Buckwheat Groat {Kasha} Dumplings with Peach Coulis and Strawberry Sauce

Naturally gluten-free buckwheat groats become kasha dumplings browned in butter or boiled, then served with a honey-sweetened peach coulis and strawberry sauce for an easy breakfast for school mornings.


This post is not about back-to-school lunches. This post is about the back-to-school breakfast.

I’ve mentioned before that while I adore breakfast food, I am not the best at making involved breakfast fare in the wispy morning hours before packing lunches and sending my kids off to school (always with folders in their bags, worksheets signed, homework finished the night before – cough). My style is bowls of yogurt with granola and nuts, a massive pot of oatmeal, fried eggs – flipped and flung at the first child to walk through the kitchen archway, all served up with fresh fruit or vegetables. The key is to create simple breakfasts that fill up the kids in a matter of minutes, both to prep and chew.

They are simple with staying power, and they are generally things that if I get called away to search for the swim sweatshirt to wear for school spirit day or to help unearth a matching pair of socks in the middle of, the kids can jump in and take over the task. Having a few things prepared ahead of time, such as homemade granola or overnight oats, helps to keep the level of lunacy in our home to a minimum. Well, as minimal as it gets around here.

Whole grains like buckwheat, brown rice, and amaranth are wonderful for stick-to-your-ribs food that will take your child from the breakfast table all the way to lunchtime, but getting them on the table in a hurry can sometimes pose a problem. This is why I know that when working with them I need something I can do ahead of time and does not rely on my ability to resist the snooze button, yet still fulfills my dreams of breakfast bliss.

Did you know that buckwheat is actually a pseudo-cereal grain, meaning it acts as a grain, but is actually a grass seed that is naturally gluten free? Kasha often refers to the porridge form of these groats (and sometimes other cereals depending on where you are located), and buckwheat groats can also be steamed like rice, ground into flour, soaked like overnight oats, and more. Arrowhead Mills sent me some great whole grain products to try, and I was thrilled to see buckwheat groats on the Arrowhead Mills product lineup when brainstorming ideas for Whole Grains Month.

These make-ahead buckwheat groat dumplings loll about in a fragrant honey-kissed fruit sauce or get browned crisp in a bit of butter, turning the busiest mornings into a candid affair, where for a mere moment everything stands still. Like a whisper on the cool autumn breeze, everyone sits and places the first bite in their mouth with a calming silence that lingers before their voices erupt again in an energy-charged chatter.

Both dumpling recipes use kasha as their base. You can serve kasha beforehand, simply making an extra large batch to turn leftovers into dumplings. The formed dumplings can then be refrigerated or flash frozen and stored in the freezer until you’re ready to use them.

Disclosure: Arrowhead Mills asked me to participate in their back-to-school breakfast campaign as part of the Good Grains for a Good Cause through the Whole Grains Council and has compensated me to develop a back-to-school breakfast recipe. All opinions and wording expressed herein is mine and mine alone. For more whole grain recipe ideas, check out the Arrowhead Mills Pinterest Page.