Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This farro salad recipe has it all: roasted sweet potatoes, spicy roasted poblano peppers, black beans, corn, and cilantro, with an easy homemade chili lime dressing. This is one of my favorite salads! Leftovers are great for lunches so you’ll be glad this recipe makes a big batch.
How long it takes: just over an hour
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven, large bowl
Servings: 8
Farro salads are way at the top of my favorites list. Roasted vegetables are right up there, too, so this southwestern farro salad recipe with roasted sweet potatoes, poblano peppers, and red onions has rocketed right to the top. Friends, I could eat this salad every day and not grow tired of it. I know you’re going to love it too!
What Is Farro?
Have you tried farro yet? Farro has been around for literally thousands of years but has more recently become popular again. It’s an ancient wheat grain, usually emmer wheat, although it can be einkorn or spelt. Farro has a nutty flavor, a chewy texture, and loads of health benefits. It is a whole grain and is NOT gluten-free.
Southwest-Style Farro Salad
Substantial and healthy. This farro salad recipe is hearty, making it perfect for a vegetarian main dish, or a substantial side dish. Enjoy it for a satisfying lunch or dinner. You won’t be feeling hungry again in an hour because the complex carbohydrates will stick with you for awhile.
A make-ahead salad. I often bring this salad to potlucks or other dinners. It can be made a couple of hours ahead and it always goes well. Everyone seems to love it.
Ingredient Notes
- Cooked Farro: You can usually find farro in grocery stores or online. It can be pearled, semi-pearled, or whole. All three choices are great; pearled farro cooks more quickly than whole farro. It has a milder flavor but fewer nutrients because the husk and bran have been removed.
- Poblano Peppers: Very dark green in color, poblano peppers are longer and narrower than bell peppers, and can be more spicy. The heat level seems to vary a lot. If you prefer, substitute bell peppers.
- Sweet Potatoes: You’ll need a couple of good-sized sweet potatoes. Scrub and trim them well; they don’t need to be peeled.
- Red Onion: This type of onion is flavorful and holds its shape well when roasted but other onions are fine. Use what you have.
- Olive Oil: The vegetables are tossed with olive oil before roasting. You’ll also add olive oil to the easy homemade dressing.
- Black Beans: I usually look for low-sodium beans. Drain the beans in a small colander in the sink; rinse the sludgy stuff off with water, and drain again.
- Corn: In a perfect world, we’d always use corn freshly cut off the cob. It’s so good! But … a can of corn is just fine. Frozen corn, too.
- Queso Fresco: This fresh Mexican cheese is soft and crumbly, somewhat like feta cheese. It’s mild in flavor.
- Fresh Cilantro: It’s okay to use some small stems as well as the leaves. Be sure to rinse and dry it as well as you can.
- Homemade Dressing: You’ll need the juice from a couple of limes, olive oil, honey, and chili powder.
How To Make This Farro Salad Recipe
Begin by making the farro. Follow the package directions. It can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on what type it is. This can easily be done ahead of time. I almost always have a couple bags of cooked farro in my freezer.
Roast the poblanos using one of the 4 methods outlined in this post. For this farro salad recipe, I recommend using the oven method since you’ll be using the oven anyways to roast the sweet potatoes and red onions. You might as well do it all at once, right?
Whisk together the easy dressing: lime juice, olive oil, honey, and chili powder. By the way, this dressing is delicious on all sorts of salads with a southwestern flair.
Assemble your delicious southwestern farro salad. Combine the roasted vegetables, farro, black beans, corn, queso fresco, and cilantro, then gently fold in the dressing.
Garnish with more cheese and cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!
Possible Recipe Variations
- Vegan/dairy-free: Make this salad dairy-free simply by leaving out the cheese, or using a non-dairy cheese. Vegans, same thing, and use agave instead of honey. We also love this vegan casserole with barley and vegetables, an easy one pan meal.
- Gluten-free: Substitute another sturdy grain for the farro, such as quinoa or brown rice.
- Less spicy: Substitute red or green bell peppers for the poblano peppers, cut into one inch pieces. You can roast those right with the sweet potatoes and red onions, no need to peel.
- Seasoning alternative: Instead of chili powder, make the vinaigrette with southwest spice blend for a smokier flavor.
- Short cut: Use a store-bought dressing of your choice instead of making your own.
Make the farro. You can make the components of the farro salad recipe ahead. I usually cook the whole bag of farro at once so I can easily put together one of the recipes listed below, or a brand new one. Try making your farro in your Instant Pot; it’s easy and turns out well. Make a big batch of farro and keep it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Cooked farro will keep in the fridge for four to five days.
Roast the veggies ahead of time, too. They can be stored in the fridge for at least three to four days.
Have salad left over? Tightly covered, southwestern farro salad will keep in the fridge for three to four days. It will taste just as good as the day you made it. Perfect for lunchboxes, too.
Free Meal Plan
Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #58. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.
Hearty Salad Recipes
Southwestern Farro Salad Recipe with Poblanos
Ingredients
Salad:
- 3 poblano peppers
- 2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½ inch cubes
- ½ red onion, cut into ½ inch chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 cups cooked farro, cooked according to package directions (see note)
- 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15.25 oz.) corn, drained, or 1 ½ cups fresh kernels (thawed frozen corn is fine, too)
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- optional garnishes: additional chopped cilantro and queso fresco
Vinaigrette:
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Place whole poblano peppers on a baking sheet (line with foil for easy clean-up) and roast for 40 minutes or until skins are blackened, flipping once.3 poblano peppers
- Meanwhile, on a separate baking sheet, toss sweet potatoes and onions with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring once, or until golden brown and fork tender.2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ½ inch cubes, ½ red onion, cut into ½ inch chunks, 1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- When peppers are blackened, place them in a plastic bag, or a bowl covered with plastic wrap and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel off skins using your hands or a paper towel. Discard skin. Remove stems and seeds. Dice.
- In a large bowl, combine farro, roasted sweet potatoes and onions, diced poblanos, black beans, corn, queso fresco, and cilantro.2 cups cooked farro, cooked according to package directions, 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained, 1 can (15.25 oz.) corn, drained, or 1 ½ cups fresh kernels, ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled, ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- In a small measuring cup, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, honey, and chili powder. Pour over salad and toss to combine. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Serve immediately or store tightly covered in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Notes
- How to cook farro: Try Instant Pot farro. It’s easy and turns out well. You can cook the whole package and freeze the extra to use later on.
- Recipe variations: To make it dairy-free, omit cheese, or use a non-dairy cheese. To make it vegan, omit the cheese and use agave instead of honey. For a gluten-free salad, use quinoa or brown rice instead of farro.
- Too spicy? Try substituting red or green bell peppers for the poblanos. Cut the peppers into one inch chunks and roast them right with the sweet potatoes and onions.
- Shortcut: Use a store-bought dressing of your choice instead of making your own.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Made a modified version tonight. Bell peppers for my delicate stomach, and the dressing was more lemon because I’m out of limes. Oops! It was still great!
Glad you liked it!
looks delicious.
I’ve had farro once–received it in a meal kit.
It’s really tasty, and so filling!