What Is Buckwheat and Is It Good for You?

It’s not wheat. It’s not even a grain. But it’s still worth adding to your diet.

By Althea Chang-Cook

June 25, 2024

Bowl of raw buckwheat groats — Buckwheat groats are a versatile, healthy ingredient that can be toasted and added to salads, cooked as a side dish, or made into a savory porridge.

When it comes to supergrains, quinoa and amaranth get all the attention. But buckwheat deserves to be recognized, too. It has a lot to offer nutritionally, and it’s gluten-free, so it’s fit for most people with a gluten allergy, gluten sensitivity, or celiac disease.

Buckwheat isn’t actually a type of wheat. Like quinoa and amaranth, it’s a pseudocereal, a seed that’s used like a grain. You can try it as a substitute for other grains in dishes, and buckwheat flour can replace wheat flour in recipes for pancakes, bread, cookies, cakes, and other baked goods, says Linda Shiue, MD, a chef and author of “Spicebox Kitchen” (Hachette Go, 2021).

Buckwheat Nutrition

You’d be doing your health a lot of good by adding buckwheat to your diet. “When it comes to grains and flour, most people limit themselves to just a few types, such as wheat or rice,” says Amy Keating, a CR nutritionist. “Different foods provide different amounts of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Eating buckwheat can be a good way to get much-needed variety.”

For starters, buckwheat contains a good combination of healthy carbs and protein.

A cup of cooked buckwheat has 4 grams of fiber. Much of it is the soluble type, which may help reduce cholesterol levels. It’s also rich in resistant starch. This form of carbohydrate is similar to fiber in that it isn’t digested, so it doesn’t raise blood sugar (glucose), and it acts as a prebiotic, or fuel for the healthy bacteria that live in your gut.

“Buckwheat is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids in balanced amounts,” Shiue says. Although animal proteins are complete proteins, too, most plant foods only supply some of these amino acids, making buckwheat a good protein source for vegans. One cup cooked has 5 grams of protein.

Antioxidants are another benefit of buckwheat, standing out as a top source of a type called rutin, Shiue says. Antioxidants are substances that counteract free radicals. These compounds develop as part of normal cell metabolism, but if left unchecked can cause cell damage that may increase the risk of various diseases. Some evidence suggests that rutin protects against cardiovascular diseases because it may help maintain healthy blood vessels—important for blood pressure control—lower cholesterol, and reduce chronic inflammation, which can damage various tissues in the body.

Buckwheat also serves up decent amounts of several key vitamins and minerals. One cup cooked offers:

• 25 percent of the daily value for vitamin B6, which is involved in over 100 enzymatic reactions in the body.

• 20 percent of the daily value for magnesium, a mineral that helps with heart health and nerve and muscle function that many people fall short on.

• 10 percent of the daily value for niacin, a B vitamin that helps your body turn food into energy.

• 10 percent of the daily value for zinc, important for immune function

These benefits make buckwheat flour a healthier ingredient than other flours often used in gluten-free packaged foods. For example, rice, tapioca, and cassava flours are low in protein and fiber and have negligible amounts of other nutrients. You can find cereal, crackers, crispbread, granola, baking mixes, and pancake mixes made with buckwheat. If you have to avoid gluten, be sure to read ingredients lists carefully, however. Some products contain a mixture of buckwheat and wheat flour.

How to Use Buckwheat

The hulled seeds, called groats, have a slightly nutty taste and hold up well to toasting, so they can add a satisfying crunch to salads and other dishes. Plus, you can swap them in for rice in side dish recipes, or cook them the way you would oatmeal for a hot cereal.

In addition to that, look to the cuisines of many different cultures for inspiration. Japanese soba noodles may be the most familiar, but in Indian cuisine, buckwheat groats are used to make porridge, and also combined with lentils, chilies, and ginger to make khichdi. In France, buckwheat flour is used in savory crepes. And Shiue suggests giving kasha varnishkes a try. This Eastern European dish consists of buckwheat groats cooked with bowtie noodles, onions, and often mushrooms.

Althea Chang-Cook

Althea Chang-Cook is an associate director of content at Consumer Reports. She edits many of CR's Outside the Labs evaluations and articles covering home and kitchen gear, as well as stories for diverse audiences. Prior to joining CR in 2018, Althea covered food, health, parenting, product safety, autos, technology, personal finance, and more for various publications.