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Cherry and Coconut Breakfast Porridge with Chicken Sausage

A smooth cauliflower and coconut porridge under warm spiced cherries, with crumbled cinnamon chicken sausage browned in the same pan for a sweet and savory breakfast.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forAIPBreakfast
Also fits High-Protein Low-Added-Sugar
Cherries split and go jammy in the pan, staining the coconut oil dark red before they land on a porridge blended pale and thick from cauliflower and coconut milk. Cinnamon chicken browns in crumbles in the same skillet, so every spoonful runs sweet and savory at once, with fresh ginger warming the back of it.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

Sweet breakfasts are the hardest thing to get right during an elimination phase, because most of the usual bases are gone and what is left is fruit on fruit. This bowl solves that by putting something savory next to something sweet. Cooked cherries and a warm coconut porridge on one side, browned cinnamon chicken crumbles on the other, and the two eat far better together than either does alone. It is the breakfast I make for people who say they are bored, and it is the one that usually changes their mind about what a morning can look like.

The porridge is cauliflower, which sounds unlikely until you taste it. Simmered in coconut milk until it is completely soft and then blended smooth, it loses its cabbage edge entirely and turns into something pale, thick, and mild, closer to a warm custard than to anything you would call a vegetable. Cinnamon and salt go in during the blending because a bowl this gentle needs seasoning from the inside. The cherries are barely cooked over them, three or four minutes until they slump and release their juice, which stains the top of the porridge a deep red.

The sausage is nothing more than ground chicken mixed with cinnamon, fresh ginger, and salt, then browned hard in crumbles. That combination is what breakfast sausage actually tastes like once you take the pepper and the sage out of it, warm and slightly sweet, and it belongs next to fruit for the same reason sausage and applesauce have always belonged on one plate. Brown it properly, in a single layer, until the edges are dark. Those crisp brown edges against the smooth porridge are the whole point of the bowl.

A bowl of pale creamy coconut porridge with dark red warmed cherries spooned across one side and browned crumbles of chicken sausage on the other, dusted with cinnamon. Save
Prep: 15 minsCook: 25 minsTotal: 40 minsMakes: 4 servingsServing: 1 bowl

Ingredients

Serves4Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.
  • 1 1/3 lb ground chicken
  • 1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 lb), cut into small florets
  • 3/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
  • 2 cups pitted sweet cherries, fresh or frozen
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
  • 2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
  • 3/4 tsp fine sea salt, divided

Instructions

  1. Make the porridge base: Put the cauliflower florets in a saucepan with the coconut milk, a half cup of water, half the cinnamon, and half the salt. Cover and simmer over medium-low for 12 to 14 minutes, until a knife slides through a floret with no resistance at all.
  2. Blend it smooth: Blend the cauliflower and its liquid until completely smooth, either in a blender or with an immersion blender right in the pan. It should pour thickly off the spoon. Add a splash of hot water if it is stiffer than that, then cover the pan to keep it warm.
  3. Season and brown the chicken: Mix the ground chicken with the remaining cinnamon, the grated ginger, and the rest of the salt, working it just enough to distribute the seasoning. Melt the coconut oil in a skillet over medium-high, add the chicken in one flat layer, and leave it undisturbed for 4 minutes so it browns.
  4. Finish the crumbles: Break the chicken into rough crumbles and cook 4 to 5 minutes more, tossing occasionally, until there is no pink left and an instant-read thermometer reads 165°F (74°C). You want dark brown edges rather than an evenly pale pan.
  5. Warm the cherries: Move the chicken to a bowl and add the cherries to the same skillet over medium heat. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they soften, darken, and release enough juice to glaze the bottom of the pan.
  6. Build the bowls: Spoon the warm porridge into four bowls. Add the cherries and their juice to one side and the chicken crumbles to the other, then pour any remaining pan juices over the top and serve hot.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per recipe
Serving size1 bowl
Calories415
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g32%
Saturated Fat 15g76%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 99mg33%
Sodium 570mg25%
Total Carbohydrate 21g8%
Dietary Fiber 5g19%
Total Sugars 14g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 31g
Vitamin D 0.1mcg1%
Calcium 64mg5%
Iron 2.6mg14%
Potassium 893mg19%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (1 bowl).

