Mixed Grain Salad

Using this easy Mixed Grain Salad as a template, you can create a whole range of salads by changing which grains, vegetables, and seasonings to include.

My grain mix includes brown rice, spelt, bulgur wheat, quinoa, and couscous. But almost any combination will work. I like to cook up a big batch of grains then freeze in portions so they’re ready for a quick, healthy lunch or dinner.

In this salad there’s kale, fresh herbs, juicy tomatoes, crunchy cucumber, red onion, and peppers. A simple dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and garlic gives it a real lift.

For a complete meal in a bowl, add some protein. Here, I’ve tossed in cubes of feta cheese. But you could swap in pulses such as chickpeas or lentils, cooked chicken or fish, egg, or nuts.

In this post I also give suggestions for batch cooking your own mixed grains. Cheaper than those supermarket packets, create you own favourite combination and freeze in handy portions.

Jump to Recipe

I guess everyone knows that we’re encouraged to make whole grains a regular part of a healthy diet. Not least to make sure we get enough fibre. Whole grains also contain nutrients like protein, vitamins, and essential trace elements such as zinc and magnesium.

However, many of us find that eating lots of carbohydrates doesn’t suit us. And that’s where my Mixed Grain Salad comes in so handy.

Yes, there’s five different types of grain in there, most of which are whole grain. But there’s also lots of fresh vegetables which we should also be eating plenty of. Tossed with a refreshing dressing, the result is a light but satisfying bowlful. Eat just as it is or add some protein like cheese, pulses, nuts, fish, or meat. Great for lunch, dinner, lovely as a side dish too.

MIXED GRAINS & WHOLE GRAINS

Pretty much any grain can be used in my Mixed Grain Salad. For health reasons, it’s best to use mainly whole rather than refined grains. Whole grains are made up of a fibre-rich outer layer (the bran), a starchy middle (the endosperm), and a nutrient rich inner (the germ). Refined grains, e.g. white rice, have had their bran and germ removed so are less good for you.

Luckily, these days there are a huge number of grains, including whole grains, widely available. The photo below shows the grains I cooked for the salad in this post. Starting from the top left and going clockwise we have brown rice, spelt (an ancient type of wheat), couscous, red and white quinoa, bulgur wheat.

Of course, you can buy packets of ready cooked mixed grains. These do work out quite expensive though. In any case, with a bit of planning you can easily make up your very own favourite mix.

Because some grains, especially whole grains, can take a while to cook, I find it makes sense to make a big batch and freeze in portions. Good not just for making salad, you can also grab a portion or two to add to soups and stews or even porridge.

So I’ve not got lots of pans on the go, I like to include in my mix some grains that only need soaking and some that cook relatively quickly. Here’s a bit more about the grains I batch cooked most recently, plus suggestions for a few more.

BROWN RICE

As with many grains, you can soak rice in advance to shorten the cooking time. Soak rice in cold water for around 30 minutes and leave in a cool place. It’s important with rice that after cooking, if it’s not going to be eaten straight away, then you cool it very quickly and store in the fridge. I tip it in a sieve and run cold water through it until completely cold.

SPELT

Although I often bake bread with spelt flour, I’ve only recently discovered wholegrain spelt with its nutty flavour and chewy texture. It does take a while to cook, but I shorten it to around 35-40 minutes by soaking in boiling water for a couple of hours first.

COUSCOUS

Although couscous isn’t a wholegrain, it has a place in my mix because it’s so quick to prepare. Just cover with boiling water and it’s ready in 5 minutes.

QUINOA

Strictly speaking a seed rather than a grain, quinoa is a great addition to grain mixes. Higher in protein and lower in carbs than brown rice it cooks quickly. Using twice the amount of water to quinoa (e.g. 200ml/g of water per 100g quinoa), I simmer with a lid on for 15 minutes then leave it to rest, off the heat, for 10 minutes.

BULGUR WHEAT

I think of bulgur wheat as a sort of wholegrain couscous. Although not a true wholegrain, it’s only been minimally processed so still has most of its nutrients intact. You can boil bulgur wheat to speed things up, but I just soak in boiling water for around an hour, changing the water halfway through.

OTHER GRAINS TO TRY

Look around your local wholefood shop or supermarket and you’ll find lots more grains to try.

• pot barley: pearl barley is the refined, less nutritious version
• buckwheat: with a distinctive flavour, this is another pseudo cereal that’s actually a seed
• freekeh: made from toasted durum wheat, the whole grains take a long time to cook, but the cracked version is similar to bulgur

As you can see, there’s so many grains to choose from. Experiment and see which you like and in what combination.

After cooking/soaking a batch of each type of grain, I mix them all together then divide into 200-300 gram bags. I pop these in the freezer so they’re ready whenever I need them. You’ll need 300 grams of mixed grains to make my Mixed Grain Salad.

MIXED GRAIN SALAD

With a batch of your favourite mixed grains ready, there’s very little work left to make a simple, healthy, Mixed Grain Salad.

Ready to make it? Jump to Recipe.

Or read on for tips and more images.

Start by gathering your ingredients: veggies plus seasonings, oil, and vinegar for the dressing.

To contrast with the chewy grains, I like plenty of crunchy vegetables. Here I have cucumber, pepper, and red onion. Carrot cut into thin julienne strips is also good. For juiciness I included two big tomatoes. If you want a little creaminess, try avocado (doused with a little lemon juice to stop it browning).

