Kasha substitute

Best substitute

Raw Buckwheat Groats, Toasted Yourself

Use the same amount as the kasha you are replacing

Best for kasha varnishkes

Close match

Kasha supplies bulk and structure but it is also a strong flavour in its own right, earthy and toasted and slightly bitter, which is why it defines kasha varnishkes, stuffed cabbage and knish fillings rather than just filling them out. The closest substitute is raw buckwheat groats, which are the same grain untoasted: toast them yourself in a dry pan for four or five minutes until they smell nutty and you have made kasha. Coarse bulgur is the next best swap at 1:1 with a similar chew and a wheatier, sweeter flavour. Brown rice works for bulk but is a blank slate, so lean hard on browned onions, mushrooms and black pepper. Buckwheat flour is not a substitute for whole groats under any circumstances.

Other kasha substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Coarse Bulgur (Grade 3 or 4)
Different taste
Use the same amount
The best substitute if you do not have buckwheat at all.
What changes
Coarse bulgur cooks in about the same time with about the same liquid and gives a similar loose, separate, chewy grain, so the mechanics of the dish are unchanged. The flavour is the difference: bulgur tastes wheaty, mildly sweet and clean where kasha is earthy and a little bitter, so kasha varnishkes made with it comes out pleasant but noticeably milder and less savoury. Brown the dry bulgur in butter or schmaltz first and use more fried onion than the recipe says, and it gets much closer.
Best for
kasha varnishkes, grain pilafs, stuffed vegetables, salads and cold grain dishes
Fine bulgur, grade 1, is wrong here. It hydrates almost instantly into a soft couscous-like mass and will not give you distinct grains.
3Wheat Berries, Farro or Spelt
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount but cook 30 to 45 minutes
A good structural choice for anything that gets baked or stuffed, because these grains hold their shape indefinitely and never turn to mush.
What changes
They are chewier and sweeter than kasha, with a pleasant nutty flavour that is milder and less earthy, and the finished dish reads more like a grain salad or a wheat pilaf in character. The main practical difference is time: they need 30 to 45 minutes in plenty of salted water rather than the 10 to 12 minutes kasha wants, so cook them separately and combine at the end rather than substituting inside a timed recipe.
Best for
stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers, baked grain casseroles, grain salads, hearty soups
Pearled farro cooks in about 20 minutes and whole farro closer to 40. Check which you bought before you plan the timing.
4Brown Rice or Short-Grain Rice
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
The supermarket fallback and the one that needs the most help.
What changes
Rice gives you the right bulk, stuffs cabbage and peppers perfectly happily and takes on the flavours around it, but it is a blank, so a dish that relied on kasha's earthiness comes out noticeably plain and one-dimensional. The fix is flavour from elsewhere: a generous quantity of deeply browned onion, some sauteed or dried mushrooms, plenty of black pepper, and a teaspoon of soy sauce or a few dried mushrooms in the cooking water for savoury depth. Done that way it is a good dish, just not a buckwheat one.
Best for
stuffed cabbage and stuffed peppers, knish fillings, cabbage and grain bakes, when nothing else is in the cupboard
Brown rice takes 40 to 45 minutes and short-grain white rice about 18, so neither drops into a kasha timing directly. Cook it separately and combine.
5Quinoa
Different taste
Use the same amount with 1 ¾ cups liquid per cup, 15 minutes
The closest gluten-free substitute besides buckwheat itself and reasonably convincing in texture, since both are small grains that stay separate and slightly poppy.
What changes
The flavour goes a different direction: quinoa tastes faintly bitter and herbal-grassy rather than toasted and earthy, and it cooks wetter and softer, so a pilaf comes out looser and a stuffing slightly claggier. Rinse it well, toast it dry in the pan first for real flavour improvement, and fluff it uncovered for a few minutes to dry it out before combining.
Best for
gluten-free versions of any kasha dish, grain salads, quick weeknight pilafs, stuffed vegetables
Toasting quinoa in the dry pan before adding liquid makes a genuine difference here, since it is the toasted note you are trying to imitate.
6Millet or Pearl Barley
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
Two useful options that behave quite differently.
What changes
Millet is the closest to kasha's crumbly, fluffy texture and cooks in a similar time, but it tastes mild and faintly corny, so the dish needs the onion-and-mushroom treatment to have any depth. Barley goes the other way: it is chewier, starchier and releases enough starch to thicken whatever it is in, which is excellent in soups and stuffed cabbage and gluey in a dish like varnishkes where you want dry separate grains alongside pasta. Barley also takes 30 to 40 minutes and contains gluten.
Best for
millet in pilafs and porridge, barley in soups and stuffed cabbage, hearty braises, grain side dishes
Barley is not gluten-free, so it is not a substitute for anyone eating buckwheat for that reason. Millet is.

