Buckwheat Salad with Grilled Scallops is the perfect summer seafood salad for the patio.
If you are new to buckwheat recipes, this is a great place to start. Healthy and nutritious. Easy salad recipe that works as an appetizer or main dish.
Salads are so versatile. You can eat them for lunch or create a little heartier version for a nice dinner option. Adding protein is a great way to boost both flavour and substance.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this cold buckwheat salad can be found at the bottom of this post.
We love adding seafood to our creations, especially when we are making a dinner salad.
- Smoked Salmon Salad is one of our go-to meals. Cucumber noodles are fun to make and eat.
- Shrimp and Grits Salad is a fun take on a classic southern meal. Another delicious grain-based meal.
Buckwheat Salad Has Lots Of Healthy Ingredients
Nutritious and healthy, filled with lots of great tastes and textures:
- (affiliate) cold cooked buckwheat groats
- pumpkin seeds
- goji berries
- nectarines
- oranges
- hemp seeds
- pomegranate balsamic vinegar
- seared scallops
All these ingredients combined create a wonderful grain-based meal that is gluten-free too.
Have you tried my Mushroom and Barley Casserole? Such a great one-dish dinner. It’s like baked barley risotto.
What Is Buckwheat?
A super healthy grain that packs a punch in the protein department. It also contains a great amount of fibre.
Wonderful meat alternative, and even works in vegan recipes. Helps to improve heart health, promote weight loss, and regulates blood sugar too.
Kasha is toasted buckwheat groats. It has a stronger, nuttier flavour. You can also get buckwheat flour (perfect for pancakes).
Soba noodles are actually buckwheat noodles.
Cooking Buckwheat
This highly nutritious whole grain can be cooked in water, milk, or broth. It is as simple to make as white rice. Check package directions for exact instructions.
Always rinse before cooking. 1 cup of uncooked groats yields 2 cups of cooked buckwheat.
It can be eaten hot (like porridge) and used in sweet and savoury recipes.
Making The Salad
Everything for this delicious seafood salad can be done ahead of time. All you have to do is sear or grill the scallops just before serving.
- Cook the groats according to the package directions and let cool.
- Make the dressing.
- Dice up the nectarines.
- Combine the goji berries, pumpkin seeds, nectarines, and buckwheat in a bowl.
- Add a few tablespoons of dressing and combine.
- Grill or sear the scallops.
- Place some greens on the plate.
- Top with the buckwheat salad mixture.
- Top with the grilled scallops.
- Drizzle with more dressing.
- Garnish with hemp seeds.
Recipe Suggestions
You also have the opportunity to swap out ingredients too. For instance, I used pomegranate balsamic in this recipe. Feel free to experiment. Check out some other great flavoured vinegars at MyOlive.
If you don’t have access to (affiliate) goji berries you can substitute cranberries or (affiliate) dried blueberries.
You can sear the scallops on the stovetop or grill them on the bbq.
In this recipe I used butter lettuce as the base. You can replace that with:
- spinach
- kale
- mixed greens
- romaine
- arugula
Looking for more healthy seafood meals? I have a few nutritious recipes for you to try:
- Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers made with crab, spinach, and goat cheese.
- Quinoa Tuna Casserole is an updated version of the classic noodle casserole mom used to make.
- Tuna Avocado Salad is an awesome and hearty main dish. Easy summer eating!!
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Summer Buckwheat Salad with Grilled Scallops
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup uncooked white buckwheat
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup goji berries
- ¾ cup diced fresh nectarines
- 12 fresh scallops
- dash red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoons oil for searing the scallops (your choice)
- 1 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 3 cups fresh greens (lettuce, kale, spinach, butter lettuce)
For the Dressing:
- 1 Cara Cara orange
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 ounce pomegranate balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons agave nectar
Instructions
- Cook the buckwheat in 2 cups of cold water for about 10-12 minutes. DON'T overcook. Drain excess liquid and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Buckwheat should still have a firm texture. Place in bowl to cool.
- For the Dressing: Peel the orange and puree. Use a blender or immersion blender for this process. NOTE: If the orange is dry add about 1 oz. of water.
