Roasted Vegetable Farro Bowl
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A delicious whole grain farro bowl with Mediterranean ingredients, including feta cheese, roasted eggplant and sweet cherry tomatoes. This is an easy vegetarian farro recipe that’s ready within 40 minutes!
Here’s a hearty, healthy whole grain bowl to add to your meal rotation — one of our favorite vegetarian farro recipes, full of roasted Mediterranean vegetables, fresh parsley and feta cheese.
This easy one-dish meal features bold Mediterranean ingredients like eggplant, tomatoes and feta and it’s seasoned with aromatic cumin and coriander spices. As a former personal chef, I am all about filling the kitchen with vibrant vegetarian recipes that double as dinner and next day’s lunch!
This farro bowl is one of those versatile dishes you make ahead of time and enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Farro bowls for meal planning
Like all good grain bowls, this farro bowl recipe is an easy one to make ahead. Enjoy it warm, at room temperature or keep it in the fridge to pack for lunch the next day.
Pearled farro cooks on the stovetop in about 20 minutes while the vegetables roast in the oven.
Conveniently, they take about the same amount of time to cook, which is a win-win in my book!
What’s farro?
Farro is an ancient variety of wheat. It has a mild, nutty flavor and a pleasing textural bite. It’s not at all chewy and each grain keeps its shape, which is a must in a hearty vegetarian salad.
I’m little obsessed with farro and it’s become an essential staple whole grain in my pantry. I actually use it so often that I buy farro in bulk (it’s more economical that way) and store it a big glass jar.
How nutritious is farro?
Good news — compared to rice, the nutrition profile of farro is better. Farro is higher in both fiber and protein than brown rice. However, since it’s a type of whole grain wheat farro is not gluten-free.
Recipe steps at a glance
Roasted vegetables are savory and so good in salads, sides dishes and layered into mixed vegetable lasagna. Here’s how to prep and make the recipe:
Put eggplant, tomatoes and onion in a roasting pan. 
Add olive oil and spices and combine.
Roast until the eggplant is golden. 
Add the farro, feta and parsley and toss together.
How to cook farro for the salad
Farro cooks just like pasta, in a pot of boiling water until tender. Pearled or semi-pearled farro (which is typically the kind you’ll find in your market) cooks pretty quickly, 20-25 minutes in boiling water.
Storing farro salad:
Cooked farro keeps well up to a week in a covered container in the refrigerator. It tastes best slightly warmed or at room temperature.
Other Mediterranean recipes to try:
- Farro Risotto with Cannellini Beans
- Farro with Tomato and Cucumber and Tomato Salad
- 25 Amazing Mediterranean Diet Recipes
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Roasted Vegetable Farro Bowl
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 g) eggplant (about 1 medium), peeled cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound (450 g) cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup (80 g) medium red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, or 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup (200 g) farro
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) red wine vinegar
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley or basil
- ¾ cup (110 g) crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425 degrees, with the rack arranged in the center of the oven.
- Put the eggplant, tomatoes, red onion and garlic in a roasting pan large enough to hold the vegetables snugly in one layer. Add the olive oil, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt. Toss to coat the vegetables evenly.
- Roast the vegetables for 20-25 minutes, stirring halfway through. The eggplant should be golden brown and the tomatoes juicy and wrinkled.
- While the vegetables are in the oven, cook the farro in boiling salted water until the grains are puffed and tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.
- Dump the farro into the roasting pan with the roasted vegetables. Let everything cool 10 minutes.
- Add the vinegar, parsley and feta cheese. Transfer the salad to a serving bowl and serve warm, or at room temperature.
Karen’s Notes and Tips
- Enjoy the salad warm or at room temperature or keep refrigerated up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Hey, I’m Karen
Creator of Familystyle Food
I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.
I love these flavors, such a perfect summer dinner idea!
I have made this three times already. I love it. The nutty barley is wonderful. It holds all of it so well.
I love how this looks and I bet it tastes great!
We are recent converts to eggplant and this recipe sounds like a terrific way to serve it. Can’t wait to give his a try!
This is now on my “must try” list!! Thanks for another great idea!
: )
I know I’ve written notes like this before, but I swear it’s the truth: I just made almost this identical dish two days ago. Except I made mine with bulgur wheat instead of barley and added sun-dried tomatoes and olives. So, you know I love this dish!
Swirlingnotions – great! Enjoy your homegrown eggplant — lucky dog.
Kalyn, I hope you’ll like this.
Valli, I’m a big fan of these flavors too.
Alanna, thanks. The spices make this dish.
Liza, you will love it!
I am going to make this this weekend. YUM. All my favorite flavors in one place (and the cherry tomatoes are still really good here).
Very nice – love all the spices!
I love all of the Mediterranean flavours in the barley salad. I am always looking for new salads, so, this is definetely a keeper!!
Love, love the sound of this. Saving the recipe right now.
This looks fantastic! And I have eggplant in the garden and barley in my pantry, so perfect timing too.
Thanks for stopping by swirlingnotions, Karen!