Yes, Adults Can Have Chocolate for Breakfast. Really.

Mar 16, 2018 · 130 comments
Catherine (Norway)
Dried cherries are also great in hot cereal.
SMSnedeker (Ithaca, NY)
Holy cocoa, Batman! The hardest part of this recipe was the wait—smelling molten chocolate simmering for 30 minutes drove me nuts. I only made 2/3’s of the recipe (using 1 c oats, 2 T Droste cocoa, and 3 1/4 c water) and had enough for 5 portions (what I ate plus 4 ramekins that I ‘friged). I added to my potion, 1/2 tsp. sugar and 2T. of whole milk, and it was amazing. It’s a good thing I didn’t give up chocolate for Lent.
Andrea (Martinez CA)
When I was a little girl and a little under weight my pediatrician told my mom to sprinkle Nestle chocolate chips in my warm Malt-O-Meal. It was swirly and comforting and the beginning of my chocolate addiction. I'm looking forward to trying the cocoa in my ginger-only steel cut oats tomorrow morning! Always ready for a new comfort food before I face my day. Thank you!
T. Short (Seattle, WA)
Or--you can open up a package of the deliciously chocolatey Tsampa in chocolate almond flavor from Peak Sherpa (I add a bit of hot water, and if I have time, sliced bananas). I minimize sugar intake, and so the small amount of lower glycemic-index coconut sugar, and toasted flavor of the Tibetan tsampa, makes my tastebuds (and body) feel very happy! The trick, like this article suggests, is that really rich cocoa powder powered chocolate flavor--so good with the Peak Sherpa chocolate almond Tsampa (and way more convenient in the rush of my mornings).
MomCat (Monterey, CA)
For the past several years, my grandson, now age 11, has been eating a bowl of steel cut oatmeal with a good tablespoon or so of Nutella (or a similar spread) stirred into it at serving. Often he has two helpings!
Marie deGrood (St. Paul, MN)
I take my morning dark chocolate hit in a different manner..... I sprinkle 85% cocoa shavings on my dense gluten-free toast right out of toaster where it melts quickly, atop I place blueberries, sliced bananas, whatever fruit in season. Healthy and delicious and at a much better price than your fancy pastry shop. YUM!
Jane Grenier (Brooklyn)
Even healthier (and super yummy): http://www.spectrumorganics.com/product/decadent-blend-chia-and-flax-seed/
Stan Carlisle (Nightmare Alley)
"Adults Can Have Chocolate for Breakfast" It's called Cocoa Puffs.
Rocco Marinaccio (New York)
I used toasted rolled oats, so I skipped the toasting-in-butter stage. I basically just did my routine oatmeal, which is cooked in half milk/half water, but added 1.5 teaspoons each of cocoa powder amd raw sugar (as the milk/water was warming) for my half cup oats serving. (I'm sure the original recipe is intensely flavorful, but her proportion of cocoa would require more sugar than I'd prefer in order to sweeten to taste.) Topped with pine nuts, bananas, and a drizzle of date syrup. I'll definitely be doing this again.
PeterC (BearTerritory)
Let the jihad begin!
Linda Cornetti (NC)
Chocolate oatmeal was a breakfast staple of my rural N.C. childhood. So was colored oatmeal. (Pink tastes best.) I remember sitting in my little rocker, c. 1956, watching Captain Kangaroo while I ate. My own children loved it, too, but nobody outside my family seems to have heard of it. Thank you for spreading the word. Now, move on to chocolate gravy and biscuits, aka "soppin' chocolate." Another regional fave.
Alice (Texas)
On a whim last Fall I used a dark hot chocolate k-cup for the water in my oatmeal and added tart dried cherries. No extra sugar needed, and it was amazing.
Randy (Florida)
I have been putting chocolate flavored protein powder in my oatmeal (after it's cooked). This add's chocolate flavor, added protein and makes it sweeter as well.
Bob T. (Colorado)
Everything is forbidden except for free-range, fair-trade, organic gruel.
