This pretty vegan Ancient Grain Salad is so versatile, it goes from holiday table to working lunch without skipping a beat, and it’s as healthy as it is stunning.
My vegan ancient grain salad is all about the texture!
This healthy grain side dish is made with wild rice, farro, and red quinoa, livened up with lots of colorful extras.ย And you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to appreciate the the satisfying chew of the grains and the crunch of the celery and nuts. Dried cranberries and juicy pomegranate seeds guarantee that every bite finishes with an explosion of sweet.ย Reserve a spot for it on your Thanksgiving table for sure, everyone is going to flock to it.
Ancient grains aren’t just a fad, and they’re not going anywhere
There are lots of solid reasons why we should be eating them.ย The name ancient grains covers a whole host of very old varieties of grains, seeds, and grasses.ย They’re super healthy and offer an important diversity that we’ve lost in our modern diets.ย Even if you’re gluten intolerant, you may be able to eat ancient wheat varieties like emmer and farro, so they can be game changers for lots of people.ย And these grains bring new tastes and textures to our tables. Besides the wild rice, farro, and red quinoa that I used for this salad, here are some other ancient grains to look out for…any combination of them can be made into an ancient grain salad like this one ~
- amaranth
- buckwheat
- chia
- bulgar
- sorghum
- einkorn
- millet
- barley
- teff
- spelt
- kamut
- emmer
- freekeh
TIP: Don’t be intimidated by these unusual names, the cooking process is totally straightforwardย — prepare them just like you would pasta, by boiling until tender in lots of water, and then draining.ย There aren’t any specific measurements to keep track of so you can feel confident giving them a try.
Grain salads are perfect for holidays and working lunches alike because they can be made ahead with no worries
They’re sturdy and hold up well in the refrigerator even after they’ve been dressed.ย The dressing will slowly soak into the grains and the flavor will improve.
If you like this idea, my WILD RICE SALAD WITH CRANBERRIES AND NUTS is a similar recipe with a slightly shorter ingredient list.
I went a little crazy with this salad and used quite a variety of fruits and nuts, but you can certainly scale it down to just a couple of your favorites.ย (Make sure the nuts are fresh and that you toast them first.)ย I always like to include some type of onion, either green or red, because I like their ‘bite’, and I always use some of the inner stalks of celery, with the leaves, for the crunch and fresh flavor.ย If you’d like, I think some finely diced crisp apples or pears would work in place of some of the dried fruit.ย Toss them in lemon juice to prevent browning.
TIP: Toasting nuts is an important step that increases their crunch and their flavor…do it in a 350F oven, or in a skillet on the stove, but watch them carefully and stir often!ย It should take about 15 minutes and you’ll know they’re done when they start to turn golden and you can smell them.
Here in Southern California we always have some sort of salad on our holiday tables, and it’s always one of the most popular dishes.ย If you like wild rice, you might also like my HARVEST SALAD WITH POMEGRANATE ALLSPICE DRESSING (the dressing is to-die-for.)ย And if you love Brussels sprouts like I do, my BRUSSELS SPROUT SLAW WITH MAPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE is another favorite.
Ancient Grain Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 1 cup cooked red quinoa
- 1 cup cooked farro
- 1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup pistachios rough chopped
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup dried apricots finely chopped
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup brown raisins
- 1/4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds plus extra for garnish
- 4 scallions thinly sliced, green and white parts
- 1/4 large red onion minced
- several small inner stalks of celery finely diced, with the green leafy parts
garnish
- extra pomegranate seeds
dressing
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sweet mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Toss all the salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and add enough to the salad to moisten everything. Reserve any unused dressing for adding right before serving if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate until serving. The salad can be made up to a day ahead. Sprinkle with more pomegranate seeds just before serving.
Notes
- If you want to start with uncooked grains, use 1/2 cup of each, uncooked, and follow the cooking directions below.
- To cook the wild rice, boil 6 cups of water and add the rice, simmer until just tender, but still firm, about 30 minutes.ย Add more water to the pan if necessary.ย Drain and rinse with cold water.
- To cook the farro, boil 6 cups water and add the farro, boil until tender but still firm, about 20 minutes.ย Drain and rinse with cold water.
- To cook the quinoa, rinse well, then boil 6 cups water and add the quinoa.ย Cook for 12-15 minutes, until the little 'tails' have sprouted.ย Drain and rinse with cold water.
33 Comments
Ileana
February 24, 2020 at 8:24 amHello, I picked this recipe to make for my quant class in culinary school. I need to make if for 80 people but cannot find the yield or serving size. Would you please be able to provide that information for me?
Sue
February 24, 2020 at 8:32 amThis will serve about 12, at about a half cup size.
Ileana
February 24, 2020 at 4:05 pmThank you so much!!
Adrienne
January 16, 2018 at 6:31 amI made this over the weekend. It will definitely be one of my favorites. I ordered farro online because it is something I want to have again. This salad was absolutely delicious. I keep cooked farro, cooked wild rice and cooked quinoa in my freezer to make this quickly.
