As promised, I’ve been experimenting with other forms of buckwheat!
Recently, I made this raw soaked porridge very similar to the dough boy smoothies I make with oats, milk and yogurt. It was inspired by this blog’s recipe that a reader shared with me.
The night before, I soaked 1/3 cup raw untoasted buckwheat in 1/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup water. I imagine you could use all water, but I wanted the creaminess and the protein of milk. Use any kind of milk you like! I also added cinnamon and a splash of vanilla.
Because I’m so used to overnight oats, I sort of expected the buckwheat to absorb the liquid, but it was floating all the same in the morning. It was definitely softer to the bite though.
After a few years without one, I bought a new stick blender last year! Matt absolutely hated our old one because it was battery operated and never held a charge. This one plugs in and is the bomb!!! It was inexpensive, comes in a rainbow of gorgeous colors, works like a charm and is dishwasher safe – the bottom half and the bowl. LOVE it: Cuisinart Smartstick.
I gave the buckwheat a whirl and a taste. It was not sweet in the slightest (as to be expected) so I added half a ripe banana. Perfecto!
The texture was a bit gritty. My guess is that’s because of the stick blender, but I kind of liked it. Next time I’ll have to try to the Vitamix and see if it gets 100% smooth – although I much prefer the smaller stick blender container to get every last drop out easily.
Served with blueberries, coconut flakes and Wild Squirrel Chocolate Coconut butter!
Raw Buckwheat Porridge
Ingredients (1 serving)
- 1/3 cup raw untoasted buckwheat groats
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup milk
- Sprinkle cinnamon
- Splash vanilla
- Half a banana
- Toppings of your choice
Instructions
Mix everything together in a blender bowl or blender and let sit overnight in the fridge. In the morning, blend away and add toppings as you like.
Nutrition Facts
{With 1/3 cup buckwheat, 2% cow’s milk and half a banana; without toppings}
Calories: 295
Fat: 3.8 g
Cholesterol: 6.4 mg
Sodium: 34 mg
Potassium: 659 mg
Carbohydrate: 60 g
Fiber 7 g
Sugar 12 g
Protein: 11 g
I’ll definitely be making this one again!!
{ 53 comments… read them below or add one }
just love the word “buckwheat groats.” i should probably buy some!
ive never had buckwheat, does it just taste kind of like oats in a way?
I’d say oats are a bit sweeter and starchier. Here’s the post I wrote on buckwheat for more info!
Thanks for sharing! It’s always fun to switch up breakfasts a little bit. As always, your pics are crazy gorgeous.
looks like yummy batter! I am a sucker for anything that looks like a cake batter lol
So I bought them because you had showed them and I read and realized they had all the essential amino acids, and since I’m a new vegetarian I know how important that is! But I’ve been enjoying it by the handful! Haha. Plus, I did make some granola out of it, and I’ve been adding it to the granola bars I make my little girls. I love the crunch they give, they really are like grape nuts! I also make a little ‘trail mix’ with sunflower seeds, granola, almonds, buckwheat and hemp and I just love the variety of texture. I haven’t even cooked any of it yet other than the granola! It goes good topped on a smoothie too. Thanks for the heads up about this wonderful product! I really love it!
I’ll have to look for your Granola bar recipe…I was hoping to develop one myself!
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/05/17/quaker-style-chewy-granola-bars/ Those are the base recipe I’ve been using. I’ve been tweaking it though to cut back on the sugar and also incorporate some other things like flax and whatnot. The last ones, with the buckwheat turned out more like a texture of a cookie. The original recipe though is very chewy and not super sweet. We love them, but I’m continuing to experiment each time I make them. Luckily, so far my kids love each recipe. So it’s a great base to start with.
Thanks!
Just an FYI from a fellow vegetarian, Amanda: Buckwheat is not a complete protein, though it is indeed high in protein. Quinoa would be the only grain-like substance (though it’s technically a fruit) that contains all essential amino acids.
I’m confused, as most of my research has shown that it does have all 9 of them. In fact, I cannot find any source that says it does NOT contain them. Can you provide more information please?
You are right, Amanda – it is indeed a complete protein. My error.
I’d really recommend soaking buckwheat in water overnight. Then rinsing the slime/gooey stuff that accumulates around the groats completely off using a strainer, before using the buckwheat in any recipes.
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This porridge looks so yummy!
I love layering buckwheat with chia pudding or yogurt, then going wild with the toppings( obviously) , to make a delicious parfait
Xxx
I was going to suggest the same thing. I’ve always understood it’s important to rinse them for maximum nutrition & digestibility. You could always add milk to it when you blend it for creaminess. Looks great!
I bookmarked the same recipe from Green Kitchen Stories, but haven’t made the porridge yet. I’m planning to make it tomorrow, with some pistachio pulp (leftover from making pistachio milk) thrown in. I’m loving your take on this, especially the toppings!!
I always soak my buckwheat overnight, which both softens and rinses off the slime. It seems to help w/the slight bitterness that I taste in buckwheat groats too. Oh, and I have that Cuisinart smart stick and also love it – so convenient – but just be careful not to operate it in a non-stick pan/pot (such as when you are blending a soup) as it will seriously scratch the coating. Happy Sunday, Kath!
