Bircher Muesli is one of my favorite hearty and nutritious breakfast recipes! Loaded with oats, nuts, dried fruit, and plenty of apples — it’s delicious!
Or my original Muesli recipe here!
What Is The Difference Between Muesli and Bircher Muesli?
Muesli is a combination of dry ingredients (typical ingredients in granola) that are mixed together and sometimes toasted in the oven. It’s usually served with milk (like cereal) or sprinkled in yogurt right before eating. Bircher Muesli on the other hand, soaks in milk or yogurt overnight until tender and creamy (similar to overnight oats). Some people call Bircher Muesli the original Overnight Oats, yet there are a few subtle differences, mainly in the ratio of oats to add-ins.
What Is Bircher Muesli?
It’s most similar to overnight oats — creamy oats with a nutty chew, toothsome feel, and loads of texture. It’s a cold cereal served in the morning after soaking in the liquid overnight. Soaking the mixture breaks down the oats and plumps up the dried fruits. When soaked overnight, Muesli has a consistency similar to a chewy porridge.
Admittedly, this breakfast is not for everyone! If you aren’t a fan of overnight oats, you probably won’t enjoy this recipe. But if you do enjoy the texture of soaked cold oats, you’ll love this!
I am fully obsessed with this Bircher Muesli — not only does it taste amazing, it also keeps me fueled for hours. And it delivers a well-balanced blend of proteins, beneficial fats, and complex carbs to start the day strong.
What Is Bircher Made Of?
The below ingredients make up our ideal Bircher Muesli:
- Oats. Use old-fashioned oats for the best chew!
- Dried fruit. We love dried tart cherries best; dried cranberries or dried blueberries are also amazing.
- Nuts. Any coarsely chopped nut works great — pecans and shelled pistachios are our two favorites.
- Nut butter. We like almond or peanut butter best. Peanut butter has a stronger flavor while almond butter is more muted — use whichever you prefer. See “quick tip” below.
- Flavor enhancers. Salt enhances all the other flavors nicely and we love a touch of cinnamon and vanilla for an extra boost of flavor complementary to the apples.
- Apple. A grated apple adds texture and sweetness to the Bircher Muesli — use Granny Smith (more tart) or Honeycrisp/Fuji (more sweet).
- Applesauce. Nothing compares to adding a scoop of homemade applesauce (swoon!)
- Coconut. The optional coconut adds great flavor and textural add (especially if it’s toasted!).
- Milk. Any milk works, we use a plant-based (coconut or almond) milk in this recipe. Originally, Bircher Muesli was soaked in water, with milk added at serving time.
Quick Tip
Nut butter adds flavor and nutrition to the Bircher Muesli. It also ensures the breakfast is filling and satiating. As far as almond butter goes, I recommend a slow-roasted and lightly salted almond butter you enjoy eating straight from the jar.
Bircher Muesli Variations
- Swap out the nuts. Try coarsely chopped walnuts, pistachios, cashews, Brazil nuts, or macadamia nuts.
- Add wheat germ, flaxseed, hemp seeds, or chia seeds. Sprinkle a few teaspoons into the mixture before soaking. (Note that chia seeds will gel a lot overnight, so you may want to add in the morning instead.)
- Swap out the spices. We love ground cinnamon in day-to-day Bircher Muesli, but we’ll occasionally use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice for a fun seasonal twist.
- Swap out the pepitas. Sunflower seeds or pine nuts make good substitutes.
- Use a different dried fruit. Try dried apricots, raisins, golden raisins, or dried blueberries instead.
How Do You Eat Bircher Muesli?
I like this breakfast best straight out of the fridge (as cold as possible!) with a few toppings:
- A splash of milk
- A sprinkle of chia seeds (or hemp seeds!)
- And a drizzle of honey (or pure maple syrup for a Vegan Bircher Muesli)
An extra scoop of nut butter, a scoop of yogurt, a handful of fresh berries or diced apple are great toppings to add!
Quick Tip
I love whipping together a few batches of Bircher Muesli at a time and separating into mason jars for easy breakfast meal prep to eat throughout the week!
More Filling Breakfast Ideas:
- Breakfast Toast with blueberries and banana
- Overnight Oats With Chia Seeds only three ingredients!
- Frittata made with roasted vegetables
- Egg Skillet with potatoes
- One-Pan Breakfast Potatoes and Bacon with bell peppers
Bircher Muesli
Equipment
- 2 mason jars or other sealable containers
Ingredients
- 1 medium apple see note 1
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2 tablespoons dried tart cherries or rasins, dried cranberries, or dried blueberries
- 2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes optional
- 2 tablespoons nuts or seeds like pepitas or pecans, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter or almond butter, see note 2
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 2/3 cup milk like coconut or almond milk
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- Serving suggestions see note 3
Instructions
- Grate the unpeeled apple using the large holes of a grater and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients except for the optional serving suggestions. Add grated apple and mix well until fully combined.
- Transfer mixture to 2 mason jars and cover. Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes or up to 5 days.
- Serve straight from the fridge with optional toppings such as a splash of milk, drizzle of sweetener, scoop of nut butter or yogurt, and/or fresh berries. Enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
