Healthy Banosh Recipe: Cornmeal Porridge with Milk and Mushrooms

Active time: ~30 minutes | Total time: ~35 minutes | Serves: 4 | Difficulty: Easy

Quick Overview

1. Fry the onion in a tablespoon of oil, then the mushrooms, until browned
2. Cook whole-grain cornmeal in reduced-fat milk, stirring all the time
3. Stir in a spoonful of sour cream off the heat
4. Top with the mushrooms, a little bryndza and dill
5. Add a few cracklings if you like; they are optional

What This Version Changes — and What It Keeps

Traditional banosh is cooked in a liter of sour cream, or sour cream and cream, and topped with cracklings and bryndza,^1,2 which by Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate comes to roughly 830 kcal and over 30g of saturated fat in a quarter of the pot. This version cooks the cornmeal in milk instead, as some cooks already do,^3,1 uses whole-grain cornmeal, and makes mushrooms the main topping. The cracklings become optional, and the bryndza and salt are cut back.

What stays is the porridge itself: cornmeal stirred without a break until it is thick and smooth, eaten hot, with bryndza crumbled over the top. The mushrooms come from tradition too: banosh with mushrooms is popular, especially in season.^1,4

Why These Swaps Work

Milk in place of sour cream does most of the work. The NHS lists cream and sour cream among the foods high in saturated fat and advises choosing lower-fat dairy.⁵ Banosh on milk isn’t new: one published recipe cooks 150g of cornmeal in 450ml of 2.5% milk and stirs in a single spoonful of sour cream at the end, choosing one that isn’t too fatty so the banosh isn’t heavy.³ There is a trade-off. Banosh on sour cream is richer, and a published recipe for it notes that on milk the dish is cheaper and simpler but loses that richness.¹ You won’t see drops of butterfat on this one.

Whole-grain cornmeal keeps the parts of the grain that milling removes. Harvard’s Nutrition Source counts corn among whole grains and explains that milling strips away the bran and germ, while bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose.⁶ By Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate, a serving of this version has about 5g of fiber, against under 1g in the traditional one.

Mushrooms replace the cracklings as the main topping. Salo is cured pork fat, and the NHS lists lard, bacon and fatty cuts of meat among the foods high in saturated fat.⁵ Mushrooms are low in calories, fat and sodium, and some have a savory, umami taste that makes them a good substitute for meat; in one study cited by Cleveland Clinic, replacing half the meat in a beef recipe with mushrooms kept the flavor and cut sodium by 25%.⁷ If you want the taste of cracklings, 50g of salo for four servings adds, by Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimate, about 50 kcal and 335mg of sodium a serving.

The mushrooms fry in a tablespoon of sunflower oil instead of butter. The NHS suggests replacing some saturated fat with unsaturated fat and using a little sunflower or olive oil.⁵

Less cheese and less salt go together. Bryndza is salty, and the NHS advises eating salty foods such as cheese and cured meats less often or in small amounts, adding less salt when cooking and tasting before adding more; adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day.⁸ This version uses 60g of bryndza instead of 100–150g^2,1 and ¼ teaspoon of salt instead of ½.¹

Healthy Banosh Recipe

This recipe was compiled by Heritage Healthy Kitchen from published recipes and the sources for the swaps, all listed at the end of this article. Figures that are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s own estimates rather than taken from a published source are marked as such.

The cornmeal, milk and sour cream follow a published recipe for banosh on milk,³ and the mushrooms and onion follow a published recipe for banosh with chanterelles.⁴ The amounts of bryndza, salt and salo, the four servings and the extra water are Heritage Healthy Kitchen’s estimates.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the porridge

• 150g (about 1 cup) whole-grain cornmeal, fine or medium grind
• 450ml (about 2 cups) reduced-fat milk (2–2.5%), plus a little hot water as needed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sour cream (15%)

