Mexican Wheat Berry Salad with Chipotles and Toasted Walnuts

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A deliciously flavorful, vibrant whole grain Mexican Wheat Berry Salad recipe laced with smoky chipotles, tangy cheese, and a sweet & savory vinaigrette!  This salad packs in several vegetables, wheat berries, raisins, walnuts, and olive oil which is packed full of omega fats.  It’s both nutritious and delicious!

For more delicious wheat berry salads be sure to try my Asian Wheat Berry Salad, Crunchy Wheat Berry Salad, and Greek Wheat Berry Salad!

Perhaps you can relate – in my experience, too often grain salads just lack flavor.  Too often they’re just plain…plain.  Boring.   And it doesn’t have to be that way.  Wholesome doesn’t have to be bland and flavorless.  It can be bold and adventurous.  And that’s just what this salad offers.  It’s BIG on wholesome ingredients and it’s BIG on flavor!

Sweet, spicy, tangy, and smoky combine to give this salad enough layers of flavor to keep your taste buds entertained the whole dish through.  Enjoy this salad as a side or a light entree.  And it’s perfect for taking to work for lunch!

Don’t like wheat berries?  Substitute any whole grain of your choice.  For example, quinoa.  If you like barley or brown rice, try that instead.  And though it’s not a grain, another great alternative would be couscous.

The idea for this salad was inspired by Aida Mollenkamp’s recipe on California Walnuts’ website.  I’ve changed things up quite a bit to suit my own taste, adding several more ingredients for variety, flavor, color and texture and have ramped up the flavor.

Best Wheat Berries For Salads

There are both soft wheat and hard wheat varieties.  For making salads you’ll want to use soft wheat berries.  You can find them in bulk sections of the grocery store, in health food stores, or you can buy them online.

How to Cook Wheat Berries

To cook wheat berries for using in salads you’ll first want to rinse the wheat berries.  And while they can be cooked in water, I like to cook them in vegetable broth for the added flavor.  Add the vegetable broth to a pot with some salt and bring it to a boil.  Add the wheat berries, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30-40 minutes until soft but still chewy.  Don’t overcook.  As with pasta, you still want it to have a little bit of “bite”.  Drain the wheat berries and let them cool.  This can be done well in advance.

And now with those cooked wheat berries ready to go, it’s time to make some salad!  Specifically, let’s roll up those sleeves and make some fabulous Mexican Wheat Berry Salad with Chipotles and Toasted Walnuts!

Mexican Wheat Berry Salad Recipe

Let’s get started!

Chop and prepare all the ingredients so they’re ready to combine when the time comes.

To make the vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet saucepan over medium-high heat and cook the onions until golden brown.  Add the cumin and cook for another minute.

Add the carrots and salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.

Add the fresh thyme, oregano and chopped chipotles and cook for another 2 minutes.  Let cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the wheat berries, carrot mixture, cheese, cherry tomatoes, raisins, toasted walnuts and corn. Stir to combine.

Note:  For the cheese, I used queso para freir, a firm and tangy Mexican whole milk cheese (found in Latino grocery stores), but you can use Monterey jack instead.

Pour the vinaigrette over the mixture and stir to thoroughly combine.

Stir in the green onions and fresh cilantro or parsley.

Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Best served at room temperature.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Enjoy!

Mexican Wheat Berry Salad with Chipotles and Toasted Walnuts

By Kimberly Killebrew

A deliciously flavor-packed, vibrant and wholesome salad laced with smoky chipotles, tangy cheese and a sweet & savory vinaigrette! 

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate SaveSaved!

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Servings 8

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 cups soft wheat berries , do not use hard wheat berries (See NOTE) (can substitute grain of choice, e.g. quinoa, spelt, millet, sorghum, etc)
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 cup finely diced carrot
• 2-3 chipotles en adobo , chopped (depending on desired heat level)
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme , chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano , chopped
• 1 cup walnuts , coarsley chopped
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes , halved
• 3/4 cup corn
• 3/4 cup cubed queso para freir (can substitute Monterey jack cheese
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3 green onions , sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley , chopped
• For the vinaigrette:
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 3 teaspoons adobo sauce from can
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

 

• To cooke the wheat berries: Rinse the wheat berries. Bring the vegetable stock with salt to a boil and add the wheat berries. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-40 minutes until soft but still chewy. Drain and allow to cool.

  To toast the walnuts, preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange walnuts on a cookie sheet in a single layer and bake 8 to 10 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. Let cool completely.

  To make the vinaigrette: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified.

  All three of these steps preparations can be done well in advance.
• Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onions and until golden brown, 7-8 minutes. Add the cumin and cook for another minute. Add the carrots and salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the thyme, oregano, and chopped chipotles and cook for another 2 minutes. Let cool.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the onion/carrot mixture with the wheat berries and all remaining ingredients. Pour over the vinaigrette and stir to thoroughly combine. Let the salad sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. Best served at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Notes

You can also substitute the wheat berries for quinoa, barley, brown rice, or practically any whole grain of your choice.
Though it's not a grain, another alternative is couscous.

Nutrition

Calories: 447kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 13gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 1033mgPotassium: 307mgFiber: 10gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 3274IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 140mgIron: 3mg

Course Salad

Cuisine Mexican

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Originally published on The Daring Gourmet June 7, 2014

Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!

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