I was not, in fact, looking for a new farro dish. It rarely occurs to me over the summer, when there’s more eggplant/zucchini/tomatoes/peaches/plums/berries than anyone could fathom going through in the scant weeks they’re available, to wish I had more whole grains in my diet. And since we’re being honest, only occasionally in times that it probably should, such as in February, when refined flours and pasta are used to fill the endless gap in growing seasons. But, as it happens, because I’m terrible at timely meal-planning, I was attempting to make this chicken for dinner a couple weeks ago and it wasn’t ready on time, or even close to it, and I remembered a one-pan linguine dish I’d read about in Martha Stewart Living last month that sounded fascinating. Realizing I had almost all the ingredients on hand, I rustled it up instead and felt like such a domestic diva, I nearly took a bow when I brought it out, but resisted, as I prefer to only drop one dish a season. In the dish, pasta, only enough water to cook it, an onion, garlic cloves, some cherry tomatoes, olive oil, basil, salt and red pepper flakes are combined cold, brought up to a boil and cooked until the pasta is al dente and everything else becomes the dish’s saucy servant, all in a single saucepan, all at once. I realize you’re all leaving me right now to make it this very moment, and I don’t blame you. At the very least, you need to bookmark the recipe for when you’re in a pinch, and really, when is anyone not?
NEW: Watch me make this Farro on YouTube!
The thing is, it totally fit the dinner bill when we needed it to but I wasn’t as crazy about it as I should have been. It was… soft. The sauce seemed a little gummy. I had barely finished my second bite when I became obsessed, yes, actually preoccupied to the point of sickness, with making the dish with farro instead. Farro, a variety of wheat grain (here’s a fantastic guide I found to more) that that has a meaty chew I find appealing in salads, soups, faux-risottos and more, isn’t bad the way it is usually cooked — in water, maybe with a pinch of salt — but it’s hard to argue it wouldn’t benefit from a more complex flavor base. To wit, you rarely see farro dishes or salads that don’t include at least one sweet thing (dried fruit or roasted-until-sweet vegetables), one bright thing (vinegar, lemon juice or a bit of pickled onion), one salty thing (crumbled feta, ricotta salata or anchovies), one crunchy thing (usually toasted nuts) and a good helping of a fat, usually olive oil, and if you’re lucky, all of the above. But imagine if farro arrived from its saucepan already perfectly balanced and ready to eat?
It would be something of a weeknight miracle. This is the kind of rare dream of a dish that we made once and immediately added to our permanent, laminated, framed, forever and ever repertoires. In a single week, we had it three times — three! — and not a single person at the table (yes, picky 3.5-year old included) tired of it. This is a dream-come-true of a grain preparation — it requires little work, little forethought (I mean, isn’t there always an onion and some freakishly ne’er-rotting tomatoes around?) and it makes an almost complete meal. One night, we had it with roasted sausages. Another night, I had it with a poached egg on top. I can’t wait to hear what you do with it next.
One year ago: Peach Pie
Two years ago: Charred Corn Tacos with Zucchini-Radish Slaw
Three years ago: Thai-Style Chicken Legs and Peach Blueberry Cobbler with Cornmeal Drop Biscuits
Four years ago: Lemony Zucchini Goat Cheese Pizza and Best Birthday Cake
Five years ago: Chocolate Sorbet
Six years ago: Red Bean Chili
One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes
Inspired by Martha Stewart Living
In case I have not gasped about my new favorite dish enough, here, let me continue: It cooks in one pot and tastes like you worked all day on it. When you put the ingredients in, you will surely think, “This is too much onion!” because it looks that way. Trust me that in 30 minutes simmering time, that onion becomes the foundation of a dreamy loose tomato sauce whose flavors root deeply into each farro bite. Finished with a swirl of olive oil, scattering of basil and sprinkling of parmesan, if you’re like us, you’ll barely be into your second bite before plotting to make it again tomorrow.
On a Farro 101 note, the trickiest thing in writing this recipe was considering the different types of farro (from an Italian wheat strain known as emmer) available — as well as misconceptions, such as the notion that it can be used interchangeably with spelt. (It cannot, as spelt can take hours.). Farro comes whole/unpearled, semi-pearled (semi-perlato) and pearled (perlato); pearling describes how much of the exterior bran is removed, but packages are not always labeled. If your package says it will cook in less than 15 minutes, it’s probably pearled; if it takes around 30 minutes, it’s probably semi-pearled. And if it takes 60 to 80 minutes, it is whole or unpearled. [To make it even more confusing, I’ve been using the Rustichella d’Abruzzo brand, which labels it as “whole farro” but it is indeed semi-pearled, which is why cooking times are the best way to decipher which kind you have.] This recipe will work for all three versions (there are multiple comments below noting results for each, as well as quinoa, couscous, and even rice, just do a word search [Cntrl + f] to find the grain you’re looking to swap) but I’ve defaulted to semi-pearled below, which I find most frequently in stores. In all cases, if your package gives you a different cooking time than the 30 minutes suggested below, default to it instead. Questions? Ask away and I will, as always, heh, do my best to feign expertise.
Serves: 4 as a side, 2 as a hearty main
2 cups water
1 cup (updated) semi-pearled farro (see Note above for farro types)
1/2 large onion (I usually use a white one, for mildness)
2 cloves garlic
9 ounces grape or cherry tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher or coarse sea salt
Up to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Few basil leaves, cut into thin ribbons
Grated parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)
Place water and farro in a medium saucepan to presoak (I find just 5 to 10 minutes sufficient) while you prepare the other ingredients. Adding each ingredient to the pot as you finish preparing it, cut onion in half again, and very thinly slice it into quarter-moons. Thinly slice garlic cloves as well. Halve or quarter tomatoes. Add salt, pepper flakes (to taste) and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Bring uncovered pan (no lid necessary) up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. When the timer rings, the farro should be perfectly cooked (tender but with a meaty chew), seasoned and the cooking water should be almost completely absorbed. If needed, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for 5 additional minutes, until farro is more tender.
Transfer to a wide serving bowl. If there’s enough leftover cooking liquid to be bothersome, simply use a slotted spoon to leave the amount you wish to behind. Drizzle farro lightly with additional olive oil, scatter with basil and parmesan. Eat immediately. Repeat tomorrow.
thank you! lovely recipe and pictures. you are my inspiration, smitten kitchen!
This looks fantastic, and very timely. Could quinoa be substituted for farro, if I wanted to test it out tonight?
If using quinoa or another grain, use the recommended cooking time and water level for that grain.
I would like to try to make this, but instead of using tomatoes, I have a bottle tomato sauce that’s just strained tomatoes and salt… If I use that would I cut back the amount of liquid? Thanks so much this looks fantastic
I’m not sure — I’ve never tested it with canned tomatoes. It might need less liquid but I’m not absolutely certain.
Soooo good! Love the chewy bite of farro. And absolutely loved the one pot factor!
I made it with canned tomatoes, strained out the liquid first then chopped the tomatoes. It worked great. Once it’s finished cooking you can always use a slotted spoon to serve it or drain it a bit more if it’s too liquidy
Love the recipe farro is such a hard grain to cook with! I cannot wait to try!!!
I have made this now many times and it is always spectacular. I love how adaptable it is, too. My favorite thing to do is to add a couple generous handfuls of baby greens, usually spinach or kale or arugula, after I’ve turned off the stove and they wilt quickly into the delicious dish. And just my opinion, but grated cheese is never optional. I also found a great source on Amazon for Canadian whole grain farro. It takes a little bit longer to cook, so I cook it by itself for about 15 minutes before I add it to the one pot recipe to finish cooking. More nutrients and fiber, yay! It’s worth it to me to barely dirty a second pot. A squeeze or two of lemon at the table is also a favorite thing to do.
This is happening tonight because I just so happen to have the ingredients in and it looks beautiful! Yum. :)
Yes please to the ease of a one-pot meal. Such a summery dish!
Tonight I’m making for the 1 millionth time and adding chopped Italian style chicken sausage to the pot. I love this recipe!
I’ve never had farrow before. Now, I’m eager to give it a try. This does sound like it would be a good dish. I get that about available veggies. I just love this time of year because to the abundance of really good fresh stuff.
I love to make this for breakfast and top it with 2 eggs. Such a good way to start the day!
Maren G: I am making this today to have for dinner tonight and then lunches or another dinner during the week. I was also thinking about adding an egg! Thanks for noting you’d done that!! Have a great day!
Ok I’m going to try this with Quinoa. Sounds delicious!
A perfect dish for meatless Monday at our house. With many of these types of grains we like to cook in veg. broth to give a little more depth w/o overpowering.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Oooh this looks amazing! I’ve never used farro but it looks so good.
Can barley be substituted?
I prepared the tomatoes, onions, and garlic and froze them in a plastic bag for a later date. After eating that version of one pot farro vs cutting the ingredients fresh and cooking, I think the frozen version was much more flavorful. And in comparison, the fresh version felt a lot more acidic. Hot tip! (Or cold tip!)
Did you cook the vegetables before freezing, or did you freeze them uncooked?
Should the pan be covered with a lid while cooking/simmering? Thanks!
Nope. It can be/should be uncovered.
Looks incredible, I just ‘discovered’ farro this winter and I love it!
this looks delicious! xx
Is the cooking time for semi-pearled?
The estimate is for semi-pearled, which seems the most common.
I can’t get farro here; can you suggest a hearty sub? Brown rice?
Elizabeth — What can you get? Do you get any grains like wheat berries, barley, etc.? Because it will work with others. For brown rice or another grain, as I mentioned in Comment #4, just adjust the water level and cooking time to what the package of that grain suggests.
I substituted Freekeh (may also be labelled as Farik or Frikeh) for Farro.
With cherry tomatoes coming in Thursday’s CSA box, this will surely be their destiny. I always cook my farro in the pressure cooker. If this recipe translates, wow, just wow.
Thoughts on using pearled barley, given the farro cooking note above?
Looks divine! :) I’ve never had farro, but I think I really want to try this one! Thanks!
This totally reminds me of a lovely dinner I had at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. They served a piece of pan seared salmon on the side and it made the loveliest dinner.
Thanks for the recipe, I will surely make it soon with or without the salmon…
I can’t wait to serve this up for dinner (or lunch) on the Cape. People are going to go crazy!
Looks like a perfect weeknight meal. I always get the wheat berries and farro in my cabinet confused, so this may end up being a wheat berry dish, hah.
Deb, you are a mind reader! I just discovered Martha’s one-pot pasta recipe, fell in love with it, so deeply in love that I danced a little jig and wondered aloud (to myself) “how many times can I make this in a week before my husband notices?” Thanks for taking the plunge on a variation!
Looks great–love one-pot anything. BTW, made a great salad with your pickled slaw, farro (coated with some olive oil after cooking), feta, and chick peas.
Yum. I haven’t cooked with farro a whole lot, but this dish will definitely be making the list.
I did something very similar as a cold salad last week- onion and garlic in with the farro, fresh tomatoes, basil and cucumber after it was chilled. My husband was surprised he liked it, so I’m confident that this new twist on farro will be a welcome addition to my repertoire. Thank you!
Is it good at room temperature? I’m always looking for great (and easy) recipes that are good to make ahead and serve at room temperature.
I think I could smell the perfume of this dish through my wi-fi. I’m a sucker for tomato sauces of all types, and this weekend I spent two days grilling massive amounts of roma tomatoes, garlic and peppers to make paste, which was then frozen. I think your dish also would be fabulous with freekeh — roasted green wheat. Have you tried it? I made a lovely stuffing with sun-dried tomatoes and kalamata for game hens with it, recently. Once again, inspired by your photos and recipes. Off to the kitchen.
This sounds absolutely perfect! And I am a complete lover and obsessor of all things one-pot for weekinght dinners. You’re so right too – too often one-pot dishes end up mushy and gummy, so to find a dish like this – I couldn’t be happier! Thanks!
This looks so amazing. I thought I’d make it for a potluck this week, but I see you say to eat it immediately. Do you think this dish would travel well?
I love the look of this and can’t wait to try it! Lovely, as always!
I have never cooked with farro before, thank you for the pearled/whole explanation and a one pot/stovetop meal. Do you need to rinse it first? (like quinoa or rice)
Have some farro sitting in my cupboard and this would be a great way to use it. Might add some pan sauteed lemon shrimp to top it off too!
deb, the 9 oz of tomatoes — by weight or volume? my farmer’s market had an AWESOME special on cherry/grape/sungold/funny little yellow tomatoes yesterday so I have several pints lying around now — this will be perfect!
I have a farro I bought at Trader Joe’s that I haven’t worked with yet, but says that it cooks in less than 10 minutes. Would that be a terrible thing to use with this? WOuld the farro cook way too soon for the tomatoes and onions to break down?
I have used the Trader Joe’s 10 min Farro and it was great!
Did either of you adjust the directions from Deb’s recipe in a meaningful way for the TJ’s farro? TIA!!
I’ve made it with TJ’s 10-minute farro as well as longer-cooker farros with no adjustments and it’s great either way! If you’re worried about the tomatoes cooking down, you could just chop them finer or maybe put them in before the farro, but I haven’t had any issue with the recipe as is.
I have done this with TJ’s 10 Minute farro & only had a regular tomato which I sliced and quartered. I also used TJ’s grated parmesan as I had no block to grate myself. It was wonderful and I can foresee easily adding leftover proteins anytime that sounded good. It is a great option for a quick and healthy dinner that does no require standing over the stove.
Hi There! I have the 10 minute farro and just trying to clarify – it sounds like the adjustment you all made was to just cook it for the 10 minutes instead of Deb’s recommended 30 minutes for semi-pearled and that the 10 minutes was sufficient for the rest of the ingredients as well? Is that right?
I love this dish and have made it many times. I use whole farro, so I cook it separately for a half hour before adding it to the other ingredients. What I would do, if your farro cooks in 10 minutes, is cook the tomatoes and onions for 20 minutes and then add the farro. I think if you just cook the whole thing for 10 minutes, the deliciousness you get from the softened onions and the tomatoes losing their raw taste would be lost. Also, just a tip, this is a very easy recipe to add some greens at the end. I throw in at the last minute a handful of baby spinach or baby arugula or baby kale and it always adds extra nutrition and taste and texture to the dish.
Janice thanks for your comment! This is what I came here for: info from someone who used whole farro (emmer?). I really enjoyed it tonight – farro first timer – and next time I will precook the farro a little bit based on your suggestions. I did 1/2 bone broth, 1/2 water, and added baby kale and some jalapeño and Anaheim pepper from my garden. So good! Flavor explosion. Thanks!
This looks like the perfect weeknight dinner! I’m tempted to make it tonight, in fact. Think it would work with other types of tomatoes that are on the edge – Roma, in particular? or would they get too mushy?
Thank you so much for tonight’s dinner inspiration! I was just sitting here wondering what I could make that was healthy, wholesome, filling and most importantly QUICK AND EASY! I will most likely try it with quinoa as that is what I have on hand!
This sounds divine! I can’t wait to try it. I saw the Martha recipe too, and was intrigued but somewhat skeptical. Farro is the answer.
I made the one pan pasta too and I really wanted to like it but I think I had it in my head that it would make a starchy tomato sauce, not a starchy sauce with tomatoes. This on the other hand sounds perfect for using some of the many tomatoes threatening to crush me.
How many would you say this serves, as a main course (maybe topped with an egg or something else small and proteiny)?
briliant! i, too, thought the pasta version was gummy and soft. i can’t wait to try this!
Have never been a fan of raw onions. Would sautéing them lightly with the garlic in the olive oil, and then proceeding wih the rest of the ingredients work? I love your recipes & blog. thanks!
I love farro, and I wanted to let people know that it is sometimes listed as emmer wheat. Specifically through Azure Standard.
The cherry tomatoes are just ripening in the garden ….. can’t wait to try. Thank you for another great recipe.
This looks amazing! Love the tomatoes added to this!!!
Have you seen the 10-minute grains at Trader Joes? They have “Ten-minute Quinoa” and “Ten-minute Farro”. Really great to use when you want the meaty grains but don’t have time to soak/cook them. Can’t wait to try this!
One pot dishes are my jam. Particularly the ones that look/taste like they took hours. I can’t wait to make this and see the look of shock on my boyfriend’s face when there are almost zero dirty dishes (I am a prodigious kitchen destroyer). Thanks Deb!
Right now I am hooked on millet, so will probably try it with that.
Does farro=wheat berries? I just tried wheat berries for the first time this week tossed with lightly sautéed zucchini and red bell pepper, then when serving chunked in an avocado and dressed with olive oil/ lemon juice. The wheat berries took about an hour simmer. Thanks for the inspiration!
Farò and wheat berries are different, but as other comments said, you could substitute and follow cooking items.
I love the idea of using sausage. How did you add the sausage into the dish? Did you cook it separately, or is there any way to incorporate it into the single pot preparation? I love sausage risotto, and this seems like a perfect alternative!
This sounds wonderful, as all of your recipes do. I must say I was most tickled that you referred to yourself as a “domestic diva”! This is a term that my friends and I often use :)
I thought the one-pan pasta was going to be disappointing…until I added the freshly grated parmesan. That made all the difference for us. We use wheatberries for a variety of vegie salads; I’ll have to try them this way. Thanks!
Thank you! I made Martha’s one-pan meal last week for my family. I liked it, but couldn’t put my finger on why I didn’t love it. This might make the recipe perfect. Now, if my picky 6 year old will try it.
This reminds me of a South Indian classic I grew-up on. You quickly cook the onions, tomatoes, and spices into a sauce and then cook the rice in the same pot. Like this, but with fresh tomatoes: http://www.indiansimmer.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
I’m sure farro makes for a more filling and wholesome dish!
I only discovered farro recently, and man did I fall in love. I’ll have to try this!
Since the Martha recipe takes only 9 min to break down once the water is boiling, I am hopeful that Trader Joes quick cooking farro will work. Will try this week since I have tons of cherry tomatoes in my garden.
I love farro and have some. However, I want to bring it to a potluck later this week and several of my friends cannot have gluten. Therefore, I will make it with quinoa, as others have already said that they will.
I adore farro dishes, and the chew is what keeps me coming back! Such a strong texture that holds its own in almost any dish? YES PLEASE!
I suspect the main reason people are confused is that the Italians use “farro” for several related grains, including both emmer and spelt (aka. dinkel), so using the cooking time to figure out if you have the right one (“medio”) is a good idea :)
So can we use the semi-pearled version? Ours is a 10-minute farro.
I’ll definitely bookmark this one.
I really really want to make this tonight, but all I have on hand is Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro. Will that be enough time for everything else to meld?
I have to share this with my sister because I bought her some farro, since she orders it every time we see it on a menu. We had so many great ideas, but couldn’t decide what to make! I think this will be simple and fast enough for our first farro recipe. Thanks!
I know a certain box of farro that has been neglected in the far depths of the pantry that will be very excited by this recipe.
Hi Deb – I was just watching Martha’s Cooking School episode last night on whole grains and it inspired me to stretch my whole grain cooking. And now this is just what I needed! I’ve been experimenting with farro, wheat berries, quinoa, etc. and love making grain salads and just getting comfortable with throwing things together. It is all delicious and I’m looking forward to trying your recipe. It looks amazing and I’m so happy it sounds easy! Thank you!
My favorite local bistro had a farro risotto on their menu that I would go nuts for- alas their menu changes every year and this year did not bring back my favorite. It looks similar and has the bright cherry tomato flavor (just wilted) but also has corn kernels, lemon zest and juice and basil. I will have to try and recreate that using your base. Cannot wait! Thanks for reading our stomachs as always Deb :)
This sounds so amazing, but my picky husband will not eat anything with tomatoes. (I know, right??) Any substitution suggestions?
Isn’t this just like farro risotto where stock is replaced by water? Or isn’t most risotto “one pot”? I guess it’s a healthier, low fat version of it. Surely looks Delish.
That looks so wonderfully tomato-y! I need to try this. I’ve seen that Martha Stewart one-pot pasta popping up around the internet, but haven’t yet gotten around to trying it, partially/precisely because of the amount of onions! (And my fiancée’s extreme onion aversion.) Thanks for putting my worries about the onions to rest– onions that form the foundation of a “dreamy” tomato sauce?! I’m all over that.
I have not cooked farro before, but this sounds very tasty- how many servings will this recipe make?
Servings — I’d say 4 with something else (sausages or the like) and 2 for a generous main dish.
Mandy — Farro risottos usually have a broth, instead of a water, and it’s stirred in a ladleful at a time. You usually start by sauteeing the onion or garlic with butter or olive oil, then add the dry grain, brown that a little, before adding the liquid. Then it’s finished with cheese and sometimes more butter or oil. So, it’s richer. And more work. This has a similar effect.
Elaine — Peppers, maybe?
TJ’s 10-Minute Farro — You know, I’d wanted to audition this stuff but didn’t get a chance. I think it should work fine, however, because in the pasta version, the onions and tomatoes only cook for 9 minutes after they begin simmering and get plenty mellow and cooked. I’d wait until the water started simmering, then set the timer for 10 minutes. Use only the amount of water recommended on the package.
Nila — That sounds delicious!
RissBee — It was definitely tongue-in-cheek. If you all don’t believe me, I’ll be forced to share photos of my fridge/current state of closet/hair/etc.
Julie — We did grilled/roasted sausages on the side.
Mary Jo and others with questions about wheat berries versus farro versus spelt — I’m not an expert, but as far as I can gather, they’re from different but related wheat varieties (durum, emmer, etc.). Wheatberries and spelt will both take a while to cook (an hour is the usual estimate); farro takes less time. I am sure they could taste good here, but they’d be more work.
Ruth — The onions will not be raw when you’re done, but simmered for 30 minutes in water and sauce, i.e. as mild as could be. As I mention in the headnotes, it will look like a lot of onions but not taste like it in the end.
Lisa — I’m sure other tomatoes would work. They’ll probably fall apart more; be more sauce-y in the end.
badger reader — I don’t rinse it but most people would tell you that you should.
Stephanie — I think it would travel well but it tastes better warm than cold. For a cold version, I’d make a salad, and sub in some summer roasted vegetables for the butternut here.
Kath — Room temperature is fine, I think, but I think it tastes better warm than cold.
I think we’re going to have to try this tonight!
I’ve been using the 10-minute farro from Trader Joe’s (I know, I know, it’s probably not as good-for-you as the real stuff, but, really, sometimes 10 minutes means making dinner sounds that much more appealing). But I think this recipe might be the impetus I need to seek out and use the real stuff. thanks, as always, for the inspiration!
This is happening tonight at my house with some mild Italian sausage! It’s perfect!
Love love love Farro and it’s so good for you!
Now I’m singing “farro, farro, whoa whoa, let my people go, yeah yeah yeah yeah…” (from the church camp song Pharaoh Pharaoh–you can google it.)
I’m sorry.
For that transgression, I’ll be sure to make this dish. It looks so good.
I sang the same thing in my head!! 😂
SO excited about this! We are eating from the pantry this week and I have an abundance of cherry tomatoes from the garden. Can’t wait to try this tonight!!! Thank you! :)
He is so cute, I could die. Good job being 3.5, sir. xox
I totally sympathize with the need to take short-cuts sometimes, but I just want to say to all the people asking about Trader Joe’s 10-Minute Farro, I wouldn’t use it for anything if you can help it. And if you have never had real farro, the TJ’s version resembles it about as much as instant mashed potatoes does real mashed potatoes. I hate sounding like a huge snob: I used to use the TJ’s frozen brown rice and thought it was pretty good, but in my opinion, their farro is not worth it: really mushy, very little flavor.
I totally agree. Regular farro is so much better! I love almost everything from TJ’s, but not this. :(
Looks perfect and a great dinner! Going to try this with all the tomatoes we’re growing, can’t wait!
That sounds neat!
Do you think it could be made with buckwheat, by the way? I’m usually not the type to read a recipe and immediately try to replace things with other things, but, well, I have this bag of buckwheat sitting in my cupboard, and I found out that I’m not crazy about how it tastes plain, so I like the idea of incorporating it in something like this.
Yael — As I mentioned in earlier commments, I see no reason other grains cannot be used, but I’d default to their recommended cooking times and water levels, rather than that of farro, listed here.
I had to try this as soon as I saw this post. Only, surprisingly, I didn’t have any tomatoes lying around. I decided to use 2 cups of Pomi tomato sauce in place of the water, and the end result was awesome. I also added some spinach at the end. Thanks for the recipe!
Curious if I could use romas? Probably just chop them chunky instead of halved so they break down faster? I can’t wait to try this! I’ve never had farro and now I’m so intruiged!
