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Buckwheat is a superfood that you may not know about. It’s definitely under-appreciated and under-utilized in the US, but everyone should know how healthy and scrumptious it is! I love it more than rice or quinoa. It’s also completely gluten free!
It’s name is a little deceiving because it’s called buckwheat but there is no relation to wheat – none whatsoever! It’s also just as simple to make as white rice. My son loves buckwheat with this mushroom gravy on it and I love it plain with butter (pickle on the side of course).
We’ll be rolling out some really yummy buckwheat recipes like this buckwheat with mushrooms so be sure to pin this one for later! Also, read on to learn why buckwheat is so good for you! 🙂
Ingredients for Basic Buckwheat:
1 cup toasted buckwheat groats
1 3/4 cups filtered water
1-2 Tbsp butter, to taste (I used unsalted butter)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste (I used sea salt)
Note:
I love this buckwheat sold at the Russian store because it usually comes pre-toasted and is golden brown in color. If the buckwheat you buy is not toasted, you can quickly toast it on a dry skillet over medium heat 4-5 min until it is golden brown in color then remove from heat and proceed with the recipe.
How to Cook Buckwheat (Stove-top Method):
1. Rinse and drain buckwheat well.
2. In a medium sauce pan, combine buckwheat groats with 1 3/4 cups water, 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low for 18-20 minutes. Just like with rice, you should hear hissing while it’s cooking and it will get quiet when it’s done. Stir in additional 1 Tbsp butter if desired.
How to Cook Buckwheat (Rice Cooker Method):
Transfer all ingredients to the rice cooker and set on the white rice setting. When it’s done, add an extra Tablespoon of butter if desired and stir in 1-2 tsp water to moisten up the kernels if they seem a little dry. Serve hot.
Buckwheat Nutrition info:
Buckwheat is a great source of Potassium, Fiber, Protein, Iron, and Vitamin B6. It is also a good source of manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc, which are great for the immune system. Yeah it’s definitely good for you and much healthier than white rice. 🙂
How to Cook Buckwheat Kasha
Ingredients
- 1 cup toasted buckwheat groats
- 1 3/4 cups filtered water
- 1-2 Tbsp unsalted butter, to taste (I used unsalted butter)
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste (I used sea salt)
Instructions
Stove-top Method:
- Rinse and drain buckwheat well.
- In a medium sauce pan, combine buckwheat with 1 3/4 cups water, 1 Tbsp butter and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer then cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low for 18-20 min. Just like with rice, you should hear hissing while cooking and it will get quiet when done. Stir in additional 1 Tbsp butter if desired.
Rice Cooker Method:
- Transfer all ingredients to the rice cooker and set on the white rice setting. When done, add an extra Tbsp of butter if desired and stir in 1-2 tsp water to moisten up the kernels if they seem dry. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition Info: Buckwheat is a great source of Potassium, Fiber, Protein, Iron, Vitamin B6 and Magnesium. It is also a good source of manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc, which are great for the immune system. Yeah it's definitely good for you.
Do you get creative with buckwheat (grechka)? I’d love to hear how you prepare and serve it. Are you a gravy lover too? Let me know in a comment below. I’m always looking for new ways to cook this stuff up.
I’m going to use this kasha recipe to stuff cabbage rolls. It’s so much better than rice.
Sounds good and yes, so healthy too!
This buckwheat turns out perfect every time! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
great ideas well done
Thank you!
Hi Natasha,
Today was my second time cooking Kasha. I followed the recipe except instead of adding butter, I used coconut oil. My kasha came out mushy. Could you tell me what I did wrong? Was I to boil the water first or just add all ingredients and then turn on the stove. I would love to find out the perfect way of making it, seeing that I have a 50lbs. bag of it. Thank you.
Hi Natasha, did you use roasted buckwheat? We buy roasted buckwheat groats – they tend to stay firmer and are less likely to become mushy. Any buckwheat I’ve purchased from European markets (like this one with Russian writing on the package), have all worked great. We buy common buckwheat and not dehulled buckwheat.
Should/could I still coat the kasha with egg before cooking in my rice cooker?
Hi Shari, I haven’t tried that but I think it could work fine.
Haven’t made this in along time bought some today. Have kidney disease that is worsening so have to eat well. I used to beat an egg very well and stir it into the kasha before cooking. I really enjoyed it. Didn’t do that today so will save for breakfast tomorrow. Would like to see a recipe mixing veggies into the kasha
Thank you.
I grew up on Kasha.
Love your recipe!!
My Ultimate Comfort Food. You are an amazing Chef! Please keep it Goin! FYI- So many people that I know when I say Kasha, they don’t know what I am talking about! Do you know how to make make Kasha Varisniskkes with Bow Tie Noodles and Hamburger? Probably the best Comfort Food Dish on Planet Earth. If you would Like the recipe I would be happy to share. Harry, from, Kentfield, Ca.
