The first time I published this recipe was back in January of 2015. It was around the time that I had discovered the addictive flavor of buckwheat and was trying to find interesting ways of using it. This recipe came about when I decided to swap oatmeal with buckwheat and see what would happen.
At first, similar to my oatmeal with almond milk and chia seeds recipe, I cooked it in almond milk by itself. However, it took much longer than I would like, especially because I wanted it to be cooked fast so that I can make it on a weekday morning. Then I tried letting it sit in milk overnight, and just like that, IT WORKED!
The time spent in the fridge softened the hard seed, and as a result, shortened the time of cooking. After a few tries, I decided to use coconut milk instead to change it up a little bit. And the high-fat content of coconut milk made it so creamy.
Since the first day it was published, this recipe has been a reader favorite. It has been pinned and shared more times than I could have ever imagined. So today here I am with a quick how-to video (that you can watch in the recipe card below) and a few new photos.
Can’t get enough of buckwheat breakfast recipes? Try my buckwheat pancakes for an easy to make gluten-free breakfast recipe. And if you didn’t know my buckwheat and millet bread makes a great gluten-free recipe you can also try.
A Few Helpful tips for this overnight buckwheat porridge recipe
- As I mentioned earlier, I used coconut milk in the recipe, but any other nut milk like almond milk would also work.
- I did not add any sweetener to the recipe as I used fresh fruit. However, if you like to make it sweeter, feel free to drizzle it with a little bit of local honey or maple syrup.
- The thickness of the porridge depends on the time you let it simmer after it starts boiling. The longer you let it simmer the thicker it will get.
- You can serve this hot right after it is cooked or the next day right out of the fridge. I personally prefer the cold version, but both versions are really good. As long as it is kept in an airtight container, it keeps fresh up to 3 days in the fridge.
Similar Porridge Recipes You Might Also Like:
Overnight Coconut Buckwheat Porridge
Ingredients
For the porridge:
- 1 cup buckwheat groats not kasha
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 3 cups unsweetened coconut milk or any other nut milk like almond, rice, soy, etc.I used Silk Brand – not the canned kind
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
For the Toppings: (all optional)
- 1/2 cup walnuts or any other unsalted nuts of your choice
- 1 1/2 cup berries pomegranate seeds, etc. (any fresh fruit you have at home)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Mix buckwheat groats, chia seeds, coconut milk, water, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Cover it with stretch film and let it sit overnight in the fridge.
- In the morning, place it in a pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, for10-12 minutes or until it reaches to your desired thickness.
- Garnish it with fruit, coconut, and nuts. Serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Below is the original post that was published back in January of 2015. If you scroll down to the bottom of the post, you can read some very helpful notes from readers who made the recipe.
What is your weekday breakfast routine?
In our house, when it comes to our weekday breakfast choices, Dwight and I are quite the opposite. I usually prefer almond milk oatmeal topped with nuts and berries, whereas Dwight likes his two eggs on toast accompanied with a PB&J sandwich. I prefer coffee and he loves his green tea. Over the last couple of years, I tried to convert him to oatmeal, but regardless of the way I prepared it he always thought of it being too boring.
Even though I don’t think that oatmeal can ever be boring, even I sometimes feel as though I can switch things up a little bit. About a month ago, while I was looking for an alternative, I saw a recipe made with buckwheat and decided to give it a try. Since then, I have been experimenting with it and find that it is such a great alternative to oatmeal. Here, I must admit – I had never cooked with buckwheat before and had no idea what it was going to be like. To my surprise, it wasn’t much more different than making oatmeal.
That being said, the technique of preparing buckwheat is just a little different. For one thing, it takes longer to cook buckwheat than to cook oatmeal. Though it is only 20 to 25 minutes, I didn’t want to wait that long for it to cook it on a weekday morning. Instead, I opted for letting it sit in coconut milk overnight. The time spent in the fridge gave it a softer, almost cereal-like texture with nutty flavors. All I had to do was to put everything together at night, cover it with stretch film, and quickly warm it up in the morning for a super nutritious breakfast in the morning.
For this version, I added chia seeds to thicken it up which also increased its notoriousness. As it sat in the fridge overnight, the chia seeds plumped up creating a soup like consistency. The recipe below serves for two, and as long as you keep it in the fridge tightly covered, it keeps its freshness for an extra day.
For the first morning’s breakfast, I warmed up one serving of it in a pot and topped it off with nuts and fresh fruits. And for the second morning, I added the rest of it into my smoothie that I made with spinach, fresh fruits, half a cup of coconut milk, and a tablespoon of peanut butter. It ended up being a refreshing and nutritious alternative to a warm porridge-like breakfast dish.
