Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge

Name: Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
Prep time: 9 min
Cook time: 17 min
Total time: 26 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Jamaican
Ingredients: 4 cups Water; 380g Coconut Milk; 1 cup Fine Yellow Cornmeal; 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract; 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon; 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg; 1/4 tsp Ground Allspice; 1/2 cup Sweetened Condensed Milk

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Breakfast recipe with Jamaican flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 44 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Step-by-step instructions

Add 2 ½ cups water, 1 can coconut milk to a 4 QT heavy bottomed pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Meanwhile, add 1 cup cornmeal and 1 ½ cup water to a large mixing cup and whisk until smooth.
Once the pot begins to boil, whisk in cornmeal mixture and continue to whisk for about 1 minute, ensuring there are no lumps. Reduce heat to low and cover with a tight fitting lid.
Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When there is about 5 minutes left, stir in vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all-spice. Remove from heat and sweeten with condensed milk.
Serve and enjoy.

Why this works on a weeknight

Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Breakfast Jamaican ⚡ 30-Min Dinner