This wheat berry salad with blueberries and goat cheese is dressed in a champagne vinaigrette and makes for a hearty summer salad.
wheat berry salad with blueberries and goat cheese

BORN AGAIN SALAD EATER.

If there were someone handing out pamphlets for that on the subway….I’d take one.

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Okay, I’d really probably avert my eyes and pretend I couldn’t see/hear the person standing two inches away from me literally screaming into my face about how Xenu kale is going to save my soul because that’s just the Native New Yorker Way.

But inside, I’d be like PREACH ON, SISTER! PREACH. ON.

That so counts.

So what has spurred this recent salad love revival (if not some sort of alignment with a new religion that worships all things green and leafy)? I can’t really say. But I like it. (And so do my thighs.)

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SPOILER ALERT: this salad has no kale. But what it lacks in leafy greens, it makes up for in bursts of blueberry juiciness! Chewy nutty wheat berry bites! Crunchy pecan and endive bits! Creamy goat cheese schmears! And a champagne vinaigrette that soaks into every salad crevice and melts in your mouth.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure that it was going to be my kind of salad because endives always make me a bit iffy…but the berry sweetness and the tangy vinaigrette really help to tame their bitterness into something that is craveable. To the point where you’re counting down the minutes until 1pm because THIS SALAD. It’s what’s for lunch. And dinner if you’re lucky.

Wheat Berry Salad with Blueberries and Goat Cheese
 
This wheat berry salad with blueberries and goat cheese is dressed in a champagne vinaigrette and makes for a hearty summer salad.
Yield: 4-6 servings
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups wheat berries
  • salt and black pepper
  • 2 tbsp champagne vinegar
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh chives
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 heads Belgian endive, halved, cored, and sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
  • 1½ cups blueberries
  • ¾ cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • 4 oz goat cheese, crumbled
Instructions
  1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add the wheat berries and ¼ tsp salt. Partially cover and cook, stirring often, until wheat berries are tender but still chewy, about 50-70 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, shallot, chives, mustard, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Drizzle in the oil, whisking constantly.
  3. Toss dressing in a large bowl with the wheat berries, endive, blueberries, and pecans. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bowl

Wheat berry salads, FTW!

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51 Responses to Wheat Berry Salad with Blueberries and Goat Cheese

  1. Kathryn says:

    Love the flavours in this salad Joanne – the blueberries must add such a great freshness and you can’t (ever) go wrong with a little goat cheese in there too.

  2. Aren’t wheat berries the absolute best?!

  3. Blueberries AND wheat berries all in one bowl. Could you ever go wrong?! This salad is a stunner and now I think I know what my picnic table was missing yesterday!

  4. Barbara says:

    What a scrumptious salad, Joanne! I love wheatberries….also love salads using grains we don’t use nearly often enough. The blueberries and goat cheese are great additions and absolutely make this salad a stunner.

  5. Yum! Love the tangy goat cheese and sweet blueberries. I love wheatberries but am usually just underwhelmed by the flavors they are served with- definitely not in this case! Lots of flavors popping out here 🙂

  6. mira says:

    This is my kind of salad ! Pinned to try it! Love the flavors!

  7. I had a wheat berry salad over memorial day weekend and it reminded me how much I love wheat berries! Definitely trying this !

  8. So…you think a salad like this with it’s berry sweetness and tangy vinaigrette is gonna last for lunch AND dinner? Ha! No way – don’t even think I’d wait till 1pm – this salad would happen at 9.08am – yes, it’s salad o’clock everyone! This sounds so wonderful, Joanne!

  9. I am not a fan of blueberries really but MG you make a good salad girl!

  10. Laughing so hard at your born again reference. Wheat berry is one of my favorite grains. The texture is everything! Plus you’ve added bluebs, goat cheese, and pecans?! Pass me a plate. No, pass me the entire bowl.

  11. This salad is divine! Need to give this a try soon! 😀

  12. I’m always looking for a salad that isn’t a “salad.” This totally qualifies! 😉
    Looks fab!!

  13. goat cheese + chewy wheat berries = salad heaven!

  14. Heather says:

    Love a salad with fruit! I really need to be more adventurous with my salads…

  15. Kelly says:

    This salad looks perfect! I love the hearty wheat berries and juicy blueberries in here!

  16. Sues says:

    This is beautiful! And now I’m SO tempted to stand in the subway with a “kale will save you” sign. Something tells me that like New Yorkers, Bostonians would pretty much just ignore me. But it would be so satisfying 🙂

  17. Pam says:

    What a great combination of flavors and textures! It looks seriously delicious Joanne.

