Breakfast recipe · warm & simple

Apple, cinnamon & walnut porridge

Name: Apple, Cinnamon & Walnut Porridge
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 80 g rolled porridge oats; 300 ml semi-skimmed milk or unsweetened fortified soya drink; 1 medium eating apple, cored and diced with the skin left on; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra to finish; 20 g walnuts, roughly chopped; 100 g plain yoghurt, to serve; 80 ml water, plus a splash if needed

Creamy rolled oats with gently softened apple, cinnamon, walnuts and plain yoghurt. It is an ordinary fibre-rich breakfast that fits the site's wider Mediterranean-style planning approach — not a treatment for fatty liver.

5 minprep10 mincook2servingsVegetarianbreakfast

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A bowl of porridge topped with cooked apple and cinnamon. — A photographic serving suggestion of apple and cinnamon porridge.

Why this combination

Oats, fruit and nuts in one warm breakfast

Current MASLD guidance focuses on the quality of the overall eating pattern rather than on a special disease-specific breakfast. A Mediterranean-style direction emphasises minimally processed plant foods, fibre-rich staples, fruit, nuts and mainly unsaturated fats while limiting heavily processed foods and sugar-sweetened drinks.

Oats provide a straightforward wholegrain base, apple adds fruit, and walnuts add texture and unsaturated fat. Plain yoghurt makes the finished bowl creamier without relying on a heavily sweetened topping. The American Liver Foundation also publishes a simple oatmeal-with-fruit recipe using oats, apple, cinnamon and walnuts, which confirms this is an established practical combination rather than an invented “liver food”.

Personal needs differ. If you have diabetes medication, kidney disease, advanced liver disease, food allergies, unplanned weight loss or another condition that changes what or how much you should eat, follow your own clinician or dietitian's advice.

The complete recipe

Apple, cinnamon & walnut porridge

This quantity makes two breakfast bowls. Keep the apple skin on if you enjoy the texture, and adjust the final liquid rather than forcing one “correct” porridge thickness.

Ingredients

80 g rolled porridge oats
300 ml semi-skimmed milk or unsweetened fortified soya drink
1 medium eating apple, cored and diced with the skin left on
½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus a little extra to finish
20 g walnuts, roughly chopped
100 g plain yoghurt, to serve
80 ml water, plus a splash if needed

Method

1
Put the diced apple, cinnamon and 80 ml water into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the apple starts to soften.
2
Add the oats and milk or fortified soya drink. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 5–6 minutes, stirring regularly so the porridge stays creamy and does not catch.
3
Stir in half of the chopped walnuts. Add a small splash of water or milk if you prefer a looser porridge.
4
Divide between two bowls. Spoon over the plain yoghurt, scatter with the remaining walnuts and finish with a light dusting of cinnamon.

Making one serving? Halve the ingredients and use a smaller saucepan. If you make extra, cool it promptly and refrigerate it; reheat only the portion you intend to eat and add a splash of liquid as it warms.

Three easy variations

Keep the oat base, change the finish

The recipe is intentionally flexible enough to stay useful when your fruit, milk or toppings change.

Pear & ginger

Swap apple for diced pear and use a small pinch of ground ginger alongside the cinnamon.

Berry bowl

Cook the oats plain and stir berries through at the end so they soften without disappearing completely.

Seed crunch

Use pumpkin or sunflower seeds instead of walnuts if nuts are unsuitable for you.

Use it in the wider plan

One breakfast, not a complete diet

This recipe is simply one breakfast option. Use the Meal Planner to place it in a realistic week, the Shopping List Builder to organise the ingredients you actually need, or browse the Breakfast hub for a savoury alternative.

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Evidence checked 18 August 2026

Sources used for the food-pattern context

The ingredient quantities and method on this page are original to Fatty Liver Meal Planner; the linked sources support the general dietary context. See our editorial policy, evidence policy and medical disclaimer.