Swiss Bircher Müseli Recipe

Every Sunday, at our breakfast table, not only will you find a loaf of Zopf, farm-fresh butter and homemade jam, but also a big bowl of Bircher muesli front and centre. This very swiss dish mixing yogurt, oats and apples is a family favourite, the combinations and quantities my Swiss husband has refined over the years. 

While today’s bircher muesli looks a little different from where it originated back in the early 1900s – Dr. Bicher-Benner’s recipe soaked oats in water before adding sweetened condensed milk, nuts, and a grated apple. You will find the modern version everywhere. On hotel breakfast buffets. In bakeries for a quick lunch or snack. Even as an option for dinner in hospitals. 

The great thing about bircher muesli is that it is easy to make and very personalisable. Begin with the basic recipe below, and then take inspiration from your favourite seasonal flavours. 

The Basic Bircher Muesli Recipe

The recipe below is always our starting point for bircher müseli. The recipe is so simple even our seven-year-old knows how to make it off by heart, and with a little grating help, can make it all by herself. 

• 500g natural Yogurt (Naturjogurt) 
• 80 g (approx 3/4 cup) Oats (Haferflöckli) See note
• 2 Apples – one grated finely (on what we call the birchmüseli grater) and one grated in larger shreds (using a rösti grater)

        Mix in a large bowl and let sit while you prepare the additional ingredients. 

Recipe Notes: 

• • • • Oats: We use fine oats, which are probably equivalent to quick (not instant) in the English-speaking world ( and also not old-fashioned oats). We find that the finer oats absorb the yogurt better.
      • Natural Yogurt: We use primarily organic Bifidus yogurt, but any natural yogurt will do We don’t use greek yogurt as it is too thick. 
      • Apples: We look for locally grown sweet/sour apples such as the Braeburn variety. Grate it skin and all. 
      • Portion: This recipe makes enough for four good side portions, we also eat it with bread and cheese for breakfast on a Sunday. The recipe though can easily be doubled or halved.

Add Seasonal Fruits 

Seasonal is best for bircher muesli, so our recipe changes throughout the year. In the winter, we stick to oranges, but as soon as Swiss strawberries hit the stand, we switch. When choosing fruit, we avoid any fruit that is too watery, which could affect the consistency. 

• Fresh Berries – strawberries in the spring, blue, black, or raspberries in the summer. We like red currents too.
• Mandarins or Oranges – great in winter
• Peaches or nectarines – in the peak of summer
• Cherries – later spring/early summer if you have the patience to remove the stones. 
• Grapes – cut in half or quarters
• Exotic fruits such as banana, mango, passionfruit or kiwi
• You could experiment with frozen fruit; however, they must be defrosted and drained to avoid added moisture.

Sweetener for Bircher Museli 

While the traditional way to sweeten your Bircher Muesli would have been something like honey, because of its local availability, today, with so many sweeteners available, the choice is vast. We stick to pure maple syrup and let each person sweeten their portion at the table. I’ve also noticed that if I stick to seasonal flavours, I am less reliable on any sweetener at all, especially in the summer. 

• Maple syrup
• Runny honey
• Sugar
• Or experiment with your alternative sweetener of choice 

Extras for your Bircher Muesli 

While we personally stick to fresh fruit, sometimes I crave crunch and top my bircher muesli with crushed pecans. Others love sultanas or dried fruit such as dates. So let your imagination and cravings be your guide.

• Sultanas or other dried fruits such as dates 
• Mixed Nuts 
• Seeds

Bircher Muesli Indulgence 

The way to make those mousse-like indulgent bircher mueslis, like my favourite from Sprüngli, is to add whip cream! We keep a spray bottle of cream in our fridge for the sole purpose of adding it to your muesli. 

Alternatives 

As I mentioned above, this is just our way of making bircher muesli. Your recipe may look similar, completely different or take inspiration from one of these alternatives:

• Replace half the yogurt with Magerquark 
• Experiment with different types of yogurt flavours. But note you will not need to sweeten your bircher muesli if you do
• Make it vegan with your favourite plant-based yogurt 
• Check our Andie from Helvetic Kitchen’s recipe for Bircher Muesli

Tips: 

• Double the recipe and enjoy a big batch of Bircher Muesli to eat over 2-3 breakfasts. We do this when we are holidaying in an apartment.
• If making a big batch, we only add whipped cream when serving.
• Let everyone sweeten their own portion. 
• We only tend to add a banana when the bircher müseli is a meal on its own. 

Our Favourite Bircher Muesli Combinations

• Double mango: puree one mango and finely chop the other. 
• Raspberries and Peaches – mash a few raspberries to help with the colour and cut the peaches into bite-sized pieces.
• Oranges – great for winter bircher muesli.
• Strawberry and banana – great in spring.
• Mixed Berries – mixing raspberries, blackberries and blueberries – but only in season.
• Banana and Passionfruit – a great pick me up in the colder months when the local seasonal fruits are minimal.