Joseph Gardner (Connecticut)
Hehe very funny!
Sandra (Quezon City, Philippines)
This is basically champorado made with oats, instead of sticky rice and chocolate, which Filipinos have been eating for centuries. Our version of the Mexican champurrado, I think. Best eaten with crisp fried anchovies. Funny how the salty sweet flavors in traditional food got so trendy among chef types -- cheese ice cream, salty caramel, spicy chocolate, etc.
Mercy Wright (Atlanta)
In Sweden we love chocolate and salt licorice together.
Sandra (Quezon City, Philippines)
I love salty licorice too. But no one else in my life does. More for me!
J A Bickers (San Francisco)
Add a swirl of black strap molasses = yummy!
Ulysses (PA)
When I was a kid my father put milk and three raw eggs in the blender with something called PDQ? We had chocolate milkshakes every day before heading out to school. Years later when Rocky came out everyone gasped when Stallone drank raw eggs, my sister and I couldn't understand what the big deal was?? Do they even make PDQ anymore? Brown granules. Not as rich as Hershey's. It's amazing we're still alive. Chocolate PDQ and raw eggs. Then later at the candy store, we'd buy wax bottles, drink the juice, and eat the wax. Or chew on those candy necklaces that stained the back of your neck, or those sugar dots on the long strips of paper. I would think after all that a little chocolate in my oatmeal would be harmless enough. I'm going to try it! Thanks, NYT!
Molly Bloom (NJ)
Try Banania BENCO Instant Chocolate Beverage 400 Grams from France on Amazon. It is chocolate PDQ.
Molly Bloom (NJ)
This, just two days before the NYTIMES prints a guide on how to reduce sugar in our diets!
BR (New York)
Seriously. Get a grip. The recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa and IF you like drizzle/sprinkle it with sweetener. That doesn’t exactly sound like super frosted coco-pops. Let me guess that you eat “power bars” for a “healthy” snack which have a similar profile to eating a candy bar.
childofsol (Alaska)
It's about time we had an antidote to sugar hysteria hysteria.
Mr. Slater (Brooklyn, NY)
The writer says "unsweetened" chocolate.
JimW (San Francisco, CA)
Totally disgusting, beyond belief repulsive way to ruin steel cut oats.
Mercy Wright (Atlanta)
Taste it and THEN tell us what you think.
Tina Nguyen (Colorado)
I think by adding a bit of unsweetened chocolate would give the oatmeal a different taste since I have never had chocolate oatmeal. I also think it would be a great way to have a chocolate treat to start my morning that is on the healthier side than a bowl of sugary cereal.
Louis Park (Boulder)
To see news that isn't so grave in nature is always refreshing to see. Simple (or guilty) pleasures like chocolate are among the little things in daily life that can make things a little sweeter. From chocolate oatmeal to double chocolate-chip pancakes, the more the merrier! Always interesting to see the creative recipes people are able to come up with as well.
Emma (Boulder)
Cocoa powder is also great for last minute beauty emergencies. Run out of bronzer? Sparingly dust a little cocoa powder over your cheeks to get the right glow. Hair looks greasy? Cocoa powder works wonders as a dry shampoo alternative. If you have darker hair, it will blend right in and you won’t have to go about your day afraid of giant white splotches throughout your hair.
Emma (Boulder)
The only thing that makes modern day chocolate bars so unhealthy is all the sugars and preservatives added. Pure chocolate can reduce blood pressure, boost energy and help with respiratory problems. Take it from the Mayans, this stuff is great! Don’t let the bad stigmas scare you.
Rich Bessel (Tijeras,NM)
Sounds interesting . Will give it a try. As far as sweetening I suggest using what I do with morning bowl of oats: aadd a couple spoonfuls of your Olive Oil Granola, which I love but find very sweet to eat by itself.
Gail and Bill (Tucson)
I read in the small print on the McCann's can that the Scots like it with buttermilk. Being a buttermilk lover, I tried it, adding a light sprinkle of Demerrara sugar. Delicious!
