A few months ago I went to a parent-teacher potluck meeting at my kids’ school. The drill is each parent brings a dish big enough to serve about 20 people, which is no small feat for a busy mom. But what’s awesome about these events is that there always an array of delicious homemade dishes to sample from lasagna to crunchy bruschetta to rotisserie chicken and occasionally, a hot pizza picked up on the way.
At our last meeting, one of my friends (who’s also a great cook) brought a wheat berry salad which everyone went crazy for. Full of nutty, nutritious wheat berries, it was mixed with peanuts, currants, veggies, peaches and tossed with an Asian vinaigrette. As everyone was busy telling my friend how amazing and delicious it was and asking her for the recipe, she leaned over to me and whispered, “I got it from the prepared food counter at Gelson’s” (our local supermarket).
Cut to me a few days later, having cornered the lady working the prepared food counter at Gelson’s and begging her to give me the exact recipe. While she wouldn’t tell me the measurements or proportions, she did reveal the combination of ingredients which makes this dish so special. I’m not sure if I got it exactly right, but in a side by side taste test after I made my version, we decided it was pretty darn close. Now, with great pleasure, I to share with you my friend’s “homemade” parent-teacher potluck Wild Wheat Berry Salad!
Wild Wheat Berry Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Wheat Berries
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Peanut Oil
- 1/2 Tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 Cup raisins or currants
- 1/4 Cup Peanuts, chopped
- 1 Cup Peaches, chopped
- 1 Small Red Bell Pepper, chopped
- 1 Cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Cook wheat berries according to package directions, place in a strainer, rinse, drain and cool.
- Whisk the honey, garlic, lime juice, rice vinegar, peanut oil and salt in a large bowl until combined.
- Place the wheat berries, raisins, peanuts, peaches, bell peppers and spinach in the bowl with the dressing and stir to coat.
- Serve.
It is so good, right?! This salad is always a hit wherever I take it!
I’m so excited to have found this recipe. I have been craving Gelson’s Wild Wheat Berry salad, but we moved 50 miles away from the closest location… so sad. Having the recipe is way better because I’ll make gobs of this and we’ll eat it for a week, YAY! Thank you for your efforts and for sharing the recipe.
I made this right before a picnic and thought it was just ok. But, man, the next day it was FABULOUS! It just took awhile for the flavors to meld. I couldn’t get enough of the leftovers. I will definitely make it again, but this time earlier in the day or even the day before.
[…] you’re more adventurous, you can pack unique and delicious eats for a picnic like a wheat berry salad, chicken and veggie kabobs with a peanut dipping sauce, peanut butter and jelly “sushi” and […]
I just wanted to say that this was delicious! I wanted to try it but had to wait until I had all of the ingredients. I made it for a pregnant friend of mine and we polished off about half of the salad together. Unfortunately my kids were not big fans but I think when we get out of the “no two types of foods must touch each other” phase they will love it too. Thank you for sharing this wonderful dish 😉
Thank you so much for posting this. I sampled this at Gelson’s and LOVED it! I bought a little bit, But 7.99 a pound is pricey. I can’t wait to try this. I just bought some wheatberry today!
I believe that ‘wheat berries’ is just a fancey name for wheat. You can purchase wheat (like other grains) as quick cooking or just the regular way. When I was a child many years ago my Mother made wheat berry cereal. She would cook whole grain wheat kernels in water and a little salt slowly on the stove or in the oven over night and we ate them with milk and brown sugar for breakfast. They were a change from our usual diet of rolled oats or oatmeal. Hard wheat has a better flavor than soft wheat.
Made this as a side for dinner tonight, and both my 3 yr old & 14 month old kept asking for more!
I did the same thing with the artichoke dip at Gelsons when they wouldn’t give me the recipe! Fewer ingredients than this recipe however. This looks great. 🙂
Thanks for posting. I bought way more wheat berries than I needed for another recipe from the bulk section and needed a new way to use them.
Barley and Farro are the closest to wheat berries in size and texture.
Looks delicious – what other grains could be used successfully in this?
It shouldn’t matter as long as you follow the cooking directions on the package!
BTW…does it matter if its hard or soft wheat berries? This is a new area for me….never heard of them before today!
I think this could also work well with mangoes instead of the peaches. Cant wait to try it!