Sounds great and seems very easy to make plus one pot cooking, the best!! Since I have Sweet 100 tomatoes ripening on the vine so this is what I’ll make for dinner tonight. But will substitute black rice as I can’t eat farro. YUM!
I made this last night with pasta. For the doubters, I am chiming in to say the onion and garlic soften in the boiling water. I could not discern the sliced onion from the noodles. The key is the magic combination of fresh basil, good quality olive oil, garlic, fresh tomatoes, and freshly grated parmesan. The essence of summer. I found myself thinking of this dish a couple of hours after eating, wanting more. So good.
This looks beautiful! Your dishes always look so elegant but so easy at the same time. Love it!
Have been reading your blog for a while now and I have tried a few recipes; they are always delicious! This looks equally mouthwatering and is next on my list to try!
FYI Deb, the Martha Stewart one-dish pasta is AMAZING! Made it last week and it is seriously great.
Yes, I was wondering the same thing. Should the pan be covered while the favor is cooking? Thanks!
I read this at 3:30 and by 4:30 was at the grocers to pick up farro. Its cooked now, and it is fabulous. I haven’t even dressed it yet as we’re not quite ready to eat yet. I was a little worried about the lack of spices, but I shouldn’t have doubted you.
I couldn’t find regular farro today, so I had to use the pearled. It called for using 3 cups water and cooking for 15 minutes. I skipped the soaking stage, stuck with the 2 cups water and cooked it for the 30 minutes in your original. (Actually, I tasted it at 15 and then every 5 minutes after, but in the end it took the 30 exactly. I also kept an eye on the water, but 2 cups was perfect.) So, if anyone needs to use pearled farro, go for it. It may take less adjustment than you think.
I love that this is one pan! Nothing says ‘make me’ like one pot dinners. Such a big timesaver not having to do extra dishes! And tomatoes…I love them so much, anytime of year, especially now. Looks wonderful, Deb!
Hi! This recipe looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing! I just have a question: do you think it is possible to replace the farro by Bulgur?
Thanks a lot for your help!
Totally making this tonight for dinner, can’t wait!
Wow, this looks so delicious! I’ve never eaten farro, but I’ve read a few recipes around the blogosphere (this one included) that have completely convinced me that I need to try it! Thanks for this lovely recipe. And yep, I’m new here… I’ve heard so much about Smitten Kitchen and it’s completely warranted! Gorgeous recipes, Deb xx
Had to make this for dinner tonight. I don’t have farro but I do have barley. This was incredibly easy and so delicious. This will definitely join the repertoire.
So yum!! I love the idea of cooking farro in a delicious broth!
Wow! That looks so easy and awesome! Thanks Deb! One question: how do you think this would be with brown rice? Or quinoa, or such like? And do you really just cook everything all together? Is this some sort of supernatural phenomenon?
Delighted that some people have already made it!
I added a clear direction about not needing a lid, so there’s no more confusion.
Oh man. I am definitely going to email this link to myself-I prefer it over bookmarking, because then when I’m at the grocery store I can check my email and find all the ingredients. Fascinating, I know, and I’m sure you care :)
But this really does look fantastic.
Read the recipe at work and decided to make it for dinner tonight. Served it with Kielbasa — delicious. Wasn’t sure whether to cover when cooking or leave open –so half covered (when in doubt – punt) for the first 15 minutes and then uncovered. My husband loved it, but wanted to know what farro was. We’ll have this again.
A one pot dish – yes, please! I need to get this recipe into our arsenal since we do vegetarian one – two times a week. Thanks. Billy.
I made this tonight, and instead of half an hour it took 80 minutes before the liquid was absorbed and the farro was cooked! Flavor was surprisingly rich considering there was no broth involved, but next time I’ll try this in the pressure cooker to speed up the cooking time.
thinking ahead to the winter… would canned tomatoes work? if so it might be the perfect pantry meal.
alex — Probably! I’d drain them a little so they don’t make it too wet. You could actually use some of the tomato water/puree from the can in the place of some of the water, for a tomato sauce-ier dish.
Emily — Oh no! Did you see on the package what kind of farro you had? I tried to cover all bases, but obviously missed one.
Damn it, I love this site.
Haha, agreeing with comment 106 right now. Totally wanna make this ASAP.
Was super excited to see this recipe because I had some grape tomatoes that needed to be used ASAP. I did use the TJ’s ten minute farro and set the timer as soon as it started to simmer. It was delicious.
Just like Cara above, I could only get the pearled stuff at my local supermarket. Followed the recipe for non-pearled, except added the cup of farro after everything else (stuck with the 2 cups of water, ignoring my packet instructions) and it took 30 minutes exactly. Eating, very happily, this second. With goat cheese instead of parmesan, and a glass of wine. Happy.
I am hoping to try this soon with wheat berries, do you think the cook time will be the same? We are farmers, and while we didn’t plant wheat this year my husband will be custom harvesting some. We usually have a few 5 gallon buckets of wheat hanging around and it is nice having handy recipes for whole wheat berries instead of just flour.
It’s cooking now…we have a local farmer who grows farro (emmer) so had some left-over from our csa last Fall. Had to double it as we’re feeding 3 teenage girls who are starving all the time. Also used Walla Walla sweets in season and fresh garlic. Too early for tomatoes here in the west coast Washington, so had to live with the California imports. Thanks, Deb. Have been a fan for years. Come out and visit Whidbey Island sometime!
How do you think this would freeze? Wondering if I can use up some tomatoes and freeze for later in the summer.
I love your recipes!
re: one pan farro; used whole foods bulk farro; took 40 minutes total on timer.
thanks.
What do you think of adding navy beans- just at the end, to warm through- to round it out as a meal?
I just made this with shallots (didn’t have onion around) and pearled farro. It’s so delicious that I burned my tongue because I couldn’t wait for it to cool down.
This is incredible. I just made a baby batch with polenta (’twas all I had on hand), and I now know what I will be surviving off of during med school. A million thank you’s!
Every good thing ( ONIONS!!!! tomatoes! farro, or something) and mere minutes to deliciousness? In one pan? Assuming I scarf it down right from the pan with my stirring spoon (who could wait?) this is also a miraculous saver of dishwashing time, energy and even soap! Once again you have outdone yourself, and this should bring in a whole new audience of readers- Smitten Kitchen’s not just for “foodies” anymore… you now will have legions of “time-management” and “efficiency” people all agog!
We had all the ingredients on hand and made this tonight! I added left over roasted chicken, some crushed fennel seed, and fresh tarragon. It was so good. I was skeptical of the pasta version of this that I’ve seen floating around Pinterest and Facebook, but for grains like farro, it’s perfect!
I made this with pearl barley tonight and it was a hit. A gentle simmer is a tricky thing on an electric stove and I think if I had been more successful at finding that, 30 minutes would have done the trick. I ended up at more like 45 minutes. I used 3 cups of water, as that’s the suggested ratio for barley. This is definitely going in the rotation. Thanks!
Hi Deb — My farro was from the bulk bin at our local food coop, and I know they go through inventory quickly, so I’m sure it wasn’t old… Looks like lots of posters here are saying that their pearled farro took 30 minutes, which makes me assume mine was whole. When I looked up the Rustichella farro you said you have been using, their site says it is semi-pearled — http://www.markethallfoods.com/products.php?product=Farro-from-Rustichella-d'Abruzzo. So I’m guessing that truly unpearled farro just takes much longer than either the pearled or semi-pearled versions…
Just made this tonight, it was amazing. Paired it with a fried egg and I was one happy camper. Thank you for sharing this!
Hi Deb! Loved the recipe, but I had the same issue that Emily did (comment 103). I used whole farro from the bulk bins at Whole Foods. Incredibly flavorful result, but still pretty al dente even after letting it simmer for close to 80 minutes, much like Emily’s experience. Otherwise, I followed your recipe to the letter. Any thoughts? Thanks for sharing!
Deb, this looks delicious! . . . now, I’m going a little off-topic . . . last night I made your Corn Risotto-Stuffed Poblanos from your book. They were delicious! I had a little extra risotto after stuffing my peppers and gobbled it all up while waiting for the peppers to bake! THANK YOU! Your recipes have never failed me! Every one has been absolutely perfect! ! !
Oh . . . I forgot to mention the cheese vendor at the local farmer’s market only had smoked Monterey Jack so I used that instead and it added an extra lovely smokiness . . . YUM!
I made this tonight with quinoa and it turned out great! Mine needed more time for the water to absorb but the flavors were a nice blend. Next time I’m going to try adding sun dried tomatoes and maybe sausage or beans, just to experiment. Thanks for the method!
I SO love farro! During summertime I’m all about quick and healthy whole grains meals and this sounds delicious…plus, there’s an overwhelming of tomatoes right now here in Italy and I’m always looking for new recipes to include them into!
Thanks Deb :)
xo, Elisa
This looks wonderful. I’ve never cooked with farro before so I intend to give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
I almost didn’t read this post because I thought not farro again. What’s so great about farro but by the end of it you convinced me – I think it’s the copious amounts of onion that won me over. Now if I can just get round to buying some farro I will definitely have to make this dish.
Intrigued. Which obviously means a trip to a supermarket….
I really should try farro. It looks like wheat berries.
This looks absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to try it. I’m sure I have farro in the cupboard somewhere and definitely sure I have the rest of those ingredients! Yay pantry cooking.
Deb, I am a long time occasional reader of your blog ( circa 2006) but I have never commented until now. I’ve just purchased your 1st cookbook at Waterstone’s here in the UK. It is such a lovely cookbook. I just wanted to write and tell you. Tell your mother that I have made her Apple Cake many times and it is my favourite apple cake to use. I made it on my blog quite some time ago in October 2008.
We were discussing how best to cook farro at work last week! I’ve never used it. I am glad you have done some leg work for me finding a good recipe to try! All the best to you!
I never cooked with farro before, but this dish looks SO good!
Some days you need a one-pan dish, but I run out of ideas sometimes so thank you, I look forward to making this! : )
This might sound stupid but you put the farro ,water, onions, garlic and tomatoes all together in the same pot to cook? after you soak farro?
Deb, directly under your recipe title in the body of the post:
“In case I have no gasped about my new favorite dish enough,” I think you want the word – not –
I am going to pick up farro at the natural food store today! :)
Deb, thank you for posting this! I also tried the Martha Stewart pasta version and was not satisfied. It was way too gummy for me (and leftovers were inedible). The flavor was wonderful, the texture didn’t work. So I am ecstatic to have an alternative! Thank you, thank you!
I’d never heard of farro before, but it looks just like the orzo pasta, doesn’t it? Also looks just like the “Bird’s Tongue Soup” that we were served – several times – in Egypt last month! Will look for this grain.
Enjoy your web site very much –
Hello can we have a Pinterest link?
(I’ll do this recipe with brown rice. Looks great! Tomatoes are coming on here now).
I made this last night for my husband after I had squirrelled away farro in the cupboard for months, wondering what to do with it. His words were “why haven’t we been eating this more often?”
Delicious, thank you!
I also feel like I need more grain in my summer diet and I’ve toyed with farro – which is nice since it cooks so quickly. I love the one pot method.
This was wonderful and so easy. I only wish farro didn’t cost $5 a package (Whole Foods). I used Thai basil, yummm.
Do you think adding canned (drained) white beans would work in this? When would you add them? Going to try it tonight.
Just made this with pearl barley and it is perfect Couldn’t wait for the family to come home, so am trying it now! Added yellow peppers, spring greens and some sun dried tomatoes as well. With the pearl barley, I added a little extra water, and boiled it in the pot for ten minutes before adding the rest and cooking for 30 minutes. It came out cooked just right. Thank you so much for this recipe. It is kind of like a mexican dry soup that you cook with rice, but I had not thought of trying with different grains.
I’ve never tried farro! I want to. I wonder if it’s anything like bulgur wheat. Either way, it looks great.
What (if any) modifications would you suggest if doubling or tripling the recipe for a crowd? Thanks.
Wendy — Just double everything; the cooking time should be the same.
Rosie — You could serve this with any kind of protein. You could also mix in some white beans so to keep with the one-pot dinner.
Brooke — See above, you beat me to it! I think white beans would be wonderful here.
rn — There is a “Pin” link at the bottom of each post before the comments begin. It will take you to a bookmarklet that will allow you to pin any image.
leslie — All in one pot. You’re going to be soaking the farro as you prep the other ingredients. It allows you to build the soaking time into your prep, hopefully making the recipe more seamless.
Rachel and others that used Whole Foods bulk bins farro — So, I’m thinking that the farro I used, in hindsight, must have had the bran lightly scratched so that even though it wasn’t semi-pearled or unpearled, etc., it was still labelled “whole farro,” it probably had a quicker cooking time than farro with the bran fully intact. [Update: This is indeed the case. So sorry for the confusion. My stuff is indeed labelled “whole farro.”]
Here’s something you can do to speed it up: I’ve read a bit about “cracking” the grain, pulsing it in the food processer oh-so-briefly to create a “cracked farro,” that will cook in half the time (estimate I’ve read). It will not have those big meaty pearls of grain, but it shouldn’t be mush either. Or, you could just make a bigger batch at the start of the week if you’d enjoy eating it more than once after all of that cooking time; it reheats well.
Evee — Wheatberries take, I understand, about an hour to cook, sometimes longer.
This looks really tasty. I would like to add some protein — fish, seafood or chicken, perhaps. Do you have any recommendations?
BTW, I love your cookbook and have tried several recipes. The blog is great as well. Thank you for making these delicious treats so easily available.
wow!! This looks really delicious! I will definitely make it for dinner sometime soon
bookmarked, because well, my whole life is in “a pinch”…
Made this for dinner last night. Absolutely amazing!! I love farro, its texture is always so appealing to me. Because I’m obsessed with garlic I doubled up on that. Delicious. I’m resisting the urge to take a spoon to it cold for breakfast right now..
Made it last night with pearled as they only had the pearled kind at the store. Since it was bulk with no instruction I did like another reader – followed same directions as you give in the recipe, and it was a little watery but cooked perfect!
Served it with baked meatballs made with sage, the other half of the onion, garlic and Parmesan. It was perfect :-)
This looks delicious. I have had trouble finding Farro in the past. I found a great substitute called Cavena Nuda ( AKA Rice of the Prairies ). Similar taste and consistency. Thanks for the recipe.
This looks fantastic!!! But I am guessing that the bags of “10 minute Faro” I bought at T.J.’s would not work right?
Thanks!!!
I almost always use the 10 minute TJ farro! It’s great – you just need to cut down the cooking time. It’s ready once the water is absorbed.
I made this last night! I could only find pearled farro at the grocery store, which called for 3 cups of water to cook 1 cup of farro. I found it was wayyy too much liquid, and despite trying to cook it off I ended up scooping out about a cup of tomato-y broth water. It was a really good meal, though! Thanks!
you could probably make this with buckwheat for a gluten free version
A nice simple dish. Farro can be hard to find (Whole Foods has it). A lovely hardy summer dish, love all the fresh ingredients.
My default quick weeknight meal is couscous – but I think this could become a serious contender. Will definitely give it a try.
Made this last night for Meatless Monday. Served it along side a spinach salad and a piece or garlic bread. I cooked the farro in 2 cups of vegetable broth, even though the package said 3 cups, and it turned out just great! My boyfriend went back for seconds. I omitted the basil and didn’t miss it. Will definitely be making this again and again!
Just want to say the minute I saw this yesterday, I had to have it. I made it with the Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro, since that’s what I had in the pantry, and it came out great; my whole family loved it. After bringing to a boil, I simmered the ten minutes, then I actually put the lid on and took the pan off the heat while I finished cooking the rest of our dinner; it sat maybe another 10 minutes like that. It was perfect. Thanks for a great recipe!!
Farro is my favorite whole grain, keep ’em coming!
How many servings does this make?
Farro is one of those grains that sits in my cupboard because I can never think of creative ways to use it. This recipe looks amazing! And I have all the ingredients already =)
This sounds great. But it’s about 1,000 degrees here and I only have a/c in the bedroom, so it sounds like a lovely fall dish. I’m subsisting on rotisserie chicken and strawberry maragaritas till the weather breaks.
I admit I haven’t tried many of your dishes because I am intimidated by the ingredient list sometimes. But I love reading your blog and have decided I can do it! This is my 4th dish to try and because of reading all the comments, I decided to try it with quinoa (because that is all I had). So good. The broth had so much flavor! I have a little bit leftover I will finish off tonight (but if I remember quinoa doesn’t reheat well). But do plan to try again and add some shrimp! Next time I am at Whole Foods, will get some Farro (new to me) and try it without modifications!
I also made this with quinoa last night (because of the shorter cooking time for the grain, I simmered the tomatoes/onions/garlic for about 15 minutes before replacing a splash of water and cooking the quinoa). Reheated like a boss in my office microwave today, too! I love every single thing you make on this site, but I think my favorites are these run-home-and-whip-it-up new dinner standbys–thanks for a new one!
Oh wow, this looks super yummy. I love a good one-pan meal – nothing i hate more than scrubbing pots!
For anyone like me living in the pucker brush and no access to many Interesting ingredients here is your answer, combined with Prime shipping it has been a lifesaver for me. Planning to make this dish today!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Farro
I will have to try this with one of the grains I have on hand. I wonder also how well it would do in the oven. Not in this heat mind you, but if I wanted to make it for the holidays when every burner is doing double duty.
Mmm heaven on a plate!!!! It’s sooo hot here in NY and our a/c just broke so this is perfect!! I do not want to turn on the oven anytime soon :)
Nice recipe. Whole Grain Farro has a slightly longer cook time than pearled farro and 10 times the nutritional punch. Support local farms instead of purchasing imported farro – Bluebird Grain Farms has been growning organic Whole Grain Emmer Farro for over ten years… it is the most delicious and nutritious farro you will find, and you will be supporting a family farm.
I’ve had a small bag of farro for too long know because I can never decide to make with it. This looks great.
This is lovely. I must agree with others who have made the same comment. Have you eliminated your Good Reads links? I hope not.
All the best,BER
Thanks for the new recipe. I am wondering what happened to your “good reads” link. I have used that quite a bit and its not on the side bar; can you let us know if you dropped it? If so can you post the list one more time? I’ll make a copy. thanks!!
Eileen — The Good Reads were powered by Google Reader, a program that shut down July 1st. I’m looking for an alternative so I can put the page back up but haven’t found one yet.
i made it and we loved it…. thank you!
Deb, bravo! I made this last night and my husband and I polished it off. I substituted chicken stock for the water and couldn’t have been more in l-o-v-e with the finished dish. It was so good in fact that we didn’t even touch our wine until after the meal. More farro ideas please!!!
Deb,
can I use orzo instead of farro?
Thanks!
PS: I love your page! <3
Cy — To make it with orzo, I’d probably default to the Martha Stewart recipe it’s adapted from (linked in the post) which is intended for pasta, orzo being rice-shaped pasta.
I made this tonight because I happened to have everything on hand and its 11 billionty degrees on the east coast. I was worried it wouldn’t be full flavored enough but it was fabulous. Definitely one to keep in rotation. Especially for those days when you get home and don’t feel like cooking. The kids weren’t thrilled but they are goofy teenaged boys so not much else can be said.
Doubled the recipe to make sure there were leftovers, swapped out 1/2 the water for chicken broth and threw in a container of fresh mozzarella pearls at the end. It was fabulous. The teenager said it looked a bit like dinner oatmeal, in the best possible way.
I tried this recipe with Quinoa tonight and it was delish! It needed a bit more water and I let it sit with the lid on for a couple of minutes before serving. Very yummy!
This is tomato farrotto! It’s genius!
I will be making this over the weekend, and definitely like the egg on top idea!
What a great surprise! We received a package of farro in a gift basket and had no idea what to do with it. I thought you were exaggerating about making this so often, but this recipe will be a staple in our house. Delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Just made this tonight! Sadly, my basil wasn’t looking so hot, but I snipped some chives and it was delish!!! Thanks Deb for another winner!!
Thank you for looking into the longer cooking time issue! I might try it with semi-pearled farro in the future or the food processor method that you suggested in the future. Thanks again for being so diligent and digging into why some of us were having problems! You’re the best. :)
This was great! And easy! It sort of reminds me of a deconstructed, whole-grain pizza, minus the mozzarella. Speaking of which, I’m such a cheese hound that I wonder if this would benefit from either mozzarella or maybe a sharp cheese like ricotta salata. But this dish is so creamy already, maybe it doesn’t need it.
This cheese hound says YES to the ricotta salata! It was absolutely delicious! I also included a bay leaf and a couple of thyme sprigs in the simmering, because apparently, I do that more often than not to add another layer of flavor. Delicious! Another time I might layer this onto some baby spinach leaves or arugula. So flavorful!
I know you thought pasta was gummy, by I tried it with Fregola, bc I had that and no farro, and I thought it was great. I find that the Fregola, which is similar in size to farro, stays pretty al dente, and it’s hard to figure out what to do with it. Maybe the answer is to treat it more like a grain.
Made this last night and was SOOOO thrilled with it! So very easy and so very delicious! You were right! Excited to try this again maybe with quinoa to make it gluten free and with different proteins. (Poached egg? Yes please). Thank you for another gem!!
One pasta that doesn’t work well with this is brown rice pasta, which I tried after failing to locate farro in an underwhelming neighborhood store. It has a pretty short cooking time, and this method reduced it to brilliant gumminess! I’m going to try this again, as directed, once I find some farro :)
I love farro! This would even be great with orzo.
I tried TJs farro tonight and worked great, I think next time I’ll give the onions a head start and mix in some kale or spinach at the end.
Yum! Made this tonight and it was so good. I only had pearl barley, so extra water and longer cook time (about 50 min). Also, I had a bit of kale that I sliced thin and stirred in just after turning off the heat. Perfect. Thanks for such a good weeknight meal!
I absolutely love this idea! I too saw this recipe in Martha Stewart but was skeptical about the pasta taste/texture with this method. Farro = totally my jam! Can’t wait to try.
Trying this tonight with Pearl Barley instead of Farro. I can’t seem to find Farro here (Singapore) so hopefully it turns out well with the Pearl Barley. Will do as you recommend and follow the package cook time and water amounts for the Pearl Barley. Wish me luck :)
I made this last night but I did it in my rice cooker. It worked out perfectly. It was so good it had leftovers for a snack later!
This looks like summer to me… love all the colors. a must make this week!
Bookmarked! I like Frances’ idea of taking this one step further and making it in your rice-cooker – completely hands off!
Ohhh gorgeous! I love summer farro!
I love farro so much! I actually just had farro salad at this great vegetarian restaurant (as any vegetarian knows, that’s almost an oxymoron, so hard to find…) in Milan, Italy. It seems they just boiled the farro in salt. Once it cooled they added tomatoes, a ton of herbs (mint, basil, parsley) and a bit of olive oil. That’s it. Done! Simple Delicious Italian. Great for a hot summer day!
Oh my god I wanna eat this now and I’m still full from dinner! Do you think pearl barley would work?
We had this last night with a few tweaks — added kale and goat cheese, doubled the amount of tomatoes — and it was so amazingly good. Even if it had been twice as hard to make, it would have been worth it.
I made a tomato pesto and paired it with a lovely red Bordeaux wine.
YUM!!! We ate and are repeating!
This. Looks. Incredible. Thanks for sharing this!
I made the Martha Stewart recipe last week and was pretty happy with it. I do agree with your soft and gummy comments, but I guess it didn’t bother me too much. I’ve never cooked with farro, but I would like to try to this recipe soon. I’m all about the one-pot meals. Thanks!
Oh, this is going in the planner RIGHT NOW
How does the chewiness of farro compare with barley? Love the idea of it absorbing all the flavors though!
I find that farro stays chewier/firmer, but it might have more to do with the varieties of both I use.
I made this with quinoa last night, and was not very impressed. Had to add parmesan cheese and Tabasco green chili sauce to my plate. But after it sat overnight in the fridge, WOW! I could eat all the leftovers cold. But I showed restraint. I heated some up, and topped it with a perfect poached egg. Ah.
I read this post this morning and ran right out to buy some farro! This is on next week’s Meatless Monday menu! And another great use for the basil that’s taking over my garden!
I’m always looking for more ways to use farro! I fell in love with it in Italy and can’t get enough!
I saw this recipe, and immediately went on amazon to order some Farro, and tried to read carefully to make certain that it was “whole farro”. When it arrived it was pearled. I just tried this recipe, as written, and it seems fine to me! This is, of course my first try with farro, so I don’t have anything to compare it to!
I just had to comment that I’m obviously an onion addict. I rarely use less than a whole onion for any recipe, so no, this doesn’t look like too much onion at all.
I also made the Martha Stewart pasta and was disappointed. What I would do next time would actually be to double or triple the amount of tomatoes called for, cut the liquid, and add a splash of wine.