Tom (Philadelphia)
"Gray and Dickensian" -- that is so disrespectful to oatmeal! Good quality steel-cut (McCann's, or Bob's) has such a wonderful flavor, texture and color. Especially if it's cooked al dente, oatmeal is a beautiful thing. Covering it with sugar just spoils it. My favorite oatmeal recipe is minimalist, without any sugar at all, designed to complement and amplify the flavor of the oats. Just butter (or olive oil), salt, pepper and a few teaspoons of milk. Try it and you may never go back to sugary recipes.
Michael (White Plains, NY)
I couldn't agree more, but after years of eating both, I've decided I prefer the texture and mouthfeel of organic, thick, rolled oats (available in bulk at Mrs. Green's in the NY area) to steelcut oats -- although they are nice for a change. I was about 8 or 9 when I told my father that I didn't care for oatmeal, because it was too sweet. He suggested I try it with butter and salt. I've been hooked ever since.
Aurelia Cotta (SPQR)
Ha! I was delighted to show this to my husband who mildly disapproves of how I have been adding cocoa powder to my steel cut oats. I make it in my tiny 1 cup rice cooker which perfectly cooks the oats unattended while I shower. I add a few drops a few drops of liquid stevia sweetener from Trader Joes along with the cocoa powder and water. For variety, I'll switch to cinnamon or nutmeg, but nothing beats the chocolate flavor.
Paul (Brooklyn)
Yes, I agree with your story but the problem is not the chocolate but it's addictive quality. It is like saying you can have one glass of wine with breakfast or a mimosa. Many people can't stop at one drink or a spoonful of pure cocoa powder. If you can, more power to you.
Miss Ley (New York)
Was listening with one ear to a cousin on the phone describe in minute detail some extraordinary recipe, while hogging the conversation. Chocolate for Breakfast? Just when a National alarm bell went off about the perils and dangers of sweets, followed by oatmeal with banana toppings. Naturally, I am grateful for having food, slim pickings are fine, but mention 'porridge' and I am back at ten in the Paris Metro after a kind Irish woman made this for breakfast, and I tossed it over the shoulder of a young man who was reading a manuscript. He was very good about this, and it probably was his only copy; perhaps even a best-seller lost of posterity. 'Mademoiselle, I believe you are not feeling well' as he escorted me to the next stop. The porridge was indeed gray, and singular because my hostess was the first 'fat' person I ever saw. Today in America she would probably be considered on the heavy side. She was beautiful, and the last time I heard news of her, she was a force to be reckoned with at 97. The last line of this recipe caught this reader's attention 'Children will love it'. Alright, this is a keeper for a sweet day.
FRITZ (CT)
Really?? Is Ms. Clark being blasted by a few for posting a recipe that amounts to 1/2 tablespoon butter per serving and uses a sweetener of choice to taste? For goodness' sake, she's not deep-frying a candy bar, or making Nutella 'healthy' by slathering it on whole wheat bread! I have a degree in a health field and I consider myself healthy--a 50-ish year old on no medications, run and exercise regularly, low blood pressure, no heart disease or diabetes despite big family history of both--and I see no evil lurking in this recipe (some sugars are now believed to play a more significant role in heart disease than saturated fats). In fact, I'm going to try this tomorrow morning. And I'll even use whole milk for some of the water.
Connor william (Austria)
I agree with you, and like Melissa Clark's recipe idea, but not her suggestion that plain oatmeal is grey or Dickensian! Sheesh! Maybe instant oatmeal is like that, but good Irish oats, either steel cut or whole flakes are respectively nutty pearls of joy, or tender clouds of comfort, simple and plain!
Jane (New York/Austria)
Oatmeal, nuts, and berries, small splash of milk -- what's gray about that?
dlcs (Brooklyn)
Great article, but I miss your videos! Please bring those back.
Jack from Saint Loo (NYC)
Sounds great, Ms. Clark. I wish there was a calorie count in this article, and the rest of the food articles.
