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.

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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:
- Pumpkin Pie Instant Pot Oatmeal
- Instant Pot Sausage Gravy for Biscuits and Gravy
- Creamy Cheddar and Jalapeño Instant Pot Grits
- Instant Pot Egg Bites
Instant Pot Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
Ingredients
- 4 cups water separated
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal fine
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 3 pimento berries
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- ½ 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 🙂