Mediterranean Farro Salad with a homemade lemony vinaigrette, Greek olives, vegetables, and feta cheese is a flavorful and healthy side dish recipe.
Farro is one of my favorite ancient grains and is so satisfying when combined with these fresh and colorful ingredients.
Ingredients you will need:
Farro is a whole grain that must be cooked like rice. Instead of cooking it in water, I decided to use chicken broth to infuse more flavor and protein into the grain.
The remaining ingredients I chose were simple but the flavors all worked so well together.
The cucumber, red onion, and red bell pepper gave this salad a refreshing crunch.
The feta created a creamy tang, the Greek olives lend a salty punch of flavor, and the parsley added that needed freshness.
The homemade vinaigrette is made from a combination of ingredients. I chose to use both lemon juice and red wine vinegar as my acid, olive oil as my fat, and honey as my emulsifier and sweetener. To that, I added salt and pepper, fresh oregano, and garlic powder.
Storage tips:
I think this salad tastes best when freshly made.
If you want to make it ahead of time or enjoy it as a meal prep option, you can certainly do that as well. If making this salad ahead of time, just know that the vegetables will release moisture, so you'll have to toss it well before serving.
You can also wait to add the feta cheese until just before you serve the salad.
If kept refrigerated in an air tight container, this salad will keep for at least 3-5 days.
This recipe can be made as a fantastic healthy meal prep option when served with grilled chicken, or you can serve it with other Mediterranean favorites like Spanakopita, Falafel and Tzatziki.
Mediterranean Farro Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup farro (uncooked, rinsed, and drained)
- 1 large cucumber (seeds removed, diced)
- ½ red bell pepper (seeds and stem removed, diced)
- ½ small red onion (diced)
- ½ cup greek olives
- ½ cup feta cheese (crumbled)
- ¼ cup Italian parsley (minced)
Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano (fresh, minced)
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper (freshly ground)
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine farro and chicken broth in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to the lowest amount while still maintaining a simmer, and cover. Continue cooking until the farro is tender and all of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and allow farro to fully cool.
- Combine farro with all remaining salad ingredients in large bowl. Toss to combine.
- To make dressing, combine all ingredients except for the olive oil in medium sized bowl. Whisk well to combine. While whisking vigorously, slowly pour steady stream of olive oil into salad until all of it has been added. Continue to whisk until the dressing has emulsified. Add to salad and toss.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate if making ahead.
Andrea
MMM this sounds so delicious. With Greek olives and Feta cheese, I could eat this every week.
Kelly Anthony
I love Mediterranean salads in the summer. This is such a great option for a quick and simple salad as a side or main dish.
Alexanda
This is an ideal lunch or fantastic side dish - the flavours are delicious!
Veena Azmanov
Awesome combination and awesome flavors. Something unique for sure.
Neha
Farro salad is one of my favorite salads and I haven't tried it at home. Thanks for an amazing recipe, can't wait to try it out!