Semolina protein pudding: 31 g of protein per serving

Semolina pudding with milk, quark and whey: two servings in 15 minutes, about 31 g of protein and 345 kcal per serving, plus swaps.

Semolina cooked in milk is one of the cheapest breakfasts you can make, but the standard version rarely clears 10 to 12 g of protein per serving. Stir in some quark and a scoop of whey and the same bowl lands at roughly 31 g, still made in one pan in under 15 minutes. The one rule you cannot bend: the protein goes in after the pan comes off the heat.

Prep time and servings

Prep: 5 minutes. Cooking: 8 minutes. Servings: 2.

That is about 13 minutes of hands-on work, plus 10 minutes of cooling if you like your pudding thick. The recipe is written for two servings because semolina behaves better in that quantity; cooking for one, either halve everything or keep the second portion in the fridge until tomorrow.

Ingredients

600 ml semi-skimmed milk (1.5% fat)
60 g semolina
30 g whey protein powder, vanilla or chocolate (usually one scoop)
100 g low-fat quark or cottage cheese, up to 5% fat
1 tsp ground cinnamon (about 2 g)
pinch of salt
sweetener to taste (erythritol, stevia, or 1 tsp honey per serving)

Weigh the semolina dry, before cooking. It soaks up a lot of liquid, and 60 g dry turns into close to 300 g of finished pudding. Macro for macro, semolina sits very close to porridge oats, only it cooks faster and comes out smoother; the exact numbers for oats are in the piece on what one serving of oats actually contains.

Method

Set aside 100 ml of the milk while it is still cold and whisk the semolina into it until there are no lumps. Pour the other 500 ml into a saucepan.
Heat the milk in the pan over a medium hob until it starts to steam. Do not let it come to a rolling boil.
Pour in the cold milk and semolina mixture, stirring constantly, then add the salt and cinnamon.
Cook for 5 to 7 minutes on a low heat, stirring almost the whole time. It is ready when it thickens visibly and the spoon leaves a trail across the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and wait 3 to 4 minutes. This is the step that decides the texture: drop protein powder into a near-boiling mixture and it seizes into grainy lumps you cannot stir out.
Stir in the quark while the pudding is still warm, and only then the protein powder. Beat it hard for about 30 seconds, a small whisk works best.
Taste, sweeten, and divide between two bowls. Eat it warm, or chill it for 10 minutes if you prefer a firmer set.

Nutrition per serving

These figures are an estimate per serving, worked out from the quantities above and typical label values. Your own protein powder and quark can shift them by a gram or two.

Calories: about 345 kcal
Protein: 31 g
Carbohydrates: 39 g
Fat: 6 g

Swap the sweetener for honey and add roughly 20 kcal and 5 g of carbs per teaspoon.

Variations and swaps

No protein powder to hand: push the quark up to 250 g and drop the milk to 500 ml. That gives around 27 g of protein per serving with a sharper, tangier flavour, and it works fine.

Lactose-free or dairy-free: soya milk is the only plant option that keeps the protein respectable, at roughly 3 g per 100 ml. Almond and oat milk leave you at 15 to 18 g per serving, so a plant protein powder stops being optional there. If dairy reliably bloats you or gives you cramps, get that checked rather than diagnosing yourself with lactose intolerance.

Durum semolina sets firmer, wholemeal semolina gives you a bit more fibre and a darker colour. Cooking time is the same either way.

Toppings worth the calories: 100 g frozen berries (about 40 kcal), 10 g unsweetened cocoa, or half a banana before training if this is your pre-session meal.

For other sweet meals aimed at the same target, see the quark-based protein ice cream and the oat protein pancakes. And if 13 minutes is still too long, there are three faster options in the piece on a five-minute breakfast with 30 g of protein.

In short

Semolina, milk, quark and one scoop of whey come to about 345 kcal and 31 g of protein per serving, for 13 minutes of work and one pan to wash. Keep the heat low while it cooks, and add the protein and quark only once the pan is off the hob.

It earns its place as breakfast or as something sweet after training, when fast carbs alongside a decent slug of protein actually suit you. If you want the calorie count lower, cut the honey and toppings first and leave the semolina alone.