Just like whole grains, it’s thought that dark leafy greens add nutritional benefits to your diet. Spinach, chard, rocket, and kale are all good options. I happened to have some unusual Russian kale in my Moorland Veg Box so used that with any tougher stems removed.

For more green colour, and because I love its refreshing flavour, I included a small bunch of mint leaves too. Other fresh herbs that would be good are parsley, chives, or dill.

I chop all the veg into chunky pieces and cut the greens roughly. I don’t won’t big pieces but don’t like them super-fine either.

Then simply toss the veg with the prepared grains. If you’re not going to be eating the Mixed Grain Salad straightaway, then you can cover it and pop in the fridge for an hour or so. While I do think the flavour is best if you can let the salad sit with its dressing for half an hour before eating, I don’t recommend adding the dressing too early. We don’t want that lovely crunchy veg to go soggy.

THE DRESSING

My suggested dressing for this tasty, colourful, and nutritious salad is a simple vinaigrette. Extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, chopped garlic, salt, black pepper, plus a little sweetener.

As with the combination of grains and choice of vegetables, I’m really just giving you a template to get you started. If you want to use different oils (e.g. walnut, rapeseed) or vinegars (cider, Balsamic) or maybe citrus instead of vinegar, then go right ahead.

I shake up the dressing in a screw-topped jar. This can be done well in advance if convenient. If you’re going to be eating salads over a few days, then you can even make a bigger batch and store in the fridge for 3-4 days.

However far in advance you make it, give the jar a good shake to recombine the ingredients before pouring over the Mixed Grain Salad.

I think grains are best with a generous amount of dressing so add more than I would for a veggie-only salad. What you don’t want are dry, flavourless grains. Along with the heap of vegetables, the dressing should make this a juicy, moist salad.

EXTRAS & SERVING MIXED GRAIN SALAD

If you’re going to eat this easy, lovely salad as a side dish to some protein such as meat, fish, eggs, dairy, or pulses, then you don’t need to add anything else. But if you want it as a standalone meal then for complete nutrition you can add more goodies.

Any of these would be great:

• cubes of cheese
• flaked smoked fish e.g. salmon, mackerel
• diced cooked chicken
• toasted nuts
• cooked pulses such as lentils or chickpeas
• quarters of hard-boiled egg

For the Mixed Grain Salad featured in this post, I added salty, crumbly feta cheese.

I loved the combination of chewy, wholesome grains, fresh vegetables, herbs, tangy cheese, all with a simple dressing which kept everything juicily moist.

And the great thing is, this tasty, satisfying bowlful is actually good for you!

While Mixed Grain Salad is perfect for an easy lunch or light meal with any of my suggested extras, it works equally well as a side dish. Conveniently combining filling carb with lots of vegetables, it makes for an easy dinner alongside your main protein.

I especially enjoyed it with some lightly spiced chicken thighs with a few carrots roasted with them.

It may seem a faff cooking up batches of different grains, but it honestly is worth it. Having portions tucked away in the freezer, and at a fraction of the cost of those packets in the supermarket is a real boon in my view.

But if you really don’t have the time, or space, then just limit the number of grains, maybe choosing one that just needs soaking (like couscous or bulgur) and another that needs simmering (e.g. brown rice).

I hope you’ll try this recipe and use it as a template for your own creations.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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Mixed Grain Salad

Use this recipe as a template to create a whole range of grain salads by swapping in your favourite combination of mixed grains and veggies, plus protein too if eating as a main course.

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Salad, Lunch, Light Meal

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, plant-based, World

Keyword grains, wholegrain

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 as a side

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 300 g cooked mixed grains See Recipe Notes
• ⅔ cucumber
• 2 large tomatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• ½ red pepper
• 60 g kale or other greens, tough stems discarded weight after prep
• 1 small bunch fresh herbs e.g. mint, parsley, dill, chives tough stems removed

Dressing

• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1-2 tsp sugar or other sweetener optional

Optional extras

• feta cheese, diced or crumbled
• cold cooked chicken
• cold cooked fish e.g. salmon, tuna, mackerel flakes
• toasted nuts e.g. walnuts, hazelnuts
• cooked pulses e.g. chickpeas, lentils

Instructions

1. Put all the Dressing ingredients in a lidded jar and shake to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning or acidity if necessary. Replace the lid and set aside.

2. Put the cooked grains into a large salad bowl.

3. De-seed the cucumber and tomatoes if liked, then dice them along with the onion and red pepper. Roughly chop the kale and herbs. Toss all into the cooked grains.

4. Shake the dressing again and pour over the salad. Toss well, taste again and adjust seasoning if needed. If including any of the optional extra, toss these in too.

   Set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so the grains can absorb the dressing before serving.

5. Best eaten on the day of making or the next day.

   Alternatively: toss the dressing with the grains only and store in the fridge for 3-4 days, adding the vegetables, herbs and any extras on the day of eating.

Recipe Notes

While you can buy packets of cooked mixed grains, it's much cheaper to cook and create your own. I recommend making a large batch and freezing in portions. In this recipe I used a mixture of brown rice, bulgur wheat, wholegrain spelt, couscous, and quinoa.

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