Are there any other Cream of Wheat fans out there? Cream of Wheat is a type of breakfast porridge made from wheat with an appearance and consistency very similar to grits. The flavor is quite mild, making it perfect for loading up with your favorite fresh berries, chopped nuts or creamy nut butter. Cream of Wheat and the little packets of flavored oatmeal were two of my favorite breakfasts when I was in high school. (Okay, Toaster Strudels were, too… with an extra icing packet, of course.)
For some reason my love for Cream of Wheat seemed to die when I went off to college. I never bought it after high school and never really thought about it much until this little gem of a recipe came into my life and reminded me of a sweeter (and healthier!) version of my childhood favorite. This paleo oatless oatmeal with zucchini is the perfect healthy swap for Cream of Wheat.
If you guys happened to read PBF a year or two ago, you may remember me falling in love with a recipe for oatless oatmeal. I have absolutely nothing against traditional oatmeal but love the way the oatless version seems to keep me feeling satisfied for longer thanks to an extra punch of protein from egg whites and a dose of healthy fats from ground flaxseed.
The other day, in an effort to break out of my all-frittatas-all-time habit (which I’m still totally loving, by the way), I decided to incorporate a little more variety into my morning meal in the form of my old favorite oatless oatmeal. When I shared a past oatmeal recipe on the blog (I think it was my three-minute egg white oatmeal?), Chelsea chimed in and encouraged me to add zucchini to the mix for an extra punch of nutrition.
Chelsea swore I wouldn’t be able to taste the zucchini and I decided to give it a go in my favorite oatless oatmeal recipe. The verdict? It was fantastic and totally undetectable. Heck yes!
Oatless Oatmeal (with Zucchini!)
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 Large Serving 1x
- Category: breakfast, recipes
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Description
Made with egg whites, ground flaxseed and almond milk, this recipe for oatless oatmeal is a nutritious and tasty alternative to traditional oatmeal for those who may be gluten-free, Paleo or simply looking for a satisfying high-protein breakfast.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup egg whites (I use egg whites from a carton)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
- 1/2 large (very ripe) banana, mashed
- 1/2 zucchini, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine mashed banana and zucchini in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Combine egg whites and almond milk in a small saucepan and stir with a spatula over medium heat. Add flaxseed and continue stirring until mixture begins to slightly thicken. Make sure to use the spatula to continually scrape the sides of the saucepan so mixture doesn’t adhere to the pan.
- Add banana-zucchini mixture and stir constantly as oatless oatmeal begins to thicken. (Do not walk away!) Add cinnamon, reduce heat and continue to stir until oatless oatmeal reaches desired level of thickness.
- Top with desired toppings (berries, nuts, nut butter, unsweetened coconut) and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from Joelle’s Paleo Oatmeal
This oatless oatmeal recipe is a great one to try if you’re looking for a voluminous, satisfying breakfast similar to oatmeal, but happen to be following a gluten-free or Paleo diet. It’s naturally sweet thanks to the banana and the consistency is very similar to Cream of Wheat thanks to the egg whites and ground flaxseed. (Side note: Do not leave the ground flaxseed out of this one! It’s key and must be ground!) I love topping my oatless oatmeal with peanut butter, fresh blueberries, unsweetened coconut and cacao nibs, but you can obviously play around with your favorite toppings and make it your own.
If you decide to give this one a try, I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!
More Oatmeal/Oatmeal-Inspired Recipes
![\"Quantcast\"/](\"//pixel.quantserve.com/pixel/p-1e3-7hOJ_U8Bg.gif\")
WHAT?! Yes, please!!
Haha!! Hope you like it if you give it a try!
Do you think you could use and entire egg instead of just the white?
Definitely! I used egg whites simply because I usually have a carton of them on hand and it makes the recipe super simple.
Wow! Never would have thought to do this. I must give it a try.
Yes but it would have more calories which is what she is trying to avoid
Avoid calories AND nutrition! Unless you have a specific health restriction, don’t say no to egg yolks! 😀 Why not try the whole egg? Probably would result in a delicious custard like consistency 🙂
I adapted the original recipe from Joelle (link seen above!), and followed her guidelines for using egg whites since I usually have a carton of egg whites on hand, but I love the idea of using whole eggs next time!
Hi Meredith! Just wanted to avoid any confusion… I’m not trying to avoid calories right now. I am currently nursing and cutting calories could effect my milk supply and is just not a current goal/focus for me.
LOL! You could just name it Zucchini Porridge, since there are no oats in it. 😛
Zucchini-meal?! 😀 Sounds intriguing! I’ve heard of zucchini being undetectable in baked goods, but in “oat”meal?! I have a zucchini in my fridge just waiting for me to try this! 😀
I love this!! Never thought of zucchini for breakfast!
Iiiiiinteresting lol I love oatmeal and I suppose I won’t knock this til I try it haha
Loving the sounds of this! And your photos of it are beautiful!
It’s like zucchini bread-oatmeal! My dad hates zucchini (he’s super picky about veggies), but he loves zucchini bread. Might even like this. 🙂
This sounds amazing! I have to try it!
WHAT?! This is awesome! I need to try this ASAP!
Zucchini?! I trust you, girl, but I’m floored with the rest of the commenters above me, ha! No promises, but I’ll try anything once!
