This vegan pearl barley winter salad is loaded with iron-rich ingredients all smothered in a lemony, sumac and tahini dressing. It’s perfect for meal prep lunches and is full of healthy flavour.

If you’re stuck in a salad rut or need a boost of iron in your diet, this pearl barley winter salad might be just the thing you’re looking for. Iron deficiency is a common thing amongst vegans because of the type of iron found in plants and how it’s not absorbed by the body as efficiently as the type of iron found in animal products.

The rub when it comes to iron is that certain other things we consume can make it harder for our bodies to absorb it. Namely things high in tannin like tea, coffee, red wine, dark chocolate and whole grain cereals.

Conversely vitamin C has been shown to enhance iron absorption. It captures non-heme (plant based) iron and stores it in a form that your body can absorb more easily.

Which is why the ingredients in this healthy salad are all there, containing both vitamin c and iron rich fruits and vegetables.

Healthy Salad Ingredients

Pearl barley – decent iron content and not a whole grain. It’s a refined grain because the outer bran layer and hull are removed during processing.

Chickpeas – contain both iron and vitamin C.

Sweet potatoes – also contain vitamin C as well as antioxidants and fibre.

Bell pepper – botanically classified as a fruit, bell peppers are high in vitamin C (as well as vitamins E, A, B6 and K1).

Red onions – a good source of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, and have many potential health benefits. 

Pumpkin seeds – aid digestion, are anti-inflammatory and can reduce cholesterol.

Cranberries – full of antioxidants and fibre.

Flax seeds – high in iron and fibre.

Lemon – high in vitamin C + the lovely flavour it gives to any salad dressing!

How to make this easy, healthy salad

Dice the sweet potatoes into bite sized chunks then toss together with the drained chickpeas, oil, herbs and spices. Tip onto a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes.

While they’re roasting cook the pearly barley by bubbling with the stock/broth for 15-2o minutes until all the liquid is absorbed.

While everything is cooking, peel and finely slice the red onion and roughly dice the cucumber and bell pepper. Put into a large bowl along with the cranberries.

In a jar with a lid put all the ingredients for the dressing.

After 20 minutes of roasting add the pumpkin seeds to the tray and return to the oven for a further 15 minutes.

Add the cooked pearl barley and tray of roasted sweet potato, chickpeas and pumpkin seeds to the bowl of vegetables. Shake the jar of dressing then pour over the salad. Stir everything together until well mixed.

Eat while still warm or cool and store in the fridge. This is great recipe for meal prep and perfect for lunch boxes! It doesn’t even suffer having the dressing mixed in, quite the opposite, I think it helps develop all the flavours of the salad.

Looking for even more easy healthy lunch ideas? Try these …

Spring Vegetable Orzo Pasta

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Winter Salad with ‘Chicken’ and Orange Sesame Dressing

BBQ Cauliflower ‘Wings’

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