Spinach salad with wheat berries, strawberries, goat cheese, pecans and dressing. A perfect summer supper or side dish.
Spinach Strawberry Wheatberry Salad
While browsing the internet for recipe ideas, as one does, I came across a recipe for “Top Gun Maverick and Fresh Spinach & Berry Salad” I was intrigued. What exactly did that mean? The author stated, “If you’ve seen the new, fantastically fun Top Gun Maverick movie, you know the “Mav” is all about improvising on the fly and living to fight another day…I consider improvisation the spice of life, and that spice of life is all about fun.”
His recipe had lots of different ideas of way to mix and match this salad…improvising with what you’ve got available. My recipe is also a mix and match recipe. If you don’t have strawberries, use blueberries or apples and craisins. Don’t want to use wheat berries? Try quinoa or farro. Don’t like goat cheese? Use feta or bleu cheese. It’s a great starter recipe and I know you’ll love it!
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Uncooked wheat–often called wheat berries. I make my own homemade whole wheat bread so I buy this in bulk. You can also find it in the bulk bin section at Winco. Or you may be able to find them next to other grains, especially if your store carries Bob’s Red Mill brand. Read more about wheatberries!
- Water–to cook the wheat in and bring pot to pressure
- Pinch of salt
- Baby spinach–I like to buy the big bag from Costco. It is already triple washed.
- Strawberries–you can also use another type of fruit like apples or blueberries or craisins.
- Chopped pecans–you can also use walnuts. If you’d like to toast them here’s how: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the pecans smell fragrant and the center of a pecan is tan when the pecan is broken in half. (Do not walk away from the oven in the last few minutes of cooking. This is when nuts love to burn.) Transfer to a cutting board and roughly chop.
- Goat cheese–or feta cheese or blue cheese crumbles
- Mandarin oranges
- Poppy seed dressing—Brianna’s is a good brand. Or you can use another type of dressing with sweetness to it.
Steps
This is a pretty straightforward recipe! You just have to cook the wheat and then toss everything together and serve.
- Pressure cook the wheatberries.
- Drain the wheatberries and let cool.
- Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- This is one of those salads that you can make as is or give it your own spin. Some additional ideas you can add in: blueberries, chopped apples, bacon crumbles, chopped and cooked chicken and minced red onion.
- You can also make this recipe with farro instead of wheat berries. Here’s how to cook farro in the Instant Pot. Another option is to make this salad with quinoa.
- Serve as a side dish to any summer dinner. You can serve alongside a grilled steak or piece of chicken. Or you can make as the main dish. Try adding chopped rotisserie chicken into your salad to make it more of a main dish.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Once this salad is dressed it’s best if consumed right away. If it’s not dressed you can keep in covered in your refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- This recipe can be gluten free if you make it with quinoa instead of wheat berries.
- Other recipes you can make with wheat berries are Instant Pot Colorful Wheat Berry Salad and Cranberry Orange Wheat Berry Salad.
More Summer Recipes…
- Get in my Belly Supper
- Instant Pot Summer Solstice Salad
- Instant Pot Apricot Chicken
- Instant Pot Greek Chicken Potato Bowls
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
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Spinach Strawberry Wheatberry Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
Description
Spinach salad with wheat berries, strawberries, goat cheese, pecans and dressing. A perfect summer supper or side dish.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of uncooked wheat (often called wheat berries)
- 2 cups water
- Pinch of salt
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 2 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasted is good!)
- 1/3 cup goat cheese
- 1 (11 oz) can mandarin oranges, drained
- Poppy seed dressing (about 1/2 cup)
Instructions
- Add wheat berries, water and salt to Instant Pot. Cover and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 30 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. If foam starts escaping the valve then move valve back to sealing and wait 1 minute before trying to release the pressure.
- Dump the wheat berries into a colander and rinse well with cold water until they are cool to the touch. Set aside. (If making ahead of time store in the refrigerator until ready to toss the salad).
- In a large bowl add the spinach, strawberries, pecans, cheese, oranges and wheat berries. When ready to serve, add in the dressing (I added about a half cup but add enough to your taste). Toss well with tongs so that all the spinach has dressing on it. Serve immediately.
Notes
To cook wheat berries in slow cooker: Add wheat, water and salt to slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Rinse and drain.
- Category: Salad
- Method: Instant Pot
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Do the wheat berries (also bulgur wheat, right) absorb all the water, could you make this in a strainer in your IP?
They do not absorb all the water. I drained mine in a strainer after it was done cooking.