Counter Measures (Old Borough Park, NY)
I've been eating oatmeal for years, but never understood this steel cut oats thing! Better oatmeal, or just a marketing gimmick?! PS Include berries, nuts, and the like, but eat the dark chocolate later in the day!
Raindrop (US)
It is chewier, and feels different in the mouth because it is is rounder, rather than flat, more recognizeably a grain. Bad oatmeal — like instant — becomes a paste, whereas steel cut keeps it shape. I like it, but it needs to be cooked well and, like all oatmeal, tastes better made with milk than just water. If you don’t like “gray” oatmeal, throw some frozen berries in. They will melt and change the color to somewhere on the purple spectrum.
Terri Ferrari (Riverhead, NY)
I get more radical with oatmeal. I dress it with congee condiments. Old Mother Crispy Chili and chopped Scallions are my favorite. Adding chocolate and some nuts or seeds to that savory mix would be an interesting riff off Mole.
Peter (Vermont)
Kundera casually mentions in one of his novels, as an obvious detail, that the Czechs eat their morning oat meal with hot cocoa rather than milk.
C. Cooper (Jacksonville , Florida)
Who are we kidding here? This is just oatmeal for people who don't like oatmeal.
Don Vinton (Portland, OR)
Mash up a ripened banana, mix in a healthy tablespoon of cacao. Fold into hot oatmeal and top off with blue berries. Devine!
rjbecker (Chevy Chase, MD)
Sugar, sugar, sugar. No matter how one dresses up the recipe, sugar somehow finds its way. Hasn't the word gotten out that sugar is toxic, that it causes diabetes, overweight, and so much more. Not fat! The sugar industry has gotten its teeth into American society, but good. I know I sound like a spoil sport, but I've had to battle my sugar addiction all my life. It started when I was about five, had my tonsils out (that was typical back then) and was given ice cream to sooth my throat. My brain fired up and it's taken forever for its slavery to sugar to be quashed.
Raindrop (US)
Then try savory oatmeal. Or just add cocoa without the sugar.
childofsol (Alaska)
The word has gotten out, but sugar is not toxic, and does not cause diabetes nor obesity.
Joe (NYC)
I request a moratorium on all food-based articles until after November. Nothing makes me want to vote red more than the proselytizing of the calorie restricters. It helps me understand trolls and why they want to poke at the smug elite. I realize this article is moderate and I am reacting to the comments - still it would be nice if the wackiest, least sophisticated segment of the left went into hiding for the next 8 months or so (and please, bring that horrendous anti-sugar guy with you). There are more important things that have to be settled - you can resume trying to ban soda and McDonalds after the next big election.
Ruth Moloney (Belize)
Cocoa powder (either sweetened or unsweetened) is not fat free. You really need to correct that as you are doing your readers a disservice. Most alkalized and non alkalized or natural cocoa powder sold in supermarkets has between 10-12% fat.
Julie Goodwin (Arizona)
NYT, you're pretty late to this party...oatmeal lovers have been adding dark cocoa to our mornings for years! Another regular addition: chunky, natural peanut butter and crumbled bacon. Salty heaven!
FGPalacio (Bostonia)
Let’s see, about 900 CE in Mesoamerica Mayan people enjoyed “all day breakfast” with Xocolatl. Since they didn’t know anything about sugar, they spiked theirs with chili peppers dissolved in water for an astonishingly invigorating bitter brew. The rest is history.
JB (Mo)
And don't forget beer!
Susan stark (NYC)
Oh, for heaven’s sake. Just grab a coffee or tea plus a piece of fruit and go on w/ yr day. This health debate/chitchat about how and when to eat what has become ridiculous. It’s just breakfast, people! I have massla chai and move on.
beth (South Hadley)
Seriously, where are the nutrition numbers here? How many servings is this recipe for? C'mon NYT, this should be information on all recipes.
There (Here)
Sure, you can, but why would you eat this
Sutter (Sacramento)
I mix cocoa powder with 3/4 cup of whole fat yogurt and a banana. It reminds me of eating cake batter. Here is what I learned about cocoa after I started eating it: https://nutritionfacts.org/questions/is-regular-cocoa-powder-healthier-t... https://www.seriouseats.com/2014/08/difference-dutch-process-natural-coc...
