Lemony Farro Salad

This Lemony Farro Salad is the perfect addition to your Holiday Menu plans! Whether it’s served at Christmas Dinner or part of an all-night NYE snack fest, this simple, hearty salad is easy to assemble and so beautiful. The best part? You can make it a day ahead to cut down on all the “day of” busyness!

Farro – I love you.

First, what is farro?? Farro is an ancient grain packed with nutrients and fiber. It’s a form of wheat and when boiled in liquid (whether water or broth) it becomes chewy and develops an ever so slightly sweet, nutty flavor.

How do I love Farro? It’s just so wonderful, let me count the ways. Farro is —

1. wonderful in soups
2. very hard to overcook
3. delicious with baked chicken
4. amazing in place of pasta in a cold salad
5. a hearty replacement for rice

Cold Farro + Lemony Vinaigrette

You might be most familiar with farro as an addition to soup or a replacement for rice in risotto. But the best use I’ve discovered for farro is served as a cold salad, tossed with assorted vegetables and a homemade lemony vinaigrette. So let’s talk about this vinaigrette for a second.

Lemony olive oil and lemon zest add the perfect amount of zip to this simple herby lemon vinaigrette. The added savory sharpness from rice vinegar and Dijon mustard pairs nicely against the earthy, nuttiness of the farro grains. All that to say – this beautiful little salad will be served for me Holiday gatherings.

Load up on the Veggies

It’s always good ((especially during the Holidays)) to find ways to squeak in some extra vegetables and this salad get’s an A+ in the veggies category.

Truthfully, I used the leftover extra veggies from building a charcuterie board to make this salad. Yes all of these beautiful vegetables helped to create the prettiest arrangement alongside cheese and crackers and olives but once all of the spaces were filled, I had piles of lonely leftovers that were begging to be put to good use.

That’s really what makes this salad one of my favorites – whether it’s carrots and celery, radishes and tomatoes, sugar snap peas and onions – any veggie combination is delicious! Pro tip — when assembling a holiday charcuterie, have the goal of prepping some extra veggies to use for the recipe!

Lemony Farro Salad

Serving Size:

1 cup

Time:

Prep – 30 minutes

Difficulty:

Easy

Salad Ingredients

• 2 cups dried farro, prepared per package instructions
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup orange bell peppers, diced 
• 1/4 cup sliced radishes 
• 1/4 cup sliced green onion 
• 1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped 
• 1/4 cup white onion, finely chopped

Lemony Vinaigrette Ingredients

• 1/3 cup lemon infused olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 4 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine the vinaigrette ingredients, whisking well.
2. In a large bowl, combine the salad ingredients.
3. Pour the lemony vinaigrette over the salad and stir, cover and refrigerate 4 hours up to overnight.
4. Taste and add additional seasoning as needed.
5. Serves 8

Looking for another not so “lettuce-y” salad idea? Try this Tomato Avocado Spinach Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.