Maple Pear and Pecan Porridge with Miso-Maple Swirl

Autumn cooking is mostly improvisation, a little of this, a swap for that… because good food doesn’t wait for perfect ingredients.

 

A Delicious and Satisfying Start to the Day

The bit that gets me every time with this maple-pear & pecan porridge is the smell. Pears hitting butter in a hot pan, maple syrup bubbling into sticky edges , it’s a smell that makes you forget the rain hammering outside and want to curl up on the couch, spoon in hand.

This is an autumn breakfast through and through. Creamy oats that feel like central heating from the inside out, pears collapsing into syrup like they were made for October mornings, walnuts crackling from the heat, and then that miso maple swirl. Nutty, slightly salty, maple-sweetened, the drizzle that makes a bowl feel like a treat.

And yes, sometimes the milk boils over because I got distracted watching the leaves whip past the kitchen window, and sometimes the walnuts catch because I forgot them in the pan. But when you finally sit down with this bowl, it tastes like everything you want from the season… cosy, messy and golden.

 

Shopping & Ingredient Notes

Let’s talk about the pears. They’re an autumn fruit, so now is the time to buy them, the soft, fragrant kind that bruise if you so much as look at them wrong. Anything too firm just sulks in the pan.

The oats should be rolled, not the instant kind. You want the ones that take their time, the kind that make you stir and stare out the window while the kitchen fills with steam.

Now, the milk. I used Tom Parker’s unhomogenised milk rich, creamy, with that proper old-fashioned flavour that makes supermarket milk taste like it’s missing a personality. It gives the oats a depth and softness you can’t fake. You could use plant milk or anything else you’ve got, but this… this makes the porridge feel almost custard-like.

Maple syrup is the backbone, dark, sticky, and slightly smoky. It clings to the pears and caramelises them just enough to make the whole kitchen smell like October.

And that swirl… miso and maple. Salty-sweet, umami and indulgent in the same breath. The miso brings this savoury edge that makes the sweetness of the pears and syrup sing louder. It’s what keeps the bowl from tipping into dessert territory (though no one would complain if it did).

Pecans toast in the same pan the pears caramelise in, they pick up that glossy amber glaze and turn just the right side of bitter. Walnuts or hazelnuts work too if you want to lean deeper into the autumn mood.

 

The Cooking Process

Start the oats first, oats and milk combine on a low heat, stir often. This is where the chaos usually begins. Meanwhile, pears. Butter in a frying pan, then pear slices in, then maple. The smell is instant autumn: like cinnamon candles and damp scarves, except edible. I always forget to stir the oats at this point, which is why my spoon is usually welded to the bottom of the pan.

Flip the pears until they glisten bronze at the edges. Toss in the walnuts for the last minute, just enough for them to warm and pick up sticky sweetness.

Back to the oats, taste them. (I always do three spoonfuls, each one hotter than the last. My tongue never learns.) Creamy, not gluey. Adjust with more milk if they’ve tightened.

The miso swirl is simple: miso plus maple until it ribbons. I usually overdo the maple, shrug, and lick the spoon. Life’s too short my friend.

Now assemble! Porridge into bowls, pears and pecans tumbled on top, maple swirl drizzled like falling leaves. Neat for exactly five seconds until you ruin it with the first greedy spoonful.

 

By the time you collapse with a bowl of this maple-pear & pecan porridge, the kitchen will be fogged with steam, the counter will be splattered, and there’ll be a forgotten mug of tea cooling by the window. But none of that matters. Because the first spoonful is autumn itself: creamy oats, sticky pears, pecan crackle, miso swirl.

This has become my default cold-weather breakfast, the one I reach for when mornings feel longer than the day itself.

If breakfast bowls are your thing, try my seasonal breakfast bowl or for something more savoury, you might just love this Turkish Eggs Recipe!

If you like to see things come to life – you can watch me cook over on my Tik Tok Channel! Come say Hi and let me know you’ve come from the blog!