I love farro, and wheatberries, etc, etc, and I love to use farro in lieu of rice for the tomato/sausage/spinach risotto. Tomato + sausage + green stuff can’t be beat.
I just made this with pot barley. It was wonderful. I had to put in about 3/4 cup extra water, but cooked it for the same amount of time. I am REALLY looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. I am on my own tonight…..and I had to keep myself from eating the whole thing in one sitting!
Also….I think this would be really good with Indian spices…harrisa or garam masala. I am going to try this next time.
So good– I used brown rice and it worked perfectly– just had to increase the cooking time to 45 minutes and I used about 3 cups of water instead of 2. I also didn’t have any parmesan on hand so I just topped the dish with a bit of crumbled feta. Delicious–and I love any recipe that can be so easily modified to fit what you happen to have in the pantry!
Just in case anyone doesn’t know, Bob’s Red Mill “Farro” is actually spelt. The biggest letdown of the night. It turned out good, but true Farro Triticum dicoccum is much tastier and has a significantly better texture.
I will try this, or something like it, because it looks delicious! I have not yet made anything with farro that wasn’t tasty, including cold farro mixed with a ginger-sesame sauce for a salad, or in a bowl with a little milk and maple syrup for breakfast. I cook a pot of farro about weekly, and always eat a first bowl plain – really enjoy the flavor!
Like the poster in comment #171, Bluebird whole farro is what is available at my store. (and I agree that it is really tasty…)Clearly, it takes far more time to cook than the semi-pearled variety, but what I haven’t seen clarified yet is this: Should I only add the other ingredients in for the last 30 minutes of cooking? Seems like they will disintegrate if they stay in much longer? I confess a certain skepticism of the food processor method…
Made this tonight with plum tomatoes and half a spanish onion and dried basil- It was fabulous! I like that it’s a real pantry recipe- I usually have everything you need stocked in the house, so it makes a great last minute meal. I will be trying this with some sun dried tomatoes as well so that it can really be pantry based.. Thanks
Deb, I’ve been wanting to recreate a farrotto that I had out recently, and this is perfect for the season. I always seem to have good luck with your recipes and appreciate the troubleshooting you do for us all! Do you think there would be any benefit to sauteing the aromatics to soften beforehand?
Nancy — Only if you found them harsh. I truly did not. They literally boil in water for almost half an hour. There’s no harshness left; just broth.
Jennifer — They’ll cook a bit more, but I don’t think it would ruin the dish. (I mean, they’re really quite cooked at 30 minutes too!)
I have been craving something exactly like this since I read Luisa Weiss (thewednesdaychef.com) entry about pastini. I made this last night with side of grilled sausages and crostini.It was delicious!! My husband tried it and said “Was this hard to make? (of course) Can we have it again tomorrow night? (absolutely)” This is definitely a keeper.
Made this tonight for my husband and picky 3-year-old twins. It was a HIT!!! We all agreed that it will stay in frequent rotation at our house. And oh-so-easy! I love chewy grains like farro, so this was a no-brainer for me. Thanks so much, Deb – I’m a HUGE fan! (P.S. While I’m heaping praise, the granola recipe from your wonderful cookbook is now my go-to granola recipe. Only problem is it’s like crack for me…once I start, I can’t stop eating it! THANK YOU (I think)!)
Deb I have been looking for a good farro recipe..Will try it soon!
Amazing, amazing-ness! Searched out Faro with a 20 minute cooking time at the market on my way to work, picked up some fresh basil on the way home and found some slightly over-done tomatoes in the fridge (you’re right about that one too). Perfect meal for after-work/witching hour craziness – so easy and delicious to boot. Will definitely be on high-rotation at our house from now.
Looks absolutely delicious. I love food like this in the summer :)
Great recipe. I am curious about what brand of Farro you are using. I use Earthly Delights, and it is a 3:1 water:farro ratio. I know that your recommendation will simply be to use the amount the package states, but I all the farro I have seen talks about a 3:1 ratio. So I’m curious what brand you are using.
This was just delicious. Thanks so much! We took it on a picnic to get out of the hot house – it is great hot or cold. I want to try a version with feta and mint this summer. This one is definitely a keeper!
I tried to email this to a friend and would not go through. The image verification is not working correctly.
YUM! just made this for myself for dinner last night and have the leftovers for lunch today! Perfect cold lunch in this heatwave! Thanks!
I soaked the farro in lemon water for several hours and the cooked in a nutrient dense bone broth. Once cooked, I added our pesto of the week which I made with lots of blanched kale – delicious and nutritious. Thanks Deb!
I made this last nite per the instructions and added 2 minutes to the cooking time to reduce a little liquid. It was really, really, really good but I don’t think I’m going to spend $7 for a bag of farro that only has about 2 1/2 cups. Maybe the bulk food store has it a little more reasonable.
This was just as advertised! Incredibly quick and simple to prepare, and super delicious–tastes quite special given the simple ingredients. I used pearled farro because that is what the store had. I followed Deb’s directions for water and cooking time and it was spot on. This dish will definitely become a staple in our house. Thank you!
checking in again – eating the leftovers for lunch right now, cold with a big dollop of homemade pesto and a sliced fresh tomato on top. Delicious!
Thanks for this super easy recipe! I made it today with freekeh from these guys: http://www.cporganics.com/, and piled high with fresh basil right out of the garden.
Absolutely delicious.
Made this last night with Trader Joe’s 10-minute farro and it turned out great! My meat-loving husband declared it a keeper. So easy and delicious!
I’ve been reading your blog for a little while now, but had to comment on this recipe. I never had farro and can’t seem to find it anywhere here in The Netherlands. Instead I used quinoa (never had that either until today) and loved it!
Thank you for this great recipe that I will, for sure, make again ! :)
Thank you so much! though I must admit, I came here to tell you how much I enjoyed this dish (while snarfing it at my desk), cold, and mixed in with last night’s kale slaw salad, and almost got lost in that sundae cake. But i recovered and here I am to say thank you for offering such an easy, delicious dish that i made after coming home from work, that we enjoyed (okay, the kids had pasta with butter, olive oil and cheese but whatev, that meant i had lunch today), and that was even better today. I wish I had the time/talent/energy to make that cake!!!
Farro is one my favorite grains, I adore the chew! I always need on pan dishes to throw together, I love quick easy dinners for one that are wonderful for leftovers, this one sounds like a winner!
Thank you for this recipe. It gives me a chance to try farro. I’m trying to avoid eating refined grains and I’m kind of in love with quinoa, so now maybe I can add another whole grain obsession. I was daunted a bit by the price of the brands that specifically stated “whole” farro. I ended up ordering a couple of bags of organic pearlized farro from nuts.com for $3.99 a pound. Since so many folks commented that the pearlized worked just fine, I thought I’d try it before investing in the more expensive stuff. I upped the garlic a tad, and threw in a big handful of chopped baby spinach. It’s on the stove as I type this and smells heavenly. Can’t wait.
There was no farro to be found in my area so I substituted white wheat berries. It was delicious, but warning: it took over an hour to cook. Nothing was left of the vegetables. I might pre-cook them for a half hour next time, or just order some farro!
Thanks!
I sautéed garlic and onions first, added tomatoes, about a cup of mixed baby kale, slivered fresh basil and a handful of sliced black olives. Then added faro and soaking water as per directions. The farro from Whole Foods was done in 35 minutes, and I topped it with grated parm. Thanks so much for this great one-pot-wonder!
I’m oh-so-happy to see this post as I bought farro on a whim, knowing only about its nutritional attributes… and not a clue what to do with it. Now I have a plan! :)
Fantastic! I made tonight to go with grilled pork chops. I used pearled farro that called for 3 cups of water to the 1 cup of farro. However, I used 2 cups per your recipe and it was just right. And it was done in exactly 30 minutes. I love it when a recipe works as written!!!! I used locally grown grape tomatoes and basil from my garden. Can’t get over how much flavor this has with such few ingredients. So glad to have this one in my permanent file. Also, I have really enjoyed your cookbook!!! Thanks for so many great simple, but unusual, recipes.
Thx for this Deb! Mine is simmering as I type:) Have you tried this as leftovers yet? Reheated? I’m wondering how it does…
I’ve only seen 10 minute farro from Trader Joes. Will that do? I haven’t been able to find it at my grocery stores, so maybe I need to go out of my way to a Mother’s or Whole Foods.
This is indeed a one pot meal and a perfect summery dish, will try this asap. Thanks for sharing the recipe
made this last night with barley, since it seems like none of the non-fancy stores in new orleans carry farro. but now i don’t even need to look for farro anymore because it was so delicious with the barley! admittedly, i was a little skeptical. how can those few ingredients make something really special? well, wouldn’t you know it…
can’t wait til lunchtime for leftovers!
Deb,
I made this last night for my boyfriend before he left town for the weekend. I wanted to give him a treat and it worked! I used orzo instead of farro, doubled the recipe, and added one bunch of kale cut in think strips. It took only 15 min on the stove and we LOVED it! Definitely a recipe to make again! Thank you for the amazing idea! :-)
You are the best!
Deb, thanks for all the amazing recipes. I wanted to tell you that this past week I traveled to Utah for my yearly “women’s weekend”. This group of women have been meeting for 14 years! We laugh, talk, drink, cry and eat A LOT! This year I brought along “Smitten Kitchen”. The girls went crazy. LOVED your book and 4 of them plan on buying it! We cooked the S’mores cake, wild rice gratin, and the broccoli slaw! All big hits. We read your story and were impressed and happy for your success. Just thought you would like to know. Thanks again for your wonderful recipes and your fantastic book.
Hubby, who HATES anything new on his plate, loved the Farro one-pot dish. The hardest part was finding the Farro…….no whole, 3 brands of semi-pearled. Next time, I will add mushrooms or eggplant so the meat-eater THINKS he’s getting everything he needs for dinner.
Thanks so much for this gem!
Bahb
This looks amazing! Deb, thoughts on using regular tomatoes versus cherry/grape tomatoes? My CSA is bursting with them! Thanks!!
Made this last night and it was great – rich in taste, so easy to make, healthy. Made great leftovers for tonight as well, although I preferred it better warm the first day. I added some tomato puree to increase the tomato taste factor, some dried basil, and I needed a bit more water until the farro was tender. Next time, I will start off with toasting bacon bits. Thanks for this – I adore your site and cookbook!
So I was skeptical – it really didn’t look like it was going to come together by the 30 minute mark and that was a ****ton of onion but it was GREAT! Such a perfect summer dinner. I made myself stop eating so I could eat some for lunch today. I bought my farro (kind not specified) from the bulk bins at Whole Foods and it worked perfectly.
Never had it!! I will try it!
Outstanding! I made the recipe as written and wasn’t concerned with the small amount of liquid left at the end of 30 minutes. I ate the first half the night I cooked it. I had half the leftovers last night. The liquid had absorbed over night in the fridge. I sautéed some asparagus in a little olive oil the threw the farro mix in to “stir fry”. I’ll do the same to finish it off tonight and be very content. I am wondering if it will freeze well or will the tomatoes be unhappy. I’d love to make a double batch and have it available. Although it cooks so darn fast and easy…
I was skeptical, too.But we just ate it, along with green salad and part of a baguette, and my husband said “we can have this every night!” Amen.
I made 1.5 times the recipe, and I have to say, as much as I enjoyed the dinner with an egg on top, I enjoyed the leftovers reheated for lunch the next two days even more! The farro absorbed up the rest of the liquids but wasn’t dry, it gave up more starch, and was creamy and delicious with a sprinkle of parm and a drizzle of olive oil.
deb, this dish was delic! what can i say? i had the farro bought previously, but not opened, so i went for it. it was so moist and the flavors of the grape tomatoes, garlic and onions all melded into a fabulous dish!
the parmesian and basil crowned it all! thank you!
You are extremely convincing but you had me at the photo. This is my kind of dish – healthy, summery, Mediterranean flavors, summer comfort food – and I can totally relate to the part about taking bites before dinner. Can’t wait to try this.
Yum, Yum, Yum! Am absolutely making this tonight for dinner. I’m thinking I might add some cut up asparagus during the last few minutes and if so, then I can forego a salad. This, along with braised chicken sausages with balsamic (have to give Rachel Ray’s props on her easy and tasty recipe for that one) and I’m going to be a happy camper!
This was really delicious. The parmesan and basil are necessary to really complete the dish, so don’t skimp on them! We ate it with a salad and it was very filling. Could also add leftover chicken or other meats to it.
This worked so well with quinoa, instant classic. I can’t wait to try it with farro. Thanks for so many great recipes Deb. I’ve been following for a long time and your site is my go to for cooking inspiration.
This meal was SO GREAT! It’s rich and satisfying, very much like risotto, but with long-satisfying whole grains and far less fat. I did end up with too much cooking liquid as Deb said might happen. Reluctant to toss all that flavorful broth, I used it to cook some brown rice for lunch the next day – score #2 for this recipe! The next time I make this (i.e., tomorrow night), I plan to toss in a cup of drained frozen spinach with the other ingredients to up the veg factor.
This is great. For those who like these flavors also check out Mark Bittman’s “Luccan Farro Soup” recipe. Really good, with our without beans, too.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/18/recipe-of-the-day-luccan-farro-soup/
Deb, have you tried Feedly as a substitute for Google reader? I switched and really like it. It will never beat GR, but it’s a very good replacement. Also, I tried it with the Trader Joe’s farro and it worked out fine. I didn’t find it mushy at all so perhaps the earlier poster cooked it too long.
I really like farro. I’ve been using it as a substitute for oatmeal in the morning. I cook it with almond milk, and add some dried cranberries to it and a little cinnamon or fresh fruit after it’s cooked. It makes an awesome breakfast dish. The best thing is that it’s really good when you heat it up the next day. Unlike oatmeal, which tends to get a little clammy after a night in the fridge, farro grains stay separate and fresh tasting.
This was excellent. My husband ate two helpings. We tried it with sunny-side-up eggs and a side salad on a hot summer day. Magic!
Yep – super yummy and addictive!! I found adding sliced zucchini about half way through the cooking time came out great, as did adding some loose greens right before turning off the heat. The best part is the way it made my house smell like Italy, even though I’ve never had farro there. Thanks for another fabulous vegetarian meal!
Just wanted to second (or third) that the Trader Joe’s farro works great! Cooked the onion, garlic and halved tomatoes in olive oil for 5 minutes first, then added 2 cups veg broth and let that cook covered for 10 minutes (with lots of red pepper flakes,) so the broth got really flavorful. Added the farro and cooked uncovered for 10 minutes, then covered and cooked 5 minutes more very low. Simple and tasty.
your recipes complete my life. I am so grateful Fairway was selling a 17 ounce bag of farro so I can make this again immediately. I threw in a bunch of chard and added a lot more cheese so it was no longer healthy, and a soft-boiled egg. I need to take out my second stomach!
Oh my. With fresh tomatoes and basil right out of the garden, this turned out terrifically. I cannot wait to eat the rest of it tomorrow……Thanks Deb!
I’ve already made it twice–once plain and a second time with grilled shrimp. In both instances, I used basil and cherry tomatoes from the garden and low-sodium chicken broth instead of water, all of which probably contributed to the incredible results. Absolutely delicious! Thanks, Deb!
I made this last night for my sisters and it was so delicious! It’s going in my meal plan again this week, possibly tonight! Thanks, Deb!
This is really a great riff on risotto! Added a little white wine to the cooking water initially, and finished with some evoo and 1/3 cup grated romano. Stirred vigorously every 5 min or so to develop the starch.
Deep flavor, creamy sauce, nice mouth feel from the tender firm grains.
Already promoted to the starting lineup.
BTW, great with grilled Italian sausages.
This dish was amazing! We loved it-and my husband loved it even better the next day, cold.
I made this basically as written and put poached eggs on top. It was fantastic, and my boyfriend pronounced it a keeper. We’re having the leftovers with sausages tomorrow.
This is a magically easy, delicious dish, thank you! I tried it for the first time on a dinner guest and it was a hit. I used organic farro from Kalustyans, ended up cooking it about 8 minutes longer than the stated time, but the liquid to grain ratio was just perfect. This is such a keeper.
Read this recipe earlier this week and have been looking forward to trying it since… Finally had the time to do so tonight! So glad I did. For those who used Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro, I sautéed the onions, garlic, tomatoes for a few minutes first in order to get what I imagine would be a deeper flavor…. Then added the water, farro, salt and pepper flakes, and cooked for the 10 minutes per the package. Perfection!
Incredible and definitely going into the permanent rotation! Where has this delicious, healthy (i cut back on the olive oil to 1 tsp & no drizzle), and SO easy recipe been all my life? Husband watched me throw it together and actually said, “Even I could make this”. Thank you!
I’ve now made this with both TJ’s 10 minute farro and TJ’s 10 minute bulgur. The first time I did it with the bulgur, and as you noted Deb, figured that the 10 minute cooking time would be enough to cook the onions and tomatoes, since the pasta version had only that much cooking time. It didn’t come out with the depth of flavor I was hoping for, though, so on the second round, I started with a little extra water, and simmered the tomato/garlic/onion/salt/pepper/oil mix for about 10 minutes before adding the farro and simmering for 10 more minutes. It made a world of difference! And I’ll say that the TJ’s 10 minute farro came out really nice – chewy and not mushy. Great recipe that’ll definitely become part of the regular rotation! My boyfriend has already commented that it was great with taco meat and cheese on top of it…not my cup of tea, but hey, it’s versatile!
I made this last night and just had leftovers for lunch. Even better the second time around. I don’t like chunks of tomatoes, so I roasted my grape tomatoes, peeled the split skins off, then put them in the blender. This is definitely a keeper. I loved the nutty flavor of the farro and the al dente texture. This was my first experience with farro and I can’t wait to try it again.
delicious, thank you! I added beans n’ greens (pinto and swiss chard). yummy.
This recipe is delightful just as written!! Looking to use up some of my summer bounty, I added some diced feta to the cooled mixture, spooned it into some lightly steamed/hollowed pattypan squash. Topped them with a spoonful of tomato sauce and a piece of provolone cheese (bc that’s what all I had). Baked for 30 minutes: divine!!
Made this yesterday with pearl barley and had the leftovers for lunch (too! Dawn’l). I used a mix of grape, cherry, and beefsteak tomatoes-use what ‘ya got! It was superb both times! And such a great canvas for whatever flavor is around. It’s like the summer version of a frittata-no oven required.
I initially thought I’d just make it to use up the winter barley that was kicking around, but now I may go buy some more grains to do it again!
I made this last night and OMG it is SO GOOD. How is it SO GOOD??? It’s one of those typical Italian dishes that has so few ingredients yet screams with flavor. And it is truly truly EASY. I love that I have a new addition to my weeknight rotation. I made this with the 10 min Farro from Trader Joe’s and used their recommended water amount. We ended up needing maybe about a 1/4-1/2 cup more in the end.
THANK YOU Deb!!!!
Made this last night with short grain brown rice and although it took nearly an hour to cook (added one cup more water as suggested in some comment above), it was delicious. I have to say though, it probably depends a lot on the quality of the cherry tomatoes. Our were organic from John Givens Farm in Santa Barbara, CA and so ripe and juicy. If you are using winter tomatoes that have no flavor, this dish would be pretty bland. I wonder how it would work with canned tomatoes when you can not get the fresh sort that are worth using?
Fantastic recipe Deb! Thx. Made this last Thursday for just my husband and I. Making it this Thursday for a few girlfriends! You’re the best.
I have never cooked farro before; Deb you made it sound so easy, I figured it was worth a try. And this dish really was as delicious and easy to prepare as you and so many commenters raved! Thank you.
This was Amazing! Loved it.
Yep, TJ’s farro worked fine. I had planned to make it with whole farro but, alas, my day didn’t go as planned and I needed a quick substitute. I also stirred on a can of white beans at the end for protein. Thanks for the delicious recipe! Can’t wait for lunchtime leftovers
I made this last night! Really yummy and simple summer fare (so simple, in fact, that I left it simmering on the stove– supervised!– while I walked the dog). I used pearled barley because I had it on hand and increased the water and cooking time accordingly. I also added about two tablespoons of homemade pesto, ribbons from one zucchini and a few handfuls of chopped swiss chard to up the veggie content. I’m already envisioning a Greek version with olives, feta and fresh oregano!
This sounds very similar to a popular Syrian dish ,
Tomatoes with Bulgur. It’s a very flexible
Forgiving recipe that uses lots of ripe tomatoes,
Onion and bulgur at the end. We often add
Small bits of diced raw potato
And even a small raw diced eggplant
Sometimes.Truly delicious and I can’t wait
To try this farro version. I have a bag
In the freezer from Anson Mills.
Love your site!
SO easy! SO delicious and rich-tasting! Very satisfying for folks who are not supposed to eat pasta and whose stomachs don’t like spaghetti sauce in jars. Thank you, Smitten Kitchen Deb! I love your cookbook, too.
I made this on the weekend using barley and canned tomatoes. While it was good and creamy and satisfying (not to mention made the house smell divine), I obviously missed something because I didn’t find it as transcendent as everyone else has.
I will give it another shot though as I got a glimpse at how truly delicious this meal should be!!!
Just made this with a cup of quinoa and some jasmine rice as my cup was a bit shy. Quinoa seems to work great for this and took about 25 minutes. I only had a small yellow onion, and a couple of little shallots but the flavor is still great. Even messed up and did a whole 1/2 tsp of pepper flakes- this is a forgiving and flexible recipe! I will try again with different grains. Yum!
Deb, the recipe works great with Israeli Couscous. I love Farro but my husband does not and requested Israeli Couscous. I toasted the couscous until golden brown in the saucepan before continuing with the recipe and added about 1/3 cup additonal liquid towards the end of cooking sonce it looked dry to me. It came out well. It was perfect with the Shrimp with Chipotle Lime sauce from Cooks Illustrated. Onions dissolved into a sweet, creamy goodness. Dinner on the table in 45 minutes and almost no time in front of the stove- perfect for a summer night.
Having fallen in love with farro (spelt) in Italy a few years ago it’s nice to start seeing recipes for use of the grain. After struggling with the unhulled stuff which steadfastly (and stubbornly, I might add) refuses to cook to tenderness I found some pearled farro in our local co-op store. Your recipe worked to perfection and we have another staple in our repertoire. Thank you!
Excellent with the addition of some big, floppy butter beans!
I make an orecchiette recipe with butter beans and thought that I would try them with farro. My husband said that they were his favorite part. My three-year-old picked out the onions and only ate the farro after I promised him a cookie. My two-year-old loved it and thought that he was eating macaroni.
Julie — “My three-year-old picked out the onions and only ate the farro after I promised him a cookie.” It’s like you had dinner at my house. :) (He, miraculously, loves the farro. Everything else, however, requires elaborate rationalizing.)
amazing…just made it. it was fantastically easy and super delish. definitely a keeper. Thanks for being my go to dinner blog!
I’ve been reading your blog for years and have never commented. This simple recipe is incredible. I forgot the basil, but I did add the juice of half a lemon and opted for veggie broth instead of water. Keeper.
Am in the UK and we have Sharpham Park pearled spelt available in a few grocery stores, including Waitrose. I have used it to make risottos. Takes approx. 20 minutes to cook. Trivia alert – Sharpham Park is owned by the man who started the Mulberry bag company. It’s hard to find the farro I have found, unless you have a good Italian deli nearby. Will be making this very soon.
Deb, you’ve done it again! This was amazing. I’ve been avoiding trying farro…I was worried it would be similar to quinoa, which, I hate to admit, I don’t love. But this.was.amazing! Like Jacob, my three littles ate it all up with no prodding (and my 1.5 year old had seconds–and they were pretty big servings!). Definitely on my regular rotation now…anything that tastes this good to Daddy and me AND gets us a peaceful dinner is a win. And one-pot? No-brainer.
Also, just an addition that we loved…added a hefty tsp of red peppers to the pot as indicated in directions, but not more b/c the kids don’t like their food too spicy. But I have sicilian crushed red peppers in olive oil that we typically used for pizza. So I drizzled regular olive oil over the kids’ plates and the spicy oil over the adults’. Yuuummmmmy! Thanks again!
OBSESSED!! How could something so easy (and vegan friendly) be so delicious?!? Thank you, thank you!
Check out the farro from Bluebird Grains in the Methow Valley in Washington State. Grown by an incredible family! Perfect for this recipe and they ship.
Made this for last night’s dinner – served your low-and-slow dry rubber chicken with it and a fresh cantalope. Outa sight!! It’ll become a go-to recipe in our house.
oops – should be dry-rubbed chicken ;^))
I used canned diced tomatoes, but it was still lovely :) Deb, I’m sure you’ve made at least one variation on this already, share?
