Bircher Muesli

In Switzerland, my mother-in-law always served birchermuesli for Sunday night dinner. A tradition. No maple syrup, please. Just grated apples, bananas, berries in season and yogurt. Full-fat yogurt.

As a Swiss, I like the traditional, delicious, healthy version: sliced hazelnuts or sliced almonds, dash of lemon juice before serving or a little whipped cream. Oats or mix of unsweetened cereals like millet (or Bio Familia). Milk, yogurth. Sweetness should come from fruits - try it first without honey or syrup. Mix in apples quickly before they change color. Raspberries. Blueberries. Ribes. Bircher's official grater is a great souvenir from Switzerland. No need for a blender, just let sit.

I’ve never heard of this dish and I’m so glad I made it. So easy and adaptable. Perfect for warm weather climates as well. I skipped the dried fruit to avoid the sugars and added fresh blueberries instead. Nuts are clearly added for texture (this dish has nothing to do with crunchy granola). I’m going to add unsweetened coconut next time (since I have to skip the nuts due to allergies). I added Vanilla and a touch of cinnamon as well (just like making hot oatmeal). Scoop and eat!

I make something similar and like to mix a large quantity of the dry ingredients and keep them on hand in the fridge. The night before, I put some in a bowl, add kefir and frozen fruit, and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

This IS an endlessly adaptable recipe, which is great. To that effect, don't be dissuaded by the note that full-fat yogurt is preferable here. All kinds of yogurt work well here, including low- and non-fat yogurts.

I learned this recipe over 40 years ago when training with a Swiss pastry chef. The original recipe had 3 ingredients-equal parts rolled oats, grated apples (with the juice) and milk. A spoonful or two of yogurt is all you need to add active cultures, and frankly, more than that gives it a sour taste I find unappealing. I like to add a few scrapes of orange zest and top with halved seedless grapes. This is great post-surgery food, but be careful not to eat too much-very filling!

Add the nuts AFTER the soaking period. Also, pecans are a novelty nut in Europe, not commonly used for much of anything, and terribly expensive if you can even find them. Hazelnuts are traditional in , and the alternatives are either walnuts or almonds. PS If you opt for the almonds, sub almond butter for the tahini. Fabulous!

I'm 1/2 Swiss and grew up eating Birchermüesli. There are as many versions as there are people making it. For myself, I typically use: a handful of rolled oats, ~1/2 cup regular (not Greek) plain yogurt, ~1/2 grated apple, small handful of raisins, small handful of walnuts (~1/4 cup each), a good squeeze of lemon juice (this is ESSENTIAL, otherwise it's too bland.) My mom used blender; my stepmom usually added bananas and grapes. Hazelnuts are traditional. It's really up to you!

Oh, this is making me dream of breakfasts in European hotels, along with the best coffee and cheeses, when the day of adventure and surprise and delights lies ahead. Curse you COVID.

Tahini?? Where did that crazy idea come from????

"Grüessech" directly from the Swiss capital Berne: Cream instead of the milk (makes all the difference!) and do not skip the raisins, they are a MUST!

Mrs. Van Houten made this for her boys throughout the 60's and 70's. While the other children were enjoying Eggo's with Aunt Jemima syrup we were grinding through birchermuesli with Grade A Dark Amber Vermont maple syrup. You can also eat this hot. No dried cherries for us. Dates and raisins.

i've made overnight oats on many occasions - my favorite is to mix bob's red mill extra thick rolled oats with mango or peach kefir. recently, i learned of bircher via "nadiya's family favorites" on tastemade channel. she makes a mango lassi bircher that looks amazing. here is the recipe in case anyone wants to further expand their bircher repertoire! https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mango_lime_lassi_bircher_13324

We’ve been making this ever since we lived in Munich and use plain “regular” yogurt, not Greek-style, so we don’t need to add milk. Either way, it’s great and when we serve it to overnight guests they always love it.

Very good for an easy weekday breakfast or snack. I followed the recipe pretty close with a few changes based on my diet/pantry/hatred of milk: ~3/4 cup nonfat yogurt, ~1/4 cup water, and dried cranberries instead of cherries. Had frozen berries in the freezer so thawed and topped with those. Maple syrup was very tasty as well.