Want to make a hot breakfast but don’t have the time? Make this Harina de Maiz in 10 minutes! Perfect in the morning but also a delicious sweet snack.
Harina de Maiz is Spanish for cornmeal and refers to a cornmeal porridge made with sugar, cornmeal, salt, vanilla, and milk. It has a sweet, creamy, and slightly chewy texture almost like polenta, but not savory.
It is a very popular breakfast recipe in the Caribbean, especially in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
In Puerto Rico, this cornmeal porridge is just as popular as Puerto Rican oatmeal and Puerto Rican cream of wheat. If you’re like me and like breakfast cornmeal recipes, be sure to try my sweet corn meal fritters.
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Why This Recipe Works
- It’s not lumpy, grainy, or dried cornmeal porridge.
- This is a quick, hot breakfast that tastes good and can be made fast.
- It is made with very economical ingredients that can be found in any supermarket.
- It is a gluten-free recipe.
Recipe Ingredients
Make sure when buying your cornmeal you get fine yellow cornmeal, not corn flour. In this recipe, I use Indian Head stone-ground yellow cornmeal. It comes in a yellow packet. Other brands are Quaker and Goya, to name a few.
- Sugar- I used 6 tablespoons of white sugar because I like the cornmeal porridge to be very sweet. You can always add less. You can use brown sugar, honey, or sugar-free options like Splenda. But one of my favorite ones to use is condensed milk.
- Cornmeal- I used ½ cup of yellow cornmeal. This is the perfect amount to get a runny consistency.
- Salt- In every sweet recipe, I like to add salt to enhance the other flavors. I used ¼ of a teaspoon.
- Milk- I used 2 ½ cups of whole-fat milk. Most of the time, I use regular milk or evaporated milk. You can also use oat milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
- Vanilla extract- I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, but you can leave it out if you don’t like it. Or use your favorite extract flavor.
Butter & Cinnamon
Some people like to add butter and cinnamon to the harina while cooking. I always like to add cinnamon and the butter on top after it is cooked because I taste the saltiness better while I mix it in. Try adding a dollop of Puerto Rican guava butter!
How to Make Harina de Maiz
- Photo 1: In a big pot, you need to first mix everything. Add the cornmeal, sugar, salt, vanilla, and milk and stir. The reason why we mix the ingredients before cooking is to avoid any raw lumps in the mix.
- Photo 2: Turn the heat to medium-high, and you have to stir for 7 minutes while it cooks. The stirring will help avoid any big lumps and prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan and burning. So is important to keep stirring!
Recipe Tips
- While the cornmeal might seem very runny after it is cooked, it is ok because it will quickly start to thicken while it cools.
- If you like the cornmeal to have a very thick consistency, I suggest you turn off the heat and keep stirring for 30-60 seconds in the pot. Then serve.
- If your porridge gets dry fast, you can add more warm milk, and you will make it creamy and smooth again.
Recipe Questions
Is dried corn kernels that have been ground into 3 main different textures. Coarse, medium, and fine. It also refers to the Spanish name given to a cornmeal porridge that is made with fine ground cornmeal.
Unfortunately, no. You must use fine yellow cornmeal to get the right texture and flavor.
While is not common, you can surely make it savory instead of sweet. You just have to avoid adding sugar and vanilla extract. It will be like a polenta with a finer texture. You can add savory toppings to aid the savory taste.
The best toppings are cinnamon, butter, and cheese(especially ghost cheese). You can also add some crunch to it by adding a few saltine crackers or some nuts.
More Breakfast Recipes
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Harina de Maiz
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup corn meal
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 ½ cups milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium size pan add sugar, cornmeal, and salt and mix. Turn on your heat to medium-high and add your milk, and vanilla extract, and mix.
- Stir while the cornmeal cooks for 7 minutes. Serve and Enjoy.
Recipe Notes
- The harina de maiz will be runny but this is done purposely because the harina cools quickly and it thickens while cooling.
- If the harina gets too dry or too thick for your liking, all you have to do is add a little more warm milk to thin it out.
- You can use any type of sweetener like honey, brown sugar, or condensed milk.
- You can use any flavoring you like. Popular ones are vanilla and almond.
- Use almond, oat, or coconut milk.
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