Jenna X. Gadflye (Atlanta)
For me, if you could put Heaven in a breakfast bowl, it would be rolled oats, low-sugar almond milk, cherries, and unsweetened cocoa powder. On the weekend, I rock my oatmeal Elvis-style: banana and peanut butter! Yum!
katy890 (UK )
Saturated fats are no longer thought to be as unhealthy as they once were. I'm sure that the brown butter in this recipe tastes wonderful and would help to delay those mid-morning hunger pangs. If choosing whether to add sugar or fat, I think it's healthier to go for the fat. "Everything in moderation" - as true as ever.
LC (San Diego)
See the Consumerlab report on the high levels of cadmium and lead in some ostensibly healthy chocolate powders. Having them on breakfast every morning could be dangerous. I was doing so before the report and getting dizzy spells and lethargy that went away when I stopped.
Chris R (St Louis)
Why the continual fascination with fat-free? The chocolate as fat-free was mentioned as a benefit. Fat is not bad. Fat from plants can be quite good for you.
RobD (CN, NJ)
As long as the cocoa powder is unsweetened I'm in. We should all learn live without added sugar.
Mary Champagne (Santa Cruz)
Try raw cacao in powder form. (Check out benefits of raw cacao online) Keep it raw by putting a spoonful on top the cereal in your bowl with some coconut oil. It melts a bit. I add chopped dried apricots for sweet, along with chopped apples, coconut, nuts and yogurt. I love breakfast.
PeppaD (Los Angeles)
My father often fed us thin, milky cream of wheat poured onto a dinner plate, then sprinkled with cocoa powder and sugar. It was wonderful breakfast on a cold, misty morning.
Lars (The Netherlands)
For all my life I've done this. Hagelslag (Dutch for chocolate sprinkles) is an integral part of breakfast here. There's a huge assortment, with some that appeal mainly to children and some with far higher amounts of pure dark chocolate or coffee that would appeal more to adults. A breakfast with chocolate hasn't stunted our growth - nor advanced growth vertically either. I guess it has something to do with joyful start of the day and biking it off.
Lars (The Netherlands)
D'oh. 'advanced growth horizontally' of course. Teaches me trying to be clever. :)
ERP (Bellows Falls, VT)
"Yes, Adults Can Have Chocolate for Breakfast. Really." Yes. Adults can have anything they like for breakfast, regardless of what the media or the nutrition experts say. That's what makes them adults.
D.A.Oh (Middle America)
Forgive the author for implying personal responsibility as something that comes with adulthood!
Boregard (NYC)
Really? Been doing this for decades. Been adding various "indulgences" (not traditional sweeteners) to my oats for as long as Ive been eating them...which is decades, a lifetime. Soon as my mother began feeding me the bowl of wallpaper paste, I sought out flavor enhancers. She didn't mind as long as I ate breakfast. People see my b'fast now, every day I eat my enhanced version of oats, and marvel at the idea that such a boring basic ingredient can be amped-up and made a delicious bowl of super-charged nutrition. I'm pretty sure I could open a b'fast cafe (6-11am) and serve nothing but my versions of oatmeal and succeed at it...
Leah (MD)
Substitute rice for the oats and you've got Filipino champorado. Rich carabao (water buffalo) milk will set it over the top. Eaten with salted dried sardines (tuyo), even better. Bacon is a good alternative.
Tournachonadar (Illiana)
A square or two of 90% cacao chocolate as the Swiss and French often have at their first meal, this has been integral for decades in our house. Why even assume anything like guilt?
Lesley (Scottsdale, AZ)
I adore dark chocolate and have some every evening, but the best oatmeal I ever had was at a B&B in Ireland where it was topped with Baileys and cream.
Mike MAHONEY (Ct)
But why?
Stan Sutton (Westchester County, NY)
You might be able to answer that better after you've tried it.
