Everything you want to know about millet and more. I’m sharing how to cook and enjoy this ancient grain with10 healthy and delicious millet recipes.
Move over rice and quinoa, let’s make some room for millet.
Between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we eat a lot of whole grains in our house.
We don’t discriminate from one to the other, but we definitely have our staple starches. One that we forget about all too often is millet.
Millet is a naturally gluten-free grain that can be used as a whole seed (to replace rice, for example), or ground into a flour to be used for baking.
In my early blogging days, I discovered it in the bulk bins of a health food store and experimented with lots of different millet recipes – from porridges to burgers to salads!
Millet FAQs
If you’re new to cooking with millet, here are the basics!
What is millet?
This wonderful grain is anything but “for the birds.”
Millet is tiny in size and round in shape and can vary in color from white to gray to yellow to red.
The most widely available form of millet found in stores is the hulled type, although sometimes you may be able to find traditional couscous, which is made from cracked millet.
Millet is considered an ancient grain as it was first farmed thousands of years ago. It’s old!
This teeny, tiny little grain puffs up a bit when cooked. Read on for how to cook millet perfectly, every time.
Use millet as you would rice or quinoa in your favorite recipes. It’s naturally gluten-free.
How to select & store millet
Millet is generally available in its hulled and whole-grain form. It is available pre-packaged as well as in bulk containers. Bob’s Red Mill is a packaged brand you’ll probably recognize and know where to find in your local store.
Store millet in an air-tight container in a cool, dry and dark place, where it will keep for several months. I like to keep it in a big mason jar in the back of my pantry.
How do you cook millet?
Simmered on the stovetop in water or broth, millet takes about 20 minutes to turn fluffy and perfect.
For extra nutty flavor, you can toast millet in a dry pan before simmering. I also use my rice cooker to make it 100% hands-off (my favorite way to prepare it 🙂 )
- How To Cook Perfect Millet Every Time via The Kitchen
What are the health benefits of millet?
Like other whole grains, millet is rich in fiber, B vitamins and minerals like magnesium.
It also adds some protein and is relatively low in calories for how filling it is.
What does millet taste like?
It has a very mild flavor. Because of this, it works well in a variety of salads and other recipes (including sweet and savory dishes). It’s like a blank canvas!
10 Healthy & Delicious Millet Recipes
If your go-to grains are getting a bit stale (ha!), I’ve rounded up 10 healthy and delicious millet recipes, some that are mine and others that I found that look amazing.
From sweet potato millet pancakes to cheesy broccoli casserole, these sweet and savory dishes will spice up your weekly meal plan.
1. Spiced Millet Salad
Recently posted on KERF, this millet salad is packed with vegetables and warm spices like garam masala and turmeric.
Chickpeas make it worthy of a stand-alone meal.
2. Millet Chocolate Energy Bars via The Awesome Green
Magnesium-rich and bathed in chocolate, these millet bars are the best choice for an energizing pre-workout snack!
3. Cheesy Broccoli Casserole via A Couple Cooks
This cheesy broccoli casserole is a cozy comfort food with a healthy spin! It features whole-grain millet and roasted broccoli.
4. Sweet Potato Millet Pancakes via The Full Helping
Start your day with a stack of these sweet potato millet pancakes for a nutritious breakfast – you’ll never know they’re loaded with vegetables and whole grains!
5. Spiced Millet & Chickpea Burgers via Delicious Everyday
These spiced millet and chickpea burgers are full of fragrant flavor from turmeric, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Serve with pita, arugula, and lemon yogurt.
6. Pumpkin Millet Porridge
This millet porridge tastes like all things fall.
Pumpkin stirred in near the end of cooking adds vitamin A and fiber, cinnamon and vanilla add flavor, and pecans and raisins add crunch, chew and nutty, healthy fats.
7. Lemony Millet Salad with Chickpeas, Corn & Spinachvia Edible Perspective
The perfect salad to make ahead and store in the fridge for weekday lunches, this lemony millet salad is ideal to enjoy all spring and summer.
8. Toasted Millet & Pecan Granola via Heart of a Baker
Crunchy millet and pecan granola is the perfectly spiced, nutty treat to sprinkle on yogurt.
Or enjoy by the handful – straight from the jar.
9. Millet Sweet Corn Fritters via Naturally Ella
Perfect for fresh summer sweet corn, these millet fritters are great with just a sauce or are nice served over a fresh salad.
When sweet corn isn’t in season, frozen sweet corn can work just as well.
10. Green Powerhouse Pesto Plate via Oh She Glows
Creamy basil avocado sauce tops a protein-packed plate of lentils, millet, and greens.
This vegan dish is perfect, for lunch, dinner, and leftovers.