You can actually buy buckwheat flakes which are like thick oats! They make for great whipped oats but I’m yet to try them with overnight; nice smoothie topping though as well or addition to homemade granola!
Yes! Thanks for mentioning buckwheat flakes. I buy them, and rye flakes, in bulk at my local co-op and add one part rye/buckwheat flakes mixture to my rolled oats when making oatmeal. It adds a nice dimension of texture and flavor.
Could you follow this same principle with soaking oats overnight? I have the same cuisinart smartstick and would love to give this a try; the texture sounds (looks!) out of this world.
yup! check out my dough boy smoothie recipes on the recipage!
That looks amazing! I don’t have an immersion blender, would this work just as well in a normal blender or vitamix?
neeeevermind, just looked back at it again and saw where you said you’d try it in a Vitamix!
Oh my gosh, this looks amazing! I’ve always wondered what to do with buckwheat. It sounds so intriguing but those hard grain can be intimidating. I’m definitely going to try this soon.
YUM! I can’t wait to try this. I have all the ingredients on hand so I think I will make it for breakfast…if I can wait that long
It looks like a smoothie!
What a unique recipe! Will have to try it.
I love overnight oats but never tried it with buckwheat groats. I’ll have to give this a try! Looks great!
Holy moly!! That’s a lot of carbs for one meal! I usually spread that out over 2-3 meals a day. Is it ok to have that many carbs in one meal? If I tried is for breakfast would you recommend eating less carbs in the day? Thanks!
Here’s the technial explanation: If you’re active + breastfeeding like i am, and aiming for 2,000 calories per day, 50% carbs, then that’s 1,000 calories from carbs. Divide that by 4 calories per gram and you get 250 grams of carbohydrate required per day. Take out 50 or so for snack time, and that’s about 70 grams of carbohydrate per meal if you divide them between 3 equal meals (and more if you put more into breakfast than the other meals). Not too much at all!
I’d love if you did a post on these sorts of concepts one day. I feel like I’m totally maxing out on carbs, but I’m on my feet as a teacher all day, plus I work out quite a bit, so maybe no. Anyway, would love some more info!
I have one on weight loss and intake coming up!
I’ve never had buckwheat, but those sound really good, and super simple. I’d imagine it would be awesome with some granola on top
Why buckwheat?
Just another fun nutritious food to experiment with
Have you tried soaking the groats in yogurt? Or a combination of yogurt and milk? Thanks!
Not yogurt yet, no. Just the milk thus far
I love buckwheat as a granola, but have never had it prepared this way before. It definitely looks doughy and yummy!
I’m going to try it this week with some coconut/almond milk to make it extra creamy and drizzle on my favorite Wild Squirrel vanilla espresso almond butter. Seriously, I can’t get enough of that stuff!!
Oh, and I normally don’t add links to comments, but this granola is FABULOUS!!! http://shop.kaiafoods.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Granola+Cherry+Pie
I found it at whole foods.
Is there any nutritional benefit to eating raw porridge? Because I’ve had cooked buckwheat porridge and it has a wonderful chewy texture, not gritty at all. It seems like you could pre-cook a batch of groats and then use a portion of this every day with your milk, toppings, etc. I think there are some grains that aren’t as well suited for a no-cook preparation as oats are.
The raw buckwheat porridge is easy and is healthy and low calorie breakfast to have. You can also do this with normal barley or normal roll oats.
This looks similar to overnight oats.
http://therealfoodrunner.blogspot.com/
Looks good!!!
Oh my gosh, I’m so honored that you tried this recipe I sent you! I’m feeling kind of starstruck
Glad you liked it so much, and I love that you put your own spin on it!
Thanks for sending it!
I’m gonna try it…but I might try grinding them before soaking them overnight. I’m scared.
This looks delish, I will have to get some of the buckwheat groats asap!!
I love when you format the recipes and make them printable, thank you
Hi Kath,
I just started reading recently while looking around for easy breakfast recipes! I’ve been eating buckwheat since I was a kid so this recipe caught my attention right away.
Something I was wondering about is adding milk for protein since 1/3c of buckwheat is
mighty high in protein already about 7-8 grams compared to 1/3 cup of milk which has 2g or so.
Ultimately, are you adding the milk for a little extra protein?? Obviously more protein is better going to be breastfeeding though.
In my 20 or so years of eating groats I have found that soaking them in warm water for a few hours and then rinsing and then putting 1/4 c in a jar and covering with milk and leaving them in the fridge over night has always left the groats soft, not mushy but definitely not crunchy either and they always soak up all the milk. Try running them through your vitamix for sure, mine makes them almost like buttercream, or if your in a hurry just top some Greek yogurt with berries and honey and breakfast is done! Hope you keep trying them and find a way to eat them that you enjoy!
Yep! For the protein – but also to make the smoothie creamier. And you had me at buttercream!
Sounds delic! Somewhat of a silly question – could you use ground buckwheat or even buckwheat flour and skip soaking/ grinding them yourself? Thanks!
I don’t see why not?
Mmm, just made my own version of this! I did it with 1/3 cup buckwheat, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, 2 dates, cinnamon, vanilla, half a banana, and a few tablespoons of sweetened shredded coconut on top.
Such a yummy breakfast after a morning run!
hello! I’m soaking the buckwheat now, I was wondering if this works for say raw quinoa too?
I’m not sure actually