Nan (Down The Shore)
I know I shouldn't knock it till I try it, but.....not sure about this combo. But, thanks for the idea, Melissa!!!!
dahlia506 (Philadelphia)
Pure genius.
Dieter Klippstein (Seattle)
As usual, the fat-free fans are having a field day decrying. If cocoa powder has too much fat for you, I can't imagine what you actually eat without guilt and with pleasure. Fat is what tells our body that it is finally nourished, and it can stop eating. Sugar is the enemy. You know, until the next food trend is revealed.
Mitchell (Oakland, CA)
The next food trend? Guilt (in one or another incarnation) is always in style. Bacon, meet kale ;-)
CO Gal (Colorado)
Half and half on Instant Pot mueslix now gets some chocolate, yes.
Trebor (Derby)
I love chocolate and ate lots of it over many years. Then, it was discovered that I have kidney stones and my doctor told me that chocolate is one of the things I need to cut out of my diet. Bummer.
Boregard (NYC)
Trebor - how much is "lots of it", that a doctor would blame it for k-stones..? Which BTW, he has no idea if its that... IMO, its all the other things you "ate lots of," and didnt consume even small amounts of other things (like h2o) that cause those stones...
Dan Ari (Boston, MA)
You are taking a healthful food and adding a lot of saturated fat with butter, non-skim milk, or coconut milk. This is why recipe writers get a bad name with people who want to eat well and be healthy. "Everything in moderation" is the usual escape clause that is as laughable as the cigarette ad that tells people to smoke responsibly. A little fat keeps one from getting hungry later, but the saturated fat coats one's arteries, and the palmitic acid in your choices is one of the worst saturated fats. I know how to make everything taste good by adding milk fat. That's not news. I look to you for creativity.
Victor Troll (Lexington)
Coats one’s arteries??? That’s a simple false image.
Catherine Hicks (Marble Falls, Texas)
I am a lucky girl - my early riser husband lets me sleep in while he makes coffee and steel cuts every morning. We top our bowls with freshly toasted, slivered almonds, a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, a tiny dash of brown sugar and fresh blueberries, strawberries, bananas or apples. But the best part for me is the way this breakfast magically appears each morning - well worth MY daily scrub of the oatmeal pot!
PeppaD (Los Angeles)
Ask him to add chocolate. :)
Melanie (Boston)
Chocolate is great in oatmeal! However adding butter is unnecessary and just adds saturated fat to an otherwise heart-healthy breakfast. PB or almond butter is so much better!
Elaine K (Pittsburgh)
Man is that good! What a revelation! Early morning modification: Set water to boil separately while browning the butter and oats. Add cocoa to the butter-oats mixture, then stir in boiling water.
Shimon (Peekskill, NY)
For years, I have made my own muesli/breakfast/cereal from oats, walnuts, almonds, raisins and unsweetened chocolate bits; adding unsweetened soy milk ("bean juice"), banana and molasses. The bits provide additional crunch and a bitter complement to the raisins and banana. Did I beat anyone to the use of unsweetened cocoa? Probably not. But I just had to raise my hand as an adult who eats chocolate for breakfast.
Rebecca Mark (Yellow Springs, Ohio)
Steel Cut oatmeal cooked in milk then topped with really good fruit preserves and natural peanut butter. It’s peanut butter and jelly oatmeal! Yum!
D Priest (Outlander)
Adding butter, cream and sugars is great for taste, but frankly makes a wonderful, heart healthy meal into the equivalent of breakfast at McDonalds. I love Melissa Clark’s innovative cooking ideas, but find that most of them are fattening, unhealthy and are recipes no one over 50 should eat.
Eric D. (Ottawa)
Sounds like I’ve only got about another year and a half to enjoy life, then. Everything in moderation. How long did Julia Child live? Nobody accused her of “healthy” cooking and she made it to 91.
Stan Sutton (Westchester County, NY)
I really like a lot of Melissa Clark's cooking ideas. For example, I think a breakfast of oatmeal, cocoa, and a little sweetener is something that almost everyone over (and under) the age of 50 should be able to eat, enjoy, and benefit from.
