Bircher muesli
Birchermüesli
Overnight oats the Swiss way: soaked oats stirred with yoghurt, grated apple, lemon and toasted hazelnuts. Nothing is cooked.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Birchermüesli.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- —
- Rest
- 8 hr
- Total
- 8 hr 10 min
- Difficulty
- Very easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Cheap nightUnder $8 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Rolled oats soak overnight in milk. In the morning they are stirred with natural yoghurt, lemon juice, apple grated whole with its skin, and chopped toasted hazelnuts, with honey only if the apple is sour. It should be thick, spoonable and more apple than oat. Nothing is cooked. This is the yoghurt-based muesli every Swiss hotel and household serves now, not the sanatorium original, which used condensed milk and almost no oats. Berries go on in summer, grated pear in autumn, and it keeps three days in the fridge.
What you'll need
8 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
Ingredients
- Rolled oats, rolled, not instant100 g
- Milk150 ml
- Yoghurt, plain, full fat200 g
- Apple or Korean pear, grated coarsely with the skin on2 medium
- Lemon juice15 ml
- Hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped40 g
- Honey (optional)15 ml
- Raisins (optional)30 g
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
The night before, stir the oats and milk together in a bowl, add the raisins if using, cover and refrigerate.
3 min
Step 2
In the morning, grate the apples straight into the oats and stir in the lemon juice at once so they do not brown.
4 min
Step 3
Stir in the yoghurt and most of the hazelnuts. Taste; add honey only if the apple is sharp. Thin with a splash of milk if it is stiff.
2 min
Tip: Grate the apple coarsely. Fine grating turns it to sauce and the bowl goes grey.
Step 4
Spoon into bowls and scatter the remaining hazelnuts on top. Berries in season if you have them.
1 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 287 kcal
- Protein
- 9.8 g
- Carbs
- 43.9 g
- Fat
- 9.8 g
- Saturated fat
- 2.5 g
- Fibre
- 6.1 g
- Sugar
- 21.2 g
- Sodium
- 42 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Tree nuts
- Vegetarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Milk → Apple juice
Common in Swiss homes. Sweeter, so skip the honey.
Hazelnuts → Almonds or walnuts
Hazelnuts are the Swiss default, but any toasted nut works.
Tips
- Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan for 5 minutes and rub the skins off in a tea towel. Raw ones taste of nothing.
- A grated pear in place of one apple makes it sweeter and softer, which suits a sharper yoghurt.
History & culture
Breakfast across Switzerland and much of Germany, and the thing hotel buffets get right. The Swiss also eat it as a light supper, Birchermüesli z'Nacht, with buttered bread. Supermarkets sell it in tubs, but most households make a bowl on Sunday and spoon from it through the week.
Dr Maximilian Bircher-Benner served it at his Zurich sanatorium around 1900 as a raw-food cure, modelled on a shepherd's dish he was told about on a mountain walk. His recipe was mostly grated apple and condensed milk with a spoon of oats. The yoghurt-heavy version came in the mid-20th century.
Modern adaptation — The 1900 original used condensed milk, water-soaked oats and whole grated apple including the core. This is the yoghurt version the Swiss actually eat now.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Bircher muesli take?
8 hr 10 min all in — 10 min prep, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Very easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk, Tree nuts. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Cheap night — about Under $8 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list a salt amount. We will not invent one.
How much honey?
1 tbsp (optional) of Honey.
What can I use instead?
Milk → Apple juice. Common in Swiss homes. Sweeter, so skip the honey. Hazelnuts → Almonds or walnuts. Hazelnuts are the Swiss default, but any toasted nut works.
Any tips from this recipe?
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry pan for 5 minutes and rub the skins off in a tea towel. Raw ones taste of nothing. A grated pear in place of one apple makes it sweeter and softer, which suits a sharper yoghurt.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
