It was a few months ago now that Melanie and Tom (Kevin’s parents) came to visit us in Georgia and mom shared her muesli recipe with me. I had heard her talking about making this concoction of yogurt and oats before but the idea of eating raw oatmeal always sounded a bit strange to me. Granola and yogurt? Yes that made sense, but the few times I had sprinkled raw oats on my yogurt it had been sorely disappointing so I didn’t have much hope for muesli. Little did I know what I was missing out on!
What is Muesli?
As I was researching this post I found out that the most common muesli recipe today is uncooked rolled oats and other grains, fresh or dried fruits, or nuts, and is most commonly served dry with milk not too unlike granola. However the original muesli recipe from the 18th century Swiss physician Maximilian Bircher-Benner called for soaking a small serving of oats (1 tb per person approx) in water overnight to soften them and then mixing with equal amounts of lemon juice, cream, and a large finely grated apple.
And both are completely different from what we call Muesli in our house! Our homemade muesli recipe consists of yogurt, raw old fashioned rolled oats, and various kinds fruit. It is mixed and allowed to absorb into the oatmeal for at least 30 minutes but tastes even better after 1-2 days in my opinion.
It is the perfect breakfast food in our house….namely because Noah will eat it like it is going out of style! I love that he is getting whole grains and fruit in with his breakfast yogurt. He doesn’t prefer most fruits and veggies in a stand alone format so I am always trying to figure out new ways that he will willingly consume them.
We like to use crushed pineapple with its juice as well as fresh and dried fruit in ours. We had strawberries and mixed dried fruit this week but often we just add in sliced apple and raisins as they are almost always around. The pineapple juice naturally sweetens it and helps the oatmeal to absorb everything fully and not have stiff chewy oats.
We have noticed that using a finer rolled oat lends to a better texture, we used some thick cut rolled oats and even after 2 days they never really softened up enough to create that lovely creamy texture we love.
Gluten Free Muesli
Muesli is the perfect healthy gluten free breakfast choice, its easy to find gluten free rolled oats. Bob’s Red Mill makes some great gluten free options! They also make an actual dry Muesli mix as well so you could mix up this recipe up even easier!
Whatever way you decide to mix it up I am sure that after you try it this will become a staple recipe in your house too! Enjoy!
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 2-2½ cups plain yogurt
- ⅓ cup crushed pineapple with juice
- ½ cup dried fruit (we used a mixed dried fruit blend)
- Optional:
- Fresh Fruit
- Honey to taste if desired (I like mine plain or with just a tablespoon of honey)
- Mix all ingredients. Let stand 30 min if possible to absorb liquid. Can be made days in advance.
- The longer it is stored the drier it gets so you may need to add more yogurt or pineapple to taste in following days.
That looks scrumptious! And it couldn’t be easier. Thanks for sharing.
I am not a fan of store bought muesli, but your muesli sounds wonderful – with the yogurt, does this need to be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days?
Hey Shashi,
You can store it if you like or eat after about 30 min. It will soften the oats more over a day or two but we usually eat it the same day too cause we are impatient 🙂
I also realized that my measurement for yogurt was off just now so the recipe has been updated.
xoxo
Ok – Cool – thanks so much! I hope to try this soon – waiting for warmer days here in Georgia!
Shouldn’t have to wait for long! I remember those flip flop days in Georgia’s balmy March days quite well 🙂 Won’t be happening anytime soon here in OR though! We do like this in the winter too though its always being served up here.
xoxo
One of my favorite breakfasts!
Definitely going to give this recipe a try!