H Silk (Tennessee)
Exactly. We need to quit stressing out about food and enjoy what we eat.
Maura (New England)
I have a tablespoon of raw cacao powder in my coffee daily. I have oatmeal almost every day. Craisins, cinnamon, chia seeds, good sprinkle of salt. Microwaved. After cooling I may add cherries, blueberries or chunky almond or peanut butter.
Mike (Virginia)
I like almond butter in my oatmeal, along with fruit (bananas, blueberries and or apples) - this would go well with that, thanks!
MLChadwick (Portland, Maine)
I never cook oatmeal in water--pure sludge of the sort one finds in hotel breakfast buffets. Use milk!
Stan Sutton (Westchester County, NY)
We have allergies to dairy in our household so we always cook oatmeal in water. As long as I pay half a mind to what I'm doing when I cook it, it never comes out as sludge. And it always comes out better than what you find in typical hotel breakfast buffets.
Harold Nelsen (Prosser, Washington)
I use steel cut oats, and rinse them thoroughly before cooking them. That gets the starchy stuff off and then the oats come out as nice and grainy, not sludgy.
AJ (Trump Towers Basement)
Odd recommendations while extolling the health benefits of chocolate: 1. doesn't alkalization diminish the healthful benefits? 2. and then to top it off with butter? Surely there are better ways to enjoy chocolate oatmeal. Just ask my kids.
Stan Sutton (Westchester County, NY)
Butter isn't suggested until the final paragraph. Better ways to enjoy chocolate oatmeal are addressed in the preceding paragraphs.
Janet (Alexandria, VA)
My favorite way to have steel cut oats is with chopped tomato, kalamata olives, toasted almonds, a drizzle of EVOO, and salt and pepper. Sometimes I add canned tuna, but not for breakfast; that would be weird.
Dave (Eagle River, Alaska)
A peanut butter and chocolate sandwich on a toasted multigrain bagel is a great breakfast before a hike, but it has to be a long hike.
Vicki (Nevada)
I love my steel cut oats with lots of fresh strawberries and whole milk. And coffee with half and half on the side.
Mazava (New York)
After all health problems in this country, mainly from bad food and now we introduce chocolate for breakfast ? People , be smart , it’s not for everybody , oatmeal by itself with sprinkle of salt is enough . Or cook it by itself and eat with sautéed vegetable and YES for breakfast !
Deanna (Western New York)
Cocoa is not unhealthy. She suggests adding a small amount of sweetener, but admits it’s healthier to stick with the cocoa powder. Chocolate is not the same as cocoa!
Lynn (Seattle)
Cocoa is not unhealthy.
Nick (CA)
Unsweetened cocoa powder is not fat-free! That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat it, but it’s an incorrect justification for doing so.
Margareta Braveheart (Midwest)
One popular brand of cocoa powder has this nutritional profile for 1 tablespoon (5 grams) - nothing un-healthful here. Calories 10 Sodium 0 mg Total Fat 1 g Potassium 75 mg Total Carbs 3 g Dietary Fiber 2 g Sugars 0 g Protein 1 g Cholesterol 0 mg
Blue Jay (Chicago)
What cocoa brands do you recommend?
Baba (.)
From the photo, it looks like Hershey's unsweetened cocoa.
John (Croton-on-Hudson)
Melissa, my wife is addicted to your Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal from your latest cookbook. Any tips on when and how to add the chocolate in that recipe?
StuKin (Greenwich, CT)
I've been eating chocolate in oatmeal for most of my 77 years. I also like cold cereal with orange juice rather than milk. (Don't knock it 'till you've tried it.) I also like my oatmeal loaded with cinnamon, maybe a few raisins, and a pinch of ground cloves. I always put a little home-made, strained (Greek-style) yogurt on top.