  18. I would totally ride the subway if they were giving away bowls of this. For get the pamphlet. I want the real thing!

  19. Lori R. says:

    Cold grain salads are my absolute favorite. The chewy, nuttiness is so good. Love that this version uses blueberries!

  20. Julia says:

    Ah yes, sometimes is takes a pamphlet or a knock on the door to get the salad naysayers to see the light 😉 I’ve got no beefs with salad whatsoever, so this one’s looking mighty fine to me! Bring on those endives, sista!

  21. Candice says:

    This is the first time I’ve ever heard of wheat berries!

  22. this sounds like an awesome salad, joanne! love it.

  23. Danguole says:

    I was already sold but the endive is a genius move! Where do I sign up for your cult and do I get a sweet uniform?

  24. Zainab says:

    oh the flavors in this salad sound amazing!!!

  25. Monica says:

    I love wheat berries and this crazy (as in “crazy-delicious sounding”) pairing with blueberries and goat cheese sounds wonderful! I could really dig into this for lunch or dinner with gusto. Great recipe!

  26. Loving all the textures in this salad and I LOOOOVE blueberries so I am in!

  27. I’ve been really into salads lately thanks to the warm weather and any new variety is perfect right now!

  28. So many great textures in here! I also <3 <3 <3 using shallots in dressing.

  29. Kate says:

    There is nothing boring about salads!

  30. BORN AGAIN SALAD EATER. . . haha, yes!!! I LOVE this. oh my gawd. I need wheat berries like now!

  31. Preach it, sister! 🙂 What a fab and healthy combo!

  32. I love goat cheese and blueberries together. This salad looks wonderful! 🙂

  33. Ala says:

    Hehe, a born again salad lover. I’d dig that, too! I’m actually kind of crazy about salads sans greens–I rarely make them, but I’m bookmarking this one right now because #goatcheese. (Amen.)

  34. Susan says:

    Wheatberries in salads are the best! The goat cheese will have to go – but that’s just silly me.

  35. Christine says:

    Love the addition of endive in this salad! I always forget about the poor little leafy green even though I adore it. This is a wonderful combo for a salad! Nice change from kale 😉

  36. I will admit, I never though to include goat cheese with berries in any salad. It sounds like an amazing pairing. And one I definitely have to give a try. You always elevate salads in a whole new way Joanne, which is one of the things I love about your blog.

    Kia / House of KTS (formerly known as Pure & Complex)
    http://www.houseofkts.com

  37. Dart – going to have wait another 6 months until blueberries are back in season – oh well something to look forward to:-)

  38. Haha I would preach on the salad lover too especially when it looks as good as yours!

  39. Immediately bookmarking this for lunches next week. This looks GOOD.

  40. If salad weather comes to visit this would be on my table!

  41. Both blueberry and goat cheese are something I love dearly. This salad looks scrumptious.

  42. I have some wheatberries that I haven’t used yet. I know what I am going to be doing with them. Goats cheese should go on all salads I think!

  43. I’ve finally gotten around to using wheat berries more, and I can’t stop! This salad definitely needs to make an appearance in my kitchen!

  44. grace says:

    what a great medley of textures! you’re really good at putting together the right blend of flavors and taste sensations. 🙂

  45. Haha, YES! I feel you on being a born again salad eater. I have absolutely NO problems with there being no greens in this beauty. We should appreciate the berries more while they’re here!

  46. I am loving your salads with berries! This looks delicious – wheat berry is a nice complement to the fruit berry too 🙂

  47. Eileen says:

    This is such a great idea! I love the sweet and savory flavor combination, not to mention the high texture contrast. Yay!

  48. CakeSpy says:

    This sounds AWESOME! Healthy but hearty. I could do this for breakfast!

  49. For realz?! I want to be born again AS this salad, so I can devour myself. Is that weird? That’s probably weird, but I don’t care. This looks seriously scrumptious. I need. I want! ? mostly, I can’t wait to make this! Thanks for sharing, pretty lady!

  50. Sarah says:

    This salad looks super interesting. I definitely have gotten on board with the idea of wheat in salad.. I’m going to have to give this a try 🙂 Beautiful photography as always!

  51. Johanna GGG says:

    I am not convinced I need endive in my life but I do love a fruity salads so I would give this one a go – sometimes I think I need to get out of my comfort zone when it comes to leafy salad veg

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