Not a fan of sweet breakfasts?  Or maybe you need a change from your typical cereal and milk? I’ve got you covered!

Sweet breakfast bakes like my cinnamon-apple version are floating around the blogosphere but I was determined to make a yummy version for the mornings when I’m craving something savory instead. Ashley at the Edible Perspective posted a veggie-buckwheat bake that inspired my take today – I do need to try one with buckwheat but I can’t find raw buckwheat groats at any store near me. I’ve found the toasted variety and didn’t like the pronounced taste so I need the raw groats – I’ll probably have to order them online!

I made two versions and I can’t decide which I liked best, so I thought I’d post both. Although they are similar, one uses oat flour as the base without mushrooms or cheese while the other utilizes millet flour from freshly ground millet along with parmesan and fresh mushrooms. However, if you tied me down and told me I had to pick one, I’d probably go with the millet version since I loved the cheesy topping, meaty mushrooms and the texture of the millet flour. It was similar to a delicious cornbread in texture and density, but was corn-free (in case some of you have to avoid corn). For serving, I topped mine off with roasted red pepper hummus and I loved this! If hummus isn’t your thing, cream cheese, goat cheese, savory nut butter, regular butter, marinara, avocado, pesto or other topping would all be delicious!

The oat flour version was reminiscent of a savory Italian bread pudding,  and I enjoyed every last bite! For tasting purposes, I smeared one half with goat cheese and the other with a wedge of Laughing Cow Original and chopped scallions…and I still couldn’t decide which I preferred out of those two either!  The topping altered the overall taste and I enjoyed both so it would be your call on what you like best for a spread 🙂

Although this recipe is coined “breakfast bakes”, they could easily be served for lunch, dinner or a hearty snack! If you wanted to bulk up the protein, you could add cooked and crumbled/chopped sausage, bacon, deli meat etc or add your favorite veggies, herbs and spices to switch up the flavors for a Southwestern or Mediterranean twist 🙂 So many options!

Savory Millet Breakfast Bake (version #2) inspired by Edible Perspective’s Savory Buckwheat Bake

Ingredients

1/4c millet flour (ground from raw millet, I used my Magic Bullet) – could sub raw buckwheat groats, quinoa or oats
1 Tbsp whole millet (or raw buckwheat groats)
1 Tbsp white or black chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper to taste (I used a couple grinds)
Dash of ground cayenne pepper, optional
1 large egg* (flax egg for vegan, see below)
2 Tbsp chicken or vegetable broth (could sub milk of choice)
2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp butternut squash puree (pumpkin puree or unsweetened applesauce could be subbed)
1-2 Tbsp fresh basil, slivered and chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 – 2 Tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
1/4 cup spinach, chopped (kale, chard leaves, or collard green leaves could be subbed)
2-3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (cheddar, swiss, romano, feta or your favorite could be subbed)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 (I used a toaster oven). Grease or line with parchment paper a small oven-safe bowl or ramekin (I use a 4 1/2 inch ramekin)
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg, squash puree and broth together.
3.  Stir in millet flour, millet, chia seeds, flax, baking powder, salt, garlic, cayenne and black pepper, until combined.
4. Add in sun dried tomato, mushrooms, basil, and spinach and stir to combine.
5. Spoon batter into prepared dish and bake for 28 – 32 min on the center rack of the oven and pull out when slightly moist.
6. Turn oven to broil setting. Sprinkle top of bake with parmesan cheese and place back in top rack of oven to broil for 1-2min, until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Keep an eye on it! Remove from oven, let sit for a couple minutes, then loosen edges by running a knife along the edge of the dish and flip out onto a plate. Serve with desired toppings or spreads and serve!

Recipe Notes: For smaller portions, use 2-3 muffin tins or small ramekin dishes, greased well.  Please note that the bake time will decrease. You can also let these fully cool, wrap well + freeze.

*For vegan version, use vegetable brother and sub 1 flax egg (1Tbsp ground flax seeds + 2 1/2 Tbsp hot water, whisked + gelled for 5min) for the egg.

Savory Oat Breakfast Bake (version #2) inspired by Edible Perspective’s Savory Buckwheat Bake

Ingredients

1/4c oat flour (ground from gluten free rolled oats, I used my Magic Bullet) – could sub raw buckwheat groats, quinoa or millet
1 Tbsp whole millet (or raw buckwheat groats)
1 Tbsp white or black chia seeds
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
ground black pepper to taste (I used a couple grinds)
Dash of ground cayenne pepper, optional
1 large egg* (flax egg for vegan, see below)
2 Tbsp chicken or vegetable broth (could sub milk of choice)
2 to 2 1/2 Tbsp butternut squash puree (pumpkin puree or unsweetened applesauce could be subbed)
1 – 2 Tbsp fresh basil, slivered and chopped
1 – 2 Tbsp chopped scallion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp chopped sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup spinach, chopped (kale, chard leaves, or collard green leaves could be subbed)

*Feel free to add cheese on top and broil like version above. I just wanted to try one without for testing purposes.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 (I used a toaster oven). Grease or line with parchment paper a small oven-safe bowl or ramekin (I use a 4 1/2 inch ramekin)
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the egg, squash puree and broth together.
3.  Stir in oat flour, millet, chia seeds, flax, baking powder, salt, garlic, cayenne and black pepper, until combined.
4. Add in sun dried tomato, scallion, basil, and spinach and stir to combine.
5. Spoon batter into prepared dish and bake for 30 – 37 min on the center rack of the oven or until the bake pulls away from the sides.
6. Remove from oven, let sit for a couple minutes, then loosen edges by running a knife along the edge of the dish and flip out onto a plate. Serve with desired toppings or spreads and serve!

Recipe Notes: For smaller portions, use 2-3 muffin tins or small ramekin dishes, greased well.  Please note that the bake time will decrease. You can also let these fully cool, wrap well + freeze.

*For vegan version, use vegetable brother and sub 1 flax egg (1Tbsp ground flax seeds + 2 1/2 Tbsp hot water, whisked + gelled for 5min) for the egg.

Toppings/Serving Ideas for Savory Bakes:

Cream cheese (plain or flavored)
Hummus (original or flavored)
Goat cheese
Savory or plain nut butter (almond, walnut, pecan)
Ghee or regular butter
Marinara or tomato chutney
Avocado slices or spreads
Pesto
Chopped nuts, scallions, sunflower seeds

Happy Noshing!