Winter Wheat Berry Salad

5 from 1 vote

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IMG_0113Sometimes I get random ideas for recipes. I don’t know when they’re going to strike, but when they do I can’t get them out of my mind!! Well, last week when I went to Panera Bread with my hunny for a little mid-week lunch date, I saw a sign for their new salads with wheat berries. I pretty much thought that was BRILLIANT and proceeded to think about the different salad combinations I could do with wheat berries the following 4 1/2 days.

Well, I’m in Chicago as you probably know and…..guess what? I made my friend take me to whole foods so I could make this wheat berry salad. She thought I was crazy, but then she took a bite of the salad and understood.

It’s goooooooood.

I call it a winter power salad. Why? Because I think that’s what Panera was calling their salads?! I saw a sign for “winter salad” in their window….or some other restaurants window……whatevs. This salad includes: Kale. Roasted butternut squash. Crumbled feta cheese. Chopped pistachios. Wheat berries. Craisins. And it’s all tossed together with my favorite Maple Tarragon salad dressing.

Lots of goodies in here. AND, they all taste amazing together. There are some unlikely pairings involved, but I swear you will not be able to put your fork down…EVEN THOUGH IT’S HEALTHY 🙂 Come see for yourself!

IMG_0084The only real thing you could mess up is roasting the squash. Peel and cut your squash into 1/4 inch pieces. Toss in a little olive oil, salt and pepper and bake.IMG_0094You want to get these tender with a little color on them, like so! Let these cool a little.

The wheat berries are something else that need to get cooked. Basically, you rinse them, throw them into a pot with water and salt and cook the life out of them. It’s like cooking rice, but for twice as long. I recommend making a big batch and throwing what you don’t use into the fridge for later.
IMG_0115Throw the rest of the ingredients into a serving bowl, toss with some dressing and that’s it! A nutrient rich, amazing, crunchy, creamy, HEALTHY {!} salad. It’s a great way to get a few veggies into your family during the colder months of the year. Here’s the recipe. Enjoy your weekend 🙂

wheat berry power salad
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5 from 1 vote

Winter Wheat Berry Salad

Need something healthy and hearty? Try out this amazing Winter Wheat Berry Salad! It's got lots of goodies to keep you healthy and strong!
servings 4 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

for the squash-

  • 1 lb butternut squash but into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt & pepper

for the wheatberries-

  • 1/2 cup hard red wheat berries
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • salt to taste

for the rest of the salad-

  • 8 cups baby kale
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
  • 1/4 cup craisins
  • 1 recipe my Maple Tarragon salad dressing

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and place on baking sheet in one even layer. Bake 10 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes until browned and soft. Remove from oven and set aside.
  • Rinse wheat berries in cold water. Drain. Place wheatberries + water into small saucepan and sprinkle with salt. Cover and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook covered for 45-50 minutes or until cooked. These will usually stay pretty chewy, fyi.
  • In a large serving bowl, toss kale, feta, pistachios, craisins, roasted squash and wheat berries together with my favorite salad dressing. Serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 331kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 1136mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 25525IU | Vitamin C: 185mg | Calcium: 339mg | Iron: 4mg
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Wheat Berry Salad

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13 Responses
  1. sonya

    5 stars
    I tried this last weekend, didn’t have kale, but had a power greens mix. It is so goooooood. Thank you for this incredible salad.

  2. Tracy

    I’ve had this pinned forever, and usually make a version of it at least once every fall with kale and squash from my garden. 🙂

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  5. Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie

    Last fall I made a salad with butternut squash in it and I nearly lost my mind with how good it was. Must make this!

  6. Amy @ Paint Wine Repeat

    This looks AH-mazing. I was so confused because I thought there was avocado, too… but nope! Those are the pistachios… forgive my early morning haze!

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