Spelt Berries substitute

Best substitute

Farro (Whole or Semi-Pearled)

Use the same amount by dry volume as the spelt berries you are replacing

Best for grain salads

Close match

Farro is the closest and easiest swap for spelt berries, 1:1 by dry volume, because spelt is itself one of the three grains sold as farro in Italy. Wheat berries are just as good if you have them, needing about ten minutes longer. Hulled barley or kamut also work, with kamut being the plumpest and chewiest of the lot. All of these do the same job spelt was doing, which is providing firm, nutty, chewy whole-grain bulk, and the flavor differences between them are small enough that most people would not pick spelt out of a blind lineup.

Other spelt berries substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Wheat Berries
Close match
Use the same amount by dry volume
Whole modern wheat kernels, the closest match for chew and cooking behavior.
What changes
Best for
grain salads, pilafs, grain bowls, stuffings
Cook 50 to 60 minutes, so start them a little earlier than you would spelt. They hold their shape even better than spelt does and taste slightly plainer, a bit less buttery and less sweet. In a dressed salad the difference disappears once there is lemon and olive oil involved.
3Kamut (Khorasan Wheat) Berries
Different texture
Use the same amount by dry volume
Another ancient wheat with unusually large, elongated kernels.
What changes
Best for
grain salads, warm grain sides, bowls, soups
The grains are noticeably bigger and cook to a firmer, almost bouncy chew, so the finished dish eats chunkier than it would with spelt. Flavour is rich and buttery, arguably better than spelt on its own. Soak overnight and expect 50 to 60 minutes, since unsoaked kamut can take well over an hour.
4Hulled Barley (Pot Barley)
Different taste
Use the same amount by dry volume
Whole unpolished barley, chewy and widely available.
What changes
Best for
soups, stews, grain salads, mushroom and root vegetable dishes
Ready in 45 to 55 minutes. Barley is milder and faintly malty where spelt is nutty and sweet, and it releases more starch, so a barley soup comes out thicker and cloudier than the same soup made with spelt. In a salad it is a touch slicker but still holds up well.
5Short-Grain Brown Rice
Different taste
Use the same amount by dry volume
The gluten-free fallback when the point is texture rather than flavor.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free cooking, grain salads, bowls, stuffings
Cooks in 40 to 45 minutes and gives you a similar plump chew, though the grains are rounder and stickier and the dish clumps more when it cools. Flavour is mildly nutty but without spelt's sweetness. Rinse the cooked rice briefly under cold water for a salad to knock off the surface starch.
6Whole-Grain Sorghum
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by dry volume
Small round gluten-free grains that stay stubbornly separate.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free grain salads, bowls, chilis, meal prep
Cook 50 to 60 minutes. The little beads pop between the teeth rather than yielding softly, which is a real texture difference from spelt, and the flavor is plain and faintly sweet like corn. It is the best choice if someone at the table cannot eat wheat, because it does not disintegrate the way gluten-free pasta or quinoa can.

What is Spelt Berries?

Spelt Berries is the whole-grain form of spelt, an ancient species of wheat, sold with only the hull removed so the kernels stay intact and simmer into plump chewy beads for salads, soups and pilafs; bags may also be labeled whole spelt, spelt grain or dinkel.

Cooking tips

Spelt berries are doing a structural job, not a flavoring one. They are the chew and the bulk that turn a bowl of dressed vegetables into dinner, and they contribute a mild nutty sweetness on top. That means almost any whole unpolished grain covers the swap, and it also means you should not spend time hunting for the one true replacement. Pick whichever chewy grain is in the cupboard and adjust the timing.
Soak them overnight if you can. Spelt berries have a tough bran and an unsoaked batch can take an hour; soaked, they are usually done in 35 to 40 minutes and cook far more evenly. Discard the soaking water.
Boil them in abundant salted water like pasta and drain, rather than measuring an exact absorption ratio. Kernel size varies between harvests, so timing is more reliable than a fixed water measurement.
Cooked spelt should still give a definite resistance in the center. If you cook it to true softness the bran splits and the grains go from pleasantly chewy to sticky and slightly gluey, which is the most common thing people get wrong with whole berries.
Dress the grains while they are still warm. Warm spelt drinks up vinaigrette; cold spelt just wears it on the outside, and a salad dressed cold tastes flat no matter how good the dressing is.
Do not use spelt berries where a recipe wants spelt flour, and vice versa. They are the same grain but they behave nothing alike, whole versus milled.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave spelt berries out?

Not really, if the recipe is a grain salad or a pilaf, because the grain is the substance of the dish and you would be left with a small bowl of vegetables. In a soup you can leave them out and the result is still a soup, just thinner and less filling. A better move is to substitute whatever chewy grain, brown rice or even short pasta you already have.

Is spelt the same as farro?

Partly. In Italy the word farro covers three related ancient wheats: einkorn (farro piccolo), emmer (farro medio) and spelt (farro grande). Most Italian farro is emmer, but plenty of farro sold in English-speaking countries is actually spelt. So spelt and farro are close relatives and swap 1:1 without complaint, and sometimes they are literally the same bag under two names.

Are spelt berries gluten-free or easier to digest than wheat?

Spelt is a species of wheat and it contains gluten, so it is not safe for anyone with coeliac disease or a wheat allergy. Some people report finding it gentler than modern wheat, but that is personal experience rather than something you should rely on. If you need genuinely gluten-free chew, use sorghum, buckwheat groats or short-grain brown rice instead.

How much cooked spelt does dry spelt make?

About two and a half to three times the dry volume, so one cup of dry spelt berries yields roughly two and a half to three cups cooked, enough for four servings as a side. Wheat berries, farro, kamut and barley all expand similarly, which is why a straight 1:1 dry swap keeps the recipe balanced.

Can I use spelt flakes or cracked spelt instead?

Only for porridge or baking. Spelt flakes are steamed and rolled like oats and turn creamy in about ten minutes, and cracked spelt breaks down into something between couscous and polenta. Neither stays as separate grains, so neither works where you wanted whole berries.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Spelt Berries substitute

Other spelt berries substitutes

2Wheat Berries

3Kamut (Khorasan Wheat) Berries

4Hulled Barley (Pot Barley)

5Short-Grain Brown Rice

6Whole-Grain Sorghum