• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Incredible Bulks logo

  • About
  • Discover a New Ingredient
  • Recipes

Everything You Need to Know About Wheat Berries

“Have you ever eaten a wheat berry?” My guess is that if I asked you this question, you’d probably answer “no.” However, it should actually be, “YES! I eat them everyday!” Ok, that may be a hyperbole, but if you’ve eaten anything with flour in it, you’ve eaten wheat berries.

What is a Wheat Berry?

Wheat Berries are short hard kernels that are ground up to make wheat flour. Instead of being ground up, you can just eat the wheat berry itself. I’m assuming that you don’t know/care about the anatomy of a wheat plant, so I’m not going to use terms like “endosperm” in this post. However, just know that wheat berries include all of the edible parts of the wheat, making it a true whole grain.

Different Varieties

You might encounter the following varieties when looking for wheat berries. All the varieties can usually be used interchangeably with one another. Here is what you need to know about each type:

  • Hard vs Soft: Hard varieties take longer to cook than soft, but tend to have more protein in them. Hard varieties are always more chewy.
  • Red vs White: This refers to the color of kernel. Taste and cook time difference are minimal. Using red wheat berries will make your dish have a darker color.
  • Winter vs Spring: This refers to the season that the wheat was grown in. Winter varieties tends to have more protein. Taste differences should be unnoticed by mere mortals.
A small bowl of wheat berries on a white tea towel. A few grains have fallen out.

What are the Health Benefits of Wheat Berries?

Because they are a true whole grain, wheat berries are PACKED with nutrition and very healthy. They are low in calories and fat, but high in fiber, protein and iron. Because of this, they are excellent for weight loss, strengthening bones and regulating blood sugar levels. If you’d like to read more about exactly how wheat berries help with these things, check out “Wheat Berry Nutrition Facts.”

One serving of cooked wheat berries is typically 1/2 cup, and contains 160 calories, 1 gram of fat, 6 grams of protein, 0 grams of sugar and 38% of your daily iron.

Wheat berries are not gluten free.

How do I Cook Wheat Berries?

There are many options for cooking wheat berries, but the most important thing to remember is that they take time. They are very hard and it takes them longer than most grains to become soft. Soaking the berries overnight will help them cook faster, but it is not essential. You can also toast wheat berries before cooking them in water. This brings out their flavor and speeds up cooking time.

After soaking or toasting, you can cook wheat berries in a variety of ways:

  • Stovetop
  • Pressure Cooker/Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • Rice Cooker

How do I know when they are done?

It really does come down to personal preference. Most people I know don’t like the texture of really chewy grains. So if you sample your cooked wheat berries and you think they seem a little too tough, cook them a little longer. They will never get as soft as oatmeal or rice, but the longer you cook them the softer they will get.

What do They Taste Like?

Wheat berries have a pretty mild flavor, similar to oatmeal. They easily blend with and take on other flavors. Wheat berries, however, are chewier than other grains you might be use to eating. When I first started eating them, it was the texture that I had to get use to eating not the taste.

If you ever need a substitute for wheat berries, you could use bulgur, barley or farro.

How to Store Wheat Berries?

a mason jar of dried wheat berries on a white towel. A measuring cup full of wheat berries is next to the jar.

Uncooked wheat berries should be kept in an airtight storage container, like a tupperware or a mason jar. They can be stored up to 6 months at room temperature, or up to a year if frozen.

Cooked wheat berries should be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Cooked wheat berries can also be easily frozen for up to 6 months. It’s a great idea to make a large batch and freeze portions so you can always have a healthy whole grain ready to go. Make sure your cooked wheat berries are completely cool before transfering to a freezer friendly container. (Making sure they are completely cool will help prevent freezer burn). 

Wheat Berry Recipes

There are so many delicious ways to use wheat berries! They make great salads and go perfect in soups. Add them into bread or make a filling breakfast. You can grind up wheat berries to make your own whole wheat flour. Wheat berries can even be sprouted and then used in a variety of ways. Here are some of my favorite wheat berry recipes from around the web.

Wheat Berry Salad with Apples and Cranberries

Rustic Wheat Berry Bread

Wheat Berry Chili

Wheat Berry Breakfast Bowl

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Wheat Berries

Wheat Berry Risotto with Winter Roasted Vegetables

a small bowl of wheat berries on a white tea towel. The words "A Foodie's Guide to Wheat Berries" is written across the top and the words "You should be eating this!" are written across the bottom.

