This homemade cornmeal mush is a quick, delicious, and healthy breakfast recipe you can make at home in just a few minutes using 4 ingredients only! This is a vegan dish that is best served warm and topped with pitted dates or your favorite toppings. Check this out and enjoy a bowl of cooked cornmeal!
Interested in making more corn recipes? Try my Ginataang Mais, Filipino Corn Soup, and Caramelized Corn Bibingka recipe!
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What is Homemade Cornmeal Mush?
Homemade cornmeal mush is a quick, simple, and satisfying vegan dish made by slowly boiling cornmeal in water or milk until it thickens into a smooth consistency. I know cornmeal mush doesn't sound appealing, but this is a delicious, quick, and easy dish for a warm breakfast or side dish and can be sweetened with dates, syrup, honey, or fruit or savory with butter, cheese, or gravy. It tastes a lot like a cream of wheat but has more nutritional benefits.
You will only need four simple ingredients to make this homemade cornmeal mush. It's a versatile, affordable meal that's easy to make and adjustable to your liking. Are you ready to make this classic recipe at home? Read on for the recipe!
Health Benefits of Cornmeal
- Good source of essential nutrients such as B vitamins, thiamine, manganese, folate, and selenium.
- Rich in fiber which promotes digestive health and maintains a healthy gut.
- Low in sodium and fat which makes a great alternative breakfast for people who have diabetes or other health conditions.
- Low in cholesterol which means you can eat cornmeal mush almost every day!
Variations
- Sweet: Mix in sweeteners of your choice like brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, as well as dried or fresh fruit for added sweetness and texture. You can eat this with sliced fresh vegetables and berries together with the pitted dates as a topping.
- Creamy: To achieve a richer, creamier texture, use milk or a dairy-free substitute instead of water.
- Savory: You may add cheese, herbs, or sautéed veggies for a savory side dish.
- Fried: Do you know that you can fry leftover cornmeal mush? Just place it in the fridge and the next day, slice it thinly and fry it in a pan with oil or vegan butter to have fried cornmeal mush.
Substitutions
- Polenta: Feel free to use polenta, a coarser version of cornmeal, can be used in place of cornmeal for a comparable texture and flavor.
- Grits: Instead of cornmeal, use grits for a little different flavor but the same creamy consistency.
- Coconut Water: You may replace plain water with coconut water for more flavor.
- Toppings: Pitted dates can be replaced with raisins, chopped dried figs, dried apricots, fresh fruits, honey, or maple syrup for a sweet topping.
Storage
- Keep homemade cornmeal mush refrigerated for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Add a splash of water or milk and gently heat on the stove or in the microwave while stirring regularly to reheat the refrigerated cornmeal mush.
- For long-term storage of the leftovers of this cornmeal mush, portion sizes can be frozen for up to three months in freezer-safe containers; defrost in the fridge before reheating.
Ingredients
Listed below are all the ingredients you will need:
- water
- salt
- cornmeal
- pitted dates
Instructions
In a saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat, add water, salt, and cornmeal, then bring to a boil:
Reduce heat and stir almost constantly (to avoid clumps) for about 10 minutes or until the cornmeal mixture is thickened to the consistency you like:
Remove from heat and pour mixture in a bowl:
Serve hot with dates, strawberries, blueberries, plant-based milk, or a drizzle of maple syrup:
Enjoy the good taste of corn in every serving!
Top Tips
- When adding water, make sure to just put enough to cook the cornmeal. But, if you like it to be a little soupy, you can add more water.
- Stir almost constantly to avoid clumps.
FAQ
More Breakfast Recipes
Homemade Cornmeal Mush
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup pitted dates chopped
Instructions
- In a saucepan over medium-high heat, add water, salt, and cornmeal, then bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and stir almost constantly (to avoid clumps) for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is thickened to the consistency you like.
- Remove from heat and serve hot with dates, strawberries, blueberries, plant-based milk, or maple syrup.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Dan (eating corn meal my whole life) Kellerman says
If you mix the cornmeal in a small amount of cold water first, (until it's wet and somewhat pumpkin pie like firmness, but not so much that water is still showing) and THEN add it to the water once it is boiling, being careful to not just dump it in, (because of the HOT splash) but stir it in slowly...you can control not only the consistency, but it greatly reduces the formation of lumps. Brown sugar and butter is really all you need...but dates sound delightful as well.
Lainey says
Hi Dan,
Thank you for taking your time to share some tips. I appreciate it!
Mary Joyce Eakins says
My tummy wasn't feeling great today but good old cornmeal mush sounded good. I added butter and sweetened it with Monkfruit, that hit the spot. I will be back!
😄
Lainey says
Yay! It's good to know that this recipe helped you and you liked it. Thank you for trying out this recipe, Mary Joyce. I really appreciate it!
Ching says
Wow. It seems so quick and easy to make. It's healthy too. Thanks for this recipe, Lainey! 🙂
Lainey says
You're welcome, Ching. This recipe is indeed super simple to make. I hope you can try this someday. Enjoy!
Cindy says
Can you pour it in a loaf pan and refrigerate it? Then slice and fry.