Buckwheat and Amaranth Warm Cereal

Not only is this creamy Buckwheat and Amaranth Warm Cereal super nutritious, it’s also filled with all kinds of interesting flavors and fun textures! It sure is a nice change from your usual morning oatmeal! Will you dare give it a try?

Even in the summertime, I really love me a bowl of warm cereal in the morning from time to time. Sometimes, though, I get tired of the same old rolled oats. Not that I don’t know how to pimp my oatmeal — in fact, I’m quite the specialist at that — but sometimes, an entirely different grain seems to be what’s in order.

Buckwheat groats are definitely my favorite alternative to rolled oats. They have such an interesting subtle, nutty, sightly earthy flavor and a super fun texture, too! Indeed, buckwheat is really soft and creamy but also has a slight little crunch to it, kinda like a cross between oatmeal and barley.

If you’ve never tried it, you should definitely do that, and the sooner the better. This yummy warm cereal seems like the perfect place to start! It’s actually a recipe that I came up with and shared years and years ago when I’d just started blogging but still very much enjoy on a regular basis. So I thought it was probably about time I gave this post a bit of an overhaul…

Here goes: new and improved pictures and instructions, same great taste!

For this warm cereal recipe, I used buckwheat groats in their whole, raw, whitish-green version. I find that the toasted variety, aka kasha, simply tastes too strong to be enjoyed as the main grain of a dish. If you really like the flavor of kasha, you could substitute part of it, but I really don’t suggest that you go using only that…

I also added amaranth — that’s the minuscule little seeds in the back — because it has the coolest texture: chewy and slightly gelatinous, it sorta pops in your mouth and adds a super fun textural element to this dish. If you couldn’t get your hands on it, I think millet would make for a decent replacement.

The chia seeds also build on texture, but are added mostly for their notorious nutritious properties.

Alright, ready to start cooking? In a large saucepan, bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Then, to it, add a full cup of buckwheat groats, half a cup of amaranth, 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and a generous pinch of salt.

Bring this back to the boil then reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cover the pot loosely.

Simmer the grains slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grains are fully cooked, the mixture is creamy and practically all the water has been absorbed.

Now turn off the heat and pour in half a cup of milk. I chose to use my new favorite and go-to non-dairy milk, hemp milk, but really you could use any kind of milk that you prefer.

Stir until the milk is well incorporated, then cover the pot once more and let your cereal sit for a few minutes, so it has a chance to absorb all this milk.

Not only will this will enhance the flavor, but it will make your cereal creamier, too!

You are now ready to serve your creamy Buckwheat and Amaranth cereal with your choice of toppings as well as an additional splash of milk if you so desire.

Also, I haven’t added any sweetener at all to the recipe, as the sugar from the fruit is usually plenty for me. If you like your cereal a tad on the sweeter side, feel free to top your bowl with a touch of your favorite sweetener, too!

*Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April of 2011 and has since been completely revamped and updated with better pictures. A few minor modifications to the original recipe may also have been made.

Source: Food - thehealthyfoodie.com