How to Cook Buckwheat | The In Fine Balance Food Blog (2024)

Published: Feb 16, 2020 · Modified: Dec 4, 2020 by Trish · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads ·

Buckwheat is a nutritious and cozy pseudo-grain that is the star of this Buckwheat Breakfast Bowl. Buckwheat is simple to cook and when prepared with almonds and dates, makes a yummy breakfast! These breakfast bowls are vegan and gluten-free. Switch up your oatmeal, and try buckwheat!

What is buckwheat anyway?

Buckwheat is a funny grain. Because technically it's not a grain. It's actually a seed. Similar to quinoa. It's a seed you can eat and cook like a grain. And funny, it's not related to wheat either. It's gluten-free and can be ground into flour, often used to make noodles or pancakes. Buckwheat noodles are also known as soba noodles, check out this recipe for a cold soba noodle salad.

Buckwheat is part of a family of seeds that are pseudo-grains. Pseudo-grains are called such because they look and act like grains but actually come from a different type of plant completely from true grains, like wheat, rice or oats. Buckwheat is actually closely related to rhubarb.

Pseudo grains are high in both protein and nutrients and are a great addition to any diet. And they are all gluten-free. Other pseudo-grains include wild rice, quinoa, amaranth and teff.

Buckwheat makes a healthy and filling whole food breakfast. It is often used in cererals, and is interchangeble with other cereral grains -- like oatmeal. Buckwheat is gluten-free, high in fibre and lots of good for you antioxidants. It is also and a good source of high-quality, plant-based protein. It's a wonder we don't eat it more often. One serving of plain cooked buckwheat, about 1 cup, has almost 6g of protein and 5g of fibre. It also a good source of magnesium and phosporus.

How to cook buckwheat

Buckwheat is easy to cook, and cooks similar to other pseudo-grains like quinoa.

Often simplest preparation is best.

I cup of raw buckwheat will yield about 4 cups of cooked buckwheat.

I like to soak raw buckwheat groats before cooking. It reduces the cooking time substantially, making it totally doable on busy mornings.

Buckwheat should not be confused with Kasha. You can tell which one you have by colour.

• Kasha is toasted buckwheat groats - they are significantly darker in colour - a dark reddish-brown. It also smells sweet and toasty. Don't soak kasha before cooking.

• Whereas raw buckwheat is light in colour - very light yellow and pale yellow. Untoasted. Raw buckwheat can be soaked before cooking.

Soak buckwheat overnight in clean water, at least 3x water to groats by volume. In the morning, rinse well. The buckwheat groats will feel a little slimy after soaking. That slimy feeling will rinse away. Just run under cool water for a couple of minutes.

Soaked buckwheat cooks quickly. Add about ½ cup of water to a saucepan, add soaked buckwheat and bring to a boil. I like to cover the saucepan for a few minutes to ensure the groats steam and get evenly cooked. But keep checking and stirring so they don't burn. This only takes a few minutes.

Once they are soft, take the lid off and allow any remaining liquid to evaporate off. Once this is done, remove the pan from the heat, put the lid back on and let it sit for a couple of minutes while you get your topping taken care of.

Buckwheat breakfast bowls

For a sweet breakfast bowl, I like to keep things simple. I add chopped dates, toasted almonds and cinnamon.

Mix in a pinch or two of salt and a bit of butter. I like Earth balance here to keep this plant-based and vegan. Then add the cinnamon, almond and dates. Mix it all together and serve.

You might want to drizzle a little maple syrup on top.

Meal prep tips: Buckwheat Breakfast Bowls

Soak the buckwheat overnight. Rinse and drain in the morning. Cook as noted above, the whole bowl can be made fresh in the morning in 10-15 minutes.

Once cooked the grains will keep for several days in the refrigerator. Just reheat in the microwave or in a small saucepan (add a little water or plant milk to loosen the grains up if heating in a saucepan).

If making ahead, you can stir in all the vegan butter, cinnamon, and dates. But leave the almonds out and add them just before serving to keep them crunchy.

More buckwheat recipes...

• Rainbow buckwheat salad
• Homemade Crunch Buckwheat and Seeds Cereal
• Peanutty Broccoli Buckwheat Bowl
• Berry Smoothie Bowl with Buckwheat
• Mushroom and Buckwheat Soup

📖 Recipe