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For our tenth anniversary of celebrating Whole Grains Month in September, we got to wondering which of the hundreds of whole grain recipes on the Oldways and Whole Grains Council sites have been the most beloved. With a drumroll sounding in the background, we dove into the numbers to find out which recipes you’ve clicked-and-picked the most.

What did we find? Oldways followers really love their ancient grains: spelt, amaranth, quinoa, teff, and sorghum all figured heavily in those favorites. Tantalize your tastebuds with a tour of our Top Ten, then get thee to the nearest kitchen and see why these were everyone’s favorites!

#1 Simple Spelt Pancakes

Way out ahead in popularity, these pancakes are from a classic King Arthur Flour Company recipe. You can make them with just seven ingredients. Recipe

Simple Spelt Pancakes

#2 Blueberry Amaranth Porridge

Our second most popular recipe is also a breakfast choice: a hot cereal made from amaranth. Even if you love oatmeal like we do, change things up and try other grains for a good start to your morning. Amaranth is an especially creamy grain, so it’s perfect for porridge (not so much for pilafs). Seven ingredients again. How simple can it get? Recipe

Blueberry Amaranth Porridge

#3 Tangy Quinoa Salad

Time for lunch now. Like our top two favorites, this recipe takes about 30 minutes, but half of that is waiting for the quinoa to cool. Orange juice and lime juice add the tang to a simple mix of quinoa and chopped vegetables. Recipe

Tangy Quinoa Salad

#4 Amaranth Banana Walnut Bread

Classic banana bread gets even more interesting when amaranth flour pairs with whole wheat. Throw everything in a bowl. Mix. Bake. Enjoy. Recipe

Amaranth Banana Bread

#5 Amaranth Polenta with Wild Mushrooms

Yeah, we were a bit surprised too, to learn that three of our top five recipes featured amaranth. Next time anyone asks us “What’s going to be the next quinoa?” our answer will definitely be “amaranth.” Serve this polenta, with its deep, earthy flavor, with poultry or game. Recipe

Amaranth Polenta with Wild Mushrooms

 

Running just behind our top five were these recipes, reinforcing the delight our web visitors take in exploring grains beyond the better-known wheat, rice and corn.

#6 Quinoa Crusted Chicken Fingers

Quinoa Crusted Chicken
Not your standard chicken nuggets! Quinoa adds extra crunch.  Dip chicken pieces in egg white than in a mix of quinoa and breadcrumbs (3:1 ratio). Brown in a little oil and dinner is on the table in 20 minutes.  Recipe

#7 Sprouted Sandwich Bread and Rolls

Sprouted Sandwich Bread and Rolls
Sprouted grains are another popular trend. Turns out bread baked with sprouted whole wheat rises more easily, and is higher in some nutrients. You can often substitute sprouted flour one-for-one in your old refined-flour recipes, without the adjustments in other ingredients that may be necessary with unsprouted whole wheat flour. How cool is that? Recipe

#8 Ethiopian Teff Veggie Loaf

Teff Veggie Load
Teff is a tiny grain that’s a staple in Ethiopia and nearby countries. In this recipe, yams and collards combine with teff, herbs, and spices, creating a beautiful mosaic pattern in this robust grain loaf. Serve as a side dish or as a vegetarian main dish. Recipe

#9 Sorghum Bread

Sorghum Bread
If you need a gluten-free diet for medical reasons but you’re tired of paying high prices for GF bread, try this recipe, made with sorghum. Recipe

#10 Creamy Cannelini Bean and Amaranth Soup

Amaranth Cannelini Soup
A quarter of all our pageviews for soups belong to this wonderful bean soup, thickened with amaranth. For a super-thick and creamy soup, puree all of the soup rather than leaving half of the beans whole. Recipe

One reason that some of these recipes made our top ten was that they’ve been posted longer, a few since we launched the Whole Grains Council’s recipe collection in 2007. When we limit our search to the most popular recipes in the last year, here are a few newer ones that come out on top:

Curried Millet Soup

Curried Sweet Potato and Millet Soup

Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Wild Rice

Millet Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Freekeh with Roasted Butternut Squash and Dried Cranberries

Molasses Sorghum Cookies

Celebrate Whole Grains Month by trying something new today.

Cynthia Harriman, Oldways Director of Food & Nutrition Strategy


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