- Slowly blend in olive oil.
- Add pomegranate balsamic vinegar.
- Add agave nectar.
- Dice nectarines. Add the nectarines, pumpkin seeds and goji berries to the cooled buckwheat.
- Add some of the dressing to the mixture and place in the fridge to allow the flavours to blend.
- Heat a cast iron skillet (we did ours on the BBQ) with some olive oil added.
- Sprinkle the scallops with red pepper flakes.
- Sear on both sides.
- Place some greens on a plate (I used butter lettuce)
- Add the buckwheat salad.
- Top with seared scallops.
- Drizzle with additional dressing.
- Sprinkle with hemp seeds.
Linda
This salad looks so beautiful and flavorful, especially when paired with grilled scallops. Definitely one of my favorites!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
So glad you enjoyed this delicious seafood salad. Happy Summer.
Amy Liu Dong
This is a new salad recipe for me, and it looks delicious and easy to make. Excited to make this for everyone tonight’s dinner.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This makes a great dinner salad….and buckwheat is so healtly. ENJOY!
Liz
This is such a great salad for summer! Perfect when you want something light but filling!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is patio dining perfect. Elegant and delicious.
Jere
This is definitely a great summer salad. I want to try the buckwheat for a change. It reminds me of barely which I love.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Yes, buckwheat is similar to barley and farro. So delicious and healthy. Works great in this salad.
Natalie
I think I never had buckwheat salad. What a great idea for light summer lunch. I will save this recipe and make it for me and my husband. Looks very delicious and healthy.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Cold buckwheat is really delicous. It pairs great with these grilled scallops.
Jill
The perfect summer salad for sure! The flavors are so amazing together!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Thanks so much. This is the perfect summer meal for the patio.
Jeri
I have never cooked with buckwheat before, but after reading this post I am going to buy some! I also had no idea you could buy goji berries in a bag like that! I am going to order both so I can make this delicious-looking salad! It looks so healthy AND flavorful! Thanks for the recipe!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Awesome, I sure hope you give this summer salad a try. It is always a hit in our house.
Kirby
I had been curious about trying buckwheat groats for some time. This recipe was the perfect introduction and now I am obsessed. Thank you for such a tasty recipe!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
You are very welcome. Buckwheat is one of those ingredients that does not get a lot of hype…but it is so delicious.
Marisa Franca
This is just the type of meal would love to have when we want something nutritious, flavorful, and light. I haven’t worked with buckwheat before and now I’m dying to try. I’m putting it on my grocery list right now. And citrus and scallops go so well together. Thinking about it is making my mouth water.
Homemade & Yummy
I LOVE buckwheat. It does have a nice nutty taste and a great dense texture too. Hope you enjoy this recipe
Kate
I have always wondered how one cooks groats. So glad I came across this recipe and I can’t wait to make this!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
It’s funny the things you can learn from online recipes. ENJOY this wonderful salad.
Veena Azmanov
I love buckwheat salad and you added scallops – that just takes this to a whole new leve.. Love the flavors and those berries makes it look so pretty too!
Homemade & Yummy
Yes I can’t wait for grilling season.
Jennifer
Ok my mouth is watering! How delicious! And you photographed that beautifully.
Chef G
Thanks so much!!
Nicole
I’m a vegetarian, but this looks like the perfect meal to try when the fam asks for seafood. Thanks so much for sharing and I’ll let you know how it goes 🙂
Chef G
Thanks, hope they enjoy it!!
Cynthia L
I have to say that I don’t think I have ever tried buckwheat. After reading this post, I think I need to go out and find some. This looks like a fantastic meal that my family would love.
Chef G
Buckwheat is great, hope you give it a try.
Angela
Oh yum, you’ve created such an appetizing salad. I need to get more creative with my salads. I think I’ll give buckwheat a try.
Chef G
Thanks so much, hope you do.
Bri
This meal looks so flavorful, light, and satisfying. I need to find a quality market that sells scallops so I can try this myself.
Chef G
You can always use frozen if you can’t find fresh.