This healthy buckwheat salad has vibrant flavors with tart, sweet, and earthy notes. Upgrade your salad to a nutritious, hearty food characterized by the bright but complimentary combination of apples, cranberries, and buckwheat. Try pairing this salad with apple cider butternut squash soup for a truly balanced dinner.
Cranberry Apple Buckwheat Salad is great for when apples are in season in the fall, as a dynamic meal for energy in the summer, or for the winter days of hibernation at home. Dress it with my Orange Ginger Vinaigrette for a touch of bright, citrusy sunshine!
This salad is full of super nourishing foods. Buckwheat is an ancient grain high in protein and a good source of fiber. The addition of buckwheat groats upgrades this salad to make it more filling and energizing. As a gluten free grain, buckwheat is a superfood which gives many health benefits. Buckwheat can help promote weight loss, is a high source of energy, and contains all eight essential amino acids while still remaining easy to digest.
Sunflower seeds are also a source of many vitamins which, along with cranberries, boost your immune system with zinc and selenium.
The apples, celery, and green onion further support the light but full bodied depth of this nutritious salad. Some people have buckwheat groats for breakfast like an oatmeal, but in this salad they contribute a toasty flavor, making it a nutrient rich food!
Did You Know You Can Grind Uncooked Buckwheat Groats Into Flour?
Buckwheat groats are the hulled seeds of a buckwheat plant. In their raw form, groats are often cooked and made into a variety of breakfast recipes. When cooked, the groats take on a nutty and earthy flavor and add so much to recipes like this salad. You can also take the groats and turn them into flour to use as a flour substitute, increasing the nutritional value of your baked goods. Buckwheat flour is also widely available in grocery stores.
Try My Buckwheat Flour Recipes:
-Buckwheat Flour Brownies
-Buckwheat Crepes
-Buckwheat Flour Chocolate Muffins
-Chocolate Buckwheat Crepes
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooking buckwheat is a straightforward process. Rinse the buckwheat with water thoroughly. Add the buckwheat, water and salt to a pot and bring to a boil with the lid on. Lower the heat and let it simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork.
Yes, buckwheat is naturally gluten-free. Surprisingly, buckwheat is closely related to the rhubarb plant. Buckwheat is not a grain at all!
You can! The buckwheat groats are placed in a mason jar with water and cared for every six hours. Within a day, they should sprout. See this recipe for detailed instructions.
You don’t have to soak buckwheat groats, but it does reduce the cooking time. To soak the groats, set them in water for at least six hours (or leave them overnight!)
Dressing Suggestions:
Add a zesty dressing to go with this salad! Here are some of my suggestions:
Tips for Making This Recipe
- You can change some of the elements of this salad while maintaining the flavours and rich nutritious benefits. For example, you can try swapping the spinach with another salad green such as kale, rainbow chard, or arugula. Or swap the celery for cucumber or raw zucchini.
- Try taking your own spin on this salad by adding your own touch. A light cheese such as feta or mozzarella would add another flavor to the salad. Experiment with adding other nutritious nuts or seeds you have in your pantry, such as hemp seeds, chia, or roasted pistachios. You can try other additions of roasted vegetables such as beets, pumpkin, sweet potato or carrot.
More Recipes to Enjoy
Buckwheat Groat Salad
Cranberry Apple Buckwheat Salad
Ingredients
Cooking Buckwheat Groats
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 1 cup raw buckwheat groats
- pinch of salt or add a bouillon cube for flavor
Assemble The Salad
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- 2 small apples chopped
- 2 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened dried cranberries
- 2 cups baby spinach
Instructions
Cook Buckwheat Groats
- There are various methods for cooking buckwheat groats. If you have a tried and true method then definitely use it! I'll share what works for me:
- Rinse the buckwheat well in a strainer under cold water. (This is a very important step.)
- Add the rinsed buckwheat, water and salt to a medium sized pot.
- Bring to a boil over medium-heat. Add a tight fitting lid and lower the heat. Allow the buckwheat to simmer with the lid on for 7-10 minutes. Remove from the heat when the liquid is absorbed.
- Allow the buckwheat to stand for 5 minutes and then fluff with a fork. Allow the buckwheat to cool down before adding to the salad.
- Note: I have had success with rinsing my buckwheat groats after cooking if they come out too clumped together. I rinse and then lay out on a kitchen towel to allow them to dry a bit.
Assemble The Salad
- Finely chop the celery, apple and green onion.
- Assemble all the salad ingredients in a large bowl or platter and toss to combine. Add the dressing of your choice and enjoy!
- Note: I dress this salad simply with a drizzle of olive oil, splash of apple cider vinegar and a few shakes of herbamare seasoning and it's delicious!
If you make this recipe please leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! I aim to respond to every single comment. I am so grateful when you trust me and try one of my recipe creations in your own kitchen. I love to hear how it went! Let’s connect on Instagram and tag me in your food pics!
‘Til next time,
Christy
Meg says
Really enjoyed this salad! Easy to meal prep too! (I just put lemon juice on the apple to keep it from browning)
Gina says
Hi! This looks so nourishing and yummy! So, I was wondering would broken buckwheat groats work or do they need to be whole. Sorry but I don't have any experience working with this ingredient and they sell both, but the broken ones are less expensive.
Christy Faber says
Hi Gina! Thanks for the question. I haven't worked with broken buckwheat groats so I'm not sure how they cook up. My concern would be that they would be too congealed for adding to a salad. If you experiment with them please let me know your thoughts!