I chose to use coconut milk, but any other nut milk of your choice would work for this recipe. I didn’t use any sugar to keep it healthier, but if you want you can sweeten it up with natural sugars like maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar.
Priya
Do you have to cook the buckwheat groats after keeping it soaked overnight or is it ok to have it without cooking?
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Priya,
There is no need to cook them. They soften as they sit in the fridge.
Hope this helps.
Myra Billson
I made this having seen the recipe on Hemsley and Hemsley – a little different. I soaked it overnight in water, next morning drained and rinsed then cooked it in coconut milk (didn’t use Chia) just till tender. Sweetened it with liquid stevia and served it warm with fresh fruit. Next day had it as dessert with a little cream, nuts, and fresh fruit. Loved them both! Previously had only cooked it as a savoury Russian side dish cooked with onion and mushroom – also delicious!
Aysegul Sanford
WOW! This all sounds wonderful Myra. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain how you served. I plan on trying your versions next time I make this Buckwheat porridge recipe.
Cheers!
Jessica Ballard
Do you cook all of it and then eat leftovers cooked but cold? Does that make sense?
Aysegul Sanford
Yes, I do. I personally like it cold as well but you can reheat it if you want.
Jim Butler
Excellent and easy to make recipe for a really filling porridge. No wee winkers asking, “Please Sir, I want some more…” because this will fill their little bellies ’til lunch time.
The Voracious Vegas Vegan
Aysegul Sanford
So happy to hear that you liked it Jim. I agree, it is a healthy and filling breakfast.
Thanks so much for stopping by. Cheers!
Samantha Renner
I made this porridge today. I didn’t have coconut milk so I used almond milk. It didn’t look as creamy as yours did, but it was so good. Next time I will try with kasha and top it off with different fruits.
Great recipe. Thanks.
Aysegul Sanford
I am thrilled to hear you liked it Samantha. I love it with kasha as well. Just so you know pineapple and kasha are match made in heaven 😉
Thanks for letting me know. Cheers!
Brea F.
This was my first time trying buckwheat, and oh my, it was delicious! I used a mix of unsweetened almond-oat and soy milk and only added a half cup of water. I topped my freshly cooked portion with some frozen berries and wow. So satisfying. I will definitely be making this again!
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Brea,
I am so happy to hear that you liked this recipe. It is surely a satisfying breakfast. Thanks for coming by and leaving a note. Cheers!
Jo
Hi, I tried your overnight buckwheat porridge, followed your instructions, but was disappointed that it did’not take just 15 to 20 minutes to cook the next morning,it took more than two hours before it was soft enough to eat.
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Jo,
I am so sorry to hear that it took so long. I make this buckwheat porridge on a regular basis, and quite frankly, I have never had that issue.
I’d love to help and troubleshoot if you could give me more information.
I made this recipe both with kasha (toasted buckwheat) and regular buckwheat more times than I can remember. Usually the overnight soak allows the buckwheat to soften quite a bit and it shouldn’t take that long for it to cook.
Again, I am very sorry, but if you would share a little more information (the brand of buckwheat you used, how long did it soak, etc.) I would be more than happy to troubleshoot.
Julie
I just made this for the second time in a week- fabulous. I’ve been eating steel cut or overnight oats for breakfast every day for years. This is a great addition to my rotation.
Aysegul Sanford
HI Julie,
I am so thrilled to hear that you like this porridge. I am a big fan as well.
Thanks for letting me know. Cheers!
Dominique Julien
I love this recipe so much! I added it to one of my blog posts so that more people can try it! Thanks a lot! You can see it here: https://omdetox.com/weekend-detox-challenge/
Aysegul Sanford
Thanks so much for sharing Dominique.
Kelly
Tried this, but mine never thickened! Maybe too much liquid?p
Aysegul Sanford
Interesting.. Because I make this all the time and never have that problem. I’ll follow the recipe and make it again this week and will update the recipe, if necessary.
Thanks for letting me know.