THIS IS SOOO AWESOME!!! And healthy! And easy! Love! Seriously…I never comment, but I had to. Ive made this 3 times already. THANK YOU! Now a staple.
I made this tonight with the Whole Foods bin farro. It cooked perfectly in 30 minutes…the only thing I did differently was instead of the farro sitting in the water, I turned it up to a boil while was choping and adding ingredients. Once all other ingredients were in the pot, turned down to simmer. Cooked in 30 minutes perfectly. This is definitely added to the rotation!!!.
Awesome healthy dinner for the family tonight! I used the TJs 10 min farro package, but didn’t change the cook time. I also added half of a yellow bell pepper because I had it in the fridge. We added arugula rather than basil, again because we had it available. Served with grilled chicken and everyone was satified! Thanks.
I made this tonight and was blown away by how delicious the simple sauce was, and how easy it was to throw together! I followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out perfectly. This will definitely be added to our rotation. So simple, filling, and full of flavor!
This looks amazing! We love farro! Yummy!
When we lived in Milan(Italy) was easy to find in stores, now in Madrid (Spain) is much more complicated :(
A presto
I made this last night exactly as written, using the Whole Foods farro, and 30 minutes cooking time after 10 minutes soaking was perfect. It was excellent. I first learned about farro about 7 years ago at a cooking class I took in Italy. At that time it was very difficult to find. Now it is no problem. I even saw some 10 minute farro at Target.
Can I just say, WOW! And I mean, “WOW!!”
I made this with the Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro (which is basically a pre-cooked farro) and it was excellent, but I think the semi-pearled farro that takes 25-30 minutes would yield a chewier, meatier texture providing a little more contrast to the dish.
Don’t cut back on the amount of onions, even if you aren’t big on onions. My husband doesn’t care for onions, but he had two big helpings of this. The onions just sort of melt into the sauce. I found 1 tsp. of coarse kosher salt seasoned it PERFECTLY.
We had it for dinner, and then I had it the next morning with a poached egg, and then again this morning with a fried egg. This is truly a fantastic recipe with big, balanced flavor. Don’t forget the basil on top! It’s a nice, bright pop!
Just piping in to say that fully pearled farro works perfectly in this recipe. Just omit the pre-soak and cook for 30 minutes.
I made the “one pot” pasta last night, and it was good. Not great, but good. I felt pretty much the same way you did. But this Farro sounds incredible, can’t wait to try it.
i was going to ask about using TJs 10-minute Farro but I see Sean has already tried it out. Fabulous. I know what I’m making soon!
How wet is the finished dish? I was thinking of stirring in some arugula pesto, but am wondering if it would be too soupy.
Just made this using TJ’s 10-minute farro, and it was delish!
A few improvisations: Brought all the ingredients to a boil EXCEPT the farro, and simmed, with the lid on, for about 15 minutes. Wanted to develop the full flavor of the broth without the water evaporating. Put the farro in, uncovered the lid, and simmered for about 15-18 minutes. Turned out great! Will try next time with the semi-perlato to see how it compares, but all I know is that it’s delicious even with the TJ 10-minute type.
Thanks for another outstanding recipe, Deb!
We just had this for lunch with Israeli couscous instead of farro. I took a previous commenter’s suggestion and put all the ingredients in with the broth except the couscous, then added in the couscous after about 10 minutes. It was awesome! But, a little too salty (I used the 1.25 tsp coarse salt recommendation). Next time I’d cut that in half. Otherwise, definitely a dish to be repeated. Thanks!
DELISH!!!!!!!!!! SO SO GOOD!! I did end up using 3 cups+ of water.
This was delicious! I added arugula and thick-sliced bacon to it and it made a really really hearty meal. My belly was very happy.
I made that one-pan linguine dish earlier in the summer too, and it had a certain novelty to it… but I wasn’t a huge fan. I love farro, and I’m going to make this next week. I’m sure it will be delicious!
I was skeptical at first (after all, the onion doesn’t get cooked above 212 F), but this was both easy and yummy. We used Bartolini semipearled farro and gave it an extra five minutes to soak up more liquid. In texture, it was like a farro risotto, basically. We topped it with lemon basil, because that’s what we had on hand, and it played nicely with the tomato. We’ll make this again.
I made this last night and will be making it again tonight. I had some perfect gold and red grape tomatoes from the farmer’s market and it came out perfect. I cooked the farro a few extra minutes, and just wow.
Made this tonight, tons of flavor, quick to make. Crusty bread sopped up the extra liquid. Thanks for another winner recipe
This dish saved the day for me! I was staying in a campus dorm for a week, and the thought of another restaurant meal was too depressing. I made a quick version of this with quinoa, and added some chicken smoked sausage in to simmer along with everything else. It was just what I needed, and easy enough to pull off with the very limited kitchen equipment in the dorm. I’ve since made it again at home with cooked, crumbled Italian sausage mixed in at the end. Husband and I really enjoyed it! This seems like the perfect vacation kitchen meal – you don’t need any special supplies or tools to make it good.
My husband has just been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, so I have been looking for grain dishes that are delicious, yet low on the glycemic index. It turns out that farro is very low on the GE, so we’ll be adding this recipe into our new way of eating. Thanks!
Hey Deb, not sure where to put this question as it is not about this recipe but ……. could you start a spot for us to ask questions about the cookbook specific recipes?? I have had a couple of questions but of course a lot of the recipes are specific to the cookbook.
Made this delicious dish tonight, and to quote my 5 1/2 year old daughter: “This is the BEST meal EVER! Except cake.”
I just made this today, and am thrilled! It couldn’t be easier or more delicious. And it doesn’t make a stack of dirty dishes to confront afterwards. That’s winning all the way around! Thanks a million!
So, I made it again. :) I re-hydrated some dried mushrooms in water and used that for the cooking liquid. I added the chopped mushrooms and some diced pancetta about halfway through the cooking time. It was a fun twist on an already awesome recipe.
This was awesome! I used pearled farro. I rinsed it and, per package, used three cups water. I followed the recipe (but a bit more tomato)including the pre soak. I even cooked for extra five minutes. My 4 y-o wouldn’t try it but my 2 y-o LOVED it. It was so creamy. Next time I’ll double because I want MORE and it’s gone. Thanks for another great recipe!
Made this today with ebly – excellent und really extremely easy. Will unfortunately have to make it again tomorrow as I totally forgot about the parmesan and basil ;)
Not sure whether it’s because of the different sort of grain or whether I’m just hungry, but I ate it all by myself and it wasn’t even a particularly big portion. But then again maybe I’m just greedy ;)
Amazing weeknight meal! I made this with pot barley. The leftovers for next day lunch almost didn’t make it to next day – I nearly ate another portion scooping it out of the pot :)
I made this for dinner last night with some Jersey cherry tomatoes. Oh my God, it was so good and so easy. I cleaned my plate which is a bummer because I would have loved leftovers for lunch today.
Dear Deb,
I was so inspired by the one-pan farro dish after making your recipe I made it again, browning the onions in butter before adding to the pan a few minced black olives and finishing with sautéed asparagus tips and Romano cheese. Delicious. Then I cooked up “Farro and Bow Ties” with brisket gravy used to substitute 3/4 of water that the farro soaks in and continued with my Jewish recipe.
The only thing I wish for is that when you click on print, it doesn’t print 25 pages worth of comments. Can’t you have just the recipe as the standard option and have the option of printing the comments instead. I think I used a whole tree when I printed your last two recipes. Also, your popular enough to offer your adorning fans their own saved recipe profile; I promise. I have your cookbook. I think your monologues are hilarious and spot-on. Thank you!!!!!
Jennifer — There is a print template for every post. After the recipe ends, before the comments begin, is a set of options “Do more:” “Print” is one of them and it will only print the recipe portion. (I know it’s hard to find.)
oh my gosh, i love this. how can i do something similar for breakfast? i wonder if this would work with farro…coconut oil instead of olive…peaches or nectarines or some other juicy, fleshy fruit instead of tomatoes…and coconut milk, or something, in place of water? and cinnamon! any thoughts?
I made this and loved it! Doubled all the ingredients to feed my family of four with plenty of leftovers. The pot ended up being on the stove for a good 45 minutes, instead of 30, because it looked a little soupy (perhaps because I doubled it), and from start to finish, it took me 1 hr 15 minutes. Not bad for a weeknight meal! The flavor is fantastic, and it was a big hit with everyone. Thanks, Deb!
I tried this with couscous and it totally sucked. Finally found farro, made it properly, and am basking in the glory of having found a new top ten. Proof: http://bit.ly/13qtwlw
Loved the recipe, but have tried and tried, and even tried again and was not able to forward to a friend. I keep getting a “failed” message….any hints to forward this? Thanks so much. Great recipe.
Gail — Yikes, I think you’re right that it’s not working and we’re looking into it. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
This was so good! My three year old was picking out the onions, and EATING them! Thanks for a great weeknight recipe!
Finally made this earlier in the week. It was so good (and easy), I made it again the very next day.
I just made this and it is FANTASTIC. Can’t wait to put a poached egg on this. Thank you!
So delicious! Added corn kernels from leftovers ..even more summery.
Great recipe! I can’t imagine making it with broth, it is tasty enough without. I served it with a Snapper dish from Cooking Light which had zucchini and cherry tomatoes…great combination. I finished the leftovers standing in the kitchen at midnight after out seeing a band: perfect!
Sounds great! I’m always looking for new ways to use faro and this sounds perfect. Maybe with some hot chilies added too? Thanks for sharing.
I did make these with buckwheat groats and it tasted great. I ate it as a side dish, but I think I’ll eat the rest with a poached egg on top.
So, so good! Had it for dinner and immediately ate the leftover for lunch the next day. Yum. So easy too!
Okay the poached egg and the runny yolk on top of it rocked my world. This was excellent.
I forgot to say in my last comment that I did put just a half teaspoon or so of chicken consomme powder in the farro, just to give it a little brothy flavor.
We made it twice this weekend and it was gone in a snap. Second time we ran dangerously low on cherry tomatoes so I added a can an 8oz can of chopped tomatoes from the pantry. Different, had more sauce, but wonderful. Thank you.
This is definitely a staple now … and tonight I stirred in a few heaping tablespoonfuls of very garlicky fresh arugula pesto. I highly recommend this upgrade. :)
I am fairly certain that the popularity of this recipe in recent weeks caused my local Whole Foods to sell out of bulk farro. I made the recipe once, immediately resolved to make it again with the addition of spinach and mushrooms, and upon my return to the store, it was all gone! I’ve been 3 times in a week with no luck :(
Suffice to say, next time it is in stock, I’ll be stocking up. Thanks for a brilliant recipe; this is everything I hope for in its simplicity, comfort, and nourishment.
You were right, this IS my new favorite dish!
I have to comment, in part because I was skeptical of this recipe. I’m a big fan of farro but this just seemed too…. Easy. It was wonderful. I added Italian chicken sausage but it would be fine without. So simple. So delicious. So grateful. Yum.
Deb, this dish is genius. My seven year old ate (almost) all of it after saying, “This looks disgusting, but it doesn’t taste as bad as it looks.” We told him he will be seeing it a LOT more on our table.
Thank you for this recipe. I made it for dinner the other night and it was absolutely fantastic! And the utter simplicity of the dish makes it that much more appealing. It will definitely be making many repeat appearances in my kitchen!
This looks fantastic! Deb, would it be possible to add a vegan tag to your posts? I have a lot of animal product-free friends and I think it’d be a great addition to the blog!
This is so delicious!! Thank you.
Per Katie’s suggestion, I just made a breakfast version of this. I used plums and blueberries, coconut oil, and a dash of cinnamon. It turned out beautifully. I’m going to top it with some toasted walnuts and eat it throughout the week.
Don’t know if anyone mentioned this but threw in a handful of baby spinach and really complemented the dish! Delicious!
I just made this with homemade chicken broth instead of water and it was super delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
M., did you really try the breakfast version? And it came out great? I will have to try it, now… How did the farro taste with the coconut oil? I thought about using peach, but plum and blueberry sound wonderful. Maybe even a toss of homemade granola on top?
Made this tonight. We ran out of parm, but I sprinkled on a little feta and a lot of black pepper and never missed it. It was so fast and so YUM. Thank you for another favorite!
This looks so great, and I’m really excited to try it out. I’m thinking of bringing it to a potluck this weekend, but because of a complicated series of events, I would have to make it on a Friday afternoon/evening for a Sunday evening dinner (I would reheat it before serving). Do you have any guess on if it would hold up okay over the course of 48ish hours? Thank you!
Katrina — It reheats well.
Jenny — Sorry it took forever. I did note up top that farro that is not pearled will take more than 30 minutes, but I can add exactly how much more as a future warning. [Updated: Now clarified. Thanks for the suggestion.]
This was delicious, but it wasn’t until I had already started cooking and I read through the comments that I realized the recipe could take a reeeeally long time, depending on the type of farro used. I bought a bag of emmer farro from Whole Foods (not from the bulk section) and it took around 80 minutes to be edible. Can I suggest that you make a note of this in the recipe itself? If I would have had a little bit of forewarning I would have at least been prepared to wait an hour and a half for dinner. That being said, it really was delicious.
This has totally become a staple for us this summer! I have played with it a bit – skipping the garlic and adding 1/4 c homemade pesto is my favorite riff. And last night I did that and roasted the tomatoes separately then stirred them into the finished farro. Definitely works. :)
I saw farro for the first time at Cosco this week, and I immediately remembered this recipe. I had one substitution – sweet peppers rather than tomatoes – because the bf and I have epic battles over the correct way to cook tomatoes. Nevertheless this dish is helping me through a head cold and cheering me up in the process :D
Thank you for the wonderful recipe. I’ve made this three times in the same number of weeks. I used unpearled farro once and simply soaked it overnight before cooking and the cook time remained the same.
I literally cannot stop eating this….put it in the fridge now! Argh….
I’ve made this twice now. The first time I followed the recipe exactly and it was good, but maybe a touch bland/forgettable. The second time, I used 2 or 3x the amount of garlic and nearly doubled the salt, and I also tossed in some fresh rosemary (wrapped in a cheesecloth bag) in with the farro at the beginning. So good! I highly recommend trying the rosemary, it gives the dish a nice earthy flavor.
I just made this tonight and it earned many thumbs up! I used Trader Joes “10 Minute Farro” and it worked just as described. Delicious!!
Best recipe ever! I cannot believe how easy and delicious this is! I wonder how long it will take my family to tire of it because I’m sure we will be eating it VERY often!
just made this with trader joe’s 10-minute farro – took a little longer than 10 minutes (starting from the point of simmering) for me but it was absolutely delicious! i think this will become my new go-to weekday dinner!
This is also awesome made with mushrooms for an autumnal version. I made it with onion, a finely chopped portobello mushroom or two, some end bits of dried porcini soaked and chopped, and a bit of thyme. I stirred in a dollop of sour cream at the end along with the parmesan. Delish!
I made this last night, and then I immediately started emailing the recipe to all my friends. It’s fast, it’s easy, and it’s delicious. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe is the best as leftovers. I noticed the first bowl full was good, and the second one even better as the juices from cooking turn into a tomato sauce that is divine.
I doubled the recipe with farro and it worked easily. The farro I used said it was “pearled” but the cooking directions were only for a half hour. I think it was really cooked after more like 40 minutes though…but we ate the first helping after it had cooked for 30 or 33…Used a sweet chili instead of chili flakes because there was a pepper guy at the farmers market selling spicy chillis. Also used half chicken stock and half water – would have used all chicken stock but that was all that was left in the carton!
BTW, we are enjoying our second helping right now at lunch and topping our bowls with a poached egg. oh yeah.
This sounds fabulous! A friend raved about it and I plan to stuff my overabundant farm share green peppers with it.
Just made this for the first time. SO DELICIOUS! Very hard to come by Farro in the UK, only 1 supermarket seemed to stock it and no different types (pearled, semi-pearled etc) available. Will definitely be making again.
Wow, I made this last night and it was so delicious! Simple to make but a wonderful complex combination of flavors. I had the leftovers for lunch and I think it was even better the next day. The most challenging thing was finding the farro. Found it at Whole Foods (of course) which had it in the bulk bins and an Italian packaged brand (went with the latter – same brand that Deb used according to her post.
What a delicious recipe! I made it this morning using Trader Joe’s farro, a large yellow onion, and grape and cherry tomatoes in red, yellow, and orange from my garden. I only added 1/4 tsp. of a sea salt with garlic and herbs that I picked up at a T.J. Max store in a really cute Weck jar. It was plenty. I also put in just a pinch of red pepper flakes since I’m a wimp when it comes to spicy foods. It gave the recipe just enough heat to be interesting but not overwhelming. Since the Trader Joe’s brand is my first experience in tasting farro, I cannot comment on the person who wrote such negative things about the product. I will try to find some at Whole Foods, but as my first experiment with farro, I’m very pleased. Thanks so much for this wonderful blog. I look forward to reading more posts.
Hi, Deb!
This is on the stovetop right now, and it was a godsend after a long (LONG) rainy day at work. I blinked and it was ready! Also whipping up a batch of triple-chocolate double-peanut-butter cookies and planning on zoning out for the night :) Thanks!
This is why I love Smitten Kitchen!! I found Martha’s recipe about a month ago, made it right away, and was underwhelmed by the texture… you always take something I like already and turn it into something I love! Trying this dish tonight. Thank you :)
Made a double recipe of this last night with fresh red and yellow cherry tomatoes from the farmers market. It was amazing! I just ate the last of it for breakfast this morning :) Great first recipe to start using the 3 lb bag of farro I purchased a while ago. Thanks.
So, I made this on Sunday night and was a bit disappointed as I felt the farro overpowered the meal. I may have used the wrong type of farro, but it was all I could find at the time. I used Nature’s Earthly Choice Italian Pearled Farro which cooks in about 15 minutes. First time using faro – soaked for 10 minutes, cooked according to recipe but still a lot of water which may be where all the flavor went.
What did I do wrong!!! Thanks for help – taste is there just not strong enough.
Made this tonight, with an assortment of seasonal yellow and red tomatoes, and a little extra garlic, to accompany a roast chicken. It was spectacular. I could eat this every week it was so good, and I even forgot the basil! My husband is less interested in exploring grains than I am, but even he had to concur that it was great. I can’t believe such a wallop of flavor comes from so few ingredients.
I used the stuff from the Whole Foods bulk bin, it took about a half hour, and it was perfect.
Made this tonight for dinner – the hubs at the majority, and the little monkey was eating it by the fistful (we are still working on using silverware)
For those interested, I used wheatberries which is what I had the in the pantry and it worked quite well. Amazing flavor in the recipe as written, but subbed the grain. I parboiled the wheatberries for 45 mins, and then added the contents of recipe and cooked for 45 more mins for a total 1.5 hours cook time. Amazing! Hubs has already asked to have it again for dinner this week
I made this and it tasted exactly like it imagined it would taste when I first read this post. It’s crazy. Usually you can imagine how something will taste based on the ingredients, cooking method, etc. but there is always something slightly different. Not this time. It was so tasty. I’m making it again (doubling the recipe for a few lunch leftovers) after I hit the farmers’ market tomorrow for some end of season tomatoes.
Thank you for a tasty, cheap, healthy, fast dish that makes great leftovers. What’s not to love?
I made this last night as a side dish with chicken piccatta. It was great. SO EASY. One pot. Leftovers for lunch. This will be in my monthly rotation for sure. Next time I will add more red pepper flakes or maybe I didn’t add enough basil. I felt like it was maybe lacking in some flavor… but it was still really good and had a nice texture. I did have to cook mine another 5 minutes or so to get rid of some of the liquid. My husband really liked it too! I can’t wait to send this recipe to my vegetarian friends as well – they will really enjoy this.
I made this last night with the addition of some asparagus. My husband took one bite and said “Wow, I could eat this every night!”. This will definitely become a regular in our rotation!
DUDe! This was sooo gooodddddddddddd
Excellent. I used the trader joes ten minute farro so skipped the soak and tasted as it cooked- about twenty minutes. I just drained (and drank) the excess liquid. Going to try again with greens and white beans.
I’m hooked! Can’t go a week without this fabulous recipe. Thank you!!
Thanks so much for this recipe. So simple, but so flavorful. I love it!
Delicious! My husband told me it was like something his great-aunt in Italy would make, which is his highest possible cooking compliment (and having eaten her food, I was incredibly flattered – although all I did was follow the easy recipe). My twin toddlers loved it. This is my first Smitten Kitchen foray but I am looking forward to more exploring – thank you!
This was delicious, but I was left with a TON of liquid at the end. (Even after cooking it for extra time). Can I simply decrease the amount of water next time? Or will that not work if I want to maintain the same amounts of the other ingredients?
I made this shortly after you posted it for a potluck, and it was awesome. Now I’m going to make a hybrid of this and your stuffed peppers but in acorn squash, rather than peppers. Farro instead of couscous, celery instead of onion, feta instead of parmesean; add the tomatoes, celery, zucchini, yellow squash, fennel seeds, oregano to the farro for cooking, skip the garlic and red pepper. Then proceed as written for the stuffed peppers. Hopefully this will be a successful experiment!
Deb-
As i long time fan of your website this recipe will be on for dinner this evening! I’ve never cooked farro but this looks too yummy to pass up. I have had some staring at me in my pantry waiting for the right way to make in onto our dinner plates. Thank you for that brilliant recipe making brain of yours!
I love this recipe! I had never heard of farro prior to this post and I now make it nearly once a week for lunch.
I made this tonight and now I know a) it was worth me having to travel around trying to find faro, which is delicious and b) this recipe is just perfect and so easy. I added a handful of pine nuts that were sitting in my cupboard because why not? They’re Italian. Thanks!
Made this last night and loved it. Even my husband and 6 y/o daughter who really don’t like tomatoes gobbled it right up. I added some great northern beans for a little extra protein. Thanks so much…this is one I know I’ll be making many times over!
This has become a favorite, and a regular in the dinner repetoire. What amazing flavor from so few ingredients, and so little time/dishes required. I am IN LOVE!
I love this! I’ve made it several times because it’s easy and it’s a bit of a step up from beans-n-rice (and I have put beans in it before, that was pretty yummy). I also like the fact that I typically have these ingredients on hand, or if I don’t it’s easy to remember the groceries needed when I’m at the store. I’m really surprised that these few ingredients make something that flavorful (and I don’t usually put in the basil or cheese!), and I’m really happy to discover farro. I do like to cook it a little longer than Deb recommends because it’s a bit toothsome for my rice-conditioned taste. Thanks for another great go-to, simple, healthy, delicious recipe!
WOW. I have to admit, I had some doubts that a meal so easy could be so tasty, but your recipes always impress, so I had faith. I did, however sautée the onion and garlic (horrible memory of a one-pan Pinterest recipe for chicken, potatoes, green beans and lemons-peel and all- make me cringe at the thought of throwing it all in without just a little brown, sear or sweat) before adding the remaining ingredients and also subbed vegetable stock for the water and I am still patting myself on the back for a meal well done. Clean up took a mere 30 seconds!! What’s better than that? Bravo!
I made this last night with roasted buckwheat (kasha?), having struck out on farro but wanting to try a new grain. I’m appalled at how many people told me spelt was the same as farro! In any case, buckwheat needed quite a bit more liquid (than the two cups recommended on buckwheat sites) just to get it through the 30 minutes, and the texture was pretty blah. Flavor was decent, but I’m going to have to order me some farro to get the full effect! Do you think other herbs would work well here? Basil was okay, but it’s not my favorite flavor.
I made this about a week ago and I’ve been thinking about it ever since then, it is fantastic! I’ve also made the Martha pasta version and it was good but the farro is much more to my liking. Thank you! I’m making it again tonight just for myself. By the way, the Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro in the blue bag works perfectly with no alterations to your instructions.
I’m not going to say this is the best meal I’ve ever had, but for practically no work, it made a really surprisingly tasty, easy and healthy weeknight dinner. I followed the directions exactly and the seasoning and flavors were perfect. My only difference was that my farro said it would take 10-12 minutes to cook (called quick cook farro dicocco from Waitrose in the UK), so I cooked everything else for about 15 minutes before adding the farro. It actually took closer to 20 minutes to cook in the end and I had to add another splash of water, but that was it.
My girlfriend and I made this last night – perfect for a cool autumn evening! Also, I figured out why this dish was conjuring up such powerful memories for me – it’s grown up spaghtettiO’s! (Yes, I did google “spaghtettiO’s to make sure I got the spelling correct. Please don’t judge.) Thank you Deb for taking flavors from my childhood and updating them for my (slightly) more adult palate (Yes, I did google “palate” to make sure I got the spelling correct. Once again, please, no judge.)
