Wheatberry Chickpea Salad with Feta and Greek Dressing
A delicious wheatberry chickpea salad with feta and Greek style dressing. This satisfying salad is great as a meal, side dish or for filling pita pockets.
Also Try: Falafel Salad Bowl, Kale and Butternut Squash with Farro, How to Cook and Freeze Whole Grains
Whole grain and pulse salads like this are a healthy addition to weekly meal plans and fit with the latest brain health recommendations. By mixing whole grains with pulses you get complete protein and a host of nutrients including fibre, B vitamins, antioxidants, and trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, and magnesium). They also look great with all those colours!
Rather than tossing everything in a bowl, I like to spread the ingredients out on a platter and let everyone make their own salad with the ingredients they like best (easy on the onions and olives for me). The salad dressing goes on the side so the lettuce and tomatoes stay nice and fresh and everyone can use as much as they like. 
A version of this wheatberry salad was featured in a recent article I wrote for the Manitoba Cooperator on eating more wheat, barley and other whole grains. If you’ve never had a grain salad before, the classic Greek salad ingredients and dressing are a great way to start. In the article, it shows this salad without the lettuce making it a perfect side dish, make ahead dish or salad to take on the road.
If you need more info on cooking whole grains or chickpeas read these articles:
Everything You Need to Know About Cooking and Storing Whole Grains
Everything You Need to Know About Chickpeas
Recipe for WheatBerry Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Greek Dressing
Wheatberry Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Greek Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw wheatberries
- 4 cups dark leafy greens, roughly chopped
- ½ long cucumber diced in cubes
- 2 medium tomatoes diced in cubes
- ½ cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup cooked/canned chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1/2 red onion sliced
- 1/2 cup large black olives
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
Dressing
- 3 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice or red wine vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground pepper
Instructions
Prepare Wheatberries
- Rinse and drain wheatberries. Place in medium saucepan and cover with 1 inch water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 50 minutes or until tender. Drain any remaining water.
- Rinse under cold water. Drain well and set aside.
Prepare Dressing
- In small jar with tight fitting lid, combine all dressing ingredients. Secure lid and shake well to blend thoroughly.
Assembly
- Platter Option: Arrange salad ingredients on a large platter for a full, beautiful display of all the ingredients to allow guests to choose their favourites. For example, layer ingredients in circles staring with greens on the bottom followed by the grains, the tomatoes, cucumbers, red cabbage, chickpeas, olives and feta. Or place each ingredient in a pile or line on platter. Serve the dressing on the side.
- Tossed Option: In large salad bowl, toss greens, wheatberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, chickpeas and red cabbage together. Arrange feta, onions and olives on top. Garnish with parsley. Serve the dressing on the side. If you prefer to dress the salad before serving, mix in before arranging feta, onions and olives on top.
Notes
A tasty colorful salad that will keep you feeling full for a long time.
What is a Wheatberry?
Wheatberries are raw wheat kernels. That’s right, just regular wheat kernels grown all over the Canadian and US Prairies typically used to make flour and pasta. Wheatberries are considered a whole grain since they retain all of the bran, germ and endosperm, only the the outer husk is missing (more prominent on some varieties than others).
Like other whole grains, wheatberries are high in fibre, low in calories and packed with vitamins and minerals. A great addition to a healthy diet. Unless, of course, you are gluten intolerant, because yes, wheatberries do contain gluten.
More Grain and Pulse Salads
Other whole grain salads to try:
Falafel Salad Bowl with Quinoa and Bulgur
Thai Power Bowl with Almond Butter Dressing
Strawberry Spinach & Basil Salad with Buckwheat Noodles (Soba)
Southwestern Black Bean and Quinoa Salad
Kale, Butternut Squash and Farro Salad
Do you use whole grains in your cooking? Do you have a favorite?
Let me know if you’re interested in more recipes and info on whole grains. And, next time you’re cooking with some, let me know or share a photo on Instagram and tag @getgettys so I can see it and like it!
Sign up to get articles by Getty delivered to your inbox. You’ll get recipes, practical tips and great food information like this. Getty is a Professional Home Economist,  speaker and writer putting good food on tables and agendas.  She is the author of Manitoba’s best-selling Prairie Fruit Cookbook, Founder of Fruit Share, a mom and veggie gardener.