Apple Cinnamon Sorghum Bake
If you are unfamiliar with sorghum, it’s a great time to get acquainted. As a gluten free, ancient grain, sorghum is the fifth most important cereal grain crop in the world, mainly because it grows well in different environments. Sorghum offers many nutritional benefits including:
- Naturally high in fiber and iron, with a high protein level as well
- Rich in antioxidants, which are believed to help lower the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease and some neurological diseases
- Full of policosanols that may have an impact on human cardiac health
- Grown from traditional hybrid seeds and does not contain biotechnology traits, making it nontransgenic or non-GMO
Sorghum is fantastic in soups, salads, and side dishes, as well as in chili, paella and anywhere you would use rice or other whole grains. You can even pop it like popcorn for a delicious, whole grain snack. One of my favorite ways to enjoy sorghum is for BREAKFAST!
This Apple Cinnamon Raisin Sorghum Bake is the easiest way to try out sorghum if you have never prepared it. For this dish, you don’t even need to precook the sorghum. Look for the pearled sorghum grain as it cooks faster than the whole grain sorghum. This is the ideal variety to use because it will be cooking as the apples bake. This recipe is gluten free, vegan, contains no added sugar and is appropriate for weight loss as well as pre-diabetes and diabetes. Just make sure to control the portion, it’s so tasty you’ll want to keep nibbling on the whole pan.
This recipe post was sponsored by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program:
Apple Cinnamon Raisin Sorghum Bake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup uncooked pearled sorghum grain
- 1/4 cup raisins packed
- 3 medium Gala or Fuji apples cored and sliced with peel on (approx. 15-18 slices per apple)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 2/3 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Rinse sorghum in a coffee filter or very tight woven strainer and let extra water drain out.
- Spread sorghum and raisins on the bottom of a 9x9 brownie pan. Then layer apple slices and sprinkle cinnamon over apples.
- Spread sunflower seeds.
- Combine apple juice and water into a measuring cup with a spout. Pour into the corner of the pan so liquid coats the bottom, taking care not to pour over apples.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly, cover with aluminum foil to further soften the apples if you like them on the softer side.
I tried making this with Bob’s Red Mill Sorghum….and it didn’t work. Even covering it with foil and adding 30 minutes more baking time still left us with hard sorghum. Maybe the pearled variety mentioned in the recipe is different, but the Bob’s is the only kind I’ve seen. I may try this with oats instead next time. The baked apples were delicious, but it needs a softer grain.
Hi Maggie, you are correct. The pearled sorghum has the outer hull removed so it cooks faster (about 30 minutes). If you use the Bob’s you would like my need to pre-cook it for about 20 minutes in boiling water before adding it to this dish. So sorry the dish didn’t work out – the pearled would have made all the difference 🙂