Greek Farro Salad
Perfect for a picnic, this Greek Farro Salad is full of chewy farro, kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta cheese, and more!
This twist on a Greek Salad Recipe adds a nutty ancient grain to the mix. Along with a simple Greek
Salad Dressing, this hearty salad makes a tasty lunch!
Why You Must Make
- A twist on a classic Greek salad, this version has more fiber and nutrients.
- It’s a delicious way to try a new grain.
- The dressing is wonderful on a traditional Greek salad, too.
Ingredient Notes
- Kitchen Staples – Sugar, Salt, Freshly Ground Black Pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Farro – Cooked according to package instructions (I cooked in chicken broth) drained well and cooled slightly.
- Grape Tomatoes – Halved. May use cherry tomatoes or chop full-sized tomatoes. Just use the tastiest variety available. Garden or Farmers’ Market tomatoes are wonderful in the summer.
- English Cucumber – Peeled, seeded, and diced.
- Red Bell Pepper – Use half the pepper, seeded and diced.
- Red Onion – Thinly sliced then chopped. If you want to lessen the bite, soak in ice water and dry before using.
- Kalamata olives – Halved
- Red Wine Vinegar – I use a premium variety from a local Oil & Spice Shop (Artisano’s for Indianapolis readers).
- Lemon Juice – Use freshly squeezed, not bottled.
- Fresh Oregano – Remove leaves from stems and mince.
- Greek Feta Cheese – Crumbled.
How to Make
If you can boil, chop, and whisk, you can make this salad.
- Cook the farro in chicken broth, but salted water is perfect, too. If you use plain water, it will be bland.
- Chop the vegetables: tomatoes (a seeded, beefy garden tomato would be ideal), cucumbers, onion, and black olives into bite-sized pieces.
- Crumble the feta cheese if using a block of cheese.
- Make the Greek Salad Dressing with red wine vinegar and lemon juice whisked with olive oil. Some minced fresh oregano provides some additional Mediterranean flair. PRO-Tip: If you make it ahead of time, whisk it again before dressing the salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Farro is a hearty, nutty ancient wheat grain that originated in Mesopotamia and was domesticated over 10,000 years ago.
Farro should be cooked in seasoned water or broth for the tastiest result. Salt is a flavor enhancer and salting after cooking is not as effective as during the process.
Cook it like rice, until the farro is al dente or chewy yet tender.
Besides fiber, farro is full of nutrients. Besides antioxidants, it is a source of iron, magnesium, and zinc.
A traditional Greek salad does not contain lettuce, but instead just vegetables, tomatoes, olives, and cheese (feta). In Greece, it’s a peasant salad known as Horiatki.
Yes, though best on the day it’s made, it’s good for 3-4 days if stored in the refrigerator. You can make the dressing and cut up some of the veggies the day before. Store those in the refrigerator.
Tomatoes, though, are best cut on the day you’re serving. Make sure to bring the salad dressing to room temperature and remix to emulsify it before pouring it on the salad.
You May Also Like:
- Healthy Pepperoni Pasta Salad Recipe from Well Plated
- Potato and Green Bean Salad
- Quinoa Black Bean Salad
- Greek Salad with Feta
- Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad
- Summer Farro Salad
- All Best Salad Recipes
Greek Farro Salad
A farro salad filled with Mediterranean flavors and ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro, cooked according to package instructions (I cooked in chicken broth) and drained well and cooled slightly
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup thinly sliced, then chopped red onion
- ¼ cup Kalamata olives, halved
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼-½ cup crumbled Greek or French feta
Instructions
- In a serving bowl, toss together cooked farro with olive oil.
- Add tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and olives.
- Whisk together vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper.
- Add to salad and toss.
- Add feta and gently toss.
- Allow salad to sit at room temperature for about a half hour to let flavors meld. Adjust seasonings as needed.
Notes
To lessen the bite of raw onions, soak them in ice water for 15-30 minutes, drain, and dry on paper towels before using.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 383Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 392mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 5gSugar: 9gProtein: 9g
I was lucky enough to spend 3 days in Miami with some of my best blogger buddies. The food highlight of the trip was eating brunch with my dear blogger friends, Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic, Aly of Cooking in Stilettos, and Shaina of Take a Bite out of Boca.
The ever-informed Aly guided us to Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink and we literally swooned over every bite. Shaina and I split a Greek Farro Salad that I immediately wanted to recreate. What better platform than at a picnic organized by my blogger friends? I took the letter “G” for Greek Farro Salad.
58 Comments on “Greek Farro Salad”
This salad is delicious! It is so hearty and packed with flavor, it makes a perfect summer lunch!
This salad is packed full of amazing flavors! Can’t wait to make it again!
I have been wanting to try farro but just haven’t gotten around to it because, well I really didn’t know what to do with it. Now I do 🙂
Gorgeous! I love all of these ingredients. It has been so much fun to meet some of my blogger friends – hope to meet you someday soon!
I love Greek salads! The addition of farro (which I have never had) looks and sounds wonderful.
Lizzy, this sounds so yummy and refreshing! Love farro!
Yum. Yum. Great farro twist to the Greek classic! I can eat this every day, Besides I need to get skinny which I never manage to do in time for the summer. 🙂
Farro is new to me also but I would love to try it. Your dish is very tempting!
