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Home » Recipes » Healthy Lunch Recipes

Simple Wheat Berry Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Modified: Mar 9, 2025 · Published: May 13, 2016 by Tera Gigot · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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This wheat berry salad is a hearty, flavorful dish made with delightfully chewy wheat berries, sweet dried cranberries, salty feta, and a bright lemon vinaigrette. It’s perfect for meal prep, as the flavors get even better over time, and can be served as a nourishing side or a light, wholesome meal.

Wheat berry salad with wooden spoon. this recipe

The first time I tried wheat berries was with my mom, and we both instantly went crazy over their nutty flavor and chewy, satisfying texture. Ever since, they’ve been my go-to for grain-based salads, especially because they hold up so well in salad dressing and somehow get even better after a day in the fridge.

This wheat berry salad with cranberries, feta, and lemon vinaigrette is a version I keep coming back to for its simplicity and bright, tangy flavors. Plus, it’s meal-prep friendly and works as both a hearty side dish or a light, nourishing lunch, so you can easily pair with a protein or main dish (lemon dill salmon or roasted chicken would be delightful). Let’s make some wheat berry salad!

Jump to:
  • Key Ingredients & Swaps
  • Let's Make This Salad
  • Sustainability Tips
  • Wheat Berry Salad FAQ
  • Related: More Hearty Make-Ahead Salads
  • 📖 Recipe

Key Ingredients & Swaps

Ingredients needed to make wheat berry salad.
  • Wheat berries - If you've never had wheat berries before, this simple wheat berry salad is the perfect opportunity to try them. A wheat berry is essentially the whole grain of wheat, including the bran, germ, and endosperm. You can cook it similarly to barley, farro, or other whole grains! Note, it's not gluten free, but you can swap in quinoa for a gluten free grain salad, or pop over to this simple quinoa salad recipe.
  • Water to boil - Not pictured above, but to cook wheat berries, you'll need water to boil. We'll cook them similarly to pasta here - not so exact with the water-to-grain ratio, like rice or quinoa.
  • Lemon vinaigrette - For this recipe, we'll basically be using a simplified version of my go-to lemon vinaigrette recipe, aka without the shallots. You're welcome to add shallots, if you'd like!
  • Feta - Or goat cheese. I frequently rotate between the two, and both are delicious. Goat cheese will provide tang, while feta provides saltiness.

The remaining ingredients are pictured above, and I'll go into full detail in the recipe card.

Let's Make This Salad

Toasting wheat berries in a pot before boiling.

Step 1: Heat some olive oil in a medium-large pot over medium heat. Toast the wheat berries for a couple minutes, then add water and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.

Lemon vinaigrette in small jar for salad with wheat berries.

Step 2: While wheat berries are simmering, whisk or shake together lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon, and maple syrup in a jar or bowl. Taste and add salt and pepper. If you haven't yet, you can slice your green onions (with tops) and finely chop your cilantro while waiting, too.

Fully cooked wheat berries in a pot with spoon scooping the wheat berries.

Step 3: When wheat berries are done, drain and rinse them under cool water. You'll want to make sure they're cool enough before combining with feta, or the cheese gets melty.

Hand holding a bowl containing all salad ingredients, ready to be tossed.

Step 4: Add all ingredients to large bowl with the lemon vinaigrette, and toss to combine. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until ready to eat!

Sustainability Tips

In my sustainability journey, I talk about how our small efforts add up to make a huge difference. Here are a few simple actions you can take with this recipe!

  • Regrow green onions. Did you know you can regrow your green onions in a small glass of water? Mind-blowing, right?! All you need to do is chop off the white bulbs and place them in a little glass of water. Shot glasses work really well for this because multiple onion bulbs can stay standing up together in there. Change out the water every few days, and set next to a window with sunlight. Before you know it, you'll have some new green onions!
  • Storing cilantro. To store cilantro so that it doesn't go bad, remove it from any packaging, if applicable. Fill a jar or glass about halfway with water, and place cilantro stem side down into the glass, like a bouquet. Pop it in your fridge and clip off the leaves as you need them!
  • Use up leftovers. The nice thing about grain salads is that they can sort of become kitchen sink salads, aka a catch-all for what's in your fridge. Do you have leftover grilled chicken or legumes that need to be used? Toss them into this salad for added protein and to help use them up before they go bad.
A small bowl of wheat berry salad with feta and cranberries.

