Learn how to cook farro with this step-by-step guide! Plus, find my favorite farro recipes, along with more serving suggestions for this delicious grain.
Do you have a favorite whole grain? I love everything from millet to quinoa, but if I had to choose one, I think it would be farro. It’s hearty and wholesome, with an amazing chewy texture and nutty flavor. I enjoy it all year long, but it really becomes one of my kitchen staples in the fall. Its toasty flavor is delicious with fall produce like squash, apples, and kale, and cozy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme are its natural companions.
If you’ve never tried it before, now is the perfect time – toss it into salads, add it to bowls, or stir it into your next autumn soup!
How to Cook Farro
My cooking method for farro is a lot like cooking pasta. Some farro recipes swear by using a specific number of cups of water for every cup of the grain, but I find I get the best results when I simply boil water, add the grain, and cook until it’s tender! Here’s my easy, tried-and-true method for how to cook farro:
First, rinse the dried farro. Add it to a fine mesh sieve and rinse it with cold water.
Then, it’s time to cook! Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over your stove top, and add the rinsed grains. Cook until they become tender and chewy but still have an al dente bite. The cook time will vary depending on the age and variety of your farro. (Find more on that below!)
Next, drain the grains and transfer them to a baking sheet or large plate. Spread them into a single layer to cool and dry for 20 minutes or so. Skipping this step means that your grains will continue to steam, which can make them mushy.
When your farro is cool, transfer it to the fridge for future use, or enjoy it right away!
How to Cook Farro in a Rice Cooker
If you prefer not to use the stove, you can cook farro in a rice cooker instead. I recommend using the Zojirushi NS-TSC10 model. It’s popular and for good reason—it comes with a bunch of handy presets, a removable inner lid, an inner cooking pan, and a steam basket so you can cook grains and steam veggies (and even bake a cake!).
When using your rice cooker to make farro, the cooking time and liquid will depend on whether you use pearled or whole farro, similar to making it in a pot. You’ll want to choose the brown rice setting because of the comparable texture, which comes out to around 45 minutes. Once your farro is done, you can toss it in my yummy lemon herb dressing (more on that below!) or use it as a base for this easy farro salad.
Farro Tips
- Know what kind of farro you have. Grocery stores typically sell 3 types of farro: pearled, semi-pearled, and whole. The cooking times for each vary widely, ranging from 15 minutes for pearled to 40 minutes for whole. When you buy your farro, make sure you know what kind you have – you don’t want it to come out too hard or too mushy! If you don’t know what type you have – start tasting it for doneness at 15 the minute mark and go from there.
- Batch cook and freeze. Having a stash of cooked grains on hand is a lifesaver when it comes to meal prepping lunch or whipping up a quick dinner. Cooked farro keeps in the fridge for 5 days, but you can freeze it for even longer. To freeze it, spread the grains in a single layer on a baking sheet, and transfer it to the freezer for at least 2 hours. After the grains are frozen, you can store them in a freezer-safe container. Don’t skip the initial freeze on the baking sheet, or the grains will freeze in one big clump!
- Dress right before serving. I love to toss my farro with anything from a lemon vinaigrette (see the recipe below) to cilantro lime dressing or chimichurri. If you plan to dress yours, do it right before serving, as the flavor of dressed grains fades in the fridge. But if you end up with leftovers, not to worry! Just give them an extra squeeze of lemon or lime and a sprinkle of salt and pepper before serving.
Favorite Farro Recipes
You’ll find my go-to way to serve farro in the recipe below: I like to toss it with a zingy lemon dressing and plenty of fresh herbs (Feel free to add crumbled feta or goat cheese, dried cranberries or tart cherries, or your favorite nuts for a fun twist!). Once it’s dressed, I serve it as a side dish with grilled or roasted veggies or a hearty salad – it’s excellent with this kale salad in the fall and winter and with my Greek or broccoli salad in the spring and summer.
If I’m not serving it as a side dish, I like to add it to bowls and salads. Top plain or herbed farro with your favorite roasted veggies (maybe butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts or tomatoes?), a protein like roasted chickpeas, and a delicious sauce like tahini sauce, tzatziki, or hummus to make an easy, healthy meal. You could also toss it onto any salad or stir it into a brothy vegetable soup.
Want more ideas? Try one of these farro recipes:
- Farro Salad
- Farro Fried Rice with Brussels Sprouts
- Balsamic Brussels Sprout Salad
- Fall Salad with Halloumi and Pomegranates
- Winter Kale Salad
- Roasted Delicata Squash Kale Salad
- Grilled Asparagus Salad
Let me know what farro recipes you try!
Looking for more healthy cooking components?
Serve any of these grains or veggies as a healthy side dish or base for your next bowl:
- Quinoa
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Cauliflower Rice
- Spaghetti Squash
- Zucchini Noodles
- Couscous
- Lentils
- Tempeh
- Tofu
How to Cook Farro
Equipment
- Baking Sheets (to cool the farro!)
Ingredients
For the Farro:
- 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed
Lemon Herb Dressing:
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Cook the farro: Fill a medium pot half full of water and bring to a boil. Add the farro, reduce the heat, and simmer until the farro is tender, chewy, but still has an al dente bite - 10 to 20 minutes for pearled farro; 20 to 30 minutes for semi-pearled farro; up to 40 minutes for whole farro.
- Drain, then spread onto a large plate or sheet pan to cool and dry for 20 minutes. This keeps it from continuing to steam which makes it mushy.
- Make the lemon herb dressing: Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic, mustard, salt, and several grinds of pepper in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add the farro and toss. Stir in the parsley and a pinch of red pepper flakes, if using. Season to taste and serve.
Notes
Good Morning. I have a casserole recipe I have had for years that calls for white rice. I would like to try it with farro. Once I add the rice to the casserole it’s in the oven for 45 mins covered. Would I have to cook the farro some before added it in the casserole or would it cook up in the dressing just fine? Thanks…new to cooking with ancient grains. I’ve tried Quinoa and hoping to try others soon.
Any recommendations on how to serve for my 11 month old grandson? I love to help my dtr introduce a variety of foods to her little.
Should I salt the water?
Hi Britannia, yep, I’d salt it!
This is excellent. I used dried parsley and dried thyme, and it turned out just fine. Next time I might back out a little of the salt because it seemed a tad salty. Will be in my side dish rotation for sure!
So good! I used fresh rosemary because I had some fresh in my garden. I served it with your farro recipe & it was so amazingly satiating. Great Fall recipes. Thank you! It is not easy to find simple, vegan, filling dinners.
Thanks for the tips on cooking farro! When you freeze it, how do you reheat when you want to use it? I’m thinking I would have it warm with a dressing, but I don’t want to overcook it. Thanks!
Hi Katie, I reheat it in the microwave, you could also just let it thaw to room temp.
Looks interesting, first time i heard of Farro!
Super! Love the way she explains everything about how to cook farro. I got farro but I have not idea how to cook it. But after reading this I just realized you have many variations to cook it. I love to eat healthy food so farro will be part of all my dishes from now. Thank you! Keep posting more advices and recipes please! ?