I’m so excited. My local library is hosting a “make and share” discussion group on your cookbook tomorrow night. I have made your farro with onion and tomatoes several times now, and it never disappoints. That’s what I’m bring to share tomorrow. Luckily, I still have red, orange, and yellow cherry tomatoes from my garden. I can’t wait to see what others bring. Bravo for your wonderful sharing of your recipes, your humor, and your wonderful outlook on life.
Just made this tonight and the boy didn’t speak until he was done. I knew then I will need to make this easy dish again and again.
The farro was rather expensive (but worth it!) so I’ll be trying it with other grains later. I was a little surprised that it ended up so flavourful with just few ingredients, but it did. I was almost tempted to add broth, like others did.
Hopefully the leftovers are still in the fridge when I go to eat them…
I made this tonight for dinner with some vegan friends (minus the parmesan at the end of course), and it was a hit! My husband, who is decidedly non-whole-grain-loving, said he would be happy to eat this any day of the week. Overwhelming win!
Also, just wanted to say that dinner with my extended family (parents, sisters, etc) has become a bit of a joke. Every time any one asks for the recipe, everyone just laughs and says, “it’s from her girlfriend, Deb!”. Seriously, I often make every single dish in a multi-course dinner straight from here!
Tried this a few times and it is great when one needs some comfort food. Kids love it; I love it and my husband loves it! I just finished a bowl tonight and wish I had made more. Thank you for this post, amazing food!
I cannot find farro in Venezuela.. snif snif… I have arborio rice, any suggestions for the cooking process?
Hi,
I’ve been a reader for years and never commented. But I had to tell you I made this last weekend and thank you! Love one pot wonders and am a little obsessed with farro right now. I added spinach because I’m always trying to add in a few more vegetables but other than that, I followed your recipe completely. Perfect!
finally I know what to do with farro successfully!!! thank you
I made this tonight as side to pan braised trout along with sauteed endive. I didn’t have cherry tomatoes so I just peeled, seeded and dice some ripe tomatoes from the garden. VERY GOOD.
This is insanely delicious and impossible to mess up! We’ve eaten it with salmon, and also as a main dish with a side of roasted asparagus. Thanks!!
Made this tonight and it was pretty good, and as others have said very easy. I was missing some depth though, perhaps it was my tomatoes or maybe not enough acid. to get this on our regular rotation. I might add a bit of white wine or vermouth next time, or even bloom a little bit of tomato paste, deglaze with splash of wine and go from there. Thanks for the great and always inspiring posts.
I cannot tell you much my husband and I love this! Is so easy, so flavorful and filling. I make this all the time!!! Thank you~
This was so good! Ultimate comfort food-I will definitely make this again. I was worried that it would be lacking flavor if I made it with water instead of broth, but it was perfect!
This was so good and so easy. I cut up a parmesan rind into tiny pieces and simmered it in there from the start – gave nice depth.
This is a perfect example of why this site is my first stop when I’m not quite sure what to make for dinner. Thank you for doing what you do. You’ve made my family’s life so much more delicious.
Made this tonight as a last-minute dish, and it was SO amazing! I used the Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro, so I let all the other ingredients simmer in the pan for about 25 minutes before adding the farro for 10 minutes. My boyfriend (who was quite weary about the use of farro) helped himself to thirds ;) I totally recommend this dish… and double your ingredients, you’ll want the leftovers.
Wonderful! What a nice and easy recipe! I made it with buckwheat and was incredibly good. For Some reason I Sem not to be able to find pearled spelt in Holland, and I know how much time it takes to prepare regular spelt. But buckwheat did the trick very well, thanks!
Delicious! Question: if you were going to double or triple this recipe would you double/triple the amount of liquid? Use a wider pot with more surface area?
Thanks!
Hi kit — Triple everything. A wider pot might get the job done faster, but isn’t otherwise necessary.
THANK YOU for this recipe!!! I’m pregnant and have been grossed out by a lot of food lately, and now this is ALL I want to eat. I’ve made it three days in a row, and finally made a big double batch so I have leftovers. It’s so easy, and so good- even when I ran out of fresh tomatoes and had to use canned, it was still delicious.
Just have to say how awesome this recipe is, we’ve had it 5 times in the last couple of months. I use the whole (medium) onion and it’s delicious, by no means too much, because who wants a leftover half onion getting stale in the fridge, right? Maybe a little extra olive oil and a solid kick of red pepper flakes, and some of the last tomatoes from the garden tonight.
I’ve made this and love it, but I’m having some people over and thought adding sausage might give it a little more oomph. Do you think I could actually add the sausage into the pot with everything else? If so, should I wait until the end or can they cook with everything? Thanks!
KJ — I’m not sure I’d simmer sausage (personally) but you could break some up in a pan, fry it until browned, and then maybe sprinkle it over the finished farro.
every time my fiance suggests this, i always hesitate, because “farro and tomatoes” just doesn’t sound that interesting. even though i have made this half a dozen times by now. even though every time i put a bite in my mouth i wonder what the heck was wrong with me. even though this is amazingly delicious, somehow i have forgotten that in between. we recently found organic farro at costco (!), and made it last night with some just-okay campari tomatoes i sliced into quarters, and added a big handful of kale that’s been wilting in the fridge. i hope i never again forget how much i love this dish.
I love this grain. I have lost over 50lbs eating this grain and other natural grains but this is my favorite. Never tried cold salads but will. I cannot wait to try the recipe above.
Frances and I are on the exact same wavelength — I made it with the organic farro from Costco (instructions call for cooking 30 mins, so apparently it is semi-pearled, thanks to Deb’s handy-dandy instructions!) and Costco campari tomatoes. Even though I didn’t have fresh basil and didn’t finish with parmesan cheese, it still rocked my socks! Served it with eggs over-easy so the yolks ran down into the tomato-onion-farro deliciousness. Yum! My boyfriend says his officemates were ogling his lunch when he microwaved the leftovers :) Thanks, Deb!!
I have never commented before but I have loved your blog ever since I joined a CSA a number of years ago. I found you when in search of what to do with so many veggies. I just had to tell you how much we loved this recipe! Even my 13 month old kept saying “mmmmm” after each bite. Being winter I used canned tomatoes and decided to use veggie broth in place of water. I still can’t believe something could taste so good with so little work.
Here’s my winter pressure-cooker version which cuts the cooking time in half:
Slice onions and garlic, saute in the pressure cooker pot with a bit of olive oil and pinch of salt until soft. (I do this as the thought of boiled onions and garlic turns me off)
Add farro, water, and one small (13 oz) can of peeled tomatoes (I used imported San Marzano), crushing them with your hand as you put them in the pot. Be stingy with the liquid, straining with your fingers as much as possible in the can before you put the tomato in the pot. Discard remaining juice in can. Put top on pressure cooker, bring to pressure and cook for 15 minutes. Run pot under cold water to reduce pressure.
Add cheese and good olive oil to taste.
Thank you! I made this for company this weekend. I LOVE parmesan, so I added some extra. But here’s the clincher: my husband is not a celiac but has been following a gluten free diet pretty strictly for the last year. Well, I ‘forced’ him to try a bite, just to taste. He ended up eating TWO, yes TWO, whole servings. He absolutely loved it. And he had a big lunch that day too. I am definitely making this again. Thanks again. Jan.
I tried this recipe last week and my husband and I loved it– will be a go-to in our house! I didn’t have basil or red pepper flakes on hand, so I went without, and the dish was not lacking. My farro brand (Bob’s Red Mill) ended up needing about a cup more of water and took at least 15 minutes longer to cook, but remained deliciously chewy. This extra cooking time was actually a blessing, as the tomatoes completely dissolved (other than skins) into a nice light sauce, and the onions and garlic softened enough to be less visible and more integrated into the dish. As for parmesan– I am a junkie and automatically grated a generous layer over my farro. For the first time in my life, I found the parmesan unnecessary. The farro has so much flavor that it didn’t need anything else!
This was so freaking good! I knew I would love it but had doubts about the hubs. He, however, requested I make it frequently so now we have a new simple one-pot meal in the rotation! My favorite kind!
Wow, this looks absolutely phenomenal. I also appreciate that this is easy enough to make for a bachelor with very modest cooking ability. Can’t wait to try it out this weekend.
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was delicious! I changed it a little – used a pouch of pre-cooked farro (from Target – http://www.target.com/p/simply-balanced-farro-micro-pouch-8-oz/-/A-14604273). Started off by sauteing the onion (just half an onion like the recipe says) with some EVOO and salt for about 20 min (you want the onions to be very soft), then added the garlic (5 cloves), tomatoes, (dried) basil, oregano for some more flavor, and red pepper flakes. Let everything reduce for about 15 min, added a little more EVOO, then the entire pouch of farro. Cooked for less than 5 minutes. Then served and sprinkled with the parmesan cheese. This method really cuts down on cooking time. I can’t wait to make it again!
DON’T MAKE THIS! You will never make anything else! It’s THAT good!
Really, I used to make other things for dinner, but now I can’t remember. As a vegetarian, I sometimes have to be clever for a good meal, but this has wiped out most everything else I used to make. Did I eat before this? If I did, it wasn’t this good or easy.
I have this at least once a week, often twice or more. Does dinner need to be made? No one has a preference? Then this shall be made. Luckily I have a ton of basil growing in my bay window and suddenly a freezer full of farro.
I’ve been making this since shortly after it was posted. The only changes I make is that I use only 1 cup of water (Bob’s Red Mill – interesting that others use more and cook longer, I don’t) and a lot more garlic (often 4-5 cloves). Sometimes I use Romano when I can’t get Parmesan. It really is wonderful!
Deb, you always help me out of my non-cooking rut. This was amazing and oh so simple. I also made your peanut butter cookies tonight. Dinner and dessert on a work night is unprecedented for me. Thank you!!
I just had one bite of the cold leftovers to taste before heating up the rest for dinner and yelled out (to no one, mind you) “It’s so delicious!”
Wow! I used Bob’s Red Mill organic farro, which wasn’t labeled pearled or unpearled, but I defaulted to Deb’s guidelines in the recipe blurb and it worked perfectly. We drizzled with pesto from the freezer rather than splurge on fresh basil in January. So yummy!
Deb, can I ask what size pot you used? I really like the look of the one photographed.
Rachelle — You would not like in it person. It’s a 3-quart All-Clad MC2 saucepan that’s been destroyed in the dishwasher (the MC2 line is not dishwasher safe, I learned after ruining a line of pots… on the outside. The inside material is still fine to cook with, phew, I guess).
I’ve been making this for the past month and love it. Tonight I added pesto and sauteed a bunch of shitakes, it’s delicious. Thanks for this recipe, I’ve passed it on a bunch.
Just made this with some farro perlato from Fretta’s, my favorite Italian shop in Milford, PA. I didn’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, but used some canned organic fire roasted diced tomatoes (half a big can) and it worked beautifully, I think. I also used a little more garlic and a whole onion (on the larger side). Parmigiano Reggiano and fresh basil were perfect toppers, but I also added kalamata olives and some of Fretta’s house-made wine-garlic dry salame in slices along the edges of the dish, and it made a lovely complement. I was imagining it with feta, too. Thank you for a great dish!
Ohhhhh my goodness. Divine. I was sure it was going to be a colossal failure when I started because my farro (from Bluebird Grain Farms, an incredible organic grain supplier in WA) said it would take 50-60 minutes to cook, and I was certain that the tomatoes would get too mushy in that time, or that it would dry up before the farro was finished cooking. I started it, went to work out, and came back to a perfect finished dinner!! I topped it with the most heavenly drippy golden poached egg and moaned in ecstasy the whole time. I can already tell this is going to be a weekly standby.
Oh, and by the way, my farro (unpearled) directions say that you can soak the farro overnight to cut the cooking time in half, so you could use unpearled and still have it take only 25-30 minutes! Going to try that next time.
Made this last night. Fantastic! Thank you!
Oh, and for those of you who – like me – cannot find farro anywhere (it, like orecchiette are making a fool of me), brown rice worked GREAT- thanks to Alyssa a few hundred comments ago – who kindly shared her tweaks (3c water, 45 min cook time). Additionally, I put a lid on in the last 5 minutes, then took it off the heat and let steam an additional 5 while I chopped the herbs and grated cheese.
oh wow.. we made this last night and totally yum.. the kids went for seconds..
that is worth, i dont know what in plaudits.. keeping the little ones happy..
one for list of meal plans
thanks Fiona
This is fantastic. Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this using the TJ’s 10 minute farro. The package recommends 2 parts water to 1 part farro – too much liquid for this recipe. Too wet. When I try this again, I’ll do 1.5 parts water (or broth!) to 1 part farro. Also, I cooked the whole thing closer to 16-17 minutes and that produced farro with a perfectly meaty chew and tender onions and tomatoes. The flavors in this dish are OUTSTANDING. Truly bold and enjoyable. It’ll be a regular in the rotation once summer rolls around.
This is delicious and so easy. I tossed in some spinach at the very end and would love to try it with sausage next time. Love it.
Deb, I don’t know how I missed this post last summer, but I’m chomping at the bit to try it. You are brilliant!
this was fantastic!! I added cremini mushrooms and at the end stirred in some spinach. I’ve made the original pasta dish and I much prefer this one. Can’t wait to have the leftovers with an egg on top!!
Shoot. This is *really good*. I made it with TJ’s 10 minute farro and it ended up pretty juicy (it’s parboiled, I suppose, so doesn’t have quite the soak-up-ability), but I’m okay with it. I also made it with canned diced tomatoes and frozen diced onion (lazy day), and this turned out just phenomenal given how little work it took. I was going to let it meld in the fridge until dinnertime when it was going to meet some chicken breast, but I totally snuck a little bowl as a Thursday brunchtime treat. Thanks for this one!! This will be on permanent rotation around here!
I made this with SooFoo ( a whole grains + lentils mix from Whole Foods) in the rice cooker on the brown rice setting, and it came out perfectly. Set it and forget it.
I had this on my list to try for a year…sad it took me so long as I have now made it twice in the past 3 weeks and already looking forward to the next batch. So good and so easy!
Baby Bella Mushrooms added (early on) and Asparagus (for the last few minutes) – Oh so very delicious! Thank you for this recipe! It had become a family favorite!!
Love this recipe, its one of those I can hardly resist the urge to make it again … and again :-). No farro here either so I use red rice which has a similar cooking time and nutty flavor and works really well with this recipe.
Revisiting this now that tomatoes are back, yum! Where is your gorgeous scalloped serving bowl from?
I think it was from Ikea. It broke a long time ago. :(
Does anyone else find that Ikea stoneware/dishes break really easily? I abuse our everyday dishes much more and have only broken about 1 in 9 years!
I absolutely cannot wait to make this tonight. I love how it literally only involves one pot. I need more dishes like this for the busy weeknights!
And yes, Deb, it does seem like Ikea dishes and glassware tend to break easily. We got some brandy snifters a while back, and they were all gone within a year. And we really weren’t drinking that much! :-)
I made this last night and it was great! I used TJ’s 10 minute farro so I followed the advice of Lisa (#280) and it worked perfectly. I topped it with a bit of parm (skipped the basil) and served it on a bed of arugala so it was like a warm salad. I ate the leftovers (there wasn’t much!) for lunch with a smashed soft-boiled egg on top, and it was even yummier! Will definitely make it again! Can’t wait for the new cookbook!
Omg! This is soooo good. Made it a second time this week. We licked the bowl clean!
Really delicious and got me into farro in a major way. Have you ever tried roasting the farro in the oven first? I’ve found 10 minutes really adds a nuttiness to the the farro and works really well, especially when you’re adding spices. This is how I do it, http://www.timedeating.co.uk/spiced-farro
I’ve made different versions of this many times since it was first posted, but I think tonight’s variation is my favorite. I used barley instead of farro and added 1/3 cup of lentils plus 2/3 cup of water at the beginning. I also added in some frozen and thawed spinach midway through and some sun-dried tomatoes near the end. Delicious! The lentils and barley took about the same amount of time to cook so it worked out perfectly.
Just for data points–I used the Trader Joe’s farro and just followed directions exactly. It was delicious. I will try the pre-cooking the veggies next time because my onions didn’t melt but the flavor combo was still amazing. Loved loved loved it and it is a new summer staple (though nothing is as good as the scalloped tomatoes–this is close!).
This has been a staple for me since you first published it; I make it a couple times a month, as written (Bob’s Red Mill farro takes about 35 minutes.). This week I made it with farmstand grape tomatoes, and it was one of the best things I’ve eaten all year. Seriously amazing.
I am in LOVE. Will try adding feta and olives with a sprinkling of zatar or fresh thyme. Or bake some eggs on the top. Or chuck in some cooked lentils. Something fab to do with our insane abundance of tomatoes!
I added fresh corn in the last 5 minutes. I didn’t think I could love this more. Thank you Deb!
I couldn’t find the farro, so I went with buckwheat groats I found in the Eastern European section at my local grocery store. I cooked everything a bit longer accordingly, and it turned out GREAT. The basil in the end really puts it over the top, and I’m not even a huge basil fan. It also made my apartment smell amazing. That is all. Thank you!
Such a great recipe, and my first time cooking farro. It was every bit as addictively delicious as you claimed. Perfect entree for my meatless Monday :-)
I feel compelled to comment because this recipe has had such a positive impact on my household! Have now made it three times in a month, and each time was a little different due to tomato variables. The first was with half heirlooms, half cherry (both homegrown), and it was every bit as addictive as promised! (thought there’d be leftovers for lunch, but un-uh) Second time suffered from lackluster end-of-season store-bought tomatoes, so the third time I oven-roasted full-size tomatoes partway to amp up the flavor, then diced them into the recipe. The result was tomato-forward and super rich. This is a new staple in our home, and for winter I’ll enrich it with some crisped pancetta at the end. Thank you for the inspiration!!
We make this dish alllll the time for office lunches and I just wanted to add that recently we added spinach and (pre-sauteed) zucchini at the very end. It made the dish heartier and helped to up the veg factor, which is always a good thing :)
I’ve made this a few times with farro and loved it! Then, at the Berkeley Bowl, I noticed they had bulk farro for $3.99 a lb and “organic wheat berries” for $1.25 a lb! They looked identical, so no-brainer right? Well, my one-pan wheat berries took twice as long to cook AND twice as long to chew! Now I know!
Hi Deb! I’ve never commented on here before and I’m not even sure you’ll see this since it’s on an old recipe but I had to tell you that I finally tried cooking your mushroom and farro soup and it was fabulous! I can’t wait to make it again. That was my first experience with farro and I was an immediate fan! I searched for more recipes using this new (to me) awesome grain and found this one. I made a double recipe so I could eat it for lunch all week and it was great immediately after I made it but left me slightly blah the next day (it was a texture thing). So the next day I decided to heat it up in a skillet and at the last minute threw in a couple of handfuls of baby kale I had in the fridge and now that’s all I want for lunch EVERY day! I just wanted to take a moment to share this with you and thank you for my new found love of farro!
This is delicious! I made it with barley because that is what was in my pantry. I also used a pound of overripe Campari tomatoes and a whole onion. I am so pleased at how delicious it turned out, as all of your recipes do!
I made this tonight and it was fabulous! I didn’t have cherry tomatoes and substituted a can of petite diced tomatoes instead. Still so delicious. My husband is still talking about it. I love the idea of adding zucchini and other spinach to it. Possibilities are endless. Thank you!
OMG, this was such quick & easy prep, and scrumptious! Hubby & I loved it. I recently bought a bag of farro at Costco and looked for prep ideas when I found your recipe. This will definitely be made again & again. Nothing to change either. :)
I served it with Basil Pesto Grouper dipped in Panko and they went very well together.
Thank You!!
Made it with mushrooms, yum!
Mmm. This was *exactly* what I wanted to eat. Used the TJ Farro and canned tomatoes with chicken broth and fresh parm, tossed in the “super greens mix” of baby kale/ chard/ spinach. The greens are so fresh and sweet against the tomatoes and creamy cheese and nutty farro. YUM. Will think about a version with mushrooms and roasted squash and maybe TJ’s miso/ginger broth for an Asian flavor… Looking forward to more SK recipes!
Could this be made in the crockpot / slow cooker? Would any modifications be necessary? (As if it wasn’t easy enough already!)
Deb, I made this for the first time as a side dish to go along with a meal I’m delivering tomorrow and saved a little bit for myself. It’s so good I’m making a second batch tomorrow just for me. Thank you! (I’m also including your blue sky bran muffins in the delivery for next-day breakfast. They’re still cooling but they smell amazing.)
Hi! the first time I made this recipe I was a bit underwhelmed. I could see why it would taste good, but it was a little bland.
I have a few tips;
A) Saute the onions and garlic, don’t just put them all in the pot.
B)I would switch out half of the water with vegetable/chicken broth
P.S I know you dislike too much spice but I would recommend adding some hot sauce. ( I would personally add this in while sauteing the onions and garlic )
After these minor changes it was absolutely delicious!
Made this once again last night, this time with sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, plus added a tablespoon or so of capers. As usual, doubled the olive oil. This recipe cannot be wrecked. Delicious once again.
We make this all the time! It’s such a fantastic weeknight meal. Too make it heartier we add really nice tuna and capers.
Yum! Wish I had added kale but it was so tasty :)
Just saw this mentioned on Food52 — reminded me of how much I liked this last summer. Looking forward to tomato season to do this again! I’m contemplating the dried tomato version.
Super tasty- recommended!!! A+++
Had the Farro for over a year and not sure what to do with it, thought it could be useful in a soup. Anyway looked on the web, saw your recipe and immediately cooked it for a light lunch. At the moment London is grey and cold. Well, the world looked a whole lot different after eating this delicious meal. Thanks so much!!
This is one of my favorite dishes; I recommend it all of the time to people wanting to try faro.
Good morning – Two quick questions for you…
– Have you ever tried to make this in a Crock Pot? Just wondering if you might be able to combine in a pot and bring to a boil stove-top, then transfer to a (pre-heated) Crock to slow-cook? (And what setting and how long, if you know…?)
– Have you ever tried any other liquid, such as chicken broth (or even half water and half of anything else)?
Just curious, since I am headed out to Whole Foods to stock up on my grains and I think I am going to try this tonight! Thanks!
jennifer — I haven’t tried it in one, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I’d just put everything in cold on low. The trickiest part will be knowing when it will be done before you’ve made it. If you have slow-cooking times for other farro dishes, you can use them as an estimate for here. My worry would be if the grains have absorbed all of the cooking liquid and you’re not going to be home for a few hours, I could see it getting burned on. Good luck!
Just had a bowl of this for dinner (using pearl barley) with a simple roasted ratatouille and poached egg. It looked beautiful and was warming and delicious!
I sautéed all of the ingredients in oil for a few minutes before adding the water. Thought that might give the dish another layer of flavour, although I’m sure it’s perfectly delicious without that step. Just a tip for complicating (only slightly) a very simple recipe.
I love this recipe. I go back to it time and time again. So easy and delicious.
Yummmmm. Perfect, easy dinner for our vegetablarian friend
This was such a great dinner when it seemed like dinner was going to be pb and J- it makes me feel like I can pull something together for the grown ups at least. Even if the kids have pb and Js- this recipe is a game changer! Thank you!
Made this tonight in honor of you and your new baby. I had already cooked Farrow and cherry and Sungold tomatoes. I had a dish at outer lands in San Francisco last week with farro and fromage blanc (what an ingredient! Would love your thoughts/recipes!) and it was so incredible and inspirational. So I started some of that and truly felt like I was eating a restaurant meal. And it only took me about 10 minutes!!! Can’t wait to hear more about your baby girl, congratulations again :-)
Wow! I made this today. Bought a good jar of farro a while back and have been staring at it trying to figure out how to make it / what to do with it. I am soooo glad I happened upon your recipe! I ended up sauteeing the onions and tomatoes in a little olive oil before combining it with the farro, water and other ingredients. Then while the mixture was cooking, I sauteed some shrimp to go along with the farro and ended up dumping the farro mixture in with the sauteed shrimp! So delicious! It was like a healthy paella! I even took a picture of it. Thanks for the inspiration! Definitely adding this to our regular rotation.
Perfection. This dish is so simple and divine. Just brilliant. I have made this several times and it is always surprisingly delicious.
What a great recipe! I made this last night for dinner and it was a huge hit. I’m sure that I will be making it often. I used unpearled Farro which I get in bulk at a local Italian import store. It did take longer to cook but the texture was wonderful. I added a few basil leaves to the Farro while it was cooking and then added a more when it was finished. It was so simple and so delicious. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Quick question: could you swap in any type of tomato or do the grape/cherry have a quality that is needed in the dish. I find sometimes when I swap tomato types the end result is mixed. I tried sorting through the comments for an answer and if there was one, I missed it. So looking forward to making this! I love farro!