Rainah
Flavor is spot on, IMHO. For those who do not like the flavor of buckwheat, the coconut milk helps to cut that strong buckwheat flavor significantly. Please note: we used canned coconut milk, and slipping those solids into the fridge overnight leaves what one might expect….. chunks of coconut cream. Can’t tell you that I bit into them or skimmed them, because, well, we had another problem…… You see, and this admission is…..,, well it is an admission….. expressed here…… for the benefit of any uninitiated who might be here….., like myself: a-hem……. ack….. well, here goes: the little, black buckwheat seeds that I had unwittingly purchased, are unhulled, and…. well, yep, that’s what I prepared this lovely little recipe with, cuz that’s what I had, and, as it turns out, that was a problem. I had purchased them, not knowing the difference between them and buckwheat groats. Needless to say, our gruel was more than fibrous…. SO, I cooked it, added powdered milk and water, and ran my hand blender through it for a little while. By then, I didn’t have time for the toppings, so we added some raw sugar instead. Live and learn. I’ll try this again when I have actual buckwheat groats and let you know what happens here. Live and learn. Live and learn….. live ….. and …… learn. BTW, I really liked the flavor of this while my daughter rather did not….. hmmmm, some cinnamon might help her…. and bananas………, I’ll go grab those for her really quickly. Then I’ll grind up those unhulled buckwheat seeds and make a fibrous flour (I’ve done some of that in the past)……
Aysegul Sanford
WOW! Interesting.
I am so glad that you liked the flavors. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Am
Can you please clarify what kind of coconut milk you intend? I get confused about these recipes because people don’t distinguish! Do you mean coconut milk beverage (often in tetrapacks?). These have 70 calories/cup and 4g saturated fat, but are a lot more than coconut milk, often sweetners, and all sorts of “extra junk,” stabilizers, etc. On the flip side, maybe you mean canned coconut milk, which if you’re careful about your brand, should just be coconut milk, but is also 400 calories for 1 cup and a whopping 36g of saturated fat! That’s pretty intense. In this recipe, you’re calling for 3 cups, I’m anxious to know what you intend because of the the health factor impact either way. Thanks!
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Am,
This makes so much sense. I understand the confusion. Thank you for bringing to my attention.
For this recipe I used Silk’s unsweetened coconut milk. Here is a link if you want to try and/or can find it in your local supermarket.
If you are concerned about the high calories of coconut milk, you can also make it with almond milk. I have made it with both and they were both tasty.
I have made the clarification in the recipe. However, if there are any other questions I can answer I am just an e-mail away.
Again, thanks for bringing this to my attention.
Regards,
Aysegul
Elle
I am addicted to overnight oats! Can’t wait to try it with buckwheat! Thanks, looks absolutely delicious 🙂
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you Elle. And Coconut buckwheat is such a surprising and delicious combination. Cheers!
Stephanie
This looks and sounds so delicious, I wish I had a bowl of it right now : )
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you Stephanie!
Christina @ Bake with Christina
That looks so delicious and fresh! Would be a wonderful way to start off the day 🙂
Aysegul Sanford
I agree with you Christina! Thank you!
Jesse
Yum!
Laura
All your pictures of this look beautiful!! I love buckwheat porridge, and with coconut milk, I think it would taste awesome!! Thanks for the inspiration:)
Caitlin
I’m so curious to try this! Everything buckwheat I’ve made hasn’t been the best, but I’m convinced it was me not preparing it right, not that I don’t like it. So I’m going to give this another shot! I used to be a cereal with banana girl every morning but found that I didn’t stay full long enough. So now I’ve been experimenting with all sorts of breakfasts (like this morning I had my dinner leftovers!). Can’t wait to try it, especially with how easy it sounds!
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Caitlin,
I was in the same boat, looking for an alternative to my usual oatmeal. This one is similar, but just as easy to make.
I hope you’ll like it.
Cheers!
Ice
Rainah
Caitlin, the first time I *liked* buckwheat was when I topped buckwheat pancakes with caramelized apples. From there, I’ve been learning to like it, one recipe at a time. This will be my next test…. it looks promising. In the meantime, my husband and daughter are learning to like it faster than I am, so that is a plus for me!
Ksenia @ At the Immigrant's Table
I am a HUGE fan of buckwheat in all shapes, forms and preparations (it was such a huge part of my life growing up in a Russian family), and of overnight oats as well… So I’ll have to give this a try once my month of paleo runs out!
Aysegul Sanford
Oh wow. A month of paleo.. Good luck Ksenia!
Karen
Don’t forget buckwheat isn’t wheat!
Sini
I had (and still have) a huge crush on overnight oats and ate it almost every morning for several months. It’s healthy, versatile, and not to mention tasty. This buckwheat version with chia seeds looks superb! Can’t wait to try.
Aysegul Sanford
True.. It is yummy and such a nice alternative to the usual oatmeal.
Thank you, my friend.
Jordina
such a nice way to eat buckwheat, I will try it soon
•The Health Blog for the Lazy Girl•
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you Jordina!