Sue
January 16, 2018 at 7:15 amThanks so much Adrienne, that’s the smartest idea to keep cooked grains in the freezer, I’m going to steal it ๐
Gabriela Goldblatt
November 20, 2017 at 2:53 pmHI Sue, I can’t find farro anywhere, what can I replace it with?
Sue
November 20, 2017 at 2:56 pmHey Gabriela ~ you can substitute wheat berries, rye berries, cracked wheat (like for tabbouleh) or barley.
Gabriela Goldblatt
November 20, 2017 at 3:01 pmThank you !! Cant wait to make it !!
Dee
November 18, 2017 at 7:55 amWhat do you mean by “sweet mustard”? Honey mustard?
Sue
November 18, 2017 at 8:13 amYes, I used a honey mustard, but it can be any mustard you like, don’t buy something special.
Jules @ WolfItDown
October 22, 2016 at 3:55 pmThis looks and sounds flippin’ gorgeous Sue! So many different flavours, textures and colours ๐ I’m looking for salad inspiration myself, and this is perfect!
Hope you are having a great weekend ๐ x
Jean Barley
October 22, 2016 at 6:04 amSince I’m diabetic, carbs are very important to me. Do you have serving size and nutritional value available?
All That I'm Eating
October 18, 2016 at 8:17 amWhat a great mix of grains and what some amazing colours and textures. I would love to take this to work for my lunch!
Stacey @ The Sugar Coated Cottage
October 18, 2016 at 6:37 amWhat a beautiful and hearty salad! This is my lunch dreams come true! Delicious. Take care.
sippitysup
October 17, 2016 at 5:05 pmYou grains are great and your knife skills impress me. GREG
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
October 17, 2016 at 4:27 pmWow I love everything about this salad! The dressing sounds wonderful, the beautiful garnish of pomegranate aerials, and all the lovely grains and fruit – this is a smorgasbord and no doubt as great as it looks!
Betty
October 17, 2016 at 3:50 pmI love all of the crunch and flavors going on in this…I could eat salads like this every day. ๐
Sue
October 17, 2016 at 7:29 pmIt lasts so well you could eat it every day!
Karen @ Seasonal Cravings
October 17, 2016 at 2:35 pmI love grain salads like this full of goodness. It has so much color and texture in every bite!
Susan
October 17, 2016 at 11:42 amThis salad sounds quite interesting, though I would use something other than celery for the fresh crunch factor (jicama comes to mind), and I’d have to reduce the onion – I just can’t do a lot of raw onion any more. I have fallen in love with kamut, and also have some sorghum and teff in my pantry, so I could have real fun with doing a salad like this. I’ll have to check out the Ancient Grains cookbook closer – it’s sitting on my shelf, but I haven’t made anything from it yet.
Sue
October 17, 2016 at 12:26 pmJicama would be nice in this salad!
Lynn | The Road to Honey
October 17, 2016 at 10:50 amWell Sue. . .I have to admit that I am an ancient grain junkie so you can imagine how much I am loving the fact that you managed to squeeze so many different grains into a single dish. Oh. . .and let’s not forget how colorful this beauty is. Definitely a showstopper at any Thanksgiving gathering.
Ali Randall
October 17, 2016 at 10:14 amWow. That is a bowl of deliciousness. That would be perfect on any holiday table. Yummy
Kavey
October 17, 2016 at 10:11 amHow glorious, like a bowl of beautiful jewels!
Laura | Tutti Dolci
October 17, 2016 at 9:43 amSuch a stunning fall salad, the pom arils remind me of pretty gems!
cheri
October 17, 2016 at 9:34 amYou are make the most prettiest salads Sue, love everything about this!!
Sarah @ Champagne Tastes
October 17, 2016 at 9:32 amThis is beautiful!!! Some of those grains I haven’t tried, but keep meaning to– so this is fantastic! And pomegranate seeds? YUM!!!
Sue
October 17, 2016 at 9:46 amI haven’t tried them all either, Sarah, but I’m making progress! And YES, the pom seeds just burst in every bite, I love them ๐
Vicky @ Avocado Pesto
October 17, 2016 at 9:05 amAbsolutely love all the flavors in this – especially the list of all the various fruits and nuts used! I love a good hearty grain salad but have yet to try farro so got to put that on my shopping list!
[email protected]'s Recipes
October 17, 2016 at 7:21 amMy kind of salad, Sue. I love ancient grains and this one fits the bill.
Sue
October 17, 2016 at 8:47 amThanks Angie!
Chris Scheuer
October 17, 2016 at 7:15 amThis is the kind of salad I could eat every day and never tire of. It looks amazing and is so… pretty!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
October 17, 2016 at 5:05 amWhat a beautiful salad! Love all the goodness going on and the cider mustard dressings sounds perfect ๐