This farro salad is a fresh and colorful blend of grains, vegetables, olives, feta cheese and herbs, all tossed in a homemade dressing. An easy and unusual salad that’s healthy and can be made in advance.
I love a good salad, and sometimes the best salads don’t even involve lettuce. When I’m looking for a way to get my veggies in, I turn to orzo salad, chickpea salad and this fabulous farro salad.
I love looking for new ways to get my veggies in, and this farro salad is a real winner. It’s a blend of fresh veggies, chickpeas, feta cheese and olives, all tossed in the most delicious homemade vinaigrette. This salad is healthy, full of protein and will earn you rave reviews from family and friends.
What is farro?
Farro is a type of ancient wheat grain that has the hull removed. Farro is sold in the rice area of most grocery stores, and can be prepared by boiling the grains in salted water for approximately 20 minutes. Farro has a pleasant, chewy texture and mild flavor.
How do you make farro salad?
To make farro salad, you will combine cooked farro with cucumbers, roasted red bell peppers, chickpeas, kalamata olives, red onions and feta cheese. Everything gets tossed together with a simple savory dressing. From there, you can either serve your salad immediately or refrigerate it for up to 6 hours.
Tips for farro salad
- I like to use the small Persian cucumbers for this salad. If you can’t find this variety, use a seedless English cucumber instead.
- I use a bottle of pre-prepared roasted peppers for convenience sake, but you can roast fresh peppers if you prefer.
- This salad calls for parsley because it adds a fresh flavor and many people always have it on hand. If you don’t have parsley, other great herb options are dill, chives or mint.
- Make sure to cut all your veggies into small pieces so that they blend well with the tiny grains of farro.
- If you’re looking to save time, cook your farro in advance, up to 3 days before you plan to make this salad.
Is farro healthy?
Farro is full of nutrients! It contains plenty of fiber, protein, magnesium and zinc. It also contains a variety of antioxidant compounds which help protect against diseases. It’s a great substitute for refined grains such as white rice.
Farro Salad Variations
There are so many different ways to flavor your farro salad! Here are some of my favorite optional additions to this recipe.
- Grilled Chicken
- Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Marinated Artichoke Hearts
- Cherry Tomatoes
- Baby Spinach
Farro salad makes a great side dish, vegetarian main course, or potluck offering. It’s unexpected and unique, yet full of flavor and texture. Every time I bring this salad to an event, I get a ton of requests for the recipe!
More great salad recipes
- Black Bean and Corn Salad
- Creamy Cucumber Salad
- Cherry Tomato Salad
- Pesto Pasta Salad
- Brussels Sprout Salad
Farro Salad with Feta
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked farro
- 1 cup cucumber diced
- 1 cup chickpeas canned, drained then rinsed
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers diced
- 1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives sliced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the farro, cucumbers, chickpeas, roasted peppers, red onion, feta cheese, olives and parsley in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, oregano and salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the farro mixture. Toss to coat, then serve
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 4, 2015 and was updated on February 3, 2019 with new content.
Sue says
Made this for a shower and it was really wonderful!
Kristin says
I used small chopped kale instead of parsley other wise followed the recipe. Everyone loved it even my 21 month old granddaughter.
Kris says
The flavor and textures were great–super delicious! I had to make a few substitutes because I was making a-what’s-in-the-pantry dinner–so no red peppers or cucumbers, but I did have peperoncini and cooked baby beets. Plus, I didn’t have red wine vinegar– mixed a little white balsamic with regular balsamic and one less tablespoon of olive oil (because I was tasting it along the way and II like my dressing a little sharper). It’s a forgiving recipe–to accommodate a last minute meal. Thanks!
PHaley says
Hi! How long will this salad keep in the fridge?
Sara says
Up to 2 days!
Sheryl says
Perfect salad that my family loved!
Jordan says
Real good. I added chicken thighs with Schwarma seasoning and made a dinner out of it.
Kim T. says
This was amazing! The only changes I made were to use sun dried tomatoes packed in oil in place of the roasted red peppers because I was out of the roasted peppers and black olives because I didn’t want to pit my kalamatas. My husband isn’t a fan of onions or cucumbers but that didn’t stop him from going back for seconds! It was the perfect side for our blackened salmon and for lunch I will be having it topped with a can of tuna or some cubed chicken breast. The possibilities are endless! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Linda M. Lukas says
I made this salad exactly as the recipe says. The dressing was too Olive oily because the ratio between the amount of oil to the amount of acid prescribed was not to my taste….I added a few more tablespoons of red wine vinegar and got the exact right ratio that I like…….in addition, I chilled the dressing and all the salad fixings so it really tasted great on a warm day. I think the salad would be heartier with an addition of chunks of ham or hard salami, just sayin…
kathy says
Excellent salad! My family loved it.
Kelly says
Great salad. Very hearty. The farro holds up well and absorbs flavor.
Kris says
Likely a stupid question, but is 1 serving a cup of this salad?
Sara says
Yes that’s correct!
Katrina says
Sorry if I miss understand, but does that mean there are 439 calories in one cup of salad?
Sara says
A serving is 1 1/2 cups!