Cherry Almond Overnight Bulgur: A Hearty Breakfast

This cherry almond overnight bulgur recipe wasn’t made in a test kitchen somewhere. Instead, it was a recipe designed to clean out the “grain shelf” in my pantry–a shelf with about two dozen half-full jars or random grains–you know, the ones where you buy “16 ounces” by weight and only end up using “2 cups” which is never quite all of what you bought.

My drive to clean out the grain shelf was driven by a simple reason: I’d been spending too much on food. I know, I know, “I’m a food blogger.” But still, I always eat my creations, so technically we’re running a family budget. And imagine me picking my jaw up off the floor when I found out we were spending five-HUNDRED dollars a month per person on food!

This might not seem like a lot to you, but it was eye-opening to me. I’d been thrifty, buying in bulk and investing in frozen foods. I’d even decided recently NOT to purchase nine-dollar truffle oil after giving myself a long motivational speech in the aisles of Publix supermarket.

Then, imagine me picking my jaw up out of the crater it made in floor of my sister’s house when she told me, “Oh, that’s normal.” Normal? I don’t spend $500 dollars a month on anything, even healthcare. But that’s another story…

Anyway, I’ve since been experimenting with recipes to use up all these beautiful, whole grain ingredients, of which I have half a cup max. I’ve even been having a little fun. Enter this recipe.

Overnight bulgur: the new overnight oats

I love a good bowl of oatmeal. But it’s now my second favorite grain bowl. Up first is this one, for overnight bulgur. It’s made the same way as overnight oats, or “Bircher muesli” (the latter recipe is over 100-years old and credited to a Swiss doctor), but instead of oats, it features whole grain bulgur. You need more liquid and less grains for this one.

You can pick your add-ins based on what you have on hand. I find it’s particularly good soaked overnight with raisins, nuts, grated apple, or frozen fruit. Then, in the morning, I like to add anything that should be crunchy the next day, like flaked coconut, apple slices, or bee pollen. My yogurt proved sweet enough, since I’m not a huge fan of sweet things for breakfast (ask again when it’s waffle day and I might give a different answer…). That said, this would be perfect with a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. You could even make fruit compote to serve on top or use this honey hack that I’m obsessed with.

The recipe

• ¼ cup whole wheat bulgur 
• ½ cup almond milk 
• ¼ cup plain whole milk yogurt 
• 6 frozen cherries (a heaping ¼ cup) 
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds 
• one drop almond extract 

Tip alert: If you don’t have slivered almonds, you could always just chop some up yourself, or swap them for another nut (I have pecans pictured above). You could easily swap the yogurt for Greek yogurt if you wanted to increase the protein. Lastly, do NOT use more than a drop of almond extract! I find almond extract to be stronger than vanilla, so proceed with caution unless you want your bulgur wheat to taste like an amaretto cocktail.

Grains Galore

Happy eating! Stay tuned for more ways to either clean out the back of your grain pantry or to add more ancient grains to your diet. Here are some other recipes to help you do that today.

Three cheers for fiber!

• Grown-Up Wild Rice Waldorf with Arugula and Goji Berries
• 100% Whole Grain Apple Muffins
• Fresh Pasta with Semolina and Einkorn Flour
• 100% Whole Grain Sourdough Rye Bread (Rugbrød)
• Curried Coconut Kale and Grits
• Farro with Mushrooms and Walnut Dressing
• Nutty Granola with Raisins and Flax
• Crispy Tofu Quinoa Salad

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