This delicious Wheat Berry Salad is packed with healthy roasted vegetables and yummy fall flavors ... perfect for Thanksgiving or any autumn or winter meal!
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Does your cooking ever get stuck in a rut? I've been wanting to shake things up lately, so I challenged myself to incorporate more whole grains in my diet. While I've tried many different grains in restaurants, I haven't cooked them much at home. I already have rice and quinoa (my fave) mastered, and now I'm a farro and freekeh fan, too.
There are so many other interesting whole grains out there though, and I love trying new recipes. So when I spotted a bag of wheat berries at a farm stand recently, they immediately called my name!
With fall flavors in mind, I used my farm stand find to create this scrumptious Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Vegetables, and it's quickly become my new favorite!
You are going to love this tasty grain salad! Roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes pair perfectly with the hearty wheat berries, dried cranberries and crunchy nuts add a pop of flavor, and a scrumptious maple dressing ties everything together.
This salad is filling enough to serve as a main course, but it makes a wonderful side dish, too. It's perfect for any fall meal, and even special occasions, like Thanksgiving. Best of all, it's so easy to make!
Ready to get started? Keep reading for the simple recipe and all the details!
Ingredients
This recipe uses simple ingredients! Here's what you'll need:
- Wheat Berries - You'll need some wheat berries, of course! Look for them in the grain section (near the rice) at your local grocery store. I've often found them at Whole Foods, but you can buy wheat berries online, too. Once cooked, they have a wonderful chewy character that's so delicious. I love them in salads where they add lots of texture and heartiness.
- Veggies - This recipe features roasted brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes, however you can change up the vegetables depending on what's in season (or your pantry). You'll roast them with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Nuts - Pecans add a wonderful texture and great nutty flavor to the salad. Feel free to substitute other nuts, such as walnuts.
- Cranberries - You'll need some dried cranberries, which add a touch of sweetness to the salad ... a great counterpart to the more savory ingredients!
- Parsley - A little fresh parsley brightens up the other flavors.
- Dressing - This recipe is made with a version of my easy Maple Vinaigrette, and it's so simple to prepare! You just need olive oil, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and a dash of cayenne.
This salad is naturally vegetarian, vegan, and dairy free!
Wheat berries are whole wheat kernels. They're essentially unrefined wheat ... the thing that all wheat products are made from. Flour, for example, is made from milled, ground wheat berries.
Cooked wheat berries have an earthy, nutty flavor and a chewy texture.
You'll Also Need
You'll need a sheet pan (these baking sheets are my fave!) to roast the veggies, a medium pot with a lid to cook the wheat berries, a small bowl or jar to prepare the dressing, and a large bowl to mix everything together.
How to Make Wheat Berry Salad
This Salad with Wheat Berries is so simple to prepare. And once you get everything going, it's mostly hands off, which is the best! You'll find a detailed recipe card below, but here's an overview of the steps:
- Cook the wheat berries. Because they take the longest to cook, you'll start with the wheat berries. You'll toast them in olive oil first, which adds a tasty nuttiness to the finished salad. Then, you'll simmer them in salted water until they're tender, but still chewy. Tip: Depending on the type and freshness, wheat berries can take anywhere from 30 to 55 minutes to cook, so keep that in mind. Mine took 45 minutes.
- Roast the veggies. While the berries cook, you'll roast the vegetables. Toss the brussels sprouts and sweet potato with olive, salt, and pepper, then roast them until browned and tender.
- Make dressing. Once you get the veggies in the oven, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl or jar. Then whisk the ingredients together, or if you're using a jar, shake the vinaigrette together.
- Mix the salad together. When everything is ready, combine the wheat berries, roasted veggies, dried cranberries, pecans, and parsley in a large bowl, along with the dressing. Mix well, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
And that's all there is to it ... time to enjoy your homemade Wheat Berry Salad with Roasted Veggies! Serve as a main course or a side dish warm or at room temperature ... either way, you're sure to love it!
Variations
This recipe for Wheat Berry Salad is easily customized! Here are some ideas to try:
- Veggies - Swap out the brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes for different veggies, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, winter squash, onions, mushrooms, cauliflower, and more ... basically, anything goes! Depending on the vegetable, you can add it raw, or sauté or roast it first.
- Herbs - Add your favorite fresh herbs, like sage, rosemary, thyme, chives, basil, and more.
- Nuts - Substitute walnuts, pistachios, almonds, or your fave nut for the pecans. You could also add seeds, like pepitas, or leave out the nuts if you have an allergy.
- Cheese - Crumbled feta or goat cheese would make a delicious addition.
- Dressing - Experiment with different salad dressings, such as my easy Lemon Dressing, Tahini Lemon Dressing, or Red Wine Vinaigrette.
Storage
Store leftover salad in an airtight container in your refrigerator, where it will stay fresh for up to four days. Before serving, mix well. You can eat the leftover salad cold, or warm it up gently in your microwave.
Related Recipes
Looking for more hearty grain salads? Then, you'll want to try these recipes next:
- Bulgur Veggie Salad
- Farro Kale Salad
- Caprese Freekeh Salad
- Winter Kale Salad with Freekeh
- Superfood Salad
- Wild Rice Salad with Cranberries and Feta
- Kale Quinoa Salad
- Watermelon Quinoa Salad
- Green Quinoa Salad
Some of my other favorite recipes feature unique grains, too ... like this Fonio Porridge, Creamy Wild Rice Soup, Mexican Quinoa Casserole, and this Teriyaki Tofu Bowl.
Wheat Berry Salad
Ingredients
For Wheat Berries:
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup wheat berries
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For Roasted Veggies:
- nonstick cooking spray
- 4 cups halved Brussels sprouts (about 10 ounces / 283 grams)
- 2 cups chopped sweet potato (about 1 large potato)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- kosher salt
- pepper
For Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
For Salad:
- ½ cup toasted pecan halves, chopped
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Prepare Wheat Berries:
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat.
- Stir wheat berries into oil to coat; cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted.
- Add 3 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt to wheat berries. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
- Cover pot and cook wheat berries until tender, but chewy (about 30 to 45 minutes).
- Drain wheat berries and place in a large bowl.
Prepare Roasted Veggies:
- While wheat berries are cooking, spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place Brussels sprouts and sweet potato on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to coat veggies with oil and seasonings.
- Roast veggies in oven for 20 minutes. Flip and roast 15 more minutes, or until browned and tender.
- Add veggies to bowl with cooked wheat berries.
Prepare Vinaigrette:
- While wheat berries and veggies are cooking, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, salt, pepper, and cayenne). Set aside.
Assemble Salad:
- Add pecans, cranberries, and parsley to bowl with wheat berries and veggies; stir together.
- Pour vinaigrette over salad and mix until well coated. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
- Serve salad warm, at room temperature, or cold. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This sounds delicious! I've never tried wheat berries and am eager to add something new to my fall menu plan.
They're really good, Paula! Very chewy, and I think they'd pair well with lots of different flavors.
I've never made wheat berries before, but I've had them, and liked them. Adding sweet potatoes is a great idea, and the maple syrup in the dressing sounds delish!
They're actually really easy to make, Amy! Kind of similar to rice but not as fussy 🙂