Scargosun — I’ve only done it with small ones but others have commented about successfully using larger chopped ones.
MAKE. THIS. TODAY. I made it tonight as a side for fish. It was divine. I think I added extra tomatoes. It was all good.
I’ve been making this since it was first posted and is absolutely a go to dish. In the winter, when I need even more comfort food, I add canned artichoke hearts, greens and turmeric. Deb, thanks for the inspiration.
Made this last night and followed the recipe but I didn’t have cherry tomatoes and so I chopped up a big heirloom that I had. I was blown away with the depth of this simple meal and it was better day two.
The farro from Rustichella also. It is expensive but it is the best. Worth the splurge. It is so good I hate to alter it much except to maybe thrown in a new shrimp.
I have to chime in with all the others praising this recipe–which I used as a “guideline” for using up the many tomatoes (cherry, grape & regular beefsteak) accumulating on my counter. So, I doubled the recipe! I didn’t use farro this time, because I wanted to clear out the quinoa varieties I had on the shelf first. (How have I had those since 2013? But I digress….) I also used chicken broth instead of water, wilted the onions first in the oil, and about five minutes before the timer went off, added some shredded zucchini and several handfuls of baby spinach leaves. Simply wonderful. And because I doubled it, I have abundant leftovers. Thank you, again!
So I added some diced zucchini and just a splash (more like a glug, shhh) of white wine to the original recipe then topped it with eggplant meatballs and buffalo mozz tonight…….
NO WORDS
P.S I don’t typically condone the “meatless” meat dishes…..if it’s a meatball it should have meat in it; hence the clever name. That being said, I had eggplant begging to be used, was intrigued by the recipe, and was very pleasantly surprised.
#slappeddownmeatsnob
This is nirvannah!! This will definitely be a regular!!
Wowzers, this totally lived up to your description, thank you! I’ve been creating a piled-high/scribbled on/beautifully stained stack of go-to recipes that are fast, healthy and most importantly, delicious, so that when I need to get something good on the table and don’t feel like meal planning or experimenting, I can just turn to my beloved regulars. This recipe just shot up to the top of the pile. I’d really like to know what other recipes you’ve added to your “permanent, laminated, framed, forever and ever repertoires.” Seriously. Please…
I had great luck with the Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro! Simmered about 20 minutes, but I overloaded my pan with veggies. Which brings me to my second point – mushrooms!! Delicious in this dish.
After failing to find farro in our local grocery stores the last 2 weekends; I finally just ordered some farro from internet land (the same brand you mentioned as I’d never had it before and wanted a benchmark) and made this last night. I also used both cherry, and chunked up, full size tomatoes from our garden and chicken broth for the liquid. Hubby declared this BETTER than risotto!! I was pleasantly surprised! This will be in our permanent rotation.
Sarah, without knowing it, I copied your version tonight… TJs 10 minute farro and added mushrooms. Mine took more like 45 minutes to cook down the water, but I didn’t follow Deb’s advice to use the package measurement for water. I used two cups as the recipe states. Nonetheless it’s delicious.
I finally got around to making this after the Facebook post, and I don’t know what it was (maybe the wrong kind of tomatoes? I used small chocolate pear tomatoes and two Roma’s right out of the garden), but it was very bland. Maybe it was the Trader Joe’s farro… Anyway, I added a tablespoon of butter and a couple tablespoons of Merlot and it was delicious! I’m now tempted to get some real farro tomorrow and try it again because my version was a little closer to risotto than I wanted and I’d like to be able to do a lighter version or my heavier one, but worst case I’ll just add the wine and butter again!
I’ve made this with both quinoa and untoasted buckwheat and definitely felt that the buckwheat worked better, through the quinoa was tasty as well. I added a ton of chopped kale about 5 minutes before the cooking time was done, and “garnished” it with some browned sausage at the end (heh, just looked up at your comment #436 where you advice the exact same thing!). Both versions needed a bit more water. So very, very tasty! It has quickly become a favorite around here because of the wonderful balance between hearty and summery.
trying a Mexican version of this right now. Added jalapeño instead of red pepper flakes, a heaping Tblsp of salt-free taco seasoning, and will add chopped cilantro after it’s finished. Crossing my fingers. I made it three times the regular way – loved it!
Made this last night. I made a double batch have enought to take to work over the next week, too. Delicious!
This is my number one favorite recipe ever. Really. Don’t tell my mom. I typically make a double-recipe which is enough for me (Single lady!) to eat for 5-6 meals. I usually top it with either sausage or an egg (sometimes both!) for protein. Sometimes I chop chorizo up and throw it in while it’s still cooking for a twist on the flavor and some built in protein. Honestly, at least a quarter if not a third of my meals every month are some slight variation on this meal since it was posted. I am never not excited to get home from work to those leftovers. THANK YOU!
This looks delicious
Wow. This was really delicious
This is one of our most favourite dishes. We added two bay leaves and a cinnamon stick and it became even yummier.Thank you so much for all your inspiration, recipes and entertainment.
So delicious. Who knew that the idea of just throwing everything in a pot at once would be so immensely freeing and satisfying compared to cooking recipes in steps? The only thing bad about this recipe is that it didn’t magically produce more! I had only a little less than a cup of farro in my pantry, so my slightly reduced recipe ended up with only two cups of cooked deliciousness, which admittedly lasted a mere 12 hours in my house.
EVERYTIME I cook this I am blown away with how easy it is and how fast the kitchen gets cleaned after and how good the leftovers are, hot or cold, the next morning. I subbed gruyere and basil, because it’s what I had, and it was divine as ever. I fried patties of shredded zucchini, onion, panko and egg to serve with it, along with steamed cauliflower because hubby thinks he’s starved if there aren’t 3 items on the dinner plate.
This will always be my all-time favorite recipe, unless the Cranberry Upside down cake I’m making later today tops it, which I doubt anything can.
Bless you for making me look like I can cook!
Internet comment-phobic here, had to pop in to comment on this one. This is basically a perfect recipe in all ways.
I humbly suggest one tiny addition that’s probably already in the fridge/pantry: add a couple teaspoons/a tablespoon of tomato paste while it simmers. It probably ups the tomato flavor a little but more importantly, it imparts an appealing reddish/orangey color to the whole dish.
Just made for dinner & it was great. Didn’t have fresh tomatoes, so substituted some canned diced tomatoes – with the juices. Also while simmering, added some dried basil & oregano. Finally, when done on stove, but in oven safe pan & sprinkled with shredded mozzarella & parmesean & put under broiler for a few minutes. My husband & I loved it.
Everything I’ve made from your site has turned out good. 95% of the things I’ve made have turned out great, and this dish turns out absolutely perfect ALL OF THE TIME. It seems ridiculous that after so long my first comment is related to such a simple recipe for farro, but I cannot believe that no matter the substitutions I make or the side dishes I serve with this one, it is perfect. If anyone is debating right now whether to make this, stop, it takes less time to prep the ingredients than to read these comments, and you too will find yourself commenting here years after the fact. Thanks Deb! You’re the best!
I have to add to all of the recipe love and comment on this one — it’s fantastic exactly as written. I made a batch over the weekend and it’s been reheating well for lunches all week. I stirred in some thinly sliced lacinato kale in the last few minutes of cook time to give it some green and added some sliced chicken & sun-dried tomato sausage on the side. It’s hearty and comforting and delicious. Thanks Deb!
chicken broth instead of water?and could i make this in a rice cooker…..i love making stuff in the rice cooker….im going to try…
I saw once a reciepie that looked somewhat similar but they also added ground beef at the beginning which sounded good.
Loved this so much! Wintry and wonderful! Added tempeh for extra protein (after boiling it for 5 mins to remove bitterness), garnished with lemon zest. Yum!
I made this last year with WF farro, and didn’t love it, but LOVED it with TJ farro. cooked for 30 minutes. Next time will double it to have leftovers. Thanks!
I made this tonight with pearl barley in place of farro. It was absolutely delicious, and we both loved it! It will be on high rotation here from now on. Thank you!
Made this tonight, but tossed in some spinach at the end, and topped with balsamic chicken breast. I can see us using this with a lot more options in the future. Great and easy recipe!
Made this over the weekend for the first time — absolutely amazing! And I got my grain-skeptic fiance to eat and love it too! Definitely putting this in regular rotation in our kitchen.
Made this on the weekend and it was the perfect summer dinner. My husband was skeptical but we were both surprised by how filling it was. Super easy too, will be a great weeknight dinner.
Late-to-the-game whole farro user here. I soaked mine for 8 hours beforehand, which *I think* shortens the cook time and also reduces the phytic acid content. Once soaked, it took about 30-40 minutes to cook, using vegetable broth instead of water. I liked it so much better than the pasta version!
I’ve made the original cherry tomato version countless times and always love it–it’s one of the few things I can actually make from start to finish after work –it’s so quick! Last night I changed it up and made it with shallots instead of onions and chunks of sweet potato. It was AMAZING. I served it with garlicky sauteed kate and sprinkled parmesan on top. Really delicious. I can’t wait to try some other combinations–though I’ll always go back to the original!
I have made this twice and cannot believe how flavourful it is. Thanks so much for this. I make many recipes from your site and I am never disappointed.
I LOVE this recipe. We make it A LOT! I use chicken broth instead of water for the farro and I add a parmesan rind while its cooking. It is a total crowd pleaser.
Hi, Do you think this could be done in a 2-heat setting slow cooker with the lid on? The hottest setting with boil with the lid on, and simmer on the other setting.
So glad that this recipe is still getting ‘comments’! I made 1 1/2 times the recipe, to share some with a friend. Considering comments & personal preference, I sauted the onions for a few minutes, ‘bloomed’ about 2Tbs. of tomato paste, added the garlic for 30 seconds, then the tomatoes and a little less water than called for. During cooking, I added some Italian seasoning and a little salt. I ‘finished’ it with 1Tb. of butter. I cooked some Italian sausages separately and served the farro with freshly grated Parmesan. Your comment above says it all; I was barely into my second bite before planning to make it again! Your recipes are the BEST!
I didn’t have any farro on hand but I did have bulgur wheat. This was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!
I now make this pretty regularly. It’s life-changingly delicious. I tried to lighten it up for backpacking by using dried onion flakes, sundried tomatoes (not packed in oil), dried garlic, dried basil. That did not turn out well. It was pretty gross. However, I remade it per the regular directions again last night and it was, as always, delicious. How flavorful!
I made this for the first time today, but it won’t be the last. This is shockingly delishes for how simple it is.
A keeper! Thank you Deb. I’ve made this twice now and for me what took this from good to great is mostly in the finishing steps. I added a heartier drizzle of good quality EVOO, fresh ground pepper, I upped the fresh grated Parmesan and its now decadent. I did use 2 good sized garlic cloves and half of a large onion, sliced paper thin (like Deb says : )). This made a difference in the final flavor the 2nd time too. I was a little shy with the onion & garlc the 1st time and that was a mistake. Mine took about 33 minutes. This dish with grilled Italian sausage & grilled chicken is entertainment worthy and unbelievably easy. The best part is the leftovers are super good!
This is amazing…my first time to make or even to eat farro…I am hooked!! A perfect meal for summer with a cucumber salad.
I made this with Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains blend (includes Israeli couscous, red and green orzo, split dried garbanzo beans, and red quinoa). I used the recommended 1 and a 1/4 cup grains from the package directions and skipped the soaking time by adding the grains to the pot last, but otherwise followed this recipe (including the water amount) and it was DELICIOUS. I ended up eating some of the cold leftovers for breakfast this morning, which resulted in some minor tomato acid pain on my otherwise empty stomach, but still WORTH IT!
Testing out the new comment section (woo!). I made this on Monday and it was excellent! It yielded two generous portions. Followed the recipe exactly using farro w/ a 25 minute cooking time and did not need to make any adjustments. We threw in extra grape tomatoes because we bought a slightly larger package, and did not regret it. Will definitely make this again and recommend to others.
I doubled this recipe, and it worked well. Needed a little pepper and a little more salt. My six year old loved it. As to the four year old, he wouldn’t touch it, but with repeated exposure he will be sure to try it and love it the 14th time I make it or so…
Made it this week and absolutely loved it. Farro is my new obsession and this one is a keeper. Simple, clean flavours and the basil, Parmesan and dollop of olive oil at the end…divine!
Made this earlier in the week and am eating the leftovers for lunch today. I added a spoonful of pesto (which I am doing to everything this summer) and it is amazing!
This was so, so delicious. I grilled sausages (the pre-cooked ones in the spinach & feta flavor) and served with a side of watermelon. Tasted like summer!! I am already craving the farro again.
Made this on Monday, and making it again tonight! So easy and delicious!
Not sure how best to submit try-this-recipe suggestions, but Mark Bittman’s sandwich of tomato, arugula, proscuitto or bresaola, marinated artichoke hearts, and Parmagianno is a-ma-zing (I’ve only had proscuitto). It was in the NYT many years ago in a 101 10-minute dinner idea list. That’s the whole “recipe.” I use ciabatta because there’s a lot of juice. Just wanted to share the love while tomatoes are in season.
#85 here? I’d definitely eat that for dinner.
Do you think I could add mushrooms to this recipe? If so, how much more water should I add?
We love this. I add fresh, finely chopped rosemary, lemon thyme, tarragon, and oregano with the onion, three fresh hot peppers, and parsley along with the basil at the end. I’m still waiting for my tomatoes to ripen, so I used a can of good San Marzano tomatoes, and it worked fine. I also added a zucchini in the last fifteen minutes, since I’m having to use one a day to stay on top of them.
I have an eggplant producing loads of tiny, perfect eggplants. Do you think a couple of eggplants could be added to this recipe without requiring an extra pan (i.e. without frying them first)?
I LOVE THIS DISH! Wanted to try cooking farro at home (I’ve had it in restaurants) and was looking for a recipe that my entire family would like. This is IT! No alterations necessary. It comes together and is SO flavorful. I will definitely be making this again. Plus, it is something my vegetarian daughter will eat. Once again I LOVED IT, would not change a thing!
Deb – I’ve made the pasta version of this many times before WOW you’re right … What a difference the farro makes! It is absolutely delicious, chewy, and far and wide better than the pasta version. Thanks for sharing your ingenious adaption!
Third Deb recipe in a week. This was perfecto for ultra late Sunday night dinner when I’ve had the plumbing week from Hell and needed healthy(ish) and satisfying. Made with quinoa, delish with Parmesan and even though I didn’t have fresh basil it was still good!
This dish is so wonderful! My 1 year old can’t get enough of it and I just love how I can dump everything into the pot and walk away. Added a bit of anchovy paste to it tonight because I can’t resist messing with perfection. I was not sorry.
9 oz. tomatoes equates to how many cups, please? I don’t have a scale!
I used mini Roma tomatoes and 1 ounce is about three tomatoes. I cut them in half or in thirds for the recipe.
This dish is sublime. As delicious as a slowly cooked and carefully watched risotto, but so easy and simple for a weeknight family dinner!
Made this tonight with volunteer cherry tomatoes and harissa olive oil in place of the red pepper flakes (cuz right now I’m using it on EVERYTHING). Delish! Not my first time with this one and certainly won’t be my last :) Thanks for the perfect summer weeknight dinner!
This was to die for. I just ate my third bowl.
Have made this multiple times and love it. not a cherry tomato fan so I never have them around but I have had success with whole heirloom or Roma tomatoes (blanched, peeled and chopped) and both home caned tomatoes (one pint) and store bought (14 oz whole, peeled). Using canned tomatoes makrs this a pantry staple so it’s great if you haven’t made it to the store in a while.
This was great! So easy and a delicious way to use summer tomatoes and the farro that’s been in my panty! Will definitely make this again!!! Thank for the recipe!
Yum! Thank you for posting. I added 3 sliced baby zucchini and some steak seasoning. SO GOOD and easy and just 7 WW Smart Points per serving :)
I make this recipe all the time! Based on availability of grains, I have usually been using einkorn, but this time around my grocery store only had spelt. I made it this evening after soaking the spelt for about 6 or 7 hours. I then started the spelt (with 3c water not 2) for 30 minutes (the cooking time specified on my package of spelt was 1 hour), at which point I added the ingredients as specified and let it cook for another 30 minutes. It is certainly easier to follow the recipe as is, but just a note for anyone that has spelt and is looking to nonetheless do this recipe that this method worked wonderfully, and tastes delicious.
This was heavenly! I made it last night and my daughter and I devoured it! I forgot about the swirl of olive oil at the end but it was fabulous without it. I can’t wait to try the leftovers with a fried egg on top! Thank you Deb for the recipe!
I’ve made this twice and both times it was a hit. excellent, simple recipe.
I have made this repeatedly since you posted it 3 years ago. Making it again tonight as the garden is loaded with fresh tomatoes, the basil is perfect and the flank steak is grilling. So seriously good.
Best part: it is terrific out of the ‘fridge in the morning, while the rest of the family is sleeping. Our secret.
I got a little greedy with the gorgeous summer tomatoes and decided to make this to lessen my load. It was OUTSTANDING. Mine took about 40 mins to cook- the tomatoes were saucy and the farro was perfectly chewy. A new staple!
This recipe is amazing in flavor, texture and ease. It’s so satisfyingly flavorful with the parmesan and fresh basil! I have restricted myself to once a week and look forward to it every time! Thank you for creating and sharing this amazing recipe.
This is DELICIOUS. And so easy! Just plop everything in the same pot, and boom, 30 minutes later you have an awesome meal. I was turned off this recipe for the longest time because of the unknown ingredient, but with a vegan coming for dinner and no ideas I finally decided to try it – and now I’m hitting myself on the head for not having done so sooner. It will defintely become a staple. Thank you Deb!
And to try to add at least something useful to this comment :) I doubled everything and cooked this in the morning – it worked out perfectly and reheated wonderfully later in the day.
Dreamy! The sauce creates such a silky dish. I used Trader Joe’s 10 minute barley with timer set for 20 minutes. Garnished with pesto instead of oil + basil at the end. Definitely adding this to the rotation.
Pesto sounds divine.
This is delicious and so easy! I doubled the portion and am wondering how well this would freeze?
Doubled the recipe and made it with canned tomatoes (I know – it’s all I had!). I have despaired of finding farro in my usual grocery store so I decided to give bulgar a whirl and it turned out well! I had to up the salt and spices and liquid – bulgar seems to absorb a lot. It was a hit with kids (1 and 3) and adults alike.
I use canned tomatoes all winter – preferably the fire roasted ones – and this transitions beautifully into a hearty warm (quick!) winter dinner :)
This is an amazing recipe. I will be doubling from now on!
Can this be frozen?
I haven’t frozen it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t freeze well.
Thank you! I was worried about the tomatoes actually. I’ll give it a try
I made this with bulgur instead of farro because that’s what was available at my grocery store. Like Leigh suggested (way back in 2013) I cooked the tomatoes, onions, and garlic in water for ten minutes before adding the grain, since the package said to cook for 12-15 minutes. I topped it with sautéed mushrooms, a fried egg, and arugula for dinner and it was delicious– lots of flavors and textures! I’ll definitely be making it again. Thanks for the great recipe!
Just made this! Turned out so beautifully! Mine was ready right at 30 minutes, and I even used Trader Joe’s “10 minute Farro”. My grocery did not have white onions in stock, so I used a yellow one and that seemed fine. Delicious with the basil and parm garnish. Thanks, Deb.
Hello! I made this delicious dish this evening and I was highly pleased! Thanks glfir such a great recipe!
A definite hit. And silly easy to boot.
One suggested change: Adding a splash 2 T of white wine to the pot in the last five min. The acid helps brighten everything up.
What a super idea.
I know you posted this as a summer recipe, but DANG it’s perfect in the depths of a cold winter. Had to sub dried basil sprinkled on just a few minutes before the cooking was finished, but this was super delicious.
I had farro leftover from your crusty cauliflower and farro bake, and thought “Gee, I wonder if farro would go well with tomatoes?” thanks for having exactly the recipe I needed :-)
Did this last night and it was really easy and tasty. My package of farro had no directions at all (it said “perlato”). I sauteed a little bit of bulk italian sausage, then put in the garlic to toast in the fat, then the rest of the ingredients. Once it boiled I put it on the lowest heat burner and left it there for a little over an hour. Added fresh basil and parmesan, stirred and ate. Yum! I’m going to try this with bacon instead of sausage, and using shredded beets instead of tomatoes. Stir in some goat cheese at the end…
This is one of my favorites, Deb! When I saw it on your Instagram today, it made me long for summer tomatoes. I’ve only made it with fresh summer cherry tomatoes. Have you ever tried canned tomatoes with this during the off-season? If so, what kind and how much did you use?
Made this delicious dish tonight with Whole Foods Kamut. Cooked it 1/2 hour by itself; added rest of ingredients and cooked for an hour. I guess Kamut would be like whole, unpearled farro. Tongue in cheek when I served to my husband. Stirred in lots of Romano and julienned basil. He really liked it. Great litmus test for anyone to make this. He’s not a picky eater, but I know this appeared too healthy when it was served and no meat. 😉
We love this. I actually make it in my Instant Pot minus the tomatoes, which I blister in a pan while the Farro cooks, then add them in at the end with, most often, crumbled feta. With a fried egg on top this is a very frequently enjoyed dinner here!
Shannon, how long do you cook this in the Instant Pot?
Yum! I’ve never cooked farro before and this couldn’t be easier. My store only had the pearled, and it was ready in about 20 minutes. It was on the salty side for my taste, but otherwise it’s a keeper!
This is a weeknight staple in our house. I find it makes enough for my husband and I for dinner with leftovers for my lunch the next day. When we’re feeling decadent, we stir in some fresh mozzarella pearls in the last five minutes of cooking in lieu of the parmesan.
I tried this with wheat berries, since that’s all I had. I presoaked them in hot water for over half an hour and I think it helped a bit with time. I also sautéed carrots, onions, tomatoes, garlic and kale and then added the wheat berries. I kept it covered to help with cooking and should have added less water and cooked off some water, but it’s very tasty. I threw in mozzarella and a bit of butter at the end too!
I just made this tonight and it was delicious!! Highly recommend.
I finally made this last night and it was TERRIFIC. It’s going into our rotation — a veg dish with enough “punch” to satisfy, and boy howdy is it easy!
This was a big hit. SUGGESTION! Add a glugg of white wine with the water. I, for one, was glad I did.
So simple and delicious! The red pepper flakes really make this dish! I love fennel so I added a pinch, and that was good too. I will surely make this again!
I have precooked 10 minute farro. Can I use this to make this recipe? If so, how do I change it?
Hrm, does it need any liquid to be finished? If so, you could boil the other ingredients in that liquid for a bit and then add the farro for a bit at the end.
I used the 10 min farro as well. I just followed the package instructions. The only adjustment I made was to sautée the veg first to ensure they’d be cooked. Next time I’d use slightly less than the 1:2 ratio of farro:water called for inthe package.
I’m wondering if this would work with whole (unpearled) Barley… Thoughts?
Maybe this is strange but I wondered this when I made this recipe the first time and I am wondering again. What is that in the bottom right hand corner of the ingredients picture (the second photo in the post)? I can’t make it out and don’t see any unknown ingredients in the list.
I think it’s the white onion Deb mentioned that she used. ;-)
That is it!
I made this for dinner yesterday, and it was wonderful! This recipe is the perfect combination of simple, quick, and delicious. This is the first week that I’ve been able/willing to cook dinner since my daughter was born (she’s six months old now…), and a great recipe like this makes me feel like perhaps it WILL be possible for me to keep my family and myself alive and cared for in this new post-baby world order. That is priceless. Thank you, Deb!
On that note — two questions:
1) Ideas for other veggie combos that could work here, other than onions & tomatoes? Or maybe as an addition to the onions & tomatoes? I’m always looking for ways to add more veggies to my meals, especially now that there are three mouths to feed at the dinner table!
2) Would you consider making a cookbook of simple/one-dish recipes for fail-proof weeknight meals? You’ve already got some great offerings on the site to fit that niche, and I have no doubt that you would hit it out of the park. I would LOVE to get my hands on that book!
Thanks again for this one, and all the years of great recipes and charming writing!
This dish is outstanding. Just made it for the first time. Now I understand the repeat tomorrow! Need more farro. Husband threatened to lick the pan.
I love Farro, and this recipe looks delicious. Tonight I will enjoy it in my house
Keep up the good work.
I made this for my vegetarian daughter. I used the 10 min farro from Trader Joe’s so I sautéed the onions and garlic first. I also boosted flavor and nutrition by using half veg broth. Delicious!!
