this pumpkin spice porridge recipe for the perfect Halloween breakfast! Whether you have some leftover fresh pumpkin to eat up or prefer to use pumpkin puree from a tin, you’ll love this warming, aromatic, autumnal breakfast idea. Simple to make, it’ll be your favourite meal to have in the morning in the spooky season.

I was trying to come up with a Halloween breakfast idea, and this recipe just came together in my head. I wanted it to both look and taste like the ultimate perfect Halloween meal, and I knew it had to feature pumpkins and spiderwebs. This was actually the first time I used pumpkin puree! It’s not a popular ingredient here in the UK, but you can find it in some shops, if you know where to look. I considered making my own puree – which is actually really simple, and pumpkins are easily available in all supermarkets – but decided that I only needed a small amount of pumpkin puree and would buy it tinned.

Once I had my pumpkin puree, it was time to start cooking. I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do and only needed to make small adjustments in the process. The final result exceeded my expectations!

Ingredients for pumpkin spice oatmeal

For 1 serving you will need:

• 35g rolled oats
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup tinned pumpkin puree – scroll down for instructions on how to make it from scratch yourself
• 1 cup milk of your choice – I used oat milk
• 1 small apple, peeled, core removed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• a pinch of ground nutmeg, ginger and cloves each
• 1 tablespoon ground almonds (optional)
• 0.5 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
• a sweetener of your choice, e.g. honey, sugar, erythritol (optional)

For chocolate decorations (optional):

• 20g dark chocolate

How to make pumpkin spice porridge

If you want to make chocolate decorations for your porridge, chop up the chocolate and melt it in a small microwave safe bowl in bursts of 20 seconds – a total of 1 minute was enough for me.

I originally wanted to draw some chocolate spiderwebs and spiders with a spoon or a toothpick, but it didn’t go as planned. So, I quickly made a DIY piping cone and used it to pipe a few shapes onto a piece of greaseproof paper. They weren’t perfect, but that’s okay!

Then, I carefully placed the chocolate shapes in the fridge to set.

Next, I proceeded to make the oatmeal.

To make pumpkin spice porridge, start by finely dicing the apple.

Put the oats in a pot and add boiling water – just enough to cover the oats, around 1/2 cup should be enough. Leave aside for 5 minutes – the cereal flakes should soak up most of the water.

Add the apple, pumpkin puree, milk and spices to the oats. If using, add ground almonds. Cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning the porridge at the bottom of the pot, then take the pot off the heat.

Optionally, stir protein powder into the cooked oatmeal.

If you want, you can add sweetener of your choice to your porridge. It’s slightly sweet from the pumpkin and apples, but it may not be sweet enough for everyone. I added protein powder containing sweeteners and didn’t need to add any more sugar to my porridge, but if you’re not using protein powder, adding a teaspoon of honey may be a good idea.

Transfer the porridge to a bowl.

Take the chocolate decorations out of the fridge and carefully transfer them from the paper onto the porridge, using a sharp knife. Once you’ve placed them on the warm oatmeal, don’t try to move them! They will instantly melt, but will retain their shape.

If you decided not to make chocolate decorations, simply sprinkle the porridge with chopped up chocolate.

Enjoy your pumpkin spice porridge warm. Bon Appetit!

Can you use real pumpkin instead of tinned pumpkin puree?

Of course! I used tinned pumpkin puree for this recipe, but if you have raw pumpkin, you can easily make your own puree! Just halve the pumpkin, remove the seeds and place both halves on a lined baking sheet, cut side down. Then, bake in 200°C for around 45-60 minutes, until soft. Finally, scoop the flesh from the pumpkin skin and place it in a blender to make a puree.

Is pumpkin spice porridge a balanced breakfast?

This pumpkin porridge, in its base form, is rich in fibre from the pumpkin puree, apple and oats. Fibre-rich meals will keep you satiated for a long time, and that’s exactly what we expect from a breakfast! Oats, pumpkin and apple are also a source of carbs, which will fuel your day.

Apart from fibre and carbs, a balanced meal should ideally also contain sources of protein and healthy fats.

To include some healthy fats in my porridge, I added some ground almonds. If you don’t have any at hand, consider adding a handful of finely chopped nuts of your choice.

If you want to turn this pumpkin spice oatmeal into a meal rich in protein, you can add half a scoop of vanilla protein powder. Not everyone is a fan of protein powder and it’s perfectly fine to leave it out. In that case, consider having a dollop of high protein yoghurt with your porridge or on the side.

Nutritional value of pumpkin spice porridge

The recipe with chocolate decorations but without ground almonds and protein powder makes 1 serving, with 443 kcal, 79g carbs, 11.5g fat, 8.6g protein and 11.5g fibre.

Adding ground almonds and half a scoop of vanilla protein powder, the nutritional values are: 594 kcal, 83.6g carbs, 20g fat, 23g protein and 13.5g fibre.

The nutritional value is based on ingredients I used. It may vary slightly when using different brands of ingredients.

How to store pumpkin spice porridge

It’s best eaten warm and fresh, but you can refrigerate any leftovers and enjoy them the next day.

Also see:

• Food
• Sweet