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Roasted Vegetable Farro Bowl

5 from 9 community reviews

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This recipe makes a savory farro bowl with roasted Mediterranean vegetables, feta cheese, and sweet cherry tomatoes. This is an easy vegetarian farro recipe that’s ready to enjoy in 40 minutes.

A serving bowl full of farro, eggplant and roasted cherry tomatoes.
Serve savory farro with roasted vegetables warm or at room temperature.

Here’s a hearty 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 my vibrant vegetarian recipes that double as dinner and next day’s lunch!

This farro bowl demonstrates my personal favorite way of eating: Cook and prep components ahead of time and enjoy them for a few days afterward. Enjoy it warm, at room temperature.

Conveniently, the farro takes about the same amount of time to cook as the vegetables, which is a win-win in my book!

Close up photo of a bowl and spoon and farro salad with roasted chunks of eggplant and cherry tomatoes.

Things to know about farro

Cook time: Pearled farro cooks on the stovetop in about 20 minutes.

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 and store it in a big glass jar.

Recipe steps at a glance

How to cook farro for 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.

Close up photo of a bowl and spoon and farro salad with roasted chunks of eggplant and cherry tomatoes.

Roasted Vegetable Farro Bowl

Karen Tedesco
A hearty vegetarian farro recipe packed with farro, roasted eggplant and sweet cherry tomatoes. Serve it as a salad or side dish, or pack it up for lunch or to bring to a potluck. 
Print
5 from 9 community reviews
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine Vegetarian
Servings 6 servings

Equipment

Ingredients

Roasted vegetables

  • 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

Farro salad

  • 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.
  • The farro and roasted vegetables can also be cooked and stored separately. Toss them with the vinaigrette when you’re ready to eat.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 811mg | Potassium: 514mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 658IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.

Recipe developer Karen Tedesco of the popular website Familystyle Food in her kitchen making a kale salad.

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.

5 from 9 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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13 Comments

  1. I have made this three times already. I love it. The nutty barley is wonderful. It holds all of it so well.

  2. I love how this looks and I bet it tastes great!

  3. Deborah Dowd says:

    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!

  4. Dani Spies says:

    This is now on my “must try” list!! Thanks for another great idea!

  5. 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!

  6. 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!

  7. 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).

  8. Very nice – love all the spices!

  9. I love all of the Mediterranean flavours in the barley salad. I am always looking for new salads, so, this is definetely a keeper!!

  10. Love, love the sound of this. Saving the recipe right now.

  11. swirlingnotions says:

    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!