Wheat Berry Salad FAQ

How do I store this salad?

Once prepped, feel free to add the dressing right away and store this salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. It tastes amazing after days of sitting in the fridge, so it really is perfect for meal prep!

Can I freeze this salad?

I don't recommend freezing the full wheat berry salad, but feel free to make the wheat berries ahead and freeze them. Just make sure they're completely cooled and dried, then freeze them for 1-2 hours in a flat later on a sheet pan. After, transfer to a reusable zip-top bag or

Related: More Hearty Make-Ahead Salads

Making hearty salads in advance is a great way to prep for the week! It's fun to switch it up, so you can try one of the recipes below after you try wheat berries. Yum!

  • Simple detox quinoa salad on small white plate with fork
    Simple Quinoa Salad with Cucumber
  • Pesto potato salad scooped into large copper spoon resting on small white ceramic plate, next to bowl of potato salad and small white bowl of pesto
    Easy Pesto Potato Salad
  • Modern three bean salad in clear glass bowl with spoon, on light blue and white surface.
    Modern Three Bean Salad (Easy & Wholesome Side Dish!)
  • Pesto pasta salad with chicken on a white plate.
    Simple Pesto Pasta Salad with Chicken

Did you try this delish wheat berry salad? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!

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📖 Recipe

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Wheat berry salad with wooden spoon.

Simple Wheat Berry Salad with Feta


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  • Author: Tera Gigot
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
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Description

A simple chilled salad with wheat berries, red lentils, veggies, herbs, and a zesty dressing.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 cup dry wheat berries
  • Water for boiling
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup green onions, sliced (with tops)
  • ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • ¾ cup feta, crumbled
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup juice from fresh lemon (about 1 large lemon)
  • 1-2 teaspoons maple syrup (adjust to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper, to taste


Instructions

  1. Cook wheat berries. In a medium-large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add dry wheat berries and toast for about two minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in at least three cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer over low heat, cover, and cook for 35 minutes or until wheat berries are soft and plump (see notes). Drain through a fine mesh sieve and rinse until cool water.
  2. Make lemon dressing. In a small jar or bowl, shake or whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, and Dijon. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Combine. Making sure wheat berries are cool enough (to avoid cheese melting), add all ingredients and lemon dressing to large bowl and gently toss to combine. Serve immediately or chill in the fridge until you're ready to eat!

Notes

  1. Wheat berries. Wheat berries come in hard and soft varieties, and some of the hard varieties take longer to cook. I use a hard red wheat berry from the bulk bin at my local co-op, and it takes 35-40 minutes to cook until the berries are soft and plump. Some harder varieties can take longer, and some softer varieties (like soft white wheat berries) can take as little as 25 minutes.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Salad, lunch
  • Method: Stovetop, combine
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 446
  • Sugar: 25.3 g
  • Sodium: 922.1 mg
  • Fat: 31.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 38.2 g
  • Fiber: 4.3 g
  • Protein: 8.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 25 mg

Did you make this recipe?

If you loved this recipe, make sure to let me know and give it a star rating (below)! Star ratings help Roots and Radishes recipes reach more people, which helps support the continued production of our content. Also, we'd LOVE to see what you make! Snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @rootsnradishes  🙂

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Tera Gigot, the author, photographer, and recipe developer of Roots and Radishes.

Hey, I'm Tera! And I'm so glad to meet you. I've been using seasonal produce to create recipes in my Wisconsin kitchen for 12 years. Here you'll find nourishing whole foods recipes that are approachable and delicious.

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Wheat berry salad with wooden spoon.