Buckwheat Bircher Breakfast Jars

These easy buckwheat bircher breakfast jars are a delicious, healthy way to start your day. Buckwheat groats, chia, flax and coconut combine to make a yummy breakfast pudding; kind of like overnight oats! Gluten free, dairy free and nut free.

If you’re familiar with Nourish Every Day you probably know I am studying to become a nutritionist (I’m completing a Bachelor of Health Science, Nutritional & Dietetic Medicine). My passion for nutrition is why I started my blog; I love to make good, nutritious food and hopefully inspire others to do the same.

The reason I bring this up is because of this week’s recipe for Buckwheat Bircher Breakfast Jars. As you can probably guess, the key ingredient in this recipe is buckwheat.

We’ve been talking about buckwheat quite a bit lately in one of my classes. Buckwheat is a source of rutin, which is a bioflavonoid – a type of plant compound that exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the body. Rutin is sometimes used therapeutically to strengthen capillaries (our tiny blood vessels) and so taken for things like varicose veins and haemorrhoids. But our lecturer drew my attention to some of rutin’s other benefits, namely for the gut. The anti-inflammatory actions of rutin have a particular effect of inhibiting chemical messengers in our body that contribute to gut inflammation – how awesome is that! Combined with the fact that:

• buckwheat is also a good source of fibre (both soluble fibre and some resistant starch); and
• it is a gluten free “grain” (it’s actually a seed) so suitable for coeliacs or people who are just intolerant to gluten,

BUCKWHEAT is basically where it’s at guys. And that’s why I am sharing my buckwheat bircher breakfast jars this week!

To make buckwheat bircher breakfast jars, there’s really not much fuss involved. Simply cook your buckwheat groats, allow to cool, and then mix together with seeds, yoghurt and milk. Soak in the fridge for a few hours (or preferably overnight) and boom, ready! Finish off with your favourite toppings. I love berries – I’ll usually just throw some frozen ones on top before I pop the jars in the fridge. That way, they’re defrosted by the time the bircher is ready and you have a yummy kind of berry sauce on top.

This recipe is pretty flexible, and in the recipe below I’ve popped in lots of alternative items you can mix into your bircher as you like. Once you have a base of buckwheat, chia, flax, yoghurt and milk (dairy or non-dairy), the choice is really yours as to what you add for more texture and flavour. For a classic bircher feel, stir through some grated apple. Other lovely ways of adding sweetness are vanilla, cinnamon and/or a liquid sweetener like maple syrup. Adding some crunch and texture is also a great idea; I like to add some pumpkin seeds and shredded coconut. Generally, my standard inclusions are:

• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds;
• 3 tbsp shredded coconut;
• 2 tsp honey; and
• 1 tsp cinnamon.

However you choose to mix it up, these buckwheat bircher breakfast jars are easy, wholesome and good to your gut. They’re perfect for meal prep and will also ensure you’ve got a healthy breakfast on hand when you’re busy!

Buckwheat Bircher Breakfast Jars

These easy buckwheat bircher breakfast jars are a delicious, healthy way to start your day. Buckwheat groats, chia, flax and coconut combine to make a yummy breakfast pudding; kind of like overnight oats! Gluten free, dairy free / vegan and nut free, too.

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Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: dairy free, egg free, gluten free, nut free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Refrigeration time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 serves

Ingredients

Basic buckwheat bircher

• 2/3 cup buckwheat groats i.e. buckwheat kernels, whole buckwheat seeds - however you name it!
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 cup unsweetened yoghurt dairy or non-dairy, I usually make this with coconut yoghurt
• 1 cup coconut milk (carton coconut milk, not canned), or another milk of choice

Additional ingredients - choose a few, whichever you like!

• 2 tbsp almonds or any other nuts, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 3 tbsp shredded coconut or coconut flakes
• 1 small apple grated
• 2-3 tsp honey or any other liquid sweetener of choice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• Bring a pot of water to boil. Add buckwheat and cook on a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Once cooked, strain the buckwheat through a fine colander/sieve and then spread out on a large plate to cool quickly.
• Once the buckwheat has cooled, place in a large bowl. Add the chia seeds, flaxseed,  yoghurt, milk and any other mix-ins (seeds, grated apple, maple syrup/honey, cinnamon etc) that you’re using. Stir until thoroughly combined.
• Divide the mixture between containers/jars. Refrigerate overnight or for at least 3 hours. Top the jars with berries, nut butter, granola and/or other toppings of choice. Enjoy! These should keep in the fridge for up to five days. 

Notes

*If your bircher is too thick, just add a little extra milk!

*I definitely recommend adding AT LEAST ONE OR TWO of the additional ingredients to give the bircher some more flavour. The plain bircher is kind of similar in taste to plain overnight oats or plain porridge (depending on how much sweetness the milk you use adds - some milks e.g. rice milk are quite sweet). 

*My favourite combination of things to add is: pumpkin seeds, shredded coconut, honey, cinnamon.

*Top this bircher with berries and a spoonful of your favourite nut or seed butter!

Have you made this recipe?I love seeing your creations! Take a photo and then tag me @nourish.everyday on Instagram!

p.s. if you love buckwheat you might also like to try:

• Vegan Buckwheat Bread (one of the most popular recipes ever on Nourish Every Day!);
• Buckwheat, Carrot & Feta Savoury Muffins (a perfect lunch box snack);
• Puffed Buckwheat Toasted Muesli (enjoy it with yoghurt and fruit or use it to top a smoothie bowl!); or
• Broccoli Buckwheat Salad with Semi Dried Tomatoes (easy, tasty, full of flavour, just YUM)