Breakfast Sludge
A crowd-pleasing vegetarian built around rolled oats or granola, instant coffee powder and hot chocolate powder — roughly 55 minutes start to finish, and rated easy to make. Scroll down for the ingredient checklist, a serving scaler and unit converter, and the method broken into 6 steps.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and pan. At easy difficulty across 6 steps, it's a good one for a busy evening. As written, it's meat-free.
What you'll need
Shopping list (4)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
🔁 Unit converter
How to make it
- Combine the oats, milk and water in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, stirring often so the oats do not catch on the bottom.
- Cook for about 5 minutes until the oats soften and the mixture thickens into a loose porridge.
- Stir in the instant coffee powder, hot chocolate powder and chai powder (or steep the teabag in the hot mixture for 2 minutes, then remove it), mixing until fully dissolved.
- Add the sugar and cinnamon and stir through, tasting and adjusting the sweetness to your liking.
- Let the mixture sit off the heat for a minute so it thickens to a sludgy, spoonable consistency; loosen with a splash more milk if it is too stiff.
- Divide between four bowls or mugs and serve hot, topped with an extra pinch of cinnamon if you like.
You'll use: Saucepan · Pan
Ingredient substitutions
- Milk
- any unsweetened plant milk · ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water
Tips & common questions
How long does Breakfast Sludge take to make?
About 55 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 6 steps and 8 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of milk?
Try any unsweetened plant milk. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Breakfast Sludge vegetarian?
Its ingredients contain no meat or fish, so it's suitable for vegetarians. Check any cheeses for animal rennet if that matters to you.
Related recipes
Breakfast Sludge is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Outside the Big Breakfast House, London E3 2004 (3390819722).jpg by Sludge G, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top — how we source recipes.