Homemade Muesli Bowl With Honey And Fruit
This muesli breakfast bowl is loaded with tons of fresh fruit and it’s better than any cereal you can buy at the store. Plus, it’s simple to make!
Homemade Muesli Bowl With Honey And Fruit
Jump to Recipe
Muesli is one of those things that I see on menus and normally give a solid, “Meh!” I mean… how exciting can oats and fruit be? It may never take the place of a hearty omelet in my mind, but I’ve changed my tune a bit on the stuff. Turns out that a packed-full homemade Muesli bowl can be really flavorful and is definitely healthier than a lot of other breakfast options.
I changed my tune because I recently happened to have all the fixings for some homemade muesli so I thought I’d whip some up. I very loosely followed a recipe from Bon Appétit, but there is barely a need for a recipe.
This was my resulting bowl of health!
You know why I think this stuff rocks and is perfect for a weekday breakfast? You don’t have to watch it! It’s not like normal oatmeal or eggs where you have to hover over the stove. It also tastes a bit richer than granola. Just throw some things in a bowl and then come back in a few minutes after a shower or something and homemade muesli is ready!
Table of contents
Muesli versus oatmeal
At it’s core, muesli is oatmeal, but cold soaking it turns it into something a bit different. Since it is never cooked, the oats don’t break down quite as much as in a traditional oatmeal, but they are still tender.
Muesli has more body than oatmeal, but is still filling. I’ll eat it in any season and top it with whatever fruits and toppings I can find in season.
What kind of oatmeal to use for muesli
The best kind of oatmeal to use for muesli is standard rolled oats. While I normally like steel-cut oats for oatmeal, those won’t soften enough when soaking and you’ll have super crunchy muesli.
On the other side of things, I also wouldn’t use instant oatmeal which won’t have the body you need for a good muesli. So stick with the classic old-fashioned oats or rolled oats and you’ll be in business.
Health benefits of muesli
There really is no nutritional benefit to muesli over cooked oats, but muesli bowls tend to have a little more nutrition (and sometimes more calories) because of all the add-ins that people put in the muesli.
Oatmeal can be as simple as the oats and some fruit or peanut butter, but muesli will usually have dairy like greek yogurt plus fruits, nuts, seeds, and sweeteners. It’s a more complicated meal which can give more nutrition but can also lead to higher caloric counts even if it is still a healthy breakfast.
Preparing the Oats for Homemade Muesli
To make a good muesli, you’ll need these things. You could leave out the vanilla if you were in a crunch, but it adds a wonderful flavor to the bowl.
Basically, just toss your oats, yogurt, milk, and vanilla in a bowl! Stir it up really well. It will look pretty liquidy, but your oats will absorb a good amount of liquid. You could use almond milk if you wanted to make this dairy-free.
Let this sit for at least 5 minutes, but you could let it sit longer if you’re doing something else. This was mine after about 5 minutes. All the milk was basically absorbed and the oats were pretty soft.
Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together your orange juice and honey to make sure the honey is completely dissolved. Then add your apples and dried fruit. You could sub out almost any fruit that you want honestly.
A few Add-in Ingredients for a Muesli Breakfast Bowl
This is an incredibly flexible recipe once you get the basics down. Here are some great add-ins you can use.
- Coconut
- Blueberries, raspberries or blackberries
- Pears
- Sliced bananas
- Stone fruits like cherries
- Nuts like almonds or pumpkin seeds
- Seeds like chia seeds or hemp seeds
- Light herbs like mint
- Cinnamon or ground nutmeg
- Chocolate sauce or Nutella
- Agave syrup
- Maple syrup
Let that sit for about 5 minutes to let the apples absorb some flavor and then toss everything together!
The longer this sits the softer the oats will get and the less moisture there will be. I let mine sit for another 5 minutes or so before digging in!
The pomegranate seeds add some good texture to the dish. Totally optional though.
How Long with Muesli Keep?
