🥗🫐🍓 This Spinach Blueberry Salad is loaded with superfoods, including spinach, wheat berries, blueberries, cranberries, almonds, and more. Then, the honey Dijon vinaigrette adds the perfect light touch. Every bite is full of so much FLAVOR and amazing TEXTURE, making for a great salad for lunch, a dinner side dish, or a light meal during warmer months!
Wheat Berry Spinach Blueberry Salad
This spinach and blueberry salad was inspired by a salad I saw at Whole Foods. The minute I tasted a sample, I knew I had to recreate it at home, adding even more flavor.
My version reminds me of my Twelve Superfoods Salad, which is a reader favorite. There are so many wonderful textures and flavors in every bite of this hearty salad filled with superfoods. It’s easy, satisfying, healthy, and most importantly – it tastes amazing. With a five-star rating, readers love it, too!
I often enjoy it on its own, but it’s also fabulous with main courses like grilled lemon chicken, grilled jerk shrimp, sheet pan lemon garlic butter salmon, or grilled BLT turkey burgers.
Ingredients You’ll Need
To make the hearty wheat berry blueberry spinach salad with blueberries, you’ll need the following simple ingredients:
- Wheat berries: If you don’t have wheat berries, you can try quinoa, wild rice, couscous, barley, or mix and match the grains
- Spinach: I prefer the mild flavor of baby spinach, but regular spinach will also work. Or, substitute any leafy greens you like best, like arugula or spring mix
- Fresh blueberries
- Cheese: I used Gouda cheese, but aged white cheddar, crumbled feta cheese, goat cheese, blue cheese, etc., may all be substituted
- Dried fruit: I used dried cranberries and raisins, but you can swap them for dried cherries or omit them entirely
- Slivered almonds: Substitute any nuts you like best
- Fresh basil: Fresh cilantro tastes great, too
- Vinaigrette dressing: Combine olive oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper
Can I use a different salad dressing?
Yes, you can use your favorite store-bought vinaigrette if desired, or replace the apple cider vinaigrette with something like balsamic vinaigrette, basil vinaigrette, etc.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make a Wheat Berry Spinach Blueberry Salad
Preparing a salad with wheat berries, spinach, blueberries, and other superfoods is SO easy! (If you’ve made another grain salad before, such as a garden fresh summer quinoa salad, the process is similar.)
- Toss the salad: Add all the salad ingredients to a large bowl.
- Make the dressing: To a small glass jar, add all the dressing ingredients. Pop the lid on and shake vigorously to combine.
- Assemble and serve: Drizzle about half the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. If you prefer more dressing, simply add more to taste. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Spinach Blueberry Salad
Wheat Berry Spinach Blueberry Salad
Equipment
- 1 Small Bowl
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups cooked wheat berries, (quinoa, wild rice, couscous, or barley can also be used)
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves, loosely packed
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
- ¾ to 1 cup grated gouda , (aged white cheddar, crumbled feta, blue cheese, etc. may be substituted)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup raisins , (or dried cherries)
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup fresh basil , finely minced (or cilantro)
Instructions
- Salad – To a large bowl add all ingredients in the order listed; set aside.
- Honey-Apple Cider Vinaigrette – To a small glass jar or container with a lid, add all ingredients, put the lid on and shake vigorously until combined; taste vinaigrette and tweak as necessary to taste.
- Assembly – Drizzle about half the dressing over salad, toss to combine, and see if you prefer it moister and add more, to taste. Serve salad immediately or place into an airtight container, refrigerate, and serve chilled. The spinach wilts as time passes but the dried fruit softens and the flavors marry and I enjoy this salad for up to 3 days after preparing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Salad Recipes Using Berries:
Cranberry, Apple, and Blue Cheese Salad – All the flavors of fall in one gorgeous, hearty, and healthy salad! The easy, tart-and-sweet dressing is just bursting with flavor!
Strawberry, Avocado, and Kale Salad – Make a kale lover out of anyone in this healthy salad with creamy avocado and juicy berries!
Pecan Strawberry Chicken Salad — The grilled chicken is so JUICY and moist thanks to a homemade pecan butter marinade! Sweet strawberries and crunchy pecans add extra texture and FLAVOR!
Grilled Chicken Berry Salad — Big, hearty, healthy, and chock full of juicy grilled chicken, blueberries, blackberries, creamy avocado, hard-boiled eggs, and more! Topped with a creamy shake-together red wine Dijon vinaigrette, this is a salad that you’ll want to put on rotation all spring and summer!
I was skeptical about a salad with quinoa (which is the grain I used). I am so glad I tried it after looking for recipes with spinach. And I had just purchased cilantro and didn’t know how to use it up either! Try it!! Your body will thank you.
We made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD. I think I told my husband like 4 times after we finished that I really liked it! We’re adding it to our rotation of meals!
That’s awesome you’re adding it to your rotation and I’m so glad you loved it! Also try the 12 Superfoods Salad that’s linked in the post – similar yet different enough – but the same general approach.
Great photo. Makes me want to eat that salad now. As for fresh blueberries – they’re not in season for at least 3 more months. Too long to wait for salad. I’d think frozen blueberries would work just as well. Thanks for the recipe.
I used fresh and they tasted great! Maybe a little a head of the season, but they weren’t too expensive either. Unfortunately in the salad for me frozen would be a little too mushy but you could try and see what you think.
This looks so good! Blueberries in salads are so refreshing. Mmmmm! Such a spring-y salad.
Thank you!
I need to make this to keep in the fridge for lunch. Mel and I were just talking about Superfoods today..this looks like a keeper!
Both this salad and my other superfoods salad are perfect lunch options to have around! Funny you guys were just talking about superfoods!
DANG that looks delicious. I love blueberries in salad – I am a huge fan ever since I discovered that combo a few months ago. This looks like a particularly super (sorry, couldn’t resist) salad. I love your use of wheat berries too, love those things, even if I’m not 100 percent clear on what they actually are ;-)
This looks so fresh and tasty! I’m on a spinach kick so this immediately caught my eye.
It’s fresh and light and perfect for spring!
What a lovely fresh salad! I absolutely love hearty grains like wheatberries and farro so I’ll definitely have to try this. The perfect lunch dish!
I love hearty grains too! Wheatberries, farro, etc. just give salads like this that extra boost! Reminds me of the salad I ate when we were in Santa Monica together!
Your 12 superfoods salad is a favorite of mine and this one looks just as delicious and healthy! It’s also a great excuse to splurge a little on some fancy cheese. Blue, feta, gouda….love ’em all!!
I know you love my 12 Superfoods salad and you’ll have to tell me how this one stacks up if you try it!
I love this one just as much and can’t pick a favorite! There are similarities (lots of taste and texture from nuts, fresh and dried fruits) but yet the ingredients and dressings are different so it’s another wonderful combination of flavors. I had to go with barley for this one but want to pick up some wheat berries next time I’m at our local co-op. I did find a nice aged gouda which always pairs well with fruit. As always, I adore your salads:)
So glad you loved this one just as much as the other – and I know what a big fan you’ve been of that one since I posted it – so I’m glad the newbie can hang in there :) And also great to hear you find them similar yet different, I tried! The wheatberries were SO good here, hope you can get your hands on some! I am spoiled bc they have them premade daily at the Whole Foods salad bar :)