Dooooooon’t skip over this recipe!
Look, I know what you’re thinking. Normally I would think the same thing: “Wheat berries. Ummm. Boring.” But so help me, I’ll be had if you make this, try it and don’t like it. Change the name if it makes it more appealing to you. Pretend it’s rice. Heck, pretend it’s chocolate. Whatever it takes to make you try it. Because once you do, you will be very pleasantly surprised. This Asian Wheat Berry Salad is so tasty, even my two year old devoured it! Now if a picky toddler likes this salad, so you will you!
This is the third recipe now that I’ve experimented with using wheat berries. The first one was my Mega Healthy Wheat Berry Salad and the second was my Mexican Wheat Berry Salad with Chipotles and Toasted Walnuts. Both were so good that I wanted to experiment making a wheat berry salad with an Asian flair. And so now we have three delicious, healthy wheat berry salads!
So you may be asking yourself, why should I give a hoot about wheat berries? I mean, wheat berries, c’mon! There are several reasons you should give them a try. 1) They’re healthy. Wheat berries are whole grains and are an excellent source of dietary fiber and protein. Plus they’re packed full of B vitamins. 2) They leave you feeling filled and satisfied (ie, a great diet food if you’re trying to shed a few pounds). 3) And perhaps most importantly – these salads taste awesome! And that’s important, because no matter how healthy something is, if it doesn’t taste good forget it. Healthy food doesn’t have to be boring (though it often is) and these wheat berry salads taste fantastic. The wheat berries themselves have a pleasant chewy texture and a sweet, nutty flavor. But it’s when these wheat berries are combined with the other textures and flavors that they really shine.
I knew I had a winner the moment I started tossing the ingredients together for this Asian Wheat Berry Salad. There are some terrific flavors and textures going here. And like I said, I was floored when I sat down with a bowl of it and my two year old sat down next to me and asked for some. I gave here a bite, not thinking she’d even try it, or at least spit it out, but eat it she did. Followed by a second bite. And a third. And eventually she commandeered the entire bowl! Here’s the proof:
So, do yourself, your health, your tummy a favor and give this Asian Wheat Berry Salad a try!
Let’s get started!
First cook the wheat berries. There are two basic kinds of wheat berries: Hard and Soft. You’ll need soft wheat berries for this recipe which can be a little more challenging to find. Whereas I’ve been able to find hard wheat berries in the bulk sections of some large grocery stores, I’ve only found soft wheat berries at health food stores. If you have a hard time finding them locally you can buy them online for a good price. The Palouse Brand happens to be based here in my home State of Washington. The wheat berries are grown here, they’re non-GMO, are not irradiated, are Certified Kosher Parve, and their wheat berries can be sprouted. Several thumbs up for WA’s very own Palouse Brand!
Okay, let’s cook those wheat berries. Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a sauce pan. Add the salt and the soft wheat berries. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the wheat berries are tender, about an hour. Drain. (Note: If you soak the wheat berries overnight it cuts the cooking time roughly in half.)
Do you like water chestnuts? They don’t have a lot of flavor, but they have a marvelous texture, so we’re going to chop those up and add them to our salad.
We’re also going to chop up the celery and green onions, shred some red cabbage and julienne some carrots. I’m loving all the different colors and shapes! 
Then we’re going to make the dressing. You’ll need hoisin sauce for this. You can find it in any Asian grocery store. If not, you can conveniently buy it here online.
So combine the hoisin sauce with the rest of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
Place the cooked wheat berries in a large mixing bowl with all the veggies. The wheat berries can still be warm, but not hot.
Pour that delicious dressing over it and stir to combine.
The longer it sits the better it will taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or two before serving. Best served at room temperature.
Enjoy! (You will, I promise!)
- 1 cup uncooked soft wheat berries (can substitute grain of choice, e.g. quinoa, spelt, millet, sorghum, etc)
- ¾ cup julienned carrots
- ¾ cup shredded red cabbage
- ¾ cup finely chopped celery
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- ⅓ cup chopped water chestnuts
- For the vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce or make your own
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- To cook the wheat berries: Bring 4 cups of water to boil in a sauce pan. Add the salt and the soft wheat berries. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the wheat berries are tender, about an hour. Drain. Set aside and let cool (can be warm but not hot).