MereUbu (Arkansas)
I've been eating steel-cut oats for breakfast every day for the past two years (and enjoyed a 40-point reduction in my total cholesterol with just this one dietary modification), and I can confirm that cocoa in oats is indeed delicious. If added sugar is a concern, one can stir a mashed, very ripe banana into a bowl of cooked oatmeal along with 1T. cocoa powder. Feeling especially decadent? Stir in a tablespoon of peanut butter while you're at it and enjoy the pleasant sensation of getting away with something.
Baba (.)
MereUbu - Thanks for the wonderful suggestions. More recipes to add to my oatmeal repertoire.
Marie (Michigan)
Chocolate in cooked oatmeal, why didn't I think of that? this sounds SO good! I have been so dilligent in eating my steel cut oats for breakfast most mornings, in an effort to lower cholesteral and avoid statins, but all of the non-plain options (granola, multigrain cheerios) have too much sugar for my diabetic self. Maybe I'll add some cinnamon, too, for a bit of false sweetness.
dickmunn (Washington, DC)
Cocoa nibs mixed in with cereal give a crisp crunch in addition to the chocolate flavor.
Marge Keller (Midwest)
I love my chocolate and I love my Irish steel cut oatmeal, but never the twain shall meet. I regrettably disagree with Ms. Clark on this recipe suggestion for I have tried this combo in the past and it was simply awful. If I want chocolate for breakfast, I'll have a glass of ice cold Fairlife chocolate milk. Not only is it extremely delicious, it is a nutrient-rich ultra-filtered milk with 50% more protein, 30% more calcium, half the sugars typically found in milk, and it’s lactose free. I'm so sorry Ms. Clark, but this recipe concoction just isn't my cup of porridge.
Marge Keller (Midwest)
Mini chocolate chips in oatmeal cookies - absolutely! But that's as far as I would go when combining those two ingredients in any recipe.
Mary Applegate MD MPH (near Albany NY)
The comment above sounds like an ad for Fairlife "milk" a product of the Coca Cola Corporation. That highly processed drink costs twice as much as regular milk, and the farmers who work hard to raise the cows are short-changed by the corporation. It's already hard even to break even as a dairy farmer. The last thing they need is competition from Coke and their expensive advertising campaigns. I support my local farmers by buying local milk for my oatmeal.
Marge Keller (Midwest)
Sorry about sounding like an advertisement for this product, that was not my intent. If there were local farmers where I live, I too would support them and purchase their dairy products. You folks in Albany probably have more options for local farming products than were I live. Thanks very much for your comment.
S (C)
I would love chocolate oatmeal as an occasional change of pace, but my go-to is savory oatmeal with South Indian spices and vegetables (upma style), cooked to a dry texture. Dollop of plain yogurt on the side (optional). Not dry / Dickensian at all.
Tuvw Xyz (Evanston, Illinois)
@ S C Frankly. the idea of "something gray and Dickensian" in any food turns my stomach over. Chocolate or, more accurately, cocoa-powder oatmeal is one of the not-unpleasant memories of childhood. But to have it for breakfast now -- never! A good cigar, accompanied by strong coffee, and subsequently followed by a couple of plain donuts is an ideal breakfast. It is important to pre-dry the donuts at room temperature 24 to 48 hours, to prevent them from disintegrating and dissolving when dipped in coffee.
Marge Keller (Midwest)
Tuvx Xyz from Evanston - your detailed description of pre-drying the donuts was spoken like a true seasoned breakfast connoisseur. That was also the only way my dad enjoyed donuts.
bananur raksas (cincinnati)
Totally agree with you S Upma is dope Nothing dry or tolstoyian about upma
Michael (White Plains, NY)
What? No anchovies or ketchup? Thick, rolled, unflavored oats cooked in salted water, finished with milk, and a lump of butter or slug of heavy cream is perfect. Not grey or Dickensian at all.
Jeffrey Minson (San Diego)
Instead of cocoa I follow the Scottish custom and add blackstrap molasses to por rage cooked with water, to which is added halfway through the cooking some sultanas or chopped dried apricot plus the magic ingredient lemon zest. The black treacle is added at the end along with a dollop of crime fraiche