vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots

You may have had polenta in all kinds of savory dishes. But have you ever tried a sweet version of it? Then this vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots is your sign to give it a go!

Why you need to try this vegan polenta porridge

I don’t know why but I am ABSOLUTELY. OBSESSED. with the texture of polenta and wheat semolina porridge/ pudding! There’s something about that slight stickiness, thickness and fluffiness (that is if you don’t add too much liquid!) of these two types of semolina that I just LOVE. My mum used to make use semolina porridge almost every morning when I was little. And because breakfast meals have always been my favorites since I can think, we sometimes had it for dinner too!

This vegan polenta porridge is infused with a hint of lavender and has a creamy, chewy and thick texture. The roasted apricots become extra sweet and juicy and perfectly complement the overall flavor of the porridge.

Jump to:

• Why you need to try this vegan polenta porridge
• Ingredients you need for the vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots
• Vegan Polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots in simple steps
• Substitutions
• Variations
• How to store the vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots
• FAQ
• Let’s get started!
• Vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots
• Comments

Ingredients you need for the vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots

The ingredients for the vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots are pretty simple:

• POLENTA: a.k.a. cornmeal. It is naturally free of gluten so this porridge can be enjoyed by my friends who cannot eat any gluten! Plus it has a similar texture to semolina which I personally LOVE.
• PLANT MILK: makes this porridge super creamy. I used soy milk, but you can use any other plant based milk you prefer, like oat or almond.
• RAISINS: add lovely sweet bits to the porridge!
• DRIED LAVENDER: to infuse the milk we will cook the porridge with.
• FRESH APRICOTS: are turned into delicious roasted apricots and create the perfect topping for this polenta porrdige!
• MAPLE SYRUP: adds more sweetness to the apricots and helps at the start to make sure the apricots turn out nicely glazed.
• CINNAMON: goes really well with the apricots and overall flavors of the polenta porridge. We will sprinkle a bit onto the apricots before baking them.

Vegan Polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots in simple steps

For some reason (hey, me included, I used to think this too!) many people assume that a recipe infused with foral flavors might be a little more difficult or time consuming. But let me tell you, that is not the case at all:

1. We start by roasting the apricots with the maple syrup and cinnamon.
2. Meanwhile we prepare the porridge.
3. To make the lavender infused milk, we simply cook the milk with the dried lavender buds for a few minutes and then strain the milk. You can either discard the leftover lavender or use it to make another cup of lavender tea!
4. Then we cook the polenta. Although we will need to add a bit more liquid throughout the process, it is really important not to add too much as we want the consistency to be creamy, thick and little sticky. Not runny!
5. Before serving, we stir through the raisins.
6. Then we add the porridge to our favorite bowl, top it with the warm apricots and serve it up with allllllll our favorite toppings.

See? My thoughts exactly, not too difficult at all 😉

Substitutions

You can make substitutions for the following ingredients:

• MAPLE SYRUP – any other liquid sweetener like brown rice syrup or (vegan) honey works great instead.
• RAISINS – Not a fan of raisins? Well, you don’t need to add them. If you would like to have a bit more bite to the porridge, try opting for chopped up dried apricots or dates. Otherwise, I would stir around a tablespoon of any granulated or liquid sweetener through the porridge just before serving!

Variations

Ok, so you have your porridge, you have made the roasted apricots. It looks pretty good already, BUT you can dress your polenta porridge up a little more of course!

• Add more crunch – Simply add your favorite granola, nuts, seeds…you name it. My personal favorites here are chopped up pistachios, hempseeds and some homemade granola! You can find a few recipes for homemade granola on my blog to!
• Add more color – I loveeee adding berries to my morning bowl of porridge. Not only do they add a beautiful pop of color but also even a bit more variety 🙂
• Drizzle it with milk – Preferably full fat coconut milk. Just trust me. I’m not saying you should drain the porridge in milk, but just a drizzle will do it’s magic.

How to store the vegan polenta porridge with lavender and roasted apricots

Once cooked, let the porridge cool down and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The porridge also tastes delicious cold as “pudding”. However if you rather like to eat it warm, simply add your desired amount to a pot and gently cook to reheat it. You may need to add a little more milk/ water to prevent it from burning.

I would not recommend to prepare the roasted apricots ahead, but they only take around 15 minutes in the oven and you can bake them while getting ready in the mornings 🙂

If you like vegan breakfast recipes, you may also like:

• Snickers ganache overnight oats
• Vegan chocolate covered strawberry granola
• Creamy cacao buckwheat porridge with blueberry nice cream

FAQ

Let’s get started!

And now, lets make some delicious polenta porridge, alright?

Just one more thing before we get started: if you could do me a favor, then please leave a comment and rate the recipe if you enjoyed this simple white chocolate cranberry cookies! I am always happy to see others recreating any of my recipes, so tag me on instagram or send me a picture via direct messages 🙂