You could definitely make muesli the night before and it would keep fine in the fridge. It keeps well for a day or two. After that I think it starts to lose its luster because the fruit browns a lot. So eat it within a day or two and you are good to go!
The best way to ensure a longer storage time is to keep the base muesli as simple as possible, just oats and some liquid. Then add the toppings and stuff right before serving.
Quick, simple, and healthy. And also delicious! Ok. Maybe not cheesy omelet delicious, but a different kind of delicious. The kind that leaves you feeling ready to tackle the day ahead.
Try this homemade muesli next time instead of your normal oatmeal. I think you’ll be happily suprised.
My Homemade Muesli Bowl with Fruit and Honey Recipe
Homemade Muesli with Fruit and Honey
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ Cup rolled oats
- ¾ Cup milk
- ¾ Cup lowfat yogurt
- 1 teas vanilla
- ¾ Cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 apple peeled, cored, chopped
- ½ cup dried fruit cranberries, blueberries, raisins, etc.
- Pinch of salt
- Pomegranate seeds optional topping
Instructions
- Toss your oats, yogurt, milk, and vanilla in a bowl and stir it up really well.
- Let this sit for at least 5 minutes
- In a separate bowl, mix together your orange juice and honey. Add your apples and dried fruit.
- Let that sit for about 5 minutes to let the apples absorb some flavor.
- Toss everything together, let it sit for 5 minutes, then enjoy!
Nutrition
Did you make this?
Snap a photo and tag @macheesmo so I can see your work.
This looks great, and I'm in an oatmeal rut right now . . . . I'll have to give it a go!
This looks fantastic! I have some dried cherries I can use so I think you've provided me with breakfast tomorrow morning! Thanks!
Really interesting…us too in an oatmeal rut, thought we have been adding cinnamon and bannanas this will be a neat change. I'll bet heating up would be good too
Oh no, Nick… You're dangerous! Oat-y things are one of my food weaknesses. I used to make granola all the time. It's not so bad in occasional handfuls–but when you eat an entire batch over the course of a week, well, that's 6,000 calories I could have done without! Muesli is a tad better in terms of absolute number of calories than the ridiculous batches of granola I made, but not by much. Such a weakness for yummy tasting stuff…
My favourite granola was citrus. I zested a lemon, a lime, and an orange. Then I juiced them. Sunflower seeds, oats, pumpkin seeds, raisins, sometimes dried apricots or pineapple, agave nectar, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, etc… Bake. Delicious. Put in milk–it's like biting into an orange. Mouthgasm.
Try it. You'll see. Like Muesli, except it looks more appetizing. :P
Nothing better than a good Muesli for breakfast! I used to make my own whilst at University and it definitely gave me so much more energy in a morning. I’ve never thought to try it with Vanilla though. Will be giving this a go :)
When traveling Europe last year I fell in love with muesli in Switzerland. I looked around and found this recipe (thanks!), I never would have through to add orange juice and vanilla into the mix. Tried this one out yesterday and loved it!
Love this idea! My daughter is obsessed with oats so I can’t wait to try out this recipe xxx
This looks amazing! I have been looking for a good muesli recipe since I visited Switzerland. I’m putting this on the menu plan for breakfast this week.
Just finished your brainchild recipe, and it was fabulous! I had whole milk plain Greek Yogurt in the fridge, and this is what I used. My only other tweak was that I simply mixed every ingredient together at the get go. I had a gut level feel that 1 cup of oats would suffice, and for our taste, this was the perfect amount. LOVED this. The vanilla flavor with the orange juice and dairy reminded us of our childhood trips to “Orange Julius” for their classic drink.
So glad you liked it Jeff! Thanks for reporting back!
I always eat this when I travel because I never looked up how to make it. Made it exactly this morning, yumma! Topped with kiwi, pistachios, ‘n a dash o’ unsweetened coconut, no added sweetener needed. Will be doing this A Lot, thank you! Can I ask, is the OJ swappable for different flavor profiles or is that a steady norm?