Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge – gluten-free & vegan
You can prepare this Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge in less than thirty minutes. Naturally sweetened with banana, it has the creamy consistency of rice pudding.
I LOVE cooking grains in my Instant Pot. The fix-it and forget it approach is ideal for my busy lifestyle. But it also cooks grains perfectly nearly every time! So while you could prepare this recipe on a stove-top, I developed it specifically for the Instant Pot.
Buckwheat
Don’t let the name confuse you. Buckwheat is not a form of wheat. It’s an entirely different plant and it’s a good option for folks who need to avoid wheat or gluten.
I use to think buckwheat was just for pancakes. But people around the world use it in a number of different ways:
- noodles
- pasta
- crepes
- blintzes
- pilaf
- tabouleh
- porridge
Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge
I noticed buckwheat’s penchant for sticking together while developing my Black Bean Mango Buckwheat Salad recipe. This quality inspired me to make porridge. Adding extra liquid and extending the cooking time appeared to do the trick.
I’m still new to Instant Pot cooking, so this Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge was truly an experiment. I wondered how it would work if I cooked all the ingredients together. (Cooked banana is a wonderful natural sweetener.) It worked like a charm!
Convenient Breakfast
The ease of preparation makes this Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge an ideal breakfast for busy weekday mornings. I add the ingredients to the Instant Pot when I first get up. Then I go about my routine (make the bed, morning stretches, etc.) and it’s ready in thirty minutes.
You can also keep it in the fridge for a couple days and easily reheat it in the microwave.
Instant Pot Buckwheat Porridge
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats
- 3 cups rice milk
- 1 banana sliced
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- chopped nuts optional
Instructions
- Rinse buckwheat and place in Instant Pot.
- Add rice milk, banana, raisins, cinnamon and vanilla and close lid.
- Be sure the steam release is in the closed position and manually select 6 minutes high-pressure cooking time.
- When timer beeps at the end of the cooking cycle, turn pot off and allow time for the natural release of pressure (about 20 minutes.)
- Once pressure is released, carefully open lid and stir porridge with a long handled spoon.
- Add more rice milk to individual servings to achieve preferred consistency. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired.
Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.
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Nice recipe, thanks for sharing. Nice pictures too.
Thank you Amallia! 🙂 I’ve become a fan of buckwheat and my Instant Pot!
Can you make this the night before and eat it the next day?
Hi Keri. Yes. You can either set up the Instant Pot on a timer so it’s ready in the morning (I haven’t tried this – but it should work) or you can prepare ahead of time and warm in the microwave (this is how I enjoy leftovers.)
Can you use Almond milk if you don’t have Rice milk?
Yes – any kind of plant-based milk will work.
I am going to try this today but would prefer it without the banana. Do you have any suggestions for a substitute?
Yes – you could add 4 chopped Medjool dates in place of the banana. 🙂
Hi. I made this today. It was delicious but not very thick, even though I followed the recipe.
Hmmm – did you use Buckwheat Groats or Cream of Buckwheat? That might make a difference…
I would love to try this recipe but I do not have an Instant Pot. How would I go about making it?
You can cook it on the stove top. It will take longer and you will need to keep an eye on the amount of liquid needed. I haven’t tried it on the stove top, so I can’t say for sure what the ricemilk/buckwheat ratio should be or how long it would need to cook. But you can take a look at the suggestions on the Whole Grains Council page and go from there – adding a little more liquid and cooking time to make a porridge.
Thank you for posting this recipe. Have you tried it with water? Suggestions on using water instead of rice milk?
Hi Todd – yes, I’ve tried the recipe with water. I found the small amount of oil in the rice milk makes the cereal less “sticky” – but water works fine.
Maybe a teaspoon of coconut oil would be helpful if using water instead.
I generally try to limit processed oils – but yes, that could work. 🙂
I made this and would add banana and or dates after cooking the buckwheat. I soaked it all night in pot and maybe that’s why got too mushy. I like to put fresh bananas in cooked hot cereal and let the cereal cook it a bit. Otherwise good!
Yes – by all means, adjust the recipe to your liking. I don’t soak overnight and I love the sweet taste of cooked bananas. But I also like the chewiness of adding the dates after cooking – so sometimes I take that approach.
This is delicious, thank you for the recipe.
I substituted the banana with an apple, and I used dried apricots instead of raisins, coconut milk instead of rice milk, and cinnamon bark and vanilla pods. I served it with a bit of maple syrup and nuts!
So good; I will be making this again.
Glad you enjoyed it! The substitutes sound yummy!
I plan on making this today, but would like to add a scoop or two of protein powder. Would that work? Would I have to add more liquid if doing so?
Hi Ted – If you haven’t already, give it a try and see how it turns out. Add another 1/4 or so of water and adjust as needed. I find that’s the best way to determine what works for you!
Hi! Thanks for the recipes and tips! Can this recipe be doubled by doubling everything? I’d like to share with my parents.
Yes – all you need to do is double the ingredients. 🙂
Ordered bob mills organic buckwheat groats. Excited to try your recipe in my instapot. Thanks
Enjoy! 🙂
Can this be done with Hulled Buckwheat?
Yes – Hulled buckwheat is what you would want to use. 🙂
This is so yummy! I waited to add fresh sliced banana for the topping. Now I have another hot cereal as my favorite besides oatmeal. Thx for sharing this recipe with us.
Very good! I doubled the recipe to have enough for 3 days, however the following day it had solidified so I reheated a portion in a bit of hot water.
Hello! How did yours not stick to the bottom of the instant pot? Mine kept displaying the ‘BURN’ error because it stuck to the bottom. Am I missing something?
Hi Kimberly- sorry to hear you were having trouble. What brand of pressure cooker are you using? I’ve never had a problem with anything sticking in my Instant Pot – Did you put in the correct amount of liquid and make sure the steam vent was closed? Does the lid have a proper seal?
Hello,
Does this recipe need to be made fresh daily or can you eat over 2 days?
You can keep it for a few days. I just add a bit more plant milk and reheat it in the microwave.