I’ve made this many times since you posted it, but tonight it struck me that you really need a recipe category called “Things That Cook While You Chill and Drink Wine,” because that’s just what I did. Ten minutes prep, half hour of drinking wine on the couch = a much happier post-work Monday me. Oh, and a delicious dinner that tastes like you spent at least four times longer making. Genius.
Just echoing what others have said here. Easy and delicious! Followed the recipe exactly, but then added some cubed smoked mozzarella. So good!
So delicious – topped with parmesan AND feta!
I tried this recipe when the local tomatoes were first being sold at our farmers market last year, and I continued to make it more than once a week for the entire cherry tomato season. My husband and I both cannot get over how delicious this recipe is, and it is perfect for the warmer weather when I do not feel like cooking. I formerly made a roasted tomato dish multiple times a week, but this farro recipe is not only easier to make but much better in that there is no messy oven cookie sheet to scrub and no hot oven.
I love this dish. We eat it pretty frequently at my house, usually with chopped greens (kale or Swiss chard) added in part way through cooking, and always topped with a crispy egg. Delicious!
Hi, I’m excited to try this recipe – wondering if I can use chicken broth instead of water, for more flavour (or, will it likely not change the taste enough to notice?)
Thanks!
I don’t think it’s worth the change in flavor because the tomatoes and onion, imho, impart enough here.
Perfect as is. Was a great dinner for two alongside roasted asparagus! Next time, I’ll definitely double the recipe so I have leftovers. I may also add some feta so the finished product!
I’ve made this twice and loved it both times! Once with barley instead of the farro and that time I also added some shredded lacinato kale (added at the end, when it was nearly done) because why not add some greens? It was delicious!
Delicious! This is part of our standard rotation. We add mild chicken italian sausage that we’ve removed from the casing and sauted. Perfect one pot meal.
Cooked this for the first time tonight – it was absolutely delicious! I love the chewiness of the farro and the flavours were incredible. This will define become a fixture in our house – thank you!
I discovered this recipe more than a year ago and have made it dozens of times since. Thanks so much! I’ve used several types of farro (but usually Earthly Choice or the 10-minute kind from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods). I’ve grated fresh parmesan and used the pre-grated store kind. I’ve used cherry tomatoes and also cut up big roma tomatoes. I’ve used frozen cubes of garlic, the pre-jarred kind, or my own fresh minced. No matter what, it’s delicious — immediately as well as cold or reheated for lunch for days to come. It’s basically become a staple in my work lunchbox.
One caveat: I’m anti-onion and have never included it. I just can’t. I add extra garlic and bask in my pickiness. I love that it doesn’t depend on the onion for texture.
This goes well with pretty much anything, but I tend to pair it with salmon and/or asparagus. I often mix spinach in, too. It’s basically like a caprese pizza without the pizza. And it’s basically foolproof, too! Depending on the ingredients, sometimes it’s amazing, sometimes it’s just good — but it’s always easy, quick, and yummy. I find it filling, nutritious, and colorful. Definitely a keeper.
Thought I’d mention that I often throw in lots of frozen or fresh basil (and sometimes oregano and parsley) from the start, and it seems to add lots of great Italian flavor. A bit of pesto at the end definitely doesn’t hurt either. And Kumato mini tomatoes are probably my favorite for making this.
Also, it’s just as good cold as hot! Have I mentioned this is probably my favorite EVER savory online recipe?
Wow, thank you.
Making this for the second time tonight and doubling the recipe! My 2.5 year old loved it, as did my husband. Thank you- this recipe is a keeper!
So quick and delicious! I added a spoonful of leftover tomato sauce for a little added richness, and topped it with some grated Jarlsberg. Served alongside a glass of sparkling white wine, this makes an immensely satisfying weekend lunch!
I have made this countless times and no matter what I switch up because I don’t have it or want to get fancy (truffle salt in this will change your life) it is ALWAYS amazing. Also my 5 year old…oh i’m sorry I mean husband who eats like a 5 year old, LOVES it. One of my Deb faves!!
I made this when you first posted it and it was awesome! I sautéed some shrimp to add to it
I’ve made this Farro dish many times. It is, hands down, one of my favorite things to eat and guests always love it! Made with summer tomatoes and sweet onions…it just doesn’t get any better
Made it, and it’s really good….. for a grain dish.
The broth was amazing. Used truffle salt instead of kosher. Don’t know if that had anything to do with it.
Please, please pretty please turn this into an Instant Pot recipe?!?!! I have no desire to turn on anything that releases any kind of heat into the house (mops brow) but this sounds amazing!
Great dish. Changed slightly by sautéing the onions with some sliced mushrooms for about 5 minutes before adding to the pot. I also added some fresh chopped parsley as well as fresh thyme with the salt and pepper. Everything was as written. Really loved this dish….thanks so much for sharing.
I made this with barley. Kind of big barley. Not sure what the husk situation was. I can tell you the package said to cook it for 60 minutes, which is how long it took. It took quite a bit of water as well. I don’t mind cooking tomatoes for that long so it worked out well. I used a yellow heirloom tomato. YUM and DELICIOUS. Awesome.
I am a regular at your wonderful site and IG and have many of your recipes in my repertoire…delicious ones like your pecan sandie peach crumble!…never have I have been more compelled to write a review! This dish is nothing short of magical! And FYI it works great with the TJ’s farro. I did however need to cover mine for a bit to get it to the consistency of my preference.
I made this in Saturday for lunch and was hoping the leftovers would last for a side dish or two. Well, this was so good that my husband and 14 year old son devoured it for lunch, breakfast and snack. It was great with a fried egg on top too.
I used about 1 1/2 cups Farro , an entire onion and an entire box of cherry tomatoes.
I plan to make it again tomorrow for dinner. This really is a stellar recipe!
Deb, Have you made this with roasted tomatoes (and onions?). I love farro. Maybe a tiny bit of pancetta to enhance the salty chew?
I haven’t made it with roasted ingredients because they cook into a sauce in the pot, not sure what it would add. Probably won’t taste bad through. For pancetta, if you like it chewy, definitely go for it. I prefer it crispy and would probably crisp it up in a skillet and scatter it on at the end.
This didn’t look as deliciously cohesive on my stovetop as in the picture, so I added a few tablespoons of tomato paste–did the trick! So simple, so few ingredients, so amazing.
I know there’s already 650+ comments for this recipe, but I have to chime in to say how delicious and simple this was! We loved it. I doubled the recipe (family of 6), and we thought it was a perfect easy summer meal. I used heirloom tomatoes from our CSA instead of cherry tomatoes, worked out just fine. Thanks for making it one-pot and super simple!
Made this tonight with heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market in Larchmont (a cool neighborhood in LA). This was absolutely delicious. My family loved it!!! Thank you! Your recipes never fail! Thank you!
This recipe falls into the “Greater than the sum of its parts” category. First time eating farro and my husband and I both enjoyed it hugely – a great simple, healthy and quick meal. Thanks!
Made this for dinner earlier this week, what a great recipe! I had tried the Martha Stewart version awhile ago with linguine and wasn’t a big fan, but the nuttiness of the farro worked really well. I’m 7 weeks postpartum and I’ve been looking for simple dinner recipes now that our meal train is coming to an end. I threw this together in just a few minutes and served with browned Italian chicken sausage (pre-cooked), my husband and I devoured it all! I didn’t have fresh tomatoes so I used a 15 oz. can and cut the water down to 1 cup. I didn’t add fresh basil or Parmesan either and it was still great. Will definitely make again, thanks for sharing!
I have not made this recipe in awhile and totally forgot how easy and delicious this is. Looking for an alternative for take out tonight and had all the ingredients at hand. Oh yum! Had to restrain myself from a second helping! It would have been far more work to hop in the car and grab mediocre teriyaki than it was to make this simple, satisfying dish. Thank you!
Made this with Bulghur because that’s all I had and it was delicious!
So good! I made this for the second time tonight. We love it! My 17 year old son was so disappointed when he thought he was going to have to leave before the farro was finished! He was looking forward to farro! Sounds crazy, but true! He did get to eat it on his way out, and he ate the little bit that was leftover, when he got home.
I will make it again as soon as I buy more farro!
Thanks for another winner!
I had a bag of farro in the pantry and was looking for an easy recipe to make, This is it! Pretty darn good. The fresh basil and Parmesan make the dish, IMHO.
After a hiatus of not making this, I made this twice in 2 days. With the leftovers, I added leftover tomato sauce and made Shakshusa for breakfast this morning. Double win-win!
Made this yet again tonight. Seriously, this recipe has been my go to for nights I just can’t get to the store and can’t get motivated. Awesome pantry friendly recipe!
I have now made this 3 times in the past month. It is ridiculously easy. I have doubled it each time so my husband and I don’t fight over it. Perfect to bring to work for lunch. Add basil or don’t. Yellow onions if no white. Extra garlic because it’s garlic! I have added grilled chicken, too. So good and so easy to double so you can eat it all week. Thanks, Deb.
What do you think a good gluten-free substitute would be? It looks like at least one person made it with quinoa and it worked well.
I made this tonight, following these easy directions, added white beans in the last 2 minutes….IT WAS DELICIOUS! Great texture and flavor. I will add this dish into the weeknight rotation. Thank you!
I sem to have unpearled farro because it’s taking forever! Has anyone made this in the instantpot? Seems like it would be a great instantpot recipe, maybe just reduce liquid a little.
This is one of those “easy and you most likely have all the ingredients” type of dishes that was absolutely stunning in its simplicity. Creamy like risotto, the light drizzle of olive oil at the end put it over the top. Kudos SK!
I’m going to try this in the instant pot…I’m guessing 15 min. Wish me luck!
I love and am always looking for one pot recipes. I was a little skeptical about not toasting the red pepper and cooking the onions and tomatoes a bit before adding to the farro, but I made it exactly as written and wow! My family and I loved it and scarfed it down. Could not be simpler or faster to cook (30-40 minutes total using semi-pearl farro) or more tasty. And who doesn’t have these few ingredients in their kitchens. It is now my obsession.
I made this last night and it was delicious! I did not have fresh basil so I threw some dry basil in the cooking pot. It was a tad salty for me so I would probably cut back slightly on that but I don’t care for salty foods in general so it was probably my personal taste.
Wow! This is delicious! It was so easy – I love that it was all in one pot. Will definitely make this again.
Hmmm! Not sure that I’d make this recipe again. Maybe if I had used chicken broth instead of water or more red pepper (though I tripled it)…kind of bland. My husband liked the heartiness of the farro however so I’ll have to find another recipe for it.
After making this dish for about two years, I HAD to post. Best. recipe. ever.
Its SO easy, quick and impresses anyone that gets to share a little with you. Love this recipe as my GO TO whenever I have random tomatoes that need to be eaten!
Thank you!
I love this recipe. It caused me to fall in love with farro!
I generally make it with chicken stock instead of water & it’s delish!
I was craving this last night but alas – no fresh basil. Instead I loaded it up with fresh parsley, the zest of 2 (yes, 2) lemons & the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Lots of pepper & parmesan I’m telling you………A-mazing!
This cooking method just makes it so easy to improvise with the flavours.
Thank you!!! :)
I love this recipe. For some reason, though, we found it so salty. I adjusted the salt the second time and was very happy.
So I made this recipe all summer but tomatoes and basil aren’t my thing when it’s cold so I adapted it for winter.
I followed the directions but skipped the tomatoes and added a cup of previously cubed and roasted butternut squash at the end, along with about a half teaspoon of both thyme and sage. I skipped the basil but definitely needed the Parmesan.
It’s so GOOD! It’s a family favorite.
Thanks for such a great and easily adaptable recipe.
Dancearoundthekitchendelicious!
I added to the pot three chopped anchovies and (because I had no fresh basil) a heaping 1 tbsp chopped parsley and 1 tsp dried Italian herbs. It was great! I can’t wait to try more variations on this dish.
I made this a couple of times following the recipe exactly. It’s a great, fast, hearty and wholesome feeling dish. The other day I decided to make it with canned roasted tomatoes instead of fresh because I didn’t have any fresh ones. But when I went to grab the can of tomatoes (as the faro was already soaking) I discovered I was out of tomatoes! So I used a can of Muir Glen tomato sauce instead and used a little less salt. I also added a whole pack of frozen spinach just to add something green. It was a good, quick warm lunch.
Absolutely fabulous recipe! It’s everything you described and more! I may never eat pasta again! LOL Okay, so I may not give up pasta, but this is truly delicious! Thank you! Served with crispy, pan seared duck breast! YUM
This has become my go-to comfort dish! I always use chicken stock and cut down on the salt a bit. I’ve added a fist full of chopped fresh spinach for more greens before taking off the heat. I love to grate in a little lemon zest and drizzle the finished dish with a lemon infused olive oil, more fresh ground black pepper and parmesan or romano cheese – delish!
After having this recipe bookmarked forever I finally made it and it was amazing! It took about 40 minutes rather than 30, probably because I’m at 7’000 ft. I added a can of drained navy beans, too.
Hats off. Seriously. This made my already wonderful summer lunch memorable. As I live in Chile, where farro is not just unavailable but inexistent, I replaced it with “mote de trigo” which is quite close to the same thing. For those south americans here, if Mote is what you have, add 2,5-3 cups water instead of 2, and add another 10 ish minutes to the cooking time. Pure one pot magic.
This is fantastic. One of those rare recipes that requires little effort and is far greater than the sum of its parts. Also very verastile – I can imagine serving this in any season with chicken or fish. Thanks so much for the recipe – it’s a keeper!
My “go to, never fail” dinner item where the leftovers are even better the next day! My sister in law is going to try it, and add turkey sausage. I like her idea and plan to do the same.
I made this using an instant pot (having made it MANY times using the regular pan method), and it turned out fantastic! I really didn’t do anything different except for no presoaking of my semi-pearled farro at all. I followed all the saute steps just like usual- but in the instant pot, and then cooked for 15 minutes at high pressure, with a quick release. It was every bit as good as making the regular way, but much much faster. Perfect for a busy weekday!
Hi I have a question about your comment “saute” steps in the instant pot but I don’t see saute steps in the original recipe. Did you saute the onions and garlic in the instant pot and then add remaining ingredients? Thanks for your help. I’m hoping to try this in my IP
Has anyone made this in advance?? I want to make it and take it to a housebound friend, but I don’t want to ruin a perfectly wonderful dish by making it ahead and then reheating???
Help, Help
It reheats just fine.
I always have leftovers when I make this recipe and I think it actually tastes better the next day! My favorite is to “reinvent” the leftovers by serving a fried egg over the farro and I have it for breakfast.
I just realized that I have made this dish so very many times.I had to finally comment on it. It is my go-to dish for farro. I cannot say enough about how absolutely delicious this recipe is! Even my husband eats it up every time. There is never enough leftover to keep on hand when I make this treat! Thanks for sharing this!!
I can’t wait to try. I forget about dinner when I get knitting so easy dishes are a must some days.
Oh, Deb, you have made my day with this one. I have been in chemo and have not cooked a meal in 4 months. No appetite and no energy to cook. This got me back in the kitchen, and I am so grateful. Yummmm……. Thanks! My dear husband sends his thanks, as well!
Wow. I’m so happy to read this. I hope you keep feeling better and better.
this is delicious and easy to make … this is in heavy rotation at our house! Thank you :-)
This was delicious and easy. I’d never prepared or can recall having farro before and I was pleasantly surprised by the texture–cooked through and chewy at the same time. The flavor of the grain itself is pretty mild. The thin tomato sauce that forms between the cooking liquid and starch is lovely.
The recipe seems pretty adaptable. I substituted canned diced tomatoes for the fresh, draining and measuring the canning juice and adding enough water to make 2 cups. I also added some dried oregano while it was simmering and fresh parsley (no basil) and pecorino at the end.
Thanks for introducing me to a new grain. I would definitely make this again.
I’ve had this pinned for awhile & finally made it tonight. Loved the ease and risotto-esque taste and creaminess. Served with Greek meatballs, tzatziki & a chopped salad. Perfect to make when you want something homemade & comforting just for yourself
Delicious. Added chopped kale in the beginning.
Made this twice for dinner, once with canned instead of fresh tomatoes, and once adding browned mushrooms. Using pearled / quick cook farro without adjusting the liquid levels resulted in more of a soup, which was delicious!
Made this today. It is delicious! Make sure and use the Parmesan cheese
So so good! Granted we slipped up and had to use quinoa, I thought we had some farro in the pantry and you know how that goes.. I added some fresh spinach at the beginning too.
It was so simple and light. We will definitely be having it again soon.
I made this from the Smitten Kitchen Everyday cookbook last night for my meat and potatoes husband for dinner last night and he loved it! It was so easy to make and I loved that there wasn’t a lot of prep or clean up. I used trader joe’s 10 minute farro and and a combo of some grape and languishing Roma tomatoes and it was amazing. The textures of the perfectly cooked chewy farro with the collapsed tomatoes is perfect! There was a little leftover liquid in the pot but after you toss in some Parmesan it becomes this tomatoey-cheesy goodness that I liked. Thank you Deb for another hit! Looking forward to making this a meatless Monday tradition! Xo
Deb, I made this and my family ate the whole dish….I actually served it up with a fried egg on the side and it seemed to round out the plate really well😊 Thanks so much for this recipe! I picked up a bag of farro at Trader Joes and didn’t know what to do with it…Perfect!
What about using chicken broth instead of water to make it more flavorful? Or not necessary and water does the trick? Thanks!
You can but we do not find it necessary here.
Made this tonight- so easy and delicious. Will make it again. I panicked for a moment when I could not find farro in the cupboard as wondered if it would work with barley? Fortunately, I found the farro….but someday I might like to try with another grain.
Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this tonight and it is so easy and delicious. I don’t like onions so I cooked the Farro in 1 1/2 vegetable broth and 1/2 white wine to add more flavor. I upped the garlic and pepper flakes and used basil, rosemary and flat leaf parsley. I didn’t have parm but had leftover fresh mozzarella and used that instead. I did have to look mine longer, I’m guessing because I didn’t have the onions to absorb the liquid, but still – so simple and seriously yummy, thanks Deb!!
This looks fantastic! However, I can’t eat onions or anything related (rather annoying, as most fantastic food contains onions!). Usually I just omit them, but it seems they are an important part of the sauce here. Any suggestions for a substitution?
when a recipe like this, that challenges the standard cooking process for something as common as rice, works SO WELL i always wonder “how the heck did that old way last so long?” this was simple & devine
So if I have 10 minute farro, just add in at about 20 mins? Or continue with your instructions but the whole thing will only take 10 mins? Thanks!
People have done it successfully both ways!
This meal is AMAZING! I cooked the Farro in white wine instead of water. And added chicken sausage to the finished product.
No leftovers – definitely a keeper!
I’m eating this on my balcony on a lovely June day, wondering if it would work cold or room temp as a summer salad. One of my favorite grain salads combines farro with sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, and feta or another salty cheese. I think I’d make this exactly according to the recipe, let it cool, and then add sweet corn kernels (freshly boiled and cut off the cob.) Could also add olives or a splash of vinegar for a briney edge. And maybe up the tomato quotient. Great recipe, Deb! Thank you.
Update: this is great as a pasta salad-type dish for a BBQ. Make recipe as is, let it cool (preferably overnight) then toss with 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1/2 cup feta cheese, and 1 eggplant, cubed and roasted. Could also mix in arugula or other greens to bring up the vegetable-to-grain ratio.
So good! Pleasantly surprised by how tender and flavorful the dish is, onions cook perfectly, also used bulgar as that was all I could find at the market, it also held up a nice chew, not oatmealy at all despite appearance. Will definitely try with farro (love it in your cauliflower and broccoli recipes) and add to the summer rotation, Another SK recipe for the win!
So my farro is pearled and I need to double amt and it says 4 c water to 1 c farro would that work with your tomatoe measurements or should I double the sauce ingredients as well?
Use all the amounts listed here including water (but you can peak if you’re worried it’s going to need more, but I doubt it will), just use the cooking time suggested on the package if it’s longer.
Hi! Thx for responding! The cooking time says 20 m so to be. Clear use your amounts for Sauce and my farro amts and if I need to double double everything?
You can make it exactly as written here, with the exactly the measurements here. My concern note was just if your cooking time listed is much longer, you just might need a little longer.
Made this last night with quinoa and grape tomatoes, was so easy and delish! Just found I preferred a little more salt than the recipe calls for. Won’t be surprised if it becomes a regular in my rotation.
Delicious! We had this for Father’s Day topped with grilled shrimp, with asparagus and fruit salad as sides. Suggested serving size is accurate; I doubled it for 4 adults and we didn’t have much leftover.
Okay, so I’d never even heard of farro before, but it sounded interesting, and since the reviews were great, I decided to try it. Good vegetarian recipes are hard to find. Pearled farro was all Walmart had, so I went with it. Love the heartiness, and the recipe is so quick and easy! The husband and son both had two helpings. It cooked perfectly in the 30 minutes, though I let it simmer a few minutes longer, while the sausages cooked. I served it with Field Toast Apple sage vegan sausages, and mixed greens. I’d definitely make it again!
Instead of “One a Farro 101 note”, did you mean “On”?
Thanks, fixed.
I’m making this for dinner tonight and I’m so excited! I’ve got a few extra ears of corn in the fridge and a zucchini. I was considering adding them at the end with some sauteed chicken spinach feta sausage. Do you think these additions would be okay?
That sounds so good! I will be trying that. This recipe is great and adding the sausage is perfect for some added protein.
I used to make this all the time with farro, but now I have a daughter who is allergic to wheat. Switched it up to pearled barley (followed the directions on the package for how much water to use and how long to simmer), and it was still delicious! Whenever anyone has a surplus of cherry tomatoes in the summer, I send them this recipe.
Also, this is amazing with a runny fried egg on top!
Made this using Trader’s 10-minute farro and 2 very soft Roma tomatoes, finely diced. Loved it. I was dubious about cooking it totally uncovered so I cracked the lid for the entire cooking time of 30 minutes…then I brought back to a hard boil to remove some of the water. Next time I’ll follow directions better and leave it uncovered! We loved the flavor, texture and ease of prep. It is so much more than the sum of its parts! My college-aged daughter is taking this “recipe” back to school with her.
This was fantastic! Used what I had on hand: pot barley, feta, and added kale and cauliflower… squeeze of lemon to finish. Flavour definitely more than sum of parts. Thank you, Deb!
Delicious. Easy. Comes out exactly as it’s supposed to.
Just came to say that I made this last night and ate it with an egg on top – so good. Brought leftovers for my lunch and added in chickpeas for protein. Also so good. Thanks Deb!
I made this recently and I love love loved it!!!! The next day it was even better. It tasted like creamy risotto and this is actually good for you. I will be making it for myself(not letting anyone share) on a regular basis. Thank you for this delicious and very easy recipe!!!
Love this recipe. Home with a new baby so was glad to remember this easy, healthy meal that would also use up some of my basil and tomatoes from my plants feeling more neglected than my poor dog right now. Have made it twice in the past two weeks. Served it last night along side some grilled asparagus and topped it all with a quick fried egg!
This is a staple in my house! Last night I didn’t have fresh Parmesan so added a frozen Parmesan rind to the pot while it all simmered…such a game changer!
Utterly fabulous! So easy and so delicious. Couldn’t resist adding ¼ red pepper finely sliced. I’ve never used farro before (called spelt in the U.K.) and it is like a lovely nutty rice.
I’ve been meaning to try farro for some time, and I’m very glad I did with this recipe. The other reviewers are spot on – this is delicious.
Saw this recipe in your NYT article (which was awesome btw!!!). I’m wondering if you’ve tried this in the instant pot? Seems like the kind of recipe that would be perfect for it. If so, i’d Love to know the cook times. Thanks!
Everytime I make this–and there have been many–I am so happy! It’s very accommodating: not enough tomatoes? Add a little tomato paste. Toss in chopped celery and carrots along with the onion, if you want more texture. DouvBles easily, with mo adjustments. Sometimes I forget (or am too impatient to wait for) the basil. With or withoutthe par,esan, it’s delish!
Added white kidney beans, a jalapeño, and baby spinach, sprinkled vegan cheese on top. My go to for weekends that I work which is every weekend actually!
One of my favorites! You can tag this as dairy free (my new lot in life)! 💕
Mama Mia! This was awesome! I doubled the recipe to feed 4 people as a main, and there were leftovers. We gave them to my daughter’s violin teacher, because, you know, hungry musician. I used a Mayan onion. After everything came off the heat, I threw in several handfuls of thinly sliced basil and spinach. It’s really our new favorite meal. And by “our” I mean “mine,” because I make the dinner.