I loved cream of wheat as a kid! Remember those gel packets you could squeeze onto it? I’ve always been health conscious 😉
Scott asked me if I wanted to “try going Paleo” the other day. My look of confusion quickly answered for me, but the recipes you have been posting lately make me want to change my mind!
Oh we’re definitely not going Paleo over here (lasagna was last night’s dinner!), but I do love a lot of Paleo recipes and enjoy sharing them since they seem to interest a lot of people right now! 🙂
This is so creative and a great way to get veggies into comforting oats. I’ll be trying soon!
Random comment from someone who rarely ever comments – thank you for all that you do on this blog! I love reading along and love the variety of posts you provide for us readers. And thank you for being you, it truly shows through on the blog! Ps need to try this recipe asap!
Katie, your comment came at a wonderful time today. Thank you. <3 This means a lot to me!
Sounds like a yummy breakfast! I normally just stick to regular oatmeal, but I love the idea of something different. I’ll have to try this out. Thanks for sharing, Julie!
This is a creative recipe! Btw, oats don’t have gluten, so oatmeal is gluten-free as-is.
Oh yes! It’s just that many oats on the market today are cross-contaminated, so if you’re not purchasing gluten-free oats, the oats may still have gluten in them. (Quaker, for example, doesn’t guarantee their oats are gluten-free!) One of my best friends has celiac and she explained this to me before when I was confused myself!
I wouldn’t count on oats being gluten free unless they specifically say so on the package. If you try to avoid to much gluten then go ahead, but celiacs should definitely NOT use regular oats.
I’ve only made oatless oats a couple of times, but they are ALWAYS delish!
What a unique recipe–I can totally believe that the zucchini would be indetectable. I almost always add egg whites, flax seed and banana to my oatmeal, so it would be easy to try this and just swap out the oats with zucchini and give this a try for a change!
Umm yum!! This looks great!
What a strange-but-good recipe! I love the sneaky addition of veggies!
I am not a cream of wheat fan, but I love everything zucchini. This seriously is one I must try Julie!
Mmmm this sounds yummy! Any sweetish zuchinni concoction is usually a hit for me. And I like the idea of it being more filling than traditional oats!
I can’t do oats so love oat less oatmeal! I’ve made a cauliflower version and one with banana and coconut flour, this one sounds awesome!
I loved cream of wheat growing up, and still eat it as an adult! This recipe looks really interesting, so I’ll have to give it a try:)
Can you sub anything for the banana? I’m allergic. I used to love the first oatless oatmeal, but it was a bowl of that that “helped” me discover my allergy. Been missing it ever since!
I am following a Paleo template about 90% of the time these days. I love variety instead of just eggs and sausage/bacon/veggies for breakfast. I’ll give this a whirl sometime, but with a whole egg, since I never have egg whites in the house. Sounds delicious!
Oh my gosh I am SO excited about this!! I can’t wait to try it, and I have NEVER thought about adding a veggie to my oatmeal – whaaat? Yet it all makes sense. Zucchini bread doesn’t taste like a veggie, so why not this? SO excited! I have been a huge fan of your recipes for ages, and make them all the time, so thanks a bunch for this. I’m adding it to my protein pinterest board. Thanks!
this is such a good idea!!! love it 😀
https://aspoonfulofnature.wordpress.com/
oatless oatmeal!? No way! I will definitely have to try this one out!!!
Interesting. I am a Cream of Wheat kind of girl. I may have to try this but after getting over the adding of zucchini. Hmmm.
I tried this recipe and love it.
Do you have to have the banana to thicken it up? I was wondering about adding in sausage and cheese to make it a savory dish.
I made this for breakfast today! So yummy! Thanks!
Can you make this ahead of time (for the next two days say) and leave it in the fridge kind of like overnight oats?
Kinda like the question above… What about meal prep? Think they can be frozen into muffin tins and get reheated the morning of for a quick and easy breakfast?
Thanks girl! LOVE all the Chase updates:) I’m always thinking “what a sweet family” 🙂
can you make ahead and store this or does it need to be eaten right away?
I made this tonight for tomorrow’s breakfast. While heating the almond milk and egg whites, it seemed like the almond milk curdled? I was stirring it and it went suddenly from thickening to looking like curdled milk or egg drop soupish. Ideas? Thanks!
Hmmm… I would initially think it just needs to be stirred more continuously or maybe lower the heat a bit so the eggs don’t have time to cook by themselves while you’re stirring?
Thank you Thank you Thank you! Yay for breaking up monotony. This was delicious and filling! 2 of my kids ate it also! This was exactly what I needed today!
So happy to hear it!!! <3 Thank you for reporting back and letting me know!
Is this recipe good reheated? There’s only two of us in the house so could it be eaten for multiple days or it only good for the one day?
Julie!! I just made this and think it is fabulous. I didn’t have zucchini so I used pumpkin puree and chia seeds and it thickened beautifully….kind of like the texture of cream of wheat. This is perfect for fall!
Hey! I am so pumped about finding this recipe. Question – I just purchased a bunch of small zucchinis. You mentioned that you used 1/2 zucchini grated but do you know approximately the measuring of a 1/2 zucchini grated? should i be looking for half a cup?
Hi Fran!! I’m not sure, as the amount of grated zucchini produced by a zucchini will definitely vary depending on size. In general terms, I think around 1/2 of a large zucchini usually ended up giving me about 1/2 cup of grated zucchini. I really hope this helps!!