Recipe Ideas Using Buckwheat

The first time I ever tried, or even heard of buckwheat was while on this diet. And now I have three bags of the stuff sitting in my cupboard!

But what is it exactly? Despite what the name suggests, buckwheat has nothing to do with wheat, and is in actual fact a plant seed. It is also naturally gluten free, so it is a great alternative to glutenous grains when you are on an anti-candida diet.

Jump to:

• 🌱 Health Benefits of Buckwheat
• 🍽 Recipe Suggestions

🌱 Health Benefits of Buckwheat

Buckwheat is a healthy source of plant protein, is rich in vitamins and minerals, and the best thing about it for those following a Candida Diet, is that it contains almost no sugar (less than 0.1g per 100g).

It's also a really affordable ingredient that you can find in most good supermarkets. I can get a 500g bag for £2 at Tesco (correct as of 2023).

Just give buckwheat a google, and you will be faced with hundred of articles about the health benefits of eating it regularly, like this one.

🍽 Recipe Suggestions

Buckwheat is an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be used in a number of ways, including:

• Grind them in a food processor to make into a flour for gluten-free baking
• Cook the whole groats separately, to use in salads or side dishes
• Add it to stews or currys for extra bulk and volume
• Use as a meat-free stuffing ingredient

Here are some more recipe ideas that I have experimented with, some that have worked well, and others, not so much!

Recipe Wins

• Curry - I found buckwheat to be a fantastic addition to my veggie curries. I used it in the same way I would have used lentils, and the texture works really well, soaking up the flavours of the curry nicely.
• Chapatis - although buckwheat can sometimes have an after-taste when baked into bread, I found this flavour less noticeable in chapatis. The chapatis are drier compared to a regular wheat chapati, however, they work really well with a nice saucy curry.
• Shepherds pie - I made a mock vegan shepherds pie using a meat-free buckwheat bolognese sauce, and suede instead of potato mash. The buckwheat held together perfectly after baking the pie in the oven.
• Salads - I really like cooking a big batch of buckwheat groats to add to my salads. It has a similar texture to pearl-barley and simply needs the right seasoning in order to transform the dish.

Why not try this Lemon and Courgette Buckwheat Salad recipe? It's delicious, filling and full of flavour!

Recipe Fails

• Loaf - both my mother and myself have tried making bread loaves using just buckwheat flour and I honestly found it disgusting! For some reason, once it was baked it developed a very strong and earthy taste and smell which unless masked by other flavours, can be quite overpowering.
• Wraps - although the flavour wasn't terrible, it is difficult to create a wrap that holds together properly without the addition of a starch.

Nevertheless, I will keep experimenting with more recipes so that I can keep adding to the "wins" column!

In conclusion, I definitely think you should give this humble seed a chance. It's super healthy and a fabulous ingredient to get creative with in your recipes.