What is Kasha?

Kasha is Kasha is hulled buckwheat groats that have been toasted, sold as roasted buckwheat and known as grechka in Russian and Ukrainian, and it cooks like rice into separate, nutty, earthy brown kernels.

Cooking tips

Coat the groats in beaten egg before cooking. Toss one cup of kasha with one beaten egg, stir it in a dry pan over medium heat until the grains are dry and separate again, then add boiling liquid. The egg seals each grain so it cooks fluffy instead of collapsing into porridge, and skipping this step is the main reason home kasha turns out mushy.
Get the ratio and the timing right: one cup of kasha to one and three quarter to two cups of boiling stock, lid on, lowest heat, 10 to 12 minutes, then off the heat with the lid on for five more. Buckwheat cooks faster than rice, so a rice timing will overcook it badly.
Do not stir it while it steams and do not lift the lid to check. Agitating buckwheat while it is absorbing liquid breaks the grains and releases starch, which is exactly the mushiness you are trying to avoid.
Fat and onions carry these dishes. A serious quantity of onion browned slowly in butter, oil or schmaltz until genuinely sweet and dark is what makes kasha varnishkes and knish filling taste right, and it is even more important if you have substituted a blander grain. Mushrooms in the pan alongside push it further.
Buy whole groats rather than the fine, medium or coarse grinds unless you specifically want porridge. Boxes labelled kasha in American supermarkets are often cracked grades intended for cereal, which cook down soft and will not give you a pilaf.
Buckwheat is not wheat and contains no gluten, despite the name. If you are cooking for someone with coeliac disease, check the packet for a gluten-free certification anyway, since buckwheat is often milled and packed alongside wheat.

Frequently asked questions

Is kasha the same as buckwheat?

Nearly. In Slavic languages kasha simply means porridge or cooked grain of any kind, but in American and Ashkenazi English it means toasted hulled buckwheat groats specifically. So kasha is buckwheat, but buckwheat is not always kasha: raw untoasted groats are much milder and greener in flavour, and toasting them yourself in a dry pan for four or five minutes turns them into kasha.

Can I use buckwheat flour instead of kasha?

No, and this is the most common mistake. Flour and whole groats behave nothing alike: the groats stay as distinct chewy grains that give a stuffing or a pilaf its texture, while the flour dissolves into a thick paste. Buckwheat flour has the right flavour, so if it is genuinely all you have, use it for blini or pancakes and make the grain dish with rice or bulgur instead. Do not try to substitute one for the other in a recipe.

Can I just leave the kasha out?

Not in dishes where it is the substance, such as kasha varnishkes, buckwheat pilaf or a kasha knish filling, since there would be nothing left. In stuffed cabbage or stuffed peppers, where it is one component of the filling, you can leave it out and increase the rice or the meat, though you lose the earthy flavour and some of the filling's structure. Adding sauteed mushrooms helps replace the savoury depth.

Why is my kasha mushy?

Almost always too much liquid, too much time, or stirring. Use no more than two cups of liquid per cup of groats, cook for 10 to 12 minutes rather than the 20 you would give rice, and leave it alone under the lid. The egg coating trick is the reliable insurance: tossing the dry groats with a beaten egg and drying them in the pan before adding liquid keeps the grains separate.

Is kasha gluten-free?

Yes. Buckwheat is not a wheat and is not related to it, so pure buckwheat groats contain no gluten. The caution is cross-contamination, since buckwheat is frequently processed in facilities that also handle wheat, and some products sold as kasha are blended. For anyone with coeliac disease, buy a packet with a gluten-free certification.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Kasha substitute

Other kasha substitutes

2Coarse Bulgur (Grade 3 or 4)

3Wheat Berries, Farro or Spelt

4Brown Rice or Short-Grain Rice

5Quinoa

6Millet or Pearl Barley