Muesli is a healthy, nutritious and delicious breakfast. It’s very easy to make with my basic 5-ingredient mix, and you know exactly what you’re eating. You save money too. Customize your muesli with my home made muesli recipe in the style of the UK’s most popular commercial version and get the Alpen glow back in your cheeks!
Home Made Muesli
Muesli can be absolutely delicious and a fantastic way to start the day, but commercial versions can also be a massive disappointment. Home made muesli is always better.
I have long since stopped buying muesli, because with five basic ingredients, I know I can make something cheaper and better. I can adapt it to suit my mood and avoid allergens, depending on who I need to feed. This muesli recipe is for a version in the style of popular brand Alpen.
Once you have made this easy homemade muesli a few times, I am pretty sure that you will never buy a packet again. You’ll know exactly what you are eating and can avoid anything that doesn’t suit you. I like my muesli to have a specific flavour, not be a mish mash of everything in the cupboard. For that reason, I do limit my ingredients and vary them from time to time. It keeps the flavours fresh and I never have to deal with dusty bits at the bottom of the packet.
Is Muesli Healthy?
Hopefully we have all come to realise that it is an overall diet, rather than particular foods that are healthy or unhealthy. Muesli makes a great, nutritious breakfast and you can adapt it to your needs. If you want to increase your fruit or protein intake, you can do that. If you want to avoid refined sugar, that’s easy.
Oat-based breakfasts such as porridge and muesli are popular because they have long been recognised as a healthy option. Oats contain some protein, plenty of soluble fibre and, crucially, oat beta glucan which naturally reduces your cholesterol. A good oat-based breakfast should keep you full until lunch time.
Home Made Muesli Ratio
I like to think in ratios for this type of recipe. That way, they are very easy to remember and it also makes scaling the recipe for different quantities painless.
You do need a good balance of grain flakes to the fruit, nuts and seeds. This is breakfast we are making, not trail mix! Although it is tempting to throw in lots of dried fruit and nuts, they are high in sugar and calories respectively. Here’s my ideal muesli recipe:
By volume
80% grain flakes (oats, rye, wheat),
10% seeds and nuts
10% dried fruit (raisins etc.)
By weight
75% grain flakes
10% nuts
5% dried fruit
Ingredients for Home Made Muesli
Grains
Oats are the base for any muesli, but I find a mix of grains is more interesting.
The bulk of the mix should be oats, but I like to add one of rye, wheat, or barley flakes.
The best oats to use for muesli are jumbo rolled oats. These large oats have some texture as well as plenty of flavour. Quick cook and regular porridge oats are thinner and smaller, and produce that annoying dust at the bottom of the packet.
Gluten Free Muesli
Technically oats are gluten free, but sometimes people with coeliac disease or a gluten intolerance are also sensitive to oats.
Most of the problems with oats and gluten are because of cross contamination. This can happen in the factory where they are processed, or where there are gluten containing grains (wheat, barley or rye) growing in the fields with the oats. For oats to be certified as gluten free these need to be weeded out before harvesting.
For a more interesting gluten free muesli recipe, try adding some rolled gluten free grains such as buckwheat or quinoa.
Fruit
Add some dried fruit to the mix and then top your bowl with fresh fruit too. There’s such a wide choice, but I think it is better to keep things simple. I tend to stick to raisins, but you could add currants, chopped apricots, cranberries or whatever you enjoy.
Seeds
I like a mix of pumpkin and sunflower. Sesame and hemp are more unusual but tasty options.
Flax or linseed are better ground, stored in the fridge and sprinkled on top when you serve.
Nuts
Again, you can add anything you like, but simple is better.
My favourites are hazelnuts and toasted almond flakes.
My Muesli Recipe
This basic muesli recipe makes enough for one person for a week. That’s just enough so you have some in stock, but not so much that you get bored of the blend.
Step one – Measure out the ingredients, by weight or by volume.
Step two – Mix the ingredients together. Stir in a large bowl, shake in a jar, however takes your fancy!
Step three – That’s it! Store your Alpen-style muesli in a sealed jar until time to use.
Instant Breakfast
You can if you want add some powdered milk to the jar and give it all a good shake so you can have a just-add-water breakfast. BUT if you are needing to use powdered milk it will be far better if you make it up in advance and allow to stand in the fridge overnight before using.
Serving Suggestions
Use this muesli recipe as a base for Bircher muesli, the traditional alpine dish. Simply make it the night before and store in the fridge for a healthy grab and go breakfast.
There are lots of toppings you can add for extra flavour and nutrition. Try fresh fruit in season, or stewed fruit from the fridge or freezer. We like stewed apple, alone or mixed with blackberries or quince.
Add your favourite seeds or nuts for crunch. We like freshly ground flax seed as a topping (keep it in fridge).
Home Made Muesli
Ingredients
- 1½ cup oat flakes (220g)
- ½ cup rye flakes (60g)
- ¼ cup flaked almonds and hazelnuts (40g)
- ¼ cup raisins (50g)
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together.
- Store in a sealed contained until needed.
For more oaty breakfast goodness, why not try my baked protein oats or tomato savoury overnight oats?
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