Tuna wheat berry salad with balsamic vinaigrette
In 30 minutes or less, this delicious tuna wheat berry salad in a balsamic vinaigrette makes for a healthy lunch or dinner that anyone will love.
Ingredients
 | 10 oz of canned tuna (2 cans or 240g) |
 | 1.5 cups uncooked wheat berries or pearled wheat. You can also use quinoa or bulger. |
 | 2 oz of mixed greens – you can use any sort of mixed greens like arugula, mâche, frisée, chicory, romain lettuce, baby spinach, etc. |
 | 5 oz of canned sweet corn (1 can or 140g) |
 | (Optional) 1/2 red onion or sweet onion, chopped |
 | 3 cups of liquid chicken stock, or liquid vegetable stock. You can also use water with a stock cube. |
Spices and flavoring ingredients:
 | 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar |
 | 3 tablespoons of olive oil |
 | 200 g (3/4 cup) of feta cheese |
 | 1 teaspoon of garlic powder |
 | Pinch of salt and pepper |
How to make this tuna wheat berry salad
Wheat Berries — Stovetop
- Add the wheat berries, water, and salt to a saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.
- Let cool to room temperature.
Wheat Berries — Rice Cooker
- Add the wheat berries, water, and salt to the rice cooker.
- Turn it on and cook until finished.
- Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.
- Let cool to room temperature.
Salad Assembly
- Chop the feta and any optional ingredients (such as red onion) into small pieces.
- Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl.
- Combine the cooled wheat berries, mixed greens, tuna, sweet corn, feta, optional ingredients, and dressing in a large salad bowl.
- Toss well and serve.
When you want a light and healthy meal, either for lunch or dinner, this tuna wheat berry salad is a quick and easy solution. It is filling and full of flavor, while also being full of nutrients. This is a meal that is going to keep you energized.
The easiest part of this is using canned tuna and corn, are both so versatile and easy to incorporate into a variety of meals without doing any lengthy cooking.
It makes a wonderful main or side dish in warm weather and can be changed up with other ingredients, depending on what you have on hand. Don’t hesitate to change things up every so often by adding in some cherry tomatoes or cucumbers, or even some steamed broccoli.
Now, I usually use a rice cooker to cook the wheat berries, since I can just set it and leave it to go do other things. But I have made it on the stove as well, so I have included instructions for both.
Cooking tips
- Canned tuna works best, as it is already cooked and can easily be added into the dish.
- I recommend canned corn rather than sweet corn to avoid making it too sweet. Sweet corn has a higher sugar content as it is picked while still immature, before the sugar has a chance to turn into starch.
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Tuna wheat berry salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups uncooked wheat berries
- 3 cups water, liquid chicken stock, or liquid vegetable stock
- 200 g of feta cheese (3/4 cup)
- 2 oz of mixed greens
- 10 oz of tuna (2 cans or 240g)
- 5 oz of sweet corn (1 can or 140g)
- 1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)
Salad dressing
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- pinch of salt and pepper
Instructions
Wheat berries on the stove top:
- In a saucepan, add the wheat berries along with water and salt and bring to a boil over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
- Remove from heat and mix with a fork.
- Let wheat berries cool to room temperature.
Wheat berries in a rice cooker:
- Add the wheat berries, water and salt into the the rice cooker and turn it on.
- Once it is finished, remove from the rice cooker into a large bowl and mix with a fork.
- Let wheat berries cool to room temperature.
Other ingredients:
- Chop the feta cheese and any optional ingredients like the red onion into small quarters.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Move the wheat berries to a large salad bowl, and combine it with the mixed greens, tuna, sweet corn, feta cheese, optional ingredients, and salad dressing.
- Toss the salad and serve.
Nutrition
Please note: We are not certified nutritionists and these estimates written and produced for entertainment purposes only.
What to serve with it?
This tuna corn salad is a great light and healthy lunch or dinner, but you can also serve it as a starter or side dish. Pair it with a salmon in lemon butter sauce or a homemade carrot soup.
How to store it?
You can prepare this tuna wheat berry salad in advance, but I don’t recommend adding the greens and dressing into the mix. The salad will become heavy and wilt with the dressing on top, so it is best to keep them separately.
Keep them separate in the fridge, and when ready to serve remove both from the fridge about 20 minutes in advance so that they get to room temperature. Then add the balsamic dressing onto the salad a few minutes before you are ready to serve.
