Creamy chocolate buckwheat porridge made with whole buckwheat groats, cacao, flaxseed and coconut milk. Sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, this delicious brekky bowl is gluten free, dairy free and vegan friendly!
There’s something incredibly comforting about sitting on the lounge with a snuggly, warming bowl of porridge in the morning. Better still if it’s a lazy weekend day and you can do so in your pj’s right? Creamy chocolate buckwheat porridge is made for such an occasion.
I used to always start the day with a cold breakfast – my number one fave used to be muesli and yoghurt. However, I think I’ve become more in tune with listening to my body, and realised that it sometimes needs a warmer start to the day.
In traditional medicinal systems like Traditional Chinese Medicine or Ayurveda, hot and cold foods are used to treat different ailments and/or stimulate different aspects of the body. Certain conditions or personalities may need particularly cooling or cold foods, while others need heat (whether from the flavour or the temperature of the food). Just as these medicine systems often suggest, I find a warm porridge to be really soothing and gentle on the digestion, yet energising and nourishing at the same time. It just feels good to eat.
This buckwheat porridge has a delicious, light chocolate-y flavour that’s not too overpowering. I like to mix in a pinch of cinnamon and vanilla extract as well, for extra sweetness and a little dessert-like flavour. So good, especially when it’s topped with berries. The essential ingredients line-up for this breakfast bowl is pretty short:
- buckwheat;
- cacao;
- coconut milk (or another milk of choice);
- ground flaxseed;
- maple syrup.
You can then add in a few extra bits and bobs as you like – the berries, maybe some cacao nibs, crunchy nuts or seeds, or mmm, maybe a dollop of peanut butter (just sayin’).
Buckwheat groats are gluten free (buckwheat is a seed, not a grain), and made with coconut milk and maple syrup, this recipe is also dairy free and vegan friendly, too. Please note, this recipe uses pre-cooked buckwheat. I’ve tried making this recipe a number of different ways but I think using pre-cooked buckwheat produces the best result. It also means you can cook the buckwheat the night before (or even a few days ahead) and then the breakfast is ready very quickly when you want it! I have included my method for cooking buckwheat groats in the recipe notes.
p.s. to mix things up a little, make up a batch of buckwheat groats and then use half for the porridge, and half for these Buckwheat Bircher Breakfast Jars 🙂
Chocolate Buckwheat Porridge
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup cooked buckwheat groats
- 2/3 cup coconut milk (carton coconut milk, not canned) - you may need a little extra to achieve the consistency you like
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp cacao powder
- 2 tsp maple syrup or other preferred liquid sweetener
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon - OPTIONAL
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract - OPTIONAL
Instructions
- Place the cooked buckwheat in a small saucepan with the 2/3 cup of milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Stir in the cacao, flaxseed, maple syrup and the vanilla and/or cinnamon, if using. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until you have a porridge consistency. You may need to add a little extra liquid to achieve the consistency you desire; add extra milk or just use water as you prefer.
- Serve the porridge nice and hot, topped with coconut yoghurt, berries, nuts, seeds, nut butter etc.
Notes
The groats I bought are toasted already. Are you suggesting to cook them, then cook them again with the milk? If they’re already toasted, isn’t that considered cooked? I’m very confused.