Wheat Berry Cereal (How To Cook Wheat Berries)
This Wheat Berry Cereal is a delicious and hearty breakfast! This cereal is chewy, creamy, and so delicious. Here’s How To Cook Wheat Berries:
Wheat berries are actually whole grains that are chewy and delicious when cooked. They’re delicious as cereal, but can also be added to soups, stews, salads and more.
A family favourite breakfast.
When I was a kid I spent many many summers at my Grandparents farm with my sister and all of my cousins. I look back at those times with such fondness, and so much gratitude for having had the chance to live a farm experience, even just for a few weeks at a time. Some of my most favourite memories of my time spent there is my Grandma cooking…she was the best cook! And one of my favourite foods she used to make was Wheat Berry Cereal. I even remember collecting the wheat with my Grandpa, right from the wheat bins…home grown and home made. So amazing.
About Wheat Berry Cereal.
Wheat berry cereal is chewy, creamy, and delicious! The cooked wheat berries almost have a nutty flavour. I like to make it once in a while, it’s not for every day eating…the wheat berries are quite hearty. But if you’re looking for a bowl of something a little different for breakfast, this cereal is it. And you have to eat this cereal with cream and sprinkle it with brown sugar, so so good.
How to Cook Wheat Berries:
Wheat berries are so simple to make. All you need is 3 ingredients: dried wheat berries, water and a bit of salt. And making them is as easy as simmering all the ingredient on your stove for about 1 hour. See below for more details.
more ways to eat cooked wheat berries
- The best way it to eat cooked wheat berries is as cereal! Yum.
- Toss them in salads.
- Add them to soups or stews that you would add pearl barley to.
- Add wheat berries to oatmeal, or even muffins.
- Sprinkle them on yogurt.
Wheat Berry Cereal Recipe Tips
- Wheat Berry Cereal: Most grocery stores and bulk stores carry whole wheat berries. There are a few different varieties, all of which you can use the same way: hard red winter wheat berries (the most common), hard white wheat berries, soft red wheat berries, and soft white wheat berries.
- Make Ahead Tip: I like to make a big batch of this cereal for the week ahead, then keep it in the refrigerator. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat the amount you want to eat for breakfast (I just use the microwave).
- Serve with cream or milk, and brown sugar.
- Optional additions: Feel free to add 1/4 cup raisins to the cereal near the end of the cooking time (about 45 minutes in). Or offer a selection of cereal toppings like chopped almonds, or fresh fruit such as chopped apples, strawberries or blueberries.
Wheat Berry Cereal
This Wheat Berry Cereal is a delicious and hearty breakfast! This cereal is chewy, creamy, and so delicious. Here’s How To Cook Wheat Berries:
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried wheat berries
- 3 cups cold water
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a medium sauce pan bring the water to a boil, then add the salt and wheat berries. Stir.
- Reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook, uncovered, until all the almost all the water is absorbed, and the wheat is chewy but not crunchy. This will take between about 1 hour.
- Drain any remaining water.
- Serve with cream and brown sugar.
Keywords: wheat cereal, wheat berry cereal
More Cereal Recipes to Try:
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Have a delicious day!
Please note that this recipe was originally published in 2012. I have since updated this post with new images and more recipe tips!
I have been buying wheat berries for several years (to mill my flour), but just recently discovered I could cook it and eat it! I have been experimenting with it…definitely will give this a try. I love how chewy those are!! thanks!
Interesting Jo-Anna. My hubby loves Oatmeal for breakfast. I would sure LOVE me some of those glass Milk jugs. Wish we could get something like that in Ontario 🙂
What a beautiful post…
Yum! This sounds delicious. I’m a big fan of grains for breakfast 🙂
Visiting from the share it link party 🙂
I’m not sure, but I think these are what my mother made for breakfast when I was a child in the 50’s. Since she was raised in the early 1900’s in the wheat fields in Canada, I trust this was something they ate. I have been looking all over for these, and your pictures look exactly like what my memory is. My mother would soak them over night however, then cook in the morning. I think I’m headed to the health food store! Thanks.
Hi Barb!
It probably is the same dish – my Grandma used to make it for my Dad during that same time frame, and they were wheat farmers in Saskatchewan. Then they started to make it for us grandkids – I have such fond memories of this breakfast! And I think that my Grandma used to soak them overnight too.
Enjoy!!
Hi Jo-Anna,
I found something called Wheat Hard Red Organic from Amaranth but there was also a product called Wheat Soft White. Are these wheat berries? It looks the same but I wondered what you used? I bought the hard wheat as it was a fraction of the price of the soft wheat (.36/100g vs 4.36/100g). Plan to give it a go tonight. Thanks.
Hi Lisa!
The hard wheat will work just great! Just check on them after about 1 hour of cooking to make sure that there’s enough liquid to absorb (taste test them – they should be chewy but not at all hard).
Enjoy!
I make this in the slow cooker overnight. Cook on LOW and breakfast is ready in the morning!
Great idea!! I need to do this too!
What kind of cream do I use?
Hi Henry! I just use regular table cream (or coffee cream like half and half)
My parents made this for me growing up in Oregon. Though they just put the wheat berries into a Stanley thermos with boiling water and let it sit overnight. Perfectly cooked by morning.
What a great idea! So simple too. Thank you for sharing, Hannah!