Gorgeous Apple Spinach Farro Salad with hearty farro, juicy apples, fresh spinach, crunchy pecans and sweet cranberries, all tossed in a bright lemon vinaigrette. This vegetarian dish is healthy, bursting with flavor and easy to customize with additional protein! The perfect fall-inspired recipe to serve as a light lunch or side dish.
1/2cupfresh lemon juice (juice from about 1 lemon)
2teaspoonsdijon mustard
1teaspoonkosher salt
1/2teaspoonground black pepper
1clovegarlic minced
1cupolive oil
For the salad
3-4cupscooked farrofrom above
2handfuls baby spinach
1mediumpink lady, gala, or honey crisp applethinly sliced
1/2cupchopped pecanstoasted
1/2cupdried cranberries or craisins
1/2cupsliced green onionsincluding mostly green stem
2tablespoonsfresh parsleyfinely chopped
1/2cupfeta, shaved parmesan, or blue cheeseoptional
Instructions
Rinse farro in cold water with a fine mesh sieve. Cook all farro ingredients in a rice cooker on brown rice setting, or bring all ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan, then reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer 30-45 minutes until liquid is absorbed and farro is light, soft and fluffy. Drain any remaining liquid, but don't rinse. Allow farro to cool slightly.
While farro is cooking, whisk the dressing ingredients together until well blended.
To make the salad, add cooled (room temp or slightly warm is best) farro to a large bowl. Mix in salad ingredients, except cheese. Drizzle dressing over the salad a little at a time while stirring salad. You may have a little dressing leftover. Top with cheese and mix.
Notes
*Salad ingredient measurements are a guide. Feel free to use up to about 1 cup of pecans, cranberries and green onion. You also may not need or want to use all of the vinaigrette. Farro: Farro can be sold with the hull as whole farro or pearled (or semi-pearled), so you’ll want to make sure to check your packaging or the labels on the bulk bins for cooking instructions. Pearled farro will take around 15 minutes; unprocessed farro will take 25 to 40 minutes.Make ahead: The farro can be made up to 3 days in advance and all of the other ingredients can be prepped the day before. See specific tips in the blog post under "leftovers & meal prep".Gluten free option: Substitute wild rice (cooked according to package directions) for the farro. Long-grain brown rice or quinoa would also work.Dairy free/vegan option: Omit the cheese and cook farro in vegetable broth.Nut free option: Replace the pecans with pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds. Or completely omit the pecans.