My mother made buckwheat kasha stuffed cabbage for Christmas Eve they were my favorite served by putting warm butter over them would u have the receipe
Sounds delicious, Eileen!
I remember my polish grandmother-making saurkrught & buck wheat pirogies
I grew my own buckwheat this year. It is black when ripe; the black is the hard covering. Is this a good variety to cook too?
Hi Dawn, I haven’t tried cooking with black buckwheat so I’m not sure. You might google that.
Dawn, the black cover is a shell that needs to be removed.
Can you double or triple this recipe? And how much water would you need?
Hi Olga, when double or tripling, I usually add slightly less water. You can always add a little more if needed.
Hello Natasha. Thanks for the recipe on cooking buckwheat groats as a cereal. I loved it and have always eaten cream of buckwheat never whole berries. I used your recipe and it worked perfectly as overnight recipe. I just toasted the buckwheat and put in a mason jar while still hot and poured the 1 3/4 c. boiling water over it and left it sit until the water was absorbed. I covered it, put it in the refrigerator overnight and voilá!, it was perfect for me. Just take what you want and heat for a few seconds in the microwave. That was my experience. Next I am going to try your buckwheat and pork recipe!
That’s so great Rick! Thank you for sharing that with me!
I love Russian buckwheat and ALL of your recipes! But the one difference in this recipe, is if you buy buckwheat from a regular store and whether or not you try to toast it, it immediately will turn to mush. I couldn’t get to the Russian store today and tried with organic buckwheat. Almost the second it started to warm, it turned to complete mush with pieces of uncooked buckwheat. I haven’t cooked with anything but the Russian kind before. Just a heads up.
Hi Irene, there are some in American supermarkets that will turn to mush which is why the source is so important.
OMG so true! It happened to me 2 times! And all i wanted is nice falling apart like grains.. also wanted to have my childhood buckwheat where mum would boil it the we would have it cold with milk and a little sugar, so good on a hot days…
Once cooked I try finely chopped onion in butter then add some mushrooms add it to cooked frosts. Served with Greek yoghurt swirled through it. Heaps of black pepper.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
The grechka that Amazon link leads to is outrageously expensive! The same 1.5 kilo bag costs $8 at my local Russian store in the SF Bay area.
I have used cooked kasha instead of ground beef to make a delicious, vegetarian stuffed pepper.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Paula!
Making it in the Instant Pot is a breeze. I used 1 cup of kasha to a 1 1/4 cup of chicken stock and a couple of TBs of butter. 4 minutes on high seems to do the trick. I like is mushy so I dont let it quick release
Isn’t that the best!! Thank you for sharing that Alex!
I like making a side dish with several grains. Buck wheat, barely, wild rice, flax seed , just what ever i have on hand and mix up.
I cook each grain separately to keep flavors pure. Then mix them up and add some miniature bow tie pasta frome international dry soup. Butter or a light gravy and yumm.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Excellent! Thank you. No more mushy Kasha.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Christopher!
Starting eating Buckwheat Kasha a little over a year ago. It’s supplanted oatmeal as my favorite breakfast meal, but I also like making Kasha Varnishkes with mushroom sauce. I’ve even used sausage gravy in it (like one would have with biscuits)…very tasty!
That does sound tasty! Thank you for sharing that with me, Sabrina!
I am trying to find a brand of the kasha that has good flavor and ratings. Which one would you suggest?
Hi Sue, I don’t have a bag in my pantry to give you a brand right now but any of the bags from European markets are generally good. The ones sold in big box grocery stores in the US like Winco are no good and turn to mush.
Whole Foods bulk is excellent. My 90-year old mom loves it. I store in a large rubber sealed mason jar. Some WF’s stores label it “toasted buckwheat.”
Yes! I’ve heard good things about WF buckwheat. Thank you Gary!
Hey Natasha! Just wanted to leave feedback about an instant pot/pressure cooker method. I found another recipe before I came here so I had done the 1cup of buckwheat to 2 cups of water ratio. I ended up doing 2 cups of buckwheat so we have plenty. It only took 4 minutes of pressure cooking. But I managed to forget to release so it kept warm for another 8-9. It turned out perfect! Maybe something to test..maybe 5 or 6 minutes with quick release. 🙂 After getting a pressure cooker, I’m always out to make all sorts of things in there!
That’s so great! Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us!
Thank you for testing this for us! I was just going to ask Natasha for a pressure cooker time suggestion!
Well, I did it but it was mushy, maybe my groats. I did make it perfectly in the Ip (once) but I remember that I changed the suggested time and amout of water (that was posted on another site). I just remember being so happy and shocked it worked, but I tried making it again by trying to remeber what I did and its was wrong because it came out dry. I wish I wrote it down the first time. This time it was mushy. Try if you like, but I came back to post that if you get overcooked grains just add maple sugar, milk and food process it up. It is edible and topped with coconut flakes, berries, chia seeds, dollop of whipped cream…etc it looks like your flop was intentional.