Apple Almond Bircher Muesli with Winter Fruits
A regular brown package arrived via courier last week. Inside, all three hundred and four first pass pages of an uncorrected manuscript that is my next cookbook.
The words, the photos and the recipes all compiled together into a neat little package that has been my passion project for the last two years. What a thrill to hold the unbound pages in my hand.
I’ll get to introduce the cookbook to you soon, and share the cover as well as a sneak peek of the recipes to come, but for now, I need to pick up a pencil, put my head down and focus on these final corrections before it goes to print. Things may continue to be a little quiet here on the blog in January, but I’ll be back before you know it, along with more stories, ideas and recipes.
But for right now, let’s share breakfast in the form of Apple Almond Bircher Muesli with Winter Fruits.
My mom had a copy of Jill Dupleix’s New Food when I was growing up, and I must have made every recipe in the book, as well as memorized many of Jill’s famous kitchen mottos like learning from our mistakes, refusing to buy anything called instant and never apologizing for our food.
Jill introduced my eleven-year-old self to the joy of starting the day with a bowl of bircher muesli topped with yogourt and grated apple. It’s a breakfast bowl I’ve made over and over again ever since those earlier days, customizing it with whatever I have on hand in my pantry and fruit bowl. And it never gets old.
Nowadays, I sweeten it slightly with maple syrup and add a little chia seed for those Omega 3’s. I use almond milk as I can’t digest regular milk anymore, but I have no problem with cultured yogourt, and always stir a few spoonfuls into the oats.
Toppings include toasted nuts, seeds and coconut chips, as well as heaps and heaps of seasonal fruit. I adore sliced cranberries paired with pomegranate or thinly sliced tart green apple with chopped persimmon.
If you’re looking for a fresh and nourishing breakfast that is also fast to prepare, mix up a jar of bircher muesli today. It’s prepped the night before, which makes for an absolutely simple morning.
One last tip: try toasting the oats and the coconut before stirring the muesli together for a nuttier take on the usual bowl of oats.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 Tablespoon chia seed
- 2 teaspoons ground flax
- 1 pinch fine sea salt
- 3 Tablespoons currants
- 1 1/4 cups almond milk or milk
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup plus more to serve
- 1 large Granny Smith apple
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted
Winter Fruits
- sliced cranberries
- pomegranate
- persimmon
- clementines
- apples
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the rolled oats, coconut, chia, flax, salt and currants.
- Pour over the milk, yogurt, vanilla, and maple syrup. Stir to combine.
- Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Grate, skin and all, on the large side of a box grater. Add the grated apple, along with the juices, to the muesli.
- Mix the muesli thoroughly, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 days.
- To serve: spoon about a cup and a half of muesli into a bowl. Thin out with a little milk or a spoonful of yogourt if desired. You don't want the consistency to be like glue, but more like porridge.
- Drizzle with additional teaspoon of maple syrup, if desired, and sprinkled a few toasted almonds on top.
- Heap the bowl of muesli with about a cup of winter fruits: sliced cranberries, pomegranate arils, sliced persimmon or chopped apple. Enjoy at once.
Eat Seasonal
Our blogging group is back and kicking off a whole new year of seasonal recipes. Check out the January seasonal produce guide on Vintage Mixer, as well as our original creations below.
Healthy Tangerine Julius Smoothie by Letty’s Kitchen
Leek and Turnip Soup by Vintage Mixer
Olive Oil Cornmeal Cake with Grapefruit and Fennel by Floating Kitchen
Saucy Sweet Potatoes with Coconut Curry and Mint by Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Garlic and Herb Spaghetti Squash Boats by She Likes Food
Peanut Butter Crusted Sweet Potato Fries by JoyFoodSunshine
Raw Brussels Sprouts Salad with Harissa Vinaigrette by Project Domestication
Winter Cauliflower Rice Bowl with Cranberry-Mustard Sauce Cafe Johnsonia
Meyer Lemon Coconut Panna Cotta by Kitchen Confidante
Maple Orange Teriyaki Salmon Bowls by Flavor the Moments
How exciting about your new cookbook — I can’t wait to see it! I can see why this has been one of your favorite breakfasts for so long — muesli and yogurt with those gorgeous winter fruits are the perfect way to start any day!
You and me both, Marcie! The book has been a long process – unlike this easy recipe. 🙂
What a thrill it must have been to receive that package! I’m excited to see your newest book!
Meusli is the best, I can eat it all year round — and I love the idea of toasting the oats first 🙂
It’s coming this fall….not soon enough of course. 🙂
Yes toast those oats and seeds too!
Oh wow, that must be such a sureal feeling to be holding your own cookbook in your hands! Congratulations!
I’m always looking for ways to add flavor to my breakfast and I love the idea of throwing in some winter fruits! This looks like such a healthy and delicious breakfast 🙂
Izzy, it is pretty much indescribable – and I love words. 🙂
Eeekkkk – so excited for you and the next book! Can’t wait to see some sneak peaks! These breakfast bowls are so pretty – almost too pretty to eat. And I can’t get enough persimmons right now!
I so appreciate the enthusiasm, Liz! It is packed with seasonal recipes, too. 🙂
Just mixed up a batch for Alfie and I. I love prep ahead breakfasts! Looks delish!
Oh smart! Enjoy!
Happy dancing because I have all of the ingredients except for the currants. I’m definitely going to try a bowl this week. It sounds delicious. (And congrats on your new cookbook! I’ve always had serious respect for people who can create recipes. It’s really an amazing gift.)
Oh I love when that happens. Enjoy!
So I have a question about the oats… I had read once that one of the reason to soak the oats was to help remove some of the phytates, so when I make my Bircher Meusli, I soak the oats overnight separately (with a little lemon juice or ACV) and then rinse in the morning before combining with my other soaked ingredients. Any idea if this rinsing is just a useless extra step? I know the acid of the yogurt will also break down the phytates but then is there not need to ‘rinse’ to get rid of them? or do they disappear during the soak? Thank you! Jill
I have also hear that, but I have no idea how to answer your question. Sorry! The yogurt does break things down, however.
So excited for your next book!! And I too love muesli. I’ll have to check out that cookbook you grew up reading too.
Thanks, Becky! The world needs more muesli. 🙂
You can eat cranberries raw!?! Mind blown.
And they are delicious. 🙂
Good luck in this final push to get the book out the door. Can’t wait for those sneak peeks you mentioned. This recipe is very inspiring. I think I will have to try it out.
I just posted a sneak peek on Instagram stories. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement.
I keep saying I am going to eat muesli for breakfast and never do. I know it’s much better for you than granola, our fallback breakfast when traveling. I love that you slice the cranberries–they look so pretty–and I imagine that trickle of maple syrup softens the tart bite of cranberries. Pinning!
What a perfect breakfast! I love it!
This looks so soothing! We love homemade granola with homemade yogurt.
This was delicious. Creamy yet with enough texture to be toothsome. I had all but one ingredient (ground flax) on hand so I decided to try it. I used lactose free dairy milk because I love the taste of milk and the lactose free version lets me enjoy it without complications. Just wish it wasn’t 2x the cost of regular milk.
This looks delicious and I would love the version with cranberries and pomegranates! Yum!
Would it make any significant difference to substitute hemp hearts for the flax seed, and raisins for the currants?
I’m going to mix it up and test it out tomorrow 🙂
I think it would be fine, Alicen.
Enjoy!