How to Cook Cereals: 14 Cereals and How to Cook Them

Cereals are tasty and versatile ingredients whatever the season: they appear in salads in summer and go into to warm comforting soups in winter-time. It could turn out to be more difficult than it seems to cook spelt, quinoa or cous cous: whilst it is certainly true that it is easy to find and store dry cereals, the same cannot be said for their preparation.

So, how should we go about cooking spelt or bulgur? What are the correct cooking times for the various types of cereals? How much water should we use to cook millet, barley and oats?

If that bowl full of grains puzzles you, take a look at this handy guide for cooking cereals. For each type, it provides indications on soaking, the amount of water required and the cooking time.

Enjoy!

AMARANTH 
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 (e.g. two cups of water to one cup of cereal) 
Cooking time: 35-40 minutes

OATS 
Soaking: no 
Water: 3:1 
Cooking time: 50 minutes

BULGUR 
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

COUS COUS 
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 8-10 minutes

HULLED SPELT 
Soaking: 9 hours 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 45 minutes

PEARLED SPELT 
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 30 minutes

BUCKWHEAT
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 20 minutes

SOFT WHEAT 
Soaking: 9 hours 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 40 minutes

MILLET 
Soaking: no 
Water: 2:1 
Cooking time: 20 minutes

HULLED BARLEY 
Soaking: 6 hours 
Water: 3:1 
Cooking time: 45 minutes

PEARLED BARLEY 
Soaking: 9 hours 
Water: 3:1 
Cooking time: 25 minutes