For the topping

• 300g (10 oz) mushrooms: chanterelles, oyster mushrooms or other wild mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, about 150g (5 oz), sliced into thin half-moons
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 60g (2 oz) bryndza or another salty sheep’s milk cheese, crumbled
• A few sprigs of dill, chopped

Optional

• 50g (1¾ oz) salo (salted pork fat), cut into small cubes, for cracklings

Method

1. Fry the mushrooms and onion. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until golden, then add the mushrooms and fry until they give up their juice and start to brown.^4,3 Keep warm.
2. Make the cracklings, if using. Fry the cubes of salo in a dry pan until golden and crisp,² then lift them out of the rendered fat.
3. Cook the porridge. Put the cornmeal in a heavy pot, pour over the milk and add the salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring all the time, until the porridge is thick and the grains are tender; the time depends on the grind, so check the packet.³ If the porridge gets very stiff before the grains soften, stir in hot water a splash at a time; this is a Heritage Healthy Kitchen estimate.
4. Finish with sour cream. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the sour cream until smooth.³
5. Serve at once. Spoon the banosh into bowls, top with the mushrooms and onion, the bryndza, the dill and the cracklings if you made them. Eat it hot.^3,1

Kitchen Tips

Stir all the time: banosh left alone burns.^1,3 A heavy pot helps.

Give the mushrooms time. Fry the onion first and add the mushrooms only when it is golden, then let them cook until their juice has gone and they begin to brown.⁴ Wild mushrooms can take the place of oyster mushrooms.³

Taste before you salt. The bryndza and the cracklings, if you use them, are both salty, so season the porridge lightly and add more only at the table.⁸

Nutritional Comparison

Per serving, one quarter of the recipe:

Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient databases (USDA FoodData Central). They vary with the milk, the cornmeal and how salty the cheese and salo are.

Storage and Reheating

Like any banosh, this one is best eaten as soon as it is made and doesn’t take well to reheating, so cook only as much as you will eat.³ If you do have leftovers, refrigerate them within 2 hours; they keep 3–4 days. Reheat over low heat with a splash of milk, stirring often, until hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F).⁹ Keep the topping separate and add the cheese after reheating.

Healthy Recipe Card

Healthy Banosh

Prep ~10 minutesCook ~25 minutesServes 4

Ingredients

For the porridge

• 150g (about 1 cup) whole-grain cornmeal, fine or medium grind
• 450ml (about 2 cups) reduced-fat milk (2–2.5%), plus a little hot water as needed
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sour cream (15%)

For the topping

• 300g (10 oz) mushrooms: chanterelles, oyster mushrooms or other wild mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large onion, about 150g (5 oz), sliced into thin half-moons
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 60g (2 oz) bryndza or another salty sheep’s milk cheese, crumbled
• A few sprigs of dill, chopped

Optional

• 50g (1¾ oz) salo (salted pork fat), cut into small cubes, for cracklings

Instructions

1. Topping: Fry the onion in the oil until golden; add the mushrooms and fry until their juice is gone and they brown.
2. Cracklings (optional): Fry the salo cubes in a dry pan until crisp; lift out of the fat.
3. Porridge: Cornmeal, milk and salt in a heavy pot; cook over medium heat, stirring all the time, until thick and tender (see packet); add hot water if too stiff.
4. Finish: Off the heat, stir in the sour cream.
5. Serve: At once, topped with mushrooms and onion, bryndza, dill and cracklings if using.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is banosh made with milk still banosh?
Yes. Banosh is cooked on milk, cream or sour cream,³ though the richest and most traditional version uses sour cream, and milk makes it simpler and lighter.¹

Can I leave out the cracklings completely?
Yes. Bryndza and fried mushrooms are a traditional way to serve banosh without any pork.^1,4

Which mushrooms work best?
Chanterelles, porcini and other wild mushrooms,⁴ or oyster mushrooms.³

What if I can’t find whole-grain cornmeal?
Use ordinary fine or medium cornmeal. The method is the same, but milled cornmeal has lost the bran and germ, and with them most of the fiber.⁶

Can I use skimmed milk?
Yes. Skimmed milk has about half the saturated fat of semi-skimmed.⁵

The Traditional Version

Banosh cooked in sour cream and topped with cracklings, with the story of the Hutsuls who made it, is in our Traditional Banosh article.