- Combine the wheat berries and all the vegetables in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and stir to combine. Let the salad sit for at least 1-2 hours before serving. Best served at room temperature.
- Serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side salad.
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Adina says
Hi Kimberly,
The salad looks amazing, I would definitely like to try it. I am not sure what wheat berries are in German, I couldn’t really find a translation. Do you know Ebly? Could that be it? If not, I’ll try with Dinkelkörner, I have some laying around.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Adina, thanks so much! Wheat berries are Weizen Beeren. But you could absolutely use Dinkelkörner as well (spelt berries). I LOVE spelt, they have such a wonderful flavor. Liebe Grüße an Deutschland! :) -Kimberly
jesusan says
This salad would certainly change my mind about eating wheat berries. And given what you’ve said about your Palouse brand, it sounds like it would be worth ordering that brand. I’ve been doing a lot of nutrition research lately, and from what I understand, soaking the wheat berries would make them more digestible (that’s definitely true for beans that have been soaked for 24 hours).
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I would imagine that’s true, Susan. Speaking of your health and nutrition research, I’m going to be completely revamping my homepage and adding a new category to my blog (featuring my physician husband) that I think will interest you. I don’t want to say too much until it’s closer to the time, but I am VERY excited about it!
Sandra J. says
Okay, you’ve convinced me to try wheat berries :) This salad really does look and sound good! Thanks for the recommendation and link to buy them, I honestly wouldn’t have known where to start looking!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Awesome, I’m glad I’ve convinced you, Sandra! :) Even someone who isn’t into “health food” will enjoy this salad, it has such a great flavor. Happy eating!
Sheila Osbourne says
I love wheat berries. I already tried your Mexican wheat berry salad recipe and it was excellent! Really looking forward to this one. Love your creativity, thanks so much for sharing!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Sheila, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I think you’ll really love this one. Happy cooking!
Adina says
I made the salad today and it was great. I posted it on my blog as well, including pictures of my own little girl eating it. :) I thought it was really funny that she enjoyed this salad just as much as your daughter did. I really was amazed.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Adina, I just visited your blog post – wonderful! I know, I’m still amazed myself that both of our daughters were willing to eat this and that they both enjoyed it so much. A pat on the back for both of us :)
Adina says
Have to find something healthy for the boys as well…:)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fortunately our 2 year old daughter isn’t as picky as our son. Our son is 4 years old and for him bribery works best ;) He’s willing to eat practically anything insanely healthy as long as he can have a tiny serving of ice cream afterwards! I figure if he’s willing to drink a glass of freshly squeezed vegetable juice (organic kale, cabbage, celery, carrots, apple) in exchange for 2 tablespoons of ice cream it’s well worth it ;)
Palouse Brand says
Hi Kimberly, We love your blog and that you like our products! We were wondering how do you know what kind of wheat berry to use in a salad? Soft White, Hard White and Hard Red all have unique qualities for making different flours but are they distinct when using in salads as well? Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Palouse Brand, and it’s so nice of you to visit – welcome! I prefer soft wheat berries for cooking in general because they soften up nicely while still maintaining a bit of chewiness. With hard wheat berries it seems no matter how long you boil them they remain quite firm and much chewier than the soft wheat berries. So for cooking I prefer soft and for making flour I prefer hard. I haven’t yet tried soft red wheat berries (even more challenging to find than regular soft berries). Thank you for great products – keep them coming! :) Best, Kimberly
Sandra Blazer says
This looks great, but I am diabetic and really watch carb intake…any ideas on how much.carbs would be in the wheat berries?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Sandra, I just googled how many carbs are in one cup of uncooked wheat berries and it’s 132 grams. So just divide that by however many portions you’ll serve from one batch. Something to also consider is that wheat berries are high in dietary fiber as are the veggies in this recipe, which help slow down the absorption of the carbs. Still, you’ll probably eat smaller portions of this salad, so one batch will stretch pretty far.
sandra says
Hi, love this salad! I have made it fours times and every time my friends and family love it! Thanks for the recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so thrilled to hear that, Sandra, thanks so much for the feedback!