Ooooh, is it picnic day already and I missed it? This is so fantastic! Goodness and gracious, I could eat Greek salads all day, and this one most certainly. I’d buy a nice wicker basket for it, even 😉 lovely as always, Liz!
Lizzy,
I’ve never had farro but I’d love to try it. It must be great to go on food trips and meet blogger buddies.
Annamaria
Farro has become one my very favorite grains. This salad sounds SO good, Lizzy!
Looks really delicious, Liz. My kind of food! And I love the photo of all of you. 🙂
Now I need to research farro and see what thats all about 🙂 because your salad looks amazing!
WOW! This looks beautiful AND healthy!
I have never tried farro…. new food quest to try. 🙂 I love greek anything… this looks like a wonderful summer salad.
The salad looks wonderful! I’m going to substitute Greek oregano. I grow it and dry it for so many of my Greek recipes. This oregano is truly wonderful!
I’m going to look for Greek oregano to plant next spring! Thanks for the recommendation.
What a fabulous Salad! Don’t you love eating out and wanting to rush home to recreate what you made!
This is one of my favorite kinds of salads, I love the heft that the grains add (and farro is my favorite)! Delicious picnic contribution :).
I have yet to try farro, but I love the flavors in this so I’ll make this soon. This is perfect for a picnic.
What a great salad Liz! Love that you added farro and it sounds delicious with the combination of flavors!
I love the nuttiness and “bite” of farro and your salad looks so bright and healthy and delicious, Liz. The perfect summer meal!
Great salad, light but filling!
Beautiful ladies!
ela h.
We haven’t tried farro and feta together in salad yet, and your recipe is a great example to follow! Thank you Liz, have a wonderful week!
Lovely! I’ve been binging on salads lately, so this will be perfect 🙂
Love this combination of flavors Liz. A perfect picnic salad.
Totally love farro! This is a very satisfying and delicious salad, Liz.
I’ve been cooking with farro for several years now and totally love it! I think you girls knocked this picnic out of the park!
I can’t tell you how happy I am to see this gorgeous salad! We have an Italian chain restaurant near us called Amici’s and I’m completely obsessed with a seasonal item they have on their menu right now that is very similar to this. I so need to try your version! Pinning 🙂
What a fun catch up,Liz, and a delicious salad! Love it!
I love that you used farro for this Greek Salad. YUM
Liz!!! I love this salad!!! I don’t know how i missed this awesome picnic game!!! love this whole concept! Pinned and going to check out A-F!!!
Michael’s is one of my favorite restaurants. You can’t go wrong recreating ANYTHING that they make!
I really need to try farro. This salad looks delicious!
Love all these fresh flavors, Liz. Perfect for a picnic with tons of texture and color!
I am craving this amazing salad right now…It is so colorful and full of fresh ingredients!
This salad looks amazing! I love greek salads, and thanks for the tip!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Greek food and I LOVE a great skinny recipe! Beautiful job! Pinning!
Yum. I love salads, especially in the summertime!
I cook my grains in broth too. Makes it extra awesome!
This looks like a great Greek salad with nice flavors and ingredients. I have used freekeh but not farro.
This farro has my name all over it!! Can I have it for lunch?@@!! Making me so hungry!
Now I’m hungry! The good news is I can boil, cook, chop and whisk!…Looks like you had one delicious brunch with fellow bloggers at BlogHer
How fun Liz! You and Kim just figure out ways to get together, don’t you. So nice to see both of your pretty faces! I’m a nut for Greek salad and farro is one of my favorite grains so this salad looks fabulous, what a great combination of ingredients!
Farro is one thing that I have not prepared before so I am very excited to see this recipe! Thank you for making this salad for us. What a fun picnic!!
What fun you must have had hanging out with your blogger pals! Fun experience. And this salad would be a fun experience at our house — it looks so terrific. I love salads like this in the summer — so refreshing. And you’ve reminded me I don’t use farro nearly enough. Thanks for this.
Oh yummy this would definitely be perfect for a picnic I love salads made with grains and pulses and the Greek influence is a winner 🙂
OK, well you know I’m on board with this one, Liz – anything Greek and I’m in! Wonderful idea to combine the traditional with the new and add farro. I’m going to give this one a try! (I’ve never tried cooking farro before so this would provide the perfect chance!) Pinning on my healthy foods board. 🙂
This salad looks divine, Liz! Love the flavours!
I love farro- it’s such a hearty grain and a nice change from pasta or rice. Lovely salad!
I love any and all Greek flavors. This looks wonderful!
I haven’t eaten farro, but this salad looks fantastic Lizzy!
You’d love it, Mary!!! xo
I had farro for the first time at a Mother’s day brunch. I had no idea how good it tasted. My husband wasn’t such a fan but I have been dreaming about how to use it ever since. He loves all things Greek – tomatoes, feta, olives. Maybe this would win him over?
Sounds like a very tasty and healthy meal:@)
Yummy! I would love this salad too! 🙂 my type of the food
Hi Lizzy! I’ll go google what is farro and meantime, I am admiring this very colourful salad! I am sure that I would enjoy this salad minus the cheese 🙂
I have yet to try farro but I love Greek salad so this is a must make!