Start your day off right with a nourishing bowl of soaked buckwheat cereal! It’s naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and delicious! This easy, traditional-style recipe makes a batch large enough for a family – and kids love it!

Best meal of the day.

If you asked me what my favorite meal is, there would be no second guessing myself when I answer with breakfast. I’m all about it! Pancakes, smoothies, bagels, brownies… 😀 A healthy breakfast is a great way to get your metabolism off to a good start, giving you energy for the day.

Although I do believe in starting the day off with a nutritious meal, I’m down for eating breakfast any time of day, too.

Cereal woes.

As much as I love breakfast, cereal isn’t a regular in my bowl. Reason being is that, while I do love cereal, most of it is made from oats. And oats do not love me. I happen to be one of those celiacs who has that lovely cross reaction with pretty much all grains. So cereal has been off my personal menu for yeeeears (though I do still make granola for my fam).

You can imagine my delight when, upon receiving Sharon Stonger’s latest cookbook, Traditional Meals for the Frugal Family, I saw her Activated Buckwheat Cereal recipe. Finally! A cereal I could eat! And with buckwheat – one of my favorite ingredients!

Traditional Meals for the Frugal Family is full of delicious and nourishing traditional foods, all prepared for a large family! Just up my alley. All the ingredients are unprocessed and frugal food that people have thrived on for generations. All the meals in the cookbook are gluten-free, mostly dairy-free, and picky eater-certified, too!

Get the cookbook here.

Buckwheat Nutrients.

While I do have a list of recipes to try (my kids always make sure of that!) this cereal was one of the first on my list! I’ve always loved buckwheat, though I usually use it as a flour, and the smell of buckwheat groats takes me back to Russia. It’s sorta nostalgic, I guess.

Buckwheat is a wonderful source of amino acids, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. And even though it has wheat in its name, it’s 100% gluten-free. It’s high in manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and folate, and also has some vitamin K, vitamin E, thiamine, riboflavin, choline, betaine, calcium and potassium. Buckwheat also contains phenolic compounds and flavonoids (like rutin, quercetin, and more), tannins, D-chiro-inositol, as well as resistant starch and protein. Its amino acids include lysine, tryptophan, threonine, and the sulphur-containing amino acids.

Since buckwheat groats are actually a seed, it is more easily tolerated by people who have trouble with grains (ahem, me). And by soaking the groats, they become activated and even easier to digest! Soaking the buckwheat groats increases their nutrition, as well, making their vitamins and minerals more accessible to your body.

Soaked Buckwheat Cereal.

This cereal is my newest favorite way to enjoy the nutrients of buckwheat. Even though the word ‘soaked’ in the title might sound a little daunting, it’s really super easy to whip up. In her recipe in the book, Sharon uses sunflower seeds. Those happen to be something that I don’t usually happen to keep on hand (other than ones to plant in my garden), so I subbed them out for pecans. It worked great, and I’m sure other nuts like walnut and almonds, or other seeds, like pepitas, would work well, too.

The original recipe also called for 2 cups of dried fruit. Since I was feeding more than myself with this recipe, I left that out. My oldest daughter refuses to eat cereals with raisins in them, and that was the only dried fruit I had on hand. Next time I make this, my plan is to add in some diced apples to the bowl and let them cook in the cereal. I think that will be delicious with the cinnamon flavor!

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!

Soaked Buckwheat Cereal

Free from gluten, eggs, dairy, and refined sugar.

Ingredients

4 cups of raw buckwheat groats (don’t used toasted!)
2 cups raw pecans (can use sunflower seeds, if you prefer)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3-1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons Himalayan salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional, I use my homemade stuff)
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (I used three, ’cause I love cinnamon!)
2 cups dried fruits (apples, raisins, craisins, or dates are yummy options!)

Instructions

For the soaking:

Place the raw buckwheat groats into a 1/2 gallon jar or non-reactive bowl (i.e. ceramic or glass). Fill the jar/bowl with filtered water, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace.

Place the nuts/seeds in a quart-sized jar/bowl and similarly fill with water.

Loosely cover both jars/bowls with a lid.

Let soak on the counter for anywhere from 12-24 hours.

For the cereal:

After the soaking time is up, preheat the oven to 300 and lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line them with parchment.

Drain the buckwheat and rinse well, then drain the nuts/seeds and pour both into a large bowl.

Add in the remaining ingredients.

Mix well with a wooden spoon until the mixture is homogenous.

Spread evenly between the baking sheets and bake for 30 minutes.

Stir the cereal on the baking sheets and bake for 20 more minutes.

Repeat until buckwheat is golden and dry (about 60-70 minutes all together).

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the dried fruit.