Further Reading & Sources

The recipe is a compilation based on the published recipes listed here; these links are provided for readers who want to explore further.

The base recipes

1. Yevhen Klopotenko. (17 January 2024). Avtentychnyi karpatskyi banosh na smetani [Authentic Carpathian banosh in sour cream]. klopotenko.com. Authentic banosh is cooked in sour cream or cream; on milk it is cheaper and simpler but loses its richness; served with bryndza, with mushrooms (especially in season) or cracklings; traditional recipe: 1 liter sour cream, 140g cornmeal, ½ teaspoon salt, 150g bryndza.
2. Yevhen Klopotenko. (3 October 2022). Banosh z brynzoiu ta shkvarkamy [Banosh with bryndza and cracklings]. klopotenko.com. Traditional recipe: 500ml sour cream and 500ml cream, 180g cornmeal, 100g bryndza, 300g salo cut into small cubes and fried golden in a dry pan.
3. Yevhen Klopotenko. (28 July 2022). Banosh z hrybamy [Banosh with mushrooms]. klopotenko.com. Banosh is cooked on milk, cream or sour cream; published milk recipe: 150g cornmeal covered with 450ml of 2.5% milk, salted and cooked over medium heat, stirring constantly, the time depending on the grind (check the packet); 1 tablespoon of sour cream stirred in at the end, not a fatty one, “so the banosh is not too heavy”; oyster mushrooms fried 3–4 minutes in butter and sunflower oil (wild mushrooms can replace them); any cheese; banosh does not take to reheating.
4. Yuliia Skoryk. (2 July 2026). Karpatskyi banosh z lysychkamy: sekrety pryhotuvannia tradytsiinoi stravy [Carpathian banosh with chanterelles]. Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia. Recipe by the food blogger Myroslava Pekariuk: 300g chanterelles and a large onion in half-moons, the onion fried golden in oil, then the mushrooms added and fried until they release their juice; porcini or other mushrooms can be used; cracklings and bryndza can be added on top.

The swaps

5. NHS. (page last reviewed 19 June 2023). How to eat less saturated fat. nhs.uk. Saturated fat is found in butter and lard, cream, crème fraîche and sour cream, fatty cuts of meat, bacon and cheese; choose lower-fat or reduced-fat dairy; skimmed milk has about half the saturated fat of semi-skimmed; replace saturated fat with some unsaturated fat; a little sunflower or olive oil rather than deep frying.
6. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Whole Grains. The Nutrition Source. No author named on the page; last modified 14 January 2025. Corn listed among whole grains; milling strips away the bran and germ; bran and fiber slow the breakdown of starch into glucose.
7. Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials. (23 December 2022). 7 Impressive Reasons To Eat Mushrooms. No author named on the page; quotes dietitian Joyce Prescott, RD. Mushrooms are low in calories, fat and sodium; some have a rich umami taste that makes them a good meat substitute; substituting mushrooms for half the meat in a ground beef recipe kept the taste and cut sodium by 25%.
8. NHS. (page last reviewed 17 April 2023). Salt in your diet. nhs.uk. Adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day; eat salty foods such as cured meats and cheese less often or in small amounts; limit salt added when cooking and taste before adding more.
9. USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Leftovers and Food Safety. Refrigerate within 2 hours; 3–4 days in the refrigerator; reheat to 165°F (74°C).

Disclaimer

The information in this article is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Heritage Healthy Kitchen makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of any content on this site. Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on the specific ingredients, brands, and measurements used. This content is not intended as dietary, medical, or professional nutritional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any dietary needs or health conditions. Heritage Healthy Kitchen is not responsible for any outcomes resulting from the use of recipes or information published on this site.

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