Winter Breakfast: Try Other Grains With Your Oatmeal

Want to get a little more out of your morning oatmeal? Try throwing in a handful or two of another grain for some different nutrients and extra protein - not to mention a more complex flavor and texture!

Start by substituting a few tablespoons of an alternate grain into your oatmeal or steel-cut oats, then adjust the ratio depending on your taste and mood. We keep a ratio of about 1 cup of total grain to 3-4 cups water, depending on how soft or firm you like your cereal.

If you cook all the grains together, quicker cooking grains will turn soft and porridge-y while longer cooking grains will retain their shape and individual texture. You could also add quicker-cooking grains toward the end of cooking so the cereal finishes at the same time.

Here are a few alternate grains to play around with:

• Buckwheat - Buckwheat adds a strong grassy flavor and is high in protein. It also cooks at about the same speed as steel-cut oats (about 30 minutes), making it an easy addition. Toasted buckwheat is sometimes called "kasha" and we've found that it cooks a little quicker than regular buckwheat groats.

• Quinoa - This grain has a distinctly sweet flavor, and once cooked, its texture is very soft. It's a complete protein and is high in fiber and iron. It cooks in about 15-20 minutes.

• Amaranth - Amaranth is a tiny little grain with a malty-sweet flavor. The grains tend to break down completely during cooking, so it's perfect for a soft morning porridge. It will cook in about 20 minutes.

• Spelt - Chewy and nutty, grains of this high-protein cereal stay separate and distinct. It takes a bit longer to cook, though - an hour or even more - so we like to cook it separately ahead of time and then stir it into our oatmeal just before eating.

• Farro - Similar to spelt in flavor, texture, and nutritional value, but it cooks much more quickly! Farro will be done in about 45 minutes.

Do you mix other grains into your morning oatmeal?

(Image: Flickr member kthread licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (10)

I normally add rolled barley flakes or rolled wheat flakes to my old fashioned rolled oats. Sometimes I'll mix in cream of rice or cream of wheat. If I'm making steel cut oats, I mix in Bob's Red Mill brown rice farina. The combinations taste so much better than oatmeal alone and have a nice chewiness.

Oat bran is also awesome. I eat it everyday with milk and brown sugar.

I've never thought about adding other grain to my oatmeal - occasionally i will sprinkle on some flax - but i load it up with nuts and i love my oatmeal crunchy!

Yes, I like to add just a little pearl barley for chewiness. Going to try quinoa next…

Bob's Red Mill, mentioned above, makes several different hot cereal mixes with oats: 7 grain, 8 grain, 10 grain, etc.
A bit off topic, but I also really like to add a serving of powdered soy-based protein supplement when the cereal is almost done. "Aria" from Trader Joe's really helps the cereal stick to one's ribs.

I like to add slivered almonds to my steel-cut oats.

Quinoa is one of my favorite breakfast grains--I usually have it with some honey, milk, and dried fruit. So good on winter mornings : )

Maybe I'll always be an unrefined plebian at heart, but I always prefer rolled oats to steel cut. And I like to chill a can of evaporated milk to mix in with them along with dried fruit and sugar.

I enjoy millet in morning cereal too; it takes a bit longer to cook than most oats though.

I have a stash of different types of grits that I'll throw into oatmeal every so often: soy, barley, etc. plus flax seed or wheat germ. Not sure why, but I like add-ins.