Review: Special K Multi-Grain Porridge

We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day – and we now have a new type of porridge to eat on days when it is cold and damp. Special K have launched an instant multi-grain porridge, available in three flavours, that comes in individual sachets and takes just two-and-a-half minutes to cook in the microwave.

The porridge is made with oats, rye and barley which makes it high in fibre and full of texture. Three thee flavours are Simply Original, Almond & Honey and Red Berries, and I received a box of each to try out.

As with other similar porridge sachets, you empty the contents into a bowl, fill the sachet to the line with milk, pour that into the bowl, stir, and cook. It’s a very easy and neat way to get a healthy warm breakfast without thinking about it; this is a convenience product that definitely ticks the boxes in that sense.

The first thing I noticed once my porridge was ready, though, was that there didn’t seem very much in the bowl! My colleagues, who helped me with the testing, also found that there didn’t seem to be a full portion. We could have eaten at least another couple of spoonfuls (or one colleague said twice as much!).

I enjoyed the flavour of this new porridge; having the three grains means you have a different kind of flavour to standard “plain” porridge. The multi-grain gave a nice texture quite different to what I’d normally eat, but it wasn’t enjoyed by everyone – my colleagues had a mixed reaction with some really liking the difference to normal porridge, and others preferring just oats.

The clear winner on taste was the Almond and Honey variety, which was very popular – the added sweetness worked very well with the grains. I also enjoyed the Red Berries flavour very much, although perhaps a little more sharpness in the fruit would be good. The Simply Original one needed a teeny sprinkling of sugar for me, but it was still nice to eat.

My verdict? The porridge was nice – it was full of flavour and had a different texture to what I’m used to, but there wasn’t enough to fill me up in the morning.