Variations

  • Pumpkin porridge: Blend a half cup of canned pumpkin into the base for a thicker, autumn-colored bowl with more spice behind it.
  • Berry version: Swap the cherries for blackberries or blueberries, which need only two minutes in the pan before they burst.
  • Sweeter bowl: Stir a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup into the cherries as they cook if you are using tart fruit and want the sweetness of a dessert.
  • Plantain porridge: Use a very ripe plantain, boiled soft and mashed, in place of half the cauliflower for a starchier, denser bowl.
  • All savory: Leave out the cherries entirely and stir chopped fresh sage into the chicken for a plain sausage and porridge plate.

Storage & Leftovers

The porridge keeps in a sealed container in the fridge for up to four days and thickens considerably as it chills. Reheat it in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of water or coconut milk, whisking until it loosens back to a pourable consistency.

The chicken crumbles and the cherries keep for three days and are easiest stored together, since the fruit juice keeps the meat from drying out. Reheat both in a skillet over medium heat for two or three minutes, which also crisps the crumbles back up.

The porridge freezes well for up to three months in single portions, though it will look grainy on thawing. A minute of whisking over low heat brings it back. The cherries freeze fine and the crumbles come back a little drier, so cook those fresh if you have the time.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen, mostly about cooking the cauliflower until it surrenders and letting the chicken sit still long enough to brown.
  • Cook the cauliflower all the way: Any resistance left in the florets shows up as grit in the blender and as a raw taste in the bowl. Give it the full fourteen minutes if it needs them.
  • Blend hot, blend long: A full minute in the blender is what takes this from soup to something velvety. Vent the lid and hold a towel over it, since hot liquid expands fast.
  • Season the meat before it cooks: Mixing the cinnamon and ginger through the raw chicken puts the flavor inside the crumbles rather than dusted over the outside.
  • Do not stir the sausage early: Ground chicken releases water and will boil in it if you keep moving it. Four still minutes in a hot pan gives you the brown edges.
  • Use a thermometer: Ground poultry gives you no reliable visual cue once it is crumbled. Cook it to 165°F (74°C) and stop guessing.
  • Cherries last, in the same pan: The browned bits left by the chicken dissolve into the cherry juice and give the fruit a savory backbone that is worth more than a clean skillet.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

Warm dark cherries over a smooth coconut porridge, with crisp browned chicken crumbles alongside so the bowl eats like a real breakfast.
  • The porridge, the fruit, and the browned chicken work as one bowl. The cauliflower and coconut milk make the soft base, the cherries bring the sweetness and the color, and the meat is what turns a sweet breakfast into one that holds you through the morning.
  • Cherries are where the color and most of the flavor come from, and the anthocyanins behind that deep red have been studied for their role in recovery and sleep. Warmed briefly they taste rounder and jammier than they do raw.
  • Cauliflower blended into a porridge turns mild, thick, and faintly sweet, and it brings vitamin C and fiber into a bowl that eats like a soft cereal.
  • Coconut milk gives the base its body and its gloss, and the fat in it is what slows the whole bowl down so a breakfast built on fruit still carries you.
  • Cinnamon and fresh ginger season the chicken from the inside rather than sitting on top, and both are aromatic spices that have been studied for their effects on digestion and on how the body handles carbohydrate.
  • As you eat, alternate a spoon of the sweet cherries with a bite of the savory crumbles and notice how much longer the bowl stays interesting when you slow down enough to do it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the cauliflower actually taste like cauliflower?

Not once it is fully soft and blended. The sulfur notes people object to come from undercooking and from browning, neither of which happens here. Simmer it until a knife meets no resistance, blend it completely smooth, and what you get is mild and faintly sweet.

Can I use frozen cherries?

Yes, and I usually do. Cook them straight from frozen and give them an extra minute or two in the pan, since they let go of more liquid. If the juice looks thin, let it bubble another minute so it reduces and glazes properly.

Can I use ground turkey or pork instead?

Both work at the same weight. Ground pork is richer and browns more readily, and ground turkey behaves almost exactly like the chicken. Whichever you use, cook it to 165°F (74°C) and let it sit still long enough to take on color.

Is this appropriate during an AIP elimination phase?

It is. The porridge is built on cauliflower and coconut milk rather than grains, the sausage is seasoned with cinnamon and ginger rather than pepper, and there are no dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, or nightshades in the bowl.