Well, I hope you’ve been inspired to try out wheat berries. They really are my favorite whole grain.

✌️Ems

Filed Under: Discover a New Ingredient, Wheat Berries

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Want to say Hi?

Reach out to TheIncredibleBulks@gmail.com

Healthy Ingredients, Everyday Meals

The purpose of The Incredible Bulks is to inspire people to use new and healthy ingredients in their everyday cooking. Our recipes may involve ingredients you haven’t tried, but they are easy and family friendly. Find out more about the blog here.

Recipes

The Latest

a bowl of vegetarian wheat berry chili. cheese is melted on top of the chili and there are corn chips sprinkled about.

Easy Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili with Wheat Berries

Grocery Shopping Tips for Zero Waste Living

3 bags of different spices with the words "How to Store Bulk Spices, Ideas for Free, Cheap or Store bought storage options.

How to Store Bulk Spices

4 tsps of garlic powder, granulated garlic, garlic salt and minced garlic on a table. 2 garlic bulbs and 3 garlic cloves are in the background

Garlic Powder vs Garlic Salt: When to use different forms of Garlic

Footer

Welcome!

Inspired by my love of trying new foods, The Incredible Bulks helps curious foodies discover easy and tasty ways to cook with new ingredients, or reinvent old favorites. Read More Here!

Check Out What’s New

a bowl of vegetarian wheat berry chili. cheese is melted on top of the chili and there are corn chips sprinkled about.
A small bowl of wheat berries on a white tea towel. A few grains have fallen out.
A small bowl of wheat berries next to a rice cooker.
My favorite way to eat zucchini is in oatmeal! Che My favorite way to eat zucchini is in oatmeal! Check out Zucchini Bread Oatmeal, new on the blog! 

Recipe link in profile, or here: 
https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/zucchini-bread-oatmeal/

#zucchini #breakfastofchampions #breakfastideas #zucchinibread #zucchinirecipes #feedfeed #yum #eatyourveggies #breakfasttime
This Thursday it will be exactly 6 months until Ch This Thursday it will be exactly 6 months until Christmas! 🎄❄️🎁 I can’t think of a better way to celebrate on a hot summer day than by making Gingerbread Ice Cream Sandwiches! 
Recipe in profile or at https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/gingerbread-ice-cream-sandwiches/

#6monthstillchristmas #cookies #icecreamsandwich #gingerbread #summertreats #summervibes #yum #dessert #treat #christmas #buzzfeedfood #feedfeed #thekitchn #huffposttaste #feedmegood
Tomorrow is the first day of summer, which means i Tomorrow is the first day of summer, which means it’s time to grill all the things! Greek Marinaded Chicken is my very favorite way to grill chicken. Serve it in a pita with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and feta cheese. Mmmm....it’s the best! 
Find the recipe by following the link in my profile. 
#grilling #marinade #summervibes #dinnerideas #greekfood #chicken #grillingseason #easyhealthymeals #yummyfood #hungry #eatinghealthy #theincrediblebulks
I made these Salted Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats I made these Salted Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats today to take to a friend. My family ended up eating the whole pan instead.

Good thing they are super easy to make! Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow. Check out the link in my bio. 
#easydessert #easygourmet #saltedchocolate #ricekrispietreats #ricekrispies #feedmegood #food52 #thefeedfeed #lovefood #eatmunchies #foodblogfeed #huffposttaste #yumyumyum
Baking bread is so hot right now. I put Vital Whea Baking bread is so hot right now. I put Vital Wheat Gluten to the test to see if adding it really made a difference. I think the pictures speak for themselves. 
To read more about this cooking adventure, check out https://www.theincrediblebulks.com/what-is-vital-wheat-gluten/ 
#breadmaking #wincobulkbaker #gluten #homemadebread #foodexperiment #foodscience #breadlover
We’ve been living the quarantine life for 9 week We’ve been living the quarantine life for 9 weeks now. Why not roll a sandwich in cereal and then dip it in strawberry sauce?  Check out the link in my bio to get this deliciously weird recipe. #theIncredibleBulks #yummyinmytummy #nomnom #instayum #buzzfeedfood #feedfeed #huffposttaste #droolclub #sandwichesofinstagram #lunchideas #strawberryjam #weirdbutgood
Follow me on Instagram

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 The Incredible Bulks on the Brunch Pro Theme