I am looking forward to trying the farro/cauliflower bake. We are not vegetarians, but prefer whole grains with veggies, eggs, and only occasionally meat. Recipes like this definitely help keep in interesting and balanced.
Hi we had this the other night at a friend’s. It was amazing! I just got an Instant Pot and I wonder if there is a way to make this recipe using my IP?
Thanks!
This is my favorite summer meal ever. It is so easy and light. Thank you for sharing!
Wow is this shockingly good. Interesting that it was posted in (and many comments are from) summer, as it feels like cold-weather comfort food to me with much less guilt, and worked great even with wintery-grocery-store cherry tomatoes. Especially love the subtle heat of the red pepper. Only wish I had doubled it, as I now see others have done!
I just love this recipe! I sautée the onions with garlic, sometimes use a can of diced tomatoes, and top the dish with toasted slivered almonds. So delicious and healthy!
I just love this recipe! I sautée the onions with garlic, sometimes use a can of diced tomatoes, and top the dish with toasted slivered almonds and lots of Parmesan. So delicious and healthy!
This was so incredibly easy – you just toss it all in a pot and wait and DELICIOUS! I added sautéed chicken sausage (for a husband who prefers dinner with a meat) and next time may add spinach. Will definitely make again (and again)!
Delicious! But the general consensus is that the garlic is excessive. I’ll cut it by half next time.
This is a perfect easy meal that exceeds expectations for the effort you put in. Definitely a great week night dish.
Made this again tonight. We enjoy it every time. Such simple ingredients but so yummy! Thanks for the great recipe that is added into our regular rotation!
This is my new favorite recipe. I did one cup of water and 1 cup chicken broth to add more flavor. I also added spinach to it which was great. Moving forward, I’m going to double the recipe so my husband and I can eat it throughout the week.
Delicious!
Loved it!
And, super easy.
Made this tonight. Left it on the burner because… bottom line farro a little less toothsome than ideal but we still ATE IT ALL. Cannot wait to make again.
This was wonderful! I would make it every night just to have that wonderful aroma in my house. Thank you for a delicious and super easy recipe.
I love this recipe! I bought my farro at whole foods, and on the package it said, “cooks in 10 minutes” . I just did you exact measurements and it was perfect. what a great recipe. It tasted like risotto, but so much healthier.
Holy cow, this is amazing. Super speedy to put together and delicious! I haven’t even finished my first serving and I can’t wait to make it again!
I’ll admit, I had fairly low expectations dumping everything into one pot… but as promised, the farro perfectly absorbed the water and the tomatoes and onions melted beautifully. Will make again this week, with the addition of some handfuls of chard or kale at the end. Thanks for the great recipe!
I love this recipe! I have made it 3 times in the past month. I like it best with low-sodium broth rather than water then I just cut down the salt. Once I threw in some little cubes of zucchini and eggplant because they were in the fridge, but the original is still best. Thanks!
Hi Deb and readers!
Do you think one could make this with chicken broth instead of water? What would the effect be? I’ve made twice as is and it’s glorious, but just curious if i should be using broth not water when i make rice, farro, etc. Anyone tried it?
Yes, but it’s not necessary for depth of flavor. (Hooray.)
I’ve made this six times, it just gets better and better! Thanks, Deb!
Oldie but a goodie. I sometimes make it with cheese, sometimes without, sometimes with a sausage or a fried egg. This morning I tried something new: leftovers in a frittata and am here to tell you it’s a WIN. Thanks Deb!
This is an awesome recipe. Easy, cheap, healthy and tasty. Thank you for posting it. I give it an A+ even with the early summer tomatoes I used.
This recipe is delicious and easy. I actually cooked the farro with only a shallot (onions are so strong to me) and garlic with water. Then I went off the rails and added roasted tomatoes that I needed to use, sautéed asparagus, and…corn off of a cob after the farro was done absorbing water. Delicious. I know this isn’t the recipe as written but it was good. Also crumbled goat cheese on top as I’m lactose intolerant and it was also yummy. Topped with seared sea scallops. Definitely a keeper. Thanks.
I love this dish! I live in Texas, where it is HAWT, and I try to avoid turning on the oven for anything other than brownies all summer. :) In addition to it’s ease, simplicity and deliciousness, it doesn’t heat up the whole kitchen. In the summer, i make it with fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden, and in the winter, I use it with frozen fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. My husband is a vegetarian and this is a great meal to make for guests, because you can add Italian sausage or grilled chicken on the side for the carnivores.
I just made this for the second time. I added some frozen artichoke hearts and it tastes so good! Great recipe and I plan on trying some of the variations others have posted.
O my gosh! Late to the party, but WOW!!!! I spied this as a “six years ago today” recipe and realized I had farro, an onion & some aging cherry tomatoes & basil on hand…plus a heat wave making me not want to cook anything for very long in the kitchen. PERFECT! I combined it with Deb’s butterflied buratta tip from some recipe this spring(?) and WOW!!!! It was superb and fed four people perfectly! My daughter even claims the sauce, with buratta juice & parmesan added, tasted weirdly and wonderfully like nacho cheese doritos?!?! I think it’s just perfect umami or something but the sauce was great. Thank you, Deb! This is a new summer staple!!!!
Israeli Couscous as a substitution???
I suppose it could work if you follow the package instructions for the couscous.
THANKS!
I also love farro! I’m always looking to add flavor and found cooking grains in broth adds a silky delicious dimension. I typically add a heaping teaspoon what ever flavor “Better than Bouillon” complements the dish.
Saw this in your NYT feature (which was awesome!!). Wondering if you’ve tried it in the instant pot? Seems like the kind of recipe that could be cut in half time wise and ease by doing in the IP. If so, I’d love to know the cook times? Thanks!
Here is a comment from someone who used an IP for this: https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-1017083
And thank you!
Thanks so much! And sorry I think I commented the same thing twice, glitchy phone over here 🙈
I LOVE farro so was really excited to see this recipe. I’m trying to eat less animal proteins-stupid kidney stones!-so this was perfect for dinner and then lunch. I had some burrata(which I may or may not have told my husband) so had that on top instead of the parmesan and it was delicious. I may or may not have shared any with said husband……
Made this for dinner last night- I added some cut up green beans in the last 5 minutes to bump up the vegetable portion and served it with roasted chicken thighs. It was SO.DARN.GOOD. Super flavorful as the tomatoes turned into this mushy sweet broth for the grains. I used wheat berries (they were languishing in my cupboard and this was the perfect opportunity). Added lots of fresh basil and parsley to finish. Forgot the parm, and I didn’t even miss it. Seriously this is delicious, versatile, and going into regular rotation.
I had high hopes for Martha’s one-pan pasta recipe but was deeply disappointed with the viscosity of the sauce, and completely lost interest. This farro dish sounds intriguing – thank you!
Late to the party on this dish: Not only does it check all of the weeknight dinner boxes (quick, one pan, pantry staples), we’re always excited to eat it (a miracle). Thank you, Deb, for this recipe — it’s perfect.
This is a wonderful recipe, thank you so much!
Absolutely LOVE this recipe. Stirred in some frozen peas at the end of cooking to give it a little extra protein.
Made this with some cherry tomatoes that were past their prime, and it was great. I think I might fry the onions a bit next time, as they weren’t as soft as I would’ve liked, but otherwise loved this. Do you think it could be made with canned tomatoes somehow, for those of us who live in Northern climates and can’t get good tomatoes in the winter?
Hi-love the one pot farro and tomatoes recipe. Wondering if it would translate to a slow cooker. Seems like the perfect thing to serve to guests after a chilly outdoor activity.
I haven’t done it in a Crockpot or slow-cooker but I know others have with success.
This was so good! My 3 kids (8yrs-2yrs) raved about it and ate multiple servings. I might have had to claim the tomatoes were just “sauce” and not tomatoes but regardless it was a hit! I doubled the recipe and used 2 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups water. I found 10 minute Italian Farro at my grocery store and it worked out perfectly.
Hi Deb! This is one of my go-to recipes…thank you 😊 Unfortunately, our garden cherry tomatoes aren’t as plentiful this year. Have you ever tried this recipe with the same weight of chopped slicing tomatoes (technically called “Better Boys”)? They did better in our garden this year. I would love to have this one more time before tomato season is done! Thanks for any advice you may have!
This is one of my favorite go-to recipes and have had great success using larger tomatoes, especially when my tomatoes have been sitting on the counter too long and are not so fresh. I use the same amt (9 oz) to keep the proportion right and dice to the same size as the cherry tomatoes. Still delish!
Thanks for your advice, Sophie! I think I’ll give it a try!
I haven’t but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. They’d probably cook down faster, just not hold their shape as well, not a bad thing.
I was thinking the same thing. Thanks, Deb! This is such a great recipe 😊
a friend made farro for a dinner party last night and everyone was talking recipes.
of course, i was raving about this dish – i’ve made it dozens of times and it’s so easy and delicious – all the good things already said.
but…ADD PESTO just before serving – a big blob of it right in the middle of the serving (so you can get a bit in each spoonful, of course) – and it goes from great to amazing. (it also freezes and thaws well, so if you happen to have pesto ice cubes, for single servings/so you don’t eat the whole jar in one meal (a-hem; who would do such a thing?!), dropping one of those in each serving prior to freezing works perfectly.)
“Eat immediately. Repeat tomorrow.” Yep! This recipe is fabulous and has been in heavy rotation in our house since I came across it at the beginning of tomato season. As that wonderful season comes to end, any ideas on how to beef up the flavor? Any non-tomato ingredients to add in? THANK YOU!
One of my favorite dishes. Always turns out delicious no matter what kind of tomatoes I use. Tonight I added shrimp and mushrooms. It was good but not amazing. Next time I will stick to the original Recipe with Burrata on top.
I made this recipe for the 3rd time tonight. It’s absolutely delicious! One note – I have used different tomatoes every time, going with what was ready in the garden this summer and what tomatoes looked good at the store this week. It’s equally delicious with chopped full size or Roma tomatoes, as it is with grape tomatoes. Had some beautiful orange grape tomatoes not been available at the store, I confidently would have substituted ones I had canned, drained. I would reach part of the water with the juice leftover.
For an easy meal, I like to toss some diced, cooked chicken in towards the end.
This recipe is insanely good.
This is part of my regular week-night rotation. I find that I always need slightly less stock; with 2 cups, there’s always a fair bit leftover at the end.
Hi Deb, does this work in an Instant Pot? If yes, what settings do you recommend? Thank you!!
Here are a couple comments from people who have made this in an IP or electric pressure cooker:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-786278
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-1017083
This is great! Super flavorful. I made it with veggie broth instead of water, and added a whole bunch of lightly roasted kale to the pot with 2 mins left and it turned out wonderfully! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight. It was delicious, easy and a great recipe for such simple ingredients.
Thank you for such a wonderful And simple recipe
We loved it!!
It’s 20 degrees now, definitely not summer, so I made this with 2/3 of a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes and dried basil. I used the suggestion to add some white wine towards the end. To make it a meal, I will try the egg on top next time, with some roasted green beans on the side. Anyone have any other ideas on how to make this a full vegetarian meal? Thanks!
I forgot to ask in my prior post, why does the recipe call for a 1/2 large onion? Is it so the slices of onion are long? If I know I’m not going to get to the other half for a couple of days when I make this again, I’d prefer to use a whole smaller onion so I don’t waste it.
Yes, and yes you could use a small one too, but you’ll want to cut it in thin half-moons. I usually only find giant white onions around here, so I use half.
I have made this twice with 2 substitutions each time.
1. Roma tomato for cherry
2. A can of Rotel for cherry tomatoes and red pepper flakes
Both were awesome and easy
The Rotel option probably would work with a can of diced tomatoes except Rotel is 10oz rather than a usual diced at 14.5oz
I made this tonight and loved it. I can see why people say they have made it often. I’m in New Zealand and the farro seemed expensive (compared to other grains) as it was imported from Italy and there was only one brand available. Maybe all farro comes from Italy but probably NZ is as far as it would have to fly before it would technically be heading home again. I know I could make it with pearl barley but I really liked the extra nutty flavour yet the nice soft texture of this. Thanks for the recipe. This will become a regular on the menu in spite of the cost.
I can’t believe how much I liked this. It’s so satisfying. Like, you’re right—- I want it again tonight.
Have made this twice. I didn’t have any farro but decided it might work with Israeli couscous. Toasted it in olive oil for a few minutes, then pretty much followed the recipe (I subbed red onion for white the second time). Worked great both times, and took about 25 minutes instead of the 30 on the timer.
This is so. good.
I think I have the fast-cooking type of farro but I just put it in with everything else at the beginning and it worked great. Simmer time was just until the moisture level was where I wanted it.
Thanks Deb!
Has anyone figured out how to instant pot this?
Here are a couple comments from people who have made this in an IP or electric pressure cooker:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-786278
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-1017083
Thank you so much!
This is my comfort food. Made it last night. No basil ribbons, forgot to sprinkle with the parmesan. Still so satisfying. And I have successfully substituted canned tomatoes (weighed out some San Marzano, chopped up, with a bit of the juice) when I can’t get good cherry tomatoes. Good pantry cooking.
I was wondering about canned tomatoes, too. Glad they wiork. Made it a few nights ago after I scored some cherry tomatoes during a shopping run. No basil, but some parm. Good!
I’m late to the party as far as this recipe goes, but this was GREAT! So comforting. Took about 45 minutes for me, and used diced vine ripened tomatoes. Husband was very, very pleased. Served with a dollop of pesto and a couple grilled Field Roast sausages. Excellent.
How do you figure 9 oz of tomatoes? My tomatoes come in a pint container which I believe would be 8 oz.
8 oz of tomatoes will work fine.
Could you make this dish with canned diced tomatoes? I have all the other ingredients…
I haven’t but I know others here have without complaint.
Love this delicious one-pan dinner. Made it exactly as directed and then served it with shrimp on top, yum!
I only have canned tomatoes right now…plain and fire roasted. If I drain first them do you think it would work? I also have Trader Joe’s 10 minute farro…thinking of cooking all the ingredients except farro for about 20 mins. and then adding the farro. It may not be awesome but desperate times…your thoughts would be much appreciated. ❤️ stay healthy!!
I’ve used TJs 10-min farro with great success, and start as the recipe says with the early soak. The farro will maintain its nice chewiness even through the longer cooking time. Also use the canned tomato juice as part of your liquid measurement (more flavor). If I don’t have fresh basil, I’ll add dried basil (or parsley) at this time, too. This recipe is very forgiving and so delicious.
This really is one of my favorite dishes to make. Hubby and I love it, I’ve passed it on, I’ve modified it with protein to make a full dish, it’s just delicious!
In case anyone else doesn’t have fresh tomatoes on hand right now, I made this with diced canned tomatoes (roughly approximating the right volume) and it was still delicious!
This farro dish is my new go-to comfort food! After a full day of baking a cake to socially distance celebrate my daughter’s 40th birthday, dinner time arrived with no plans and no desire to even think about what to scrounge up. I remembered having saved this recipe, took it out, had all the ingredients in the pantry and fridge, followed your directions exactly, and in the half hour we spent watching the national news on tv, dinner was done to perfection! I might have stirred the pot twice during commercials. A spoonful of parm and a crumbled handful of frozen basil leaves from last summer’s harvest finished the easiest and yummiest dinner. Thanks!
I’d been wanting to experiment with old world grains and then this recipe popped up. Boy, oh boy. I’ve made it several times and have given it to many people
who would benefit from having it in their catalog. I even put a bag of farro in a neighbor’s mailbox with the recipe to encourage her to try something new. Thanks for another great recipe!
I certainly learned a lot about farro through this recipe and the comments!
I’ve only ever used the Trader Joe’s quick cooking farro so I’m glad you gave advice about the different kinds because I picked up a bag of what turned out to be farro medio and thanks to the kind people in the comments, I started boiling my farro instead of soaking it while I slowly prepared everything and the salad we had to accompany it! It boiled solo for about 10 minutes, then I turned it down to a simmer once I added tomatoes, garlic, etc. Perfect and absolutely delicious. It felt so fancy!
I’ve been working through the pantry during my social distancing. I was thrilled to find farro! I’ve made this several times and the whole family is happy to see it appear!
Thanks for all of the great recipes!
This recipe was so. dang. easy. And even better – it tasted amazing! Since it uses half an onion and about half a container of cherry tomatoes, I found it was really easy to make again the following week. I love that my extra ingredients from round 1 didn’t go to waste, and it was so delicious that I was actually looking forward to eating the same thing again. This has become a staple for me!
I make this dish at least once a month. It is so incredibly easy and delicious, and my whole family loves it. Plus it’s fairly healthy! Thank you so much Deb.
I usually make the recipe exactly as written above with fresh ingredients, but COVID-19 quarantine prompted me to try this today with a dizzying number of substitutes and it was still awesome. So if you’re missing any ingredients I can attest that the following substitutes are totally fine:
– Barley instead of farro
– Onion powder instead of fresh (I used 1 Tbsp powder)
– Canned tomatoes instead of fresh (I only had Italian diced tomatoes… I drained and rinsed them before adding them to this recipe)
– Partially dried basil instead of fresh
I still think the original recipe is better because everything is fresh, but the substitute version was surprisingly similar and still very tasty.
I’m hungry
So good! Deb is not joking when she says this tastes better than it should… I’ve made it many times, always using TJs farro and it always turns out perfectly. We crave it in my HH.
Delicious!!! So good! Love farro and this recipe too!
Thanks!
this was SO GOOD. and so easy. we used chickpea broth (left over from making chickpeas from dry) for the water, and about a pound of diced tomatoes. so good
oh, and we put pan-roasted cubed tempeh on top, along with more toasted garlic, microgreens (some sauteed, some raw), plus my husband also added shredded cheese and yogurt
I made this with tomatoes and basil from my CSA box and it was delicious. I am a vegetarian and served it as the main dish with a vegetable on the side. I love one pot meals and will make this again!
I did have to reread the instructions many times to understand at what point to turn the stove on, so maybe that could be a little clearer?
This recipe is a staple in my rotation — it is so simple and I find myself riffing on it with whatever vegetables I have on hand (zucchini, mushroom etc.) I usually splash my bowl with red wine vinegar before serving. My sister also loves this recipe, so we made it together over video chat last week since we live in different states. I’ll include the link to the virtual cooking party platform we used in case anyone else wants to try it :)
holy cow. This is so good! I was feeling un-inspired this evening and very low-energy. This one-pot easy-prep meal was the perfect match for my state of being and current stock of goods:
-barley utilized in place of farro: thanks to other commenters for the suggestion!
-ricotta: I just happen to have this in excess. I reached for smitten kitchen’s advice in how to treat ricotta for a lasagna (and/or the zucchini galette?): whisk in salt and pepper. I also added some lemon juice.
I concur with other commenters: barley was a great substitute! And I think the recipe is relatively versatile. Next time I won’t hesitate to add in some greens on hand (spinach/kale).
made it tonight and everyone LOVED it!!!
Made it tonight for the first time and Holy Cannoli!! so good!
Thank you for this, ma’am!
very tasty and my son said it tasted like pizza, a big hit, I used some roma tomatoes I quartered and roadsted
For anyone interested, I’ve been making this while camping since I saw the recipe a few years ago. One pot. Over the fire. Seriously impressed friends. Best thing ever after a day of hiking and playing.
thanks for this tip! I’m going camping soon and have been trying to plan out meals.
Total win! I made this on the day that I agreed to make lunch, then I forgot to start it until 12 noon, and it was together in less than 30 minutes. I had this recipe in mind for a few weeks and I wasn’t so sure about photo, now I’m wondering why I waited so long. It will go in our regular repertoire!
I made this last night for a small dinner gathering along side pan seared cod and steamed broccoli. It was a huge hit. However, I think I enjoyed it more tonight as my leftover dinner for one:) I reheated a bowl and added a dollop of pesto, a fresh coat of parm and and it was super delicious! Thanks for such a great, easy recipe!
This recipe is so good—very little work and very worth the minimal effort. The first time I made it, I added two roasted zucchini at the end, used medium-sized tomatoes, and topped with a crispy fried egg. Suspect I could have just thrown the zucchini in with the other veggies. The second time, I made according to the recipe except I skipped the extra oil at the end and put in some of the cheese a few minutes before I took the pot off the stove to let it get extra melty. I did find that it took an hour on the stove to really come together, but maybe I was using too low of a heat? Either way, it’s hands-off once it’s on the stove, so extra time wasn’t an issue.
Warm, cozy and delicious–as always, Deb! I doubled the recipe for the two of us for leftovers and then did not have enough tomatoes so I used a 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes for the second half. I upped the garlic, did not use parmesan but used a ball of burrata with the basil then finished it with some smoked Maldon salt. Such an adaptable recipe–thank you SO much!
Before I try this would like to know what the large round white object is in the pic with the tomatoes and basil etc? Is it some type of cheese?
PS this is also my new email address for future blogs. Thanks in advance for changing it or otherwise please advice how else to change an email address.
That’s an onion
Wondering if you have tried throwing in a leafy green like spinach? Is there enough liquid left at the end to wilt it maybe? I would probably do this instead of the basil . . .
You can! I haven’t done it but others who have commented have.
I just made this for dinner and am in love with it! As I was throwing everything in the pot I was a little sceptical about how it would turn out . I cannot get over how flavourful it tasted! It was amazing and I cannot wait to make it again!. (PS>. my only substitution was that I used veg broth rather than water to cook the farrow.)
Thanks for the great recipe!
I’ve made this numerous times over the years and wanted to come back to tell you just how much we love it. I almost always double it, these days, because the leftovers are delicious too and I could eat it for days on end. I always keep the ingredients on hand so I can turn to this recipe on those evenings when even ordering pizza seems overwhelming. It’s that easy! (When I don’t have fresh basil, I just add some dried basil flakes during the cooking process.)
I added 1 cup (uncooked) white beans to this dish and it was perfect. I found I only really want to increase the pepper flakes a bit to compensate, but didn’t even need to add more salt.
I finally made this and love it. It’s a recipe that you can easily make your own with the additions of herbs, spices and other vegetables. I love the chew of the farro.
Made this yesterday as written with pearled farro. It was missing something. There was not enough depth of flavor for me. The onions were rather watery, too, from being cooked in the water and not sautéed. So today, after the flavors had blended a bit, I browned a spicy Italian sausage and then sautéed a big handful of “power greens” I had just purchased at Costco. Served that up for lunch today with grated parm and it was fantastic! My husband was very happy, too. He said it was almost as good as pizza!
I loved the Tomato & Sausage Risotto recipe but like most folks don’t enjoy all the stirring. I took the sausage element of that recipe and applied it to this. I also cut the amount of onions, upped the garlic and Parmesan cheese and put in a whole lot of basil when serving. Such a terrific weekday meal.
My husband and I have been making this recipe for years, we love it! We add really good quality tuna and capers after the farro has cooked. Tonight I didn’t have a cup of farro so I added 1/4 c of bulgur. I’m sure it will taste great. Thanks, Deb!
I’ve made this twice this week. The second time I added a handful of cubed butternut squash, Both times I ate it over arugula, which wilted with the heat. It’s a delicious, filling meal (easy to halve for one person as well).
Delicious and easy!
I prepared the tomatoes, onions, and garlic and froze them in a plastic bag for a later date. After eating that version of one pot farro vs cutting the ingredients fresh and cooking, I think the frozen version was much more flavorful. And in comparison, the fresh version felt a lot more acidic. Hot tip! (Or cold tip!)
I love all your recipes (I do own your cookbooks). What can I substitute in this recipe for the tomatoes. I can’t eat them =(
Thank you
I’m not sure there’s an easy swap here because they become the sauce but I should perhaps get working on a tomato-free version. :)
We will be replacing our range in May, and there is work involved that means I will be cooking on a hot plate for a while. I’m adding this to the file for that time.
I did it today with einkorn as I leave not far from north Provence where it comes from and is very popular. I soak it yesterday for the night and cook it for lunch, perfect timing, it tooks around 30 mn and It was just perfect. I add a leek finely sliced and mushrooms too, we loved it. Thank you
as I Live ! Sorry for the mistake…
Omg made this tonight and so good. Doubled and had to cook a smidge longer but delicious. Huge hit for adults and kids. ❤️❤️
So simple, and so delicious! I’m thrilled that we have leftovers. I know what I’m having for lunch tomorrow, and I can’t wait.
This has become a go-to side dish for us, with all sorts of mods to mix things up a bit. Most of the time I throw in a few handfuls of very coarsely chopped spinach, just a few minutes before it’s finished. Sometimes I use chopped tomatoes or drained canned tomatoes, depending on what’s on hand. Other add-ins, depending on what’s in the fridge: 1/