I’m experimenting with a new grain this week, farro, and the first thing I wanted to make was a salad. Farro is a delightful chewy grain with a neutral flavor that will make any salad very “meal” worthy. I decided to go a mediterranean route with tomato, cucumber, seasoned and sautéed chickpeas, and my favorite creamy (and vegan) tahini dressing. This Mediterranean Farro Salad was pretty quick to prepare and I can keep the ingredients in the fridge all week to assemble whenever I want a fresh salad.
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What is Farro?
Farro is an “ancient grain” with a delightfully chewy texture and nutty flavor. It’s packed with protein and fiber, but has a neutral flavor, which makes it a great addition to salads, bowl meals, skillets, and more. Farro isn’t quite as popular in the U.S. as other grains, so you’re more likely to find it at health food stores or international markets.
How Do You Cook Farro?
Farro is really easy to cook. Like other grains, you simply boil it in water until tender. I suggest making a batch of farro to use throughout the week, so you don’t have to cook it fresh every night. This salad recipe assumes you have farro already cooked. For detailed cooking instructions, check my tutorial on How to Cook Farro.
Can I Use a Different Grain?
Absolutely! If you don’t like farro or can’t find it in your area, you can use bulgur (cracked wheat), couscous, brown rice, or even quinoa in place of the farro.
Mediterranean Farro Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
Servings 4Ingredients
DRESSING
- 1/3 cup tahini ($1.13)
- 1/3 cup water ($0.00)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice ($0.18)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
SPICED CHICKPEAS
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($1.15)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.12)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional) ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (10-15 cranks of a mill) ($0.03)
- Salt to taste ($0.02)
SALAD
- 3 cups cooked farro (or other grain) ($1.49)
- 2 Roma tomatoes ($1.39)
- 1 cucumber ($0.99)
- 1/4 bunch fresh parsley ($0.79)
Instructions
- To make the dressing, combine the tahini, water, lemon juice, minced garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Set the dressing aside until ready to use (keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days).
- Rinse and drain the chickpeas in a colander. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once hot add the drained chick peas. Sprinkle the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper (if using), and some freshly cracked pepper over top. Stir the chickpeas to coat in the spices, then continue to sauté for about five minutes, or until the outside of the chickpeas are slightly browned and blistered. Season with salt to taste.
- Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley. Place about 3/4 cup cooked farro in each bowl, then top with chopped tomato, chopped cucumber, spiced chickpeas, and a large pinch of chopped parsley. Drizzle the dressing over top and serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Mediterranean Farro Salad – Step by Step Photos
Make the dressing first so that the flavors have a few minutes to mingle. Add 1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste), 1/3 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. Set the dressing aside, or refrigerate for longer storage (up to five days).
Dice two roma tomatoes and one cucumber. Roughly chop about 1/4 bunch parsley (I only chopped a small amount of parsley in the photo).
Rinse and drain a 15oz. can of chickpeas.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet and heat over a medium flame. Add the chickpeas, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne (optional), and some freshly cracked pepper (about 10-15 cranks of a mill). Stir to coat the chickpeas in oil and spices. Continue to sauté the chickpeas until they get slightly brown and blistered on the outside (about 5 minutes). Season with salt to your liking.
Begin to assemble the bowls by placing about 3/4 cup cooked farro in each bowl, then topping with some diced tomato, cucumber, spiced chickpeas, and a sprinkle of the chopped parsley.
Drizzle the tahini dressing over top.
And now it’s time to eat! There’s so much flavor packed into this one bowl, it’s incredible.
Nomnomnomnomnom…
This is delicious!!! I’ll be making this often!
This is one of our all-time favorite recipes. I’m not kidding! It is really quick to make on a week night, but it is so healthy, cheap, and sooo delicious. We make it every other week or more and it never gets old. It’s also one of the best farro dishes I’ve found, by far. If you haven’t tried this…. do it!
This recipe was delicious! I added some za’atar to the chickpea seasoning mix and also added some feta cheese. The tahini sauce really made the recipe. Will definitely make this again!
We enjoyed this for lunch today. Would have added a little more lemon juice to the dressing, and because I had sweet paprika instead of smoked, I added about 1/4 t more paprika and about 1/4 t cumin. Very satisfying dish; thank you very much!
We LOVE this recipe! The chickpeas themselves are amazing but adding the tahini dressing makes it spectacular. I love the nuttiness of the farro with the fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. I added some feta because it makes everything better!
The spiced chickpeas are amazing.
Enjoyed the recipe. I’d make it more explicit that cooking the farro should be done up front. Also, as I was inexperienced at cooking farro, you might mention one cup uncooked farro equals about three cups cooked. Finally, I worried that the dressing might require the blender you mentioned—that doesn’t seem to be the case; you might want to speak to that, either by saying the blender is optional or by recommending blending by hand because it’s simpler, leaves less clean up, and may give you a little more dressing.
Thanks for the recipe and thanks to Emily VanDerWerff for the recommendation.
This was really great, thanks for another keeper! We added feta too :)
This recipe is AMAZING! I added feta because cheese is my weakness. We’ll be making this all summer long.
Feta is a good idea. Thanks!
How to save left overs for Mediterranean Farro Salad with Chick peas? Does it freeze well?
This isn’t a recipe that we’d suggest freezing since it’s so fresh! It will keep in your refrigerator for about 3-5 days. Enjoy!
A great, healthy and flavorful meal! Came together quickly too.
This is such a delicious dinner, especially the dressing! Even my girls love it!
I loved everything about this dish! I made it last Wednesday and it’s only Sunday and I’m making it again! I’m also happy the dressing made more than enough, I won’t have to make any for dinner tonight or for leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
That’s awesome Danielle! Thank you!
I just made this for dinner and all 4 of us actually ate it, which NEVER happens. Thank you!
HOORAY!!! Thanks Nicole!
This goes into the permanent rotation. Perfect!!!! Made exactly as the recipe reads. A perfect main dish meal!
Hooray!