Upapa says
1cup Palouse brand hard wheatberries cook in about 20 minutes in unsalted water. Hard wheatberries have more protein and work fine in salads. I don,t understand why others say it takes a long time to cook. It doesn’t.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I think you’re confusing those with soft wheat berries. Hard wheat berries require at least 1 hour of simmering otherwise it’s like eating chewy rocks. Any online search you do on how to cook hard wheat berries will say the same thing.
Matt says
I have made this twice and really like it. I have to say, though, I was really put off by the 5 Tablespoons of oil in the dressing. The secon time I made it I did the dressing in the blender and used just 1 Tbsp of the roasted sesame oil, then subbed a quarter block of soft tofu for the other 4 Tablespoons of oil. To add a little flavor back I also added 1/4 cup of sunflower nuts to the salad.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Matt, I’m glad you’ve been enjoying this salad. Keep in mind that 3 of the 5 tablespoons are extra virgin olive oil – unheated, raw and wonderfully healthy. No other oil has been as extensively studied as olive oil in terms of its health benefits. It’s been a core component of the Mediterranean diet for centuries. I always recommend being very choosy of the brand (buy locally pressed whenever possible) to make sure you’re getting a quality product.
Matt says
Kimberly, thanks for your response. While I agree that EVOO is better, in general, than other oil choices, it’s still oil and, as such, 100% fat. Dr. Greger (nutritionfacts.org), Dr. Barnard (pcrm.org), Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. McDougall and Dr. Ornish would all agree that minimizing fat and oil is a priority, no matter what the source.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Matt, there is a relatively small body of clinical research that suggests that healthy fats are bad. You’ve probably noticed that many of the doctors making these claims are citing the same few papers or their own clinical/anecdotal observations (e.g, Dr. Esselstyn). On the contrary, the greater body of research largely draws the opposite conclusions. The subject of fats is just one of those topics for which, depending on the position you take, you can find research to support either argument. Even though we take a different position on the topic of fats, thank you for enjoying the recipe and providing feedback. Kind regards, Kimberly
Matt says
Kimberly,
I agree that we clearly have a different position and that this is not the proper forum for this discussion. Thanks for the recipe, though. Do try adding sunflower nuts sometime; I think it really adds something.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
You bet, Matt, thanks for the sunflower tip!
Colleen says
Okay, sounds wonderful! I’m ready to make it but….
I have ‘hard white wheat berries’ I found at my local grocery store. I then went to our food co-op and found ‘red wheat berries’ they think.
Is it a must that one uses the soft berries as opposed to the hard? What is the difference?
I had an over the moon wheat berry salad with hot beets and smooth and creamy goat cheese along with lots of other good stuff!
I am hooked on wheat berries!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Colleen, there will be some difference in texture as hard wheat berries have a higher protein and gluten content. The main difference though will be that the hard wheat berries will take longer to cook. You’ll just need to keep simmering them, checking on them, until they’re soft but still chewy.
Colleen says
Thank you. I did just that. I think I will soak them the next time. I cannot wait to make the Mega Salad also.
Anonymous says
I added peanut butter to the dressing. Yummy!
Earl Studivan says
Both my wife and I loved the Asian Wheat Berry Salad. Awesome blend of flavors and lots of crunch. Easy to make and delivers a winning result. Highly recommend this recipe. I added some Organic Hemp Seed Hearts to bump up the protein even more.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Earl, I’m so glad to hear that, thank you!
Earl Studivan says
I used hard Wheatberry and it was great, as
Kimberly mentioned it just cooked longer.
Side note: I am an insulin dependent diabetic
and the Asian Wheatberry Salad did not negatively
Impact my blood sugar. Awesome all round
Discovery.
Eydie says
I just finished making this salad. I added a bit more of the veggies and added bell pepper because I wanted to use it up. I snagged a taste before it had an opportunity to marinate for an hour or two and am excited about eating it for tomorrow’s lunch. When transferring it to a storage dish there was a lot of juice left in the bottom of bowl and I tossed it and am wondering if I should have kept it for absorption purposes. Time will tell
Natalie Loftus says
Absolutely A++!! I’ve made quite a few wheat berry salad recipes in my day but this is the most flavorful and the BEST I’ve had, thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks so much, Natalie!