This creamy and comforting savory protein oatmeal is delicious for breakfast (or any meal of the day), and it’s gluten-free and dairy-free. Inspired by congee, our savory oatmeal porridge is made with high-protein oats and bone broth for a delicious, comfort-food meal that hits the spot.
If you’re like me and finding new breakfast recipes is challenging with food allergies, we’ve got the perfect recipe for you with our savory protein oatmeal!
This creamy, hot, and savory oatmeal is delicious and comforting. It feels like a warming hug in a bowl that can still help you reach your daily protein goals (when made with our recommended ingredients, it has 28 grams of protein per serving). And it’s not just for breakfast, you can make this for lunch or dinner, too.
If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I also can’t have eggs, among many other food intolerances (including most protein powders), so making sure I have enough protein at breakfast usually ends up being chicken breakfast sausage most mornings.
I was craving a savory congee-style porridge for breakfast when I realized that bone broth and protein oats would be a great way to make a higher-protein breakfast option! It’s a great way to get protein in the morning if you prefer savory options and want something a little different.
There are no eggs in this recipe, but you can definitely add a soft-boiled jammy egg or an over-easy egg on top of this savory oatmeal.
This recipe reminds me a little bit of our dairy-free cheesy grits recipe as well, but this one has more protein if you’re looking for that!
Ingredient notes for our savory protein oatmeal
Protein oats: I used the Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free protein oats. The nice thing about these oats is that they are just oats: they don’t have any additional ingredients in them, like some protein oats have protein powders added.
These are only oats, just a higher protein variety. The oat variety they use is about 60% higher in protein than regular oats. My only complaint about these is that they do tend to have more hulls in them, but I hardly notice them in this recipe since we grind up the oats before cooking for creamier and thicker oatmeal.
Bone broth: We used bone broth for our protein oatmeal because it’s higher in protein than regular broth.
We used the Kettle & Fire chicken bone broth, and it has a good flavor and protein content without added ingredients, like collagen powders. You can also use any kind of bone broth you like here as well, even homemade bone broth if you prefer!
If you don’t want to use bone broth, you can use regular chicken broth in this recipe with good flavor and texture results, it just won’t have as much protein.
Bacon crumbles: This savory oatmeal is so good with cooked bacon crumbles mixed into it, but you can also add cooked sausage crumbles, pork belly, etc. I’ve tried it with both bacon and sausage, and both are great; use whatever you love and make it your own!
How to make high-protein savory oatmeal
Here are the steps to make our savory protein oatmeal recipe. This is an easy recipe to make, and here are the steps. This is just an overview of the steps; the full recipe card is at the end of the post!
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and arrange the bacon on the pan. Cook the bacon for about 13-15 minutes (depending on thickness) or until it’s as crisp as you like.
- While the bacon cooks, add the bone broth (or regular broth) to a 1-quart saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.
- While the broth is heating up, measure out your oats and add them to a small blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times to grind the oats a bit. You want them to be ground smaller, but not completely processed into flour.
- You can skip grinding your oats if you like the chunkiness of old-fashioned oats, but if you want a thick and creamy porridge-style oatmeal as we have in the photos, you’ll want to grind the oats.
- Once the broth is simmering, add the ground oats, stir, and reduce the heat a bit to medium-low.
- Cook the oats in the broth for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan. Keep in mind that the oats will thicken as they cool as well, so if they seem too thin after 15 minutes, they will continue to thicken once they cool more.
- Remove from heat and stir in the bacon crumbles, coconut aminos, sesame oil, garlic powder, Cajun spice (we use this as an all-purpose seasoning), and black pepper.
- Allow the oats to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes to continue absorbing the broth, thicken, and cool a bit.
- Stir in the green onions or chives, taste, and add more salt as needed to taste, then serve. You can add additional green onions and bacon crumbles on top, and you can also add dairy-free parmesan cheese as well.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Swaps and variations
I used more Asian-forward flavors in this recipe as a nod to congee, but if you want a different flavor profile, you can skip the toasted sesame oil and coconut aminos (or soy-free sauce), and add dairy free cheddar cheese and a little nutritional yeast for a cheesy bacon flavor!
Check out our paleo breakfast skillet and our gluten free overnight protein oats recipe!
Gluten Free Savory High Protein Oatmeal with Bacon (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 ½ cups chicken bone broth (we used Kettle & Fire brand)
- ⅔ cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free protein oats
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (or other soy-free sauce)
- 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Cajun spice blend
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sliced green onions
- Salt, to taste
- Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chili flakes, or chili crisp, black garlic
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and arrange the bacon on the pan. Cook the bacon for about 13-15 minutes (depending on thickness) or until it's as crisp as you like.4 slices bacon
- Once the bacon is done cooking, drain the bacon and remove the excess grease, chop, and set aside.
- While the bacon is cooking, add the bone broth (or regular broth) to a 1-quart saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.2 ½ cups chicken bone broth
- While the broth is heating up, measure out your oats and add them to a small blender or food processor and pulse a couple of times to grind the oats a bit. You want them to be ground smaller, but not completely processed into flour.2/3 cup Bob's Red Mill gluten-free protein oats
- You can skip grinding your oats if you like the chunkiness of old-fashioned oats, but if you want a thick and creamy porridge-style oatmeal as we have in the photos (which is better I think!), you'll want to grind the oats.
- Once the broth is simmering, add the ground oats, stir, and reduce the heat a bit to medium-low.
- Cook the oats in the broth for 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan. Keep in mind that the oats will thicken as they cool as well, so if they seem too thin after 15 minutes, they will continue to thicken once they cool more.
- Remove from heat and stir in the bacon crumbles, coconut aminos, sesame oil, garlic powder, Cajun spice, and black pepper.1 Tablespoon coconut aminos, 1-2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder , 1/2 teaspoon Cajun spice blend, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Allow to rest in the pan for about 10 minutes to continue absorbing the broth and thicken and cool a bit.
- Stir in the green onions or chives, taste, and add more salt as needed to taste, and serve.1 tablespoon sliced green onions, Salt, to taste
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.