Healthy Bircher Muesli

Call them Overnight Oats or Bircher Muesli, this recipe for oats with yogurt, apple and chia is a deliciously filling breakfast.

A few years ago, I traveled to London for a sponsored conference and found myself fresh off the overnight flight with a couple of friends on the hunt for host coffee and a filling breakfast. Tucked away near our hotel was a fun little spot that served a delicious dish of what they called, Bircher Oatmeal.

I was vaguely familiar with Bircher Muesli from my friend Gretchen’s early blogging days, but have only seen it referred to as such — “Bircher Muesli.” For a moment, when I saw it on the menu listed as Bircher Oatmeal I thought maybe it would differ. But from what I could tell, it was no different than Bircher Muesli, other than the subtle name variance. (If we really want to get technical the whole world of Overnight Oats is just the Pinterested version of Bircher to begin with. Potayto. Potahto.)

Whatever it was called on the menu, it was delish and admittedly not all that attractive. Their version was a hearty mixture of oats and bananas, bound together by what I assume was a bit of milk and maybe even heavy cream. Slightly sweet and topped with almonds, it was my favorite breakfast the entire trip. (I love beans, but I swear I don’t get the whole English baked bean thing at breakfast. #SorryNotSorry.)

After that trip, I immediately started making my own version of Bircher Muesli. Using two different types of fermented dairy drinks (rather than juice, which is often a part of Bircher Muesli), this recipe is a “probiotic” more version than the original. (If you aren’t up to speed on why both pre- and probiotics are important, check out this episode of the podcast.)

I did stick (somewhat) with the traditional Bircher inclusion of apples, although I’m using dried because they’re frankly so darn easy, so why not? The chia gives the dish a little extra boost of pre-biotic fiber and helps firm up the oats to a thick consistency that I find most appealing.

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