Here’s a loaded salad that’s filled with roasted veggies and delicious chewy farro, this is not a wimpy salad by any means! This loaded farro salad is filled with veggie goodness featuring, asparagus, zucchini, yellow squash, peas, red, yellow and orange peppers, artichoke hearts, green onions, basil and parsley then tossed in a bright lemon and olive oil dressing.
Delicious at room temperature so it’s party perfect. You can serve this as a meatless meal, as a light lunch, a healthy main course or a side dish for grilled fish, shrimp or any meat of your choice.
Did you know that farro can be pre-cooked ahead of time then kept frozen? Sometimes I cook a whole bag, let it cool down and place portions into freezer bags so they’re ready to go when I want to make this.
The frozen farro will keep for up to six months in the freezer, but I assure you it won’t last that long, there are so many different ways to prepare it, here’s a summer version I like to make as well.
Keep in mind you can add or subtract any veggie you like, anything goes, this will not disappoint!
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- 1½ cups of farro
- 4 cups of water
- 1 teaspoon, salt
- 1 bunch of thin asparagus, cut diagonally
- 1 to 2 zucchini and yellow squash, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 each of red, yellow and orange peppers cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup frozen petite peas
- 1 cup of frozen and defrosted artichoke hearts
- 3 green onions sliced
- a handful each of fresh basil and parsley chopped
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 small garlic cloves grated on a microplane
- olive oil
- Combine the water and the farro into a medium saucepan, add the salt then bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to medium low then cover and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Drain well then transfer to a big bowl to cool down.
- In the meantime heat your oven to 425 degrees then roast all you veggies on a large sheet pan, (except the peas, just let them defrost and the green onions, just have them ready to go) that have been drizzled all over with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper.
- Cook them until there is still a little bite, do not over cook and let them get mushy. You'll have to keep checking and tossing them., maybe total 10 minutes, but ovens vary.
- Let all the veggies cool off when out of the oven before combining them with the cooled farro.
- Toss and fold everything together including the defrosted peas.
- Whisk the juice of 1 lemon together with the grated garlic and enough olive oil to your tasting.
- Add the chopped parsley, basil and sliced green onions.
- Pour the dressing on, toss gently and season with salt and pepper.
If the holidays left you craving something green and healthy right now, no worries, I have the perfect salad for you! I’m currently in love with this salad, thanks to my friend 
If I were you I would cook up a whole bag of farro, stick it into a container in the fridge so it’s handy when you want to toss this salad together, especially if you plan on eating it for lunch during the week.
I chose nicoise olives because I adore them along with a lemon and olive oil dressing which went heavenly together, but you can certainly use pitted kalamata olives and a vinegar based dressing like my friend Stacey did. You can’t go wrong, it’s all good!
I’m Marie, a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and gramma of two beautiful girls. My passion is food, clear and simple but especially Italian food, hence the name of my blog, Proud Italian Cook. I want you to feel right at home here so grab a cup of coffee, I’ll get the pastries, take a look around and enjoy your visit! {
