This wheat berry breakfast bowl layers warm, chewy wheat berries with butternut squash hash, creamy ricotta, and a fried egg. First developed for the Refinery29 article, “5 Affordable Dinners Anyone Can Make” by Elettra Wiedemann. It uses just six ingredients and comes together in about 35 minutes, less if you cook the wheat berries in advance. The wheat berries called for here are White Sonoran wheat berries, a heritage variety with deep roots in the Sonoran Desert. Cooking with them is a small act of regional food preservation, and they’re worth seeking out. Find them from Hayden Mills or Sunrise Flour Mills.
The Story Behind White Sonoran Wheat
White Sonora wheat is one of the oldest wheat varieties in North America. Spanish missionaries brought it to the Sonoran Desert region in the 1600s, where it became a foundational crop for both Indigenous communities and early settlers. It was nearly lost to industrial agriculture but has been revived in recent decades by heritage grain advocates and small mills in Arizona and the Southwest. Hayden Flour Mills in Tempe, Arizona is one of the primary sources for stone-milled White Sonoran products, including whole wheat berries.
White Sonoran wheat berries have a softer, slightly sweeter flavor than modern hard red wheat. They cook up with a pleasant chewiness and a creamy interior that makes them particularly well-suited to grain bowls where texture contrast matters. Using them in this recipe connects a simple weekday breakfast to a 400-year thread of Sonoran foodways.
Ingredients
- 1 cup prepared wheat berries warmed
- 1 cup diced butternut squash
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup ricotta cheese part skim or full milk
- 2 teaspoons butter divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in a nonstick pan. Toss in the butternut squash chunks and sauté over medium heat until browned and soft, about 15 minutes. It should look mashed. If it doesn't, smash it a bit with the back of your spatula. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Fry the egg in the remaining teaspoon of butter. Spoon the prepared wheat berries into the bottom of your serving bowl, leaving a well for the squash. Place the squash in the well, then top with ricotta, followed by the fried egg. Season with salt and pepper.
