Mediterranean Farro Salad

This Mediterranean Farro Salad is an easy, fresh salad mixing farro, fresh vegetables, chickpeas, fresh herbs and feta cheese with a light dressing. Farro salads hold up nicely making them great for meal-prep or leftovers. 

MEDITERRANEAN FARRO SALAD 

In the warmer months you can find fresh salads on my table almost daily. This is the perfect salad for summer.

I love to rotate between this Mediterranean Farro Salad, Summer Orzo Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Bean Salad, Mediterranean Eggplant Salad and this Easy Lebanese Salad. 

Today’s Farro Salad is one of my favorites because I love the texture and taste of farro. This is a delicious salad that is also really healthy.

It is a hearty grain that has a slightly chewy texture and a nutty flavor that works nicely with fresh vegetables and creamy feta cheese. 

As with most of my salads you can customize this salad to your tastes.  I love mixing things up and adding fresh veggies, olives, artichokes, or sun-dried tomatoes. 

If you haven’t tried farro in salads you are missing out and I hope you will try this salad. It is also great for meal prep and holds up well because of the texture of the farro.

Some other recipes that use farro you might like are this Easy Summer Farro Salad, Smoky Kale Chickpea Farro Soup or this Farro Roasted Beet Arugula Salad. 

What is Farro?

Pearled farro is an ancient whole grain and has a nutty flavor and a chewy texture perfect for salads, soups, and sides. Farro is easy to prepare and is very versatile and adaptable. It works great in salads because it holds up well alongside veggies.

If you don’t want to use farro in this salad you could use brown rice which has a similar texture but not as chewy.

Is Farro Healthy?

Yes it is! Farro is an excellent source of protein, high in fiber and nutrients like magnesium, zinc and some B vitamins. If you are looking to incorporate more whole grains into your diet this is the grain for you.

Recipe Ingredients

• Farro: This salad uses farro as the grain in the salad. I love farro because it has a chewy and nutty flavor that works nicely in salads. 
• Chickpeas: I love adding beans to salads, especially chickpeas. They add protein, texture and work nicely in salads.
• Vegetables: The fresh vegetables in this salad are juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, red bell pepper, green onion and red onion. 
• Feta Cheese: Creamy feta cheese is added to this salad is such a great addition. You can leave it out if you don’t like it. 
• Fresh Herbs: Fresh parsley is added to take this salad to the next level. You can use other fresh basil like Italian parsley or curly parsley. 
• Dressing: The dressing in this salad is a light red wine vinegar style dressing using olive oil, red wine vinegar with a bit of sweetness from the fresh lemon juice.

How do You Make This Mediterranean Farro Salad?

This mediterranean farro salad recipe is so easy to throw together. You can prepare this ahead of time and add the dressing when you are ready to serve it.

1. Cook the Farro: Start by cooking the farro according to the package until al dente and bring to room temperature.

2. Mix Remaining Ingredients: While the farro cooks add the remaining ingredients into a large bowl.

Once the farro is done cooking remove from heat and drain. Let the farro cool for 10 minutes.

3. Create Dressing: In a mason jar or small bowl combine the dressing ingredients and mix well.

4. Add Dressing to Salad: Add the cooked farro into the bowl and pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Refrigerate for two hours before serving if possible, otherwise serve immediately.

I think this salad actually tastes better the next day because the flavors really soak into the farro. You might want to add more dressing when serving the salad. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Ways to Modify this Farro Salad

• Beans: Like I mentioned above, this salad uses chickpeas but you can use a variety of beans. White beans and kidney beans work really nicely. You could also get creative and try two or three beans along with the other ingredients. 
• Greens: You can add greens like kale, spinach or peppery arugula to this salad. All are great additions.
• Fresh Vegetables: This salad is at its best in the warm months when you can use farmers market or garden vegetables. I love finding whatever is in season and adding that in like carrots, celery, radish, zucchini and broccoli work nicely. You also could add kalamata olives, artichokes or roasted tomatoes.
• Cheese: There are a variety of cheeses that work nicely in this salad. The obvious one is feta cheese but you can also add in goat cheese, Parmesan cheese or mozzarella cheese.
• Spiralizing: To make this salad extra fun sometimes I like to spiralize a cucumber or zucchini and add that in. It adds texture and is visually appealing. 
• Fresh Herbs: Another way to take this salad to the next level is fresh herbs. I love adding fresh mint, basil or dill. 
• Nuts and Seeds: Nuts and seeds would be great in this salad. Try pine nuts, pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts or sunflower seeds.
• Broth: Cook your farro in vegetable broth or chicken broth for extra flavor.

Make-Ahead Tip:

If you are making this salad ahead of time I suggest prepping all of the ingredients and adding them together except for the feta cheese.

When you are ready to serve the salad add the feta cheese in and toss it to combine.

I also leave the dressing off of the salad until about two hours before I am serving and then I will toss it and refrigerate it. You can make the dressing ahead of time and store in a mason jar so it is ready to go. 

What to Pair with this Farro Chickpea Salad:

I love to pair this salad with seafood like this Air Fryer Cod, Black Sea Bass or this Baked Cod with Lemon Sauce. 

Beef is another nice pairing. I often do this Grilled Flank Steak with Dry Rub, Grilled Beef Kofta Kebabs or these Mediterranean Beef Kabobs. 

A few other dishes I like to serve with this salad are these Mediterranean Baked Turkey Meatballs, Moroccan Chicken Thighs or these Grilled Chicken Thighs with Greek Marinade. 

Other Salad Recipes You Might Like:

LEMON ARUGULA SALAD

SUMMER ORZO SALAD

EASY LEBANESE SALAD 

MEDITERRANEAN LENTIL SALAD 

MEDITERRANEAN EGGPLANT SALAD