This Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge Recipe is one I grew up eating. Now my daughter, hubby, and I enjoy this recipe almost weekly. Make it in the Instant Pot for a hands off breakfast.

Instapot cornmeal porridge in bowls with instant pot in background

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Full Recipe Ingredients/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.

*Updated on 11/17/19

Update: After feedback by some readers on the Burn Signal this recipe may cause, I’ve updated this post. I’ve tested this recipe in multiple Instant Pot machines and could never get a burn signal. I was able to purchase an Instant Pot that was more sensitive to giving off a burn and was able to figure out the cause.

Some of the newer designs are more susceptible to giving off a burn while many older models won’t. If your machine does give off a burn with this recipe, simply release the pressure valve to relase all the pressure, open the machine, whisk the ingredients and cook on sauté until thickened, about 8-10 more minutes. Then add in your condensed milk. Or, you can make my stovetop cornmeal porridge recipe.

Instapot!!! Ok, I know…it’s called Instant Pot, but I like saying Instapot! I got an instant pot over the Christmas break and I’ve been loving this thing. What the heck is an Instant Pot you may ask?!? Well that’s what I wondered when I ordered it with no clue what it was. But everyone was getting it so I wanted one too. Well, it’s pretty much a pressure cooker. An electronic genius pressure cooker that won’t blow up in your kitchen if you follow the instructions. It has tons of settings and you can find one on Amazon for a pretty reasonable price.

My instant pot has a bunch of settings, from meat, poultry, soup, saute, slow cooker, and porridge. Yes, there is a setting on the instant pot for porridge. It isn’t quite clear what they expect to be made with this setting but I automatically thought about Jamaican cornmeal porridge and got excited. Pretty much the reason I bought mine.

Jamaican cornmeal porridge is simply made with yellow cornmeal, milk, water, spices, and condensed milk. That’s it for this easy breakfast. It’s served warm and I like to serve mine with a side of bacon. I would serve everything with a side of bacon if I could. Bacon is amazing.

I hope you enjoy this easy peasy breakfast recipe as much as we do. Keep a lookout for some other Instapot recipes to come your way. This thing is pretty cool.

Notes on Instant Pot Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge

Traditionally, cornmeal porridge is made on the stove and requires stirring. If you’re going to use the Instapot, make sure you use super fine cornmeal to avoid any lumps.
I use condensed milk to sweeten my porridge. Feel free to use sugar as a substitute if you like.

Looking for other Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes? Try these out:

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4.35 from 20 votes

Instant Pot Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge

Easy and delicious cornmeal porridge made right in your pressure cooker. A slightly sweet and warm breakfast that is perfect for any morning.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Caribbean

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings people

Calories 241kcal

Author Tanya

Ingredients

4 cups water separated
1 cup milk
1 cup yellow cornmeal fine
2 sticks cinnamon
3 pimento berries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

Add 3 cups water and 1 cup milk to Instant pot and stir.
In a separate bowl, whisk 1 cup water and cornmeal until fully combined. Add to instant pot and whis. Add cinnamon sticks, pimento berries, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Cover and cook on porridge for 6 minutes.
Once timer goes off, allow to naturally release for at least 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
Once done with natural release, open Instant Pot and whisk to remove any lumps.
Add sweetened condensed milk to sweeten. Enjoy 🙂

Notes

After feedback by some readers on the Burn Signal this recipe may cause, I’ve updated this post. I’ve tested this recipe in multiple Instant Pot machines and could never get a burn signal. I was able to purchase an Instant Pot that was more sensitive to giving off a burn and was able to figure out the cause.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal

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Tannece

Saturday 30th of December 2023

Hi Tanya, I got my insta pot lol, for my Christmas and went on the hunt for Jamaican recipes. Grateful I found your page. I tried this but with cream of wheat because my family doesn’t really like cornmeal porridge. I followed your instructions exactly and it came out great. Next time I will spent more time whisking the mixture before starting the pot.

Thanks Girl! I will try your other recipes for my fam. Bless up

Tanya

Tuesday 2nd of January 2024

Thank you so much, Tannece! I also love cream of wheat.

Archie

Monday 6th of July 2020

Not happy with this recipe. Followed your instructions to the letter. Received no burn warning but all the cornmeal congealed to the bottom and stuck and burned while all the liquid stayed on top. No porridge and I have to clean my pot now. Using an Instant Pot IP-Duo

Sorry to hear that Archie. I didn't have these issues. You will need to stir once you open the lid but the cornmeal shouldn't be burnt on the bottom.

Debbie

Saturday 25th of January 2020

My Son-in-law is Jamaican...he makes this every morning for my Grands....of course he adds 1 or 2 other SECRET INGREDIENTS ?...THEY LOVE IT ?..Thanks for sharing your recipe ??

Iona Newman-Jobity

Friday 10th of January 2020

Loved it! Oh my goodness it was absolutely delicious. I did get the burn signal on my instant pot. I released the pressure and finished cooking the porridge on Saute as per your suggestion. I was upset about the stuck on burned cornmeal in my instant pot especially because it is new, but it was worth trying it again. So, I am trying it for the second time now but started heating the pot before adding all the ingredients. This time, no burn signal. I am so happy. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. Glad it worked out in the end. Great tip on heating the pot first before adding the ingredients.

Lemuel

Sunday 25th of August 2019

The recipe tastes good but the Instant Pot shut down three times with the overheat warning (OuHt) and I ended up just eating it as is after scraping the stuck cornmeal off the bottom of the pot.

Hi Lemuel, sorry to hear about the IP shutting it down. All Instant Pots cook differently and it appears that some of the newer models are causing more of this issue than older models. I make this recipe in my Instant Pot DUO and the Pioneer Women Lux Instant Pot with no issues.