Comforting and tasty buckwheat recipes for lunch/dinner
You’ll find two recipes in this post: buckwheat with mushrooms and buckwheat with chicken gravy.
This post is a part of the series of family recipes that are cherished, loved, and passed through generations in my Belarusian and Ukrainian families. I cook each recipe in my kitchen and include detailed descriptions and photos of each step, as well as cooking secrets and tips. View all family recipes from Eastern Europe.
Everyone from Eastern Europe knows buckwheat. It’s very popular there, and my husband and I ate it almost every day growing up in Ukraine and Belarus. Nowadays, buckwheat is becoming more and more popular in the West due to its incredible health benefits. I see many healthy recipes that include buckwheat, but they usually use raw buckwheat groats, unlike the toasted ones used in Eastern Europe. Raw buckwheat requires soaking before cooking, and it has a different taste. Please find toasted buckwheat groats for the recipes in this post.
In my family, we ate buckwheat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We ate it with milk, just like cereal or oat porridge for breakfast. Buckwheat was eaten as a side dish or a full meal with meat and vegetables for lunch and dinner. I adored buckwheat with milk. It was my favorite comfort food after potatoes and pasta with cheese. If you want to try it: cook toasted buckwheat groats, add salt, butter, and warm milk. It should look like milk soup.
Buckwheat is truly the taste of childhood, and it’s one of the first things I learned how to cook. I could cook a pot of buckwheat starting from 10 y.o. I remember coming home after school, there was usually a note from Mom on the table: “Reheat the meatballs (top shelf in the fridge) and cook yourself some buckwheat. After lunch, do your homework.”
Buckwheat with chicken gravy is my mom’s recipe that she cooked very often. I cook this recipe whenever I want something nourishing and comforting. The taste of it is very nostalgic to me. I can close my eyes and find myself sitting at the kitchen table at home: a radio playing popular songs, Mom is standing by the stove, our dog is chewing something under the table, younger siblings are roaming around, and a cat silently judging all of us from the height of the fridge.
Growing up, my husband wasn’t so fond of buckwheat as I was. He shared a joke that his mom used to say: “A cat comes to his bowl in the morning: “Eww, buckwheat!” and leaves. In the evening, there is buckwheat again, as is the next morning. The cat refuses to eat it. After a few days, a starving cat comes to his bowl, sees buckwheat, and exclaims: “Wow! Buckwheat!” and eats it all.” I guess this story was told to teach my husband to eat what was offered to him, as he was a very picky eater as a child.
Buckwheat with mushrooms is the favorite recipe of my Ukrainian mother-in-law. When asked to share the recipes for my Substack project, she instantly said: “Buckwheat with mushrooms! You should definitely include buckwheat with mushrooms!” A few months ago, she sent us a package from Poland, where she found refuge from the war, and besides all kinds of sweets, it included several boxes of dehydrated buckwheat with mushrooms that could be eaten during camping or hikes. I can’t blame her because buckwheat with mushrooms is indeed a very delicious meal! Even my husband, who is generally not so excited about buckwheat, loves it.
Buckwheat is also the taste of my student years because it was always affordable, fast, and easy to cook. I remember how one year, I ate buckwheat literally every day because I was saving money for a summer trip. I had no idea how many health benefits buckwheat had. That year, I was on a very healthy diet without even knowing it.
Buckwheat is gluten-free and an excellent source of minerals such as manganese, copper, magnesium, iron, and phosphorus. It contains antioxidants, vitamins B and K, and it is rich in fiber. Consumption of buckwheat lowers and helps maintain healthy levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and reduces chances of developing a cardiovascular disease. Buckwheat is also very good for digestive health. It helps with oxidative stress and could reduce the risks of developing some types of cancer.
With all of that being said, I hope you’ll try the recipes below! They are comforting, delicious, healthy, and relatively easy to cook.
Where to buy and how to choose buckwheat?
I usually purchase buckwheat at local Eastern European stores or online.
Look for toasted buckwheat groats. Toasted buckwheat is a dark brown color. Low-quality buckwheat has lots of husk and chaff. Look for the one with clean groats without anything else in the package.
Below is the Lithuanian brand that I like. I bought it at the local Eastern European store, but it was also available on Amazon the last time I checked. You can buy any other brand, but pay attention to the manufacturer: don’t buy the one made or sourced in Russia, because that way, you will support Russian companies who sponsor the war from their taxes.
Buckwheat with mushrooms
Buckwheat with chicken gravy
Below, you will find the step-by-step recipe instructions and photos of each step, which are available for paid subscribers. By upgrading to paid, you won’t only receive access to all previously posted family recipes from Eastern Europe, but will also allow me to continue my work and support both of my families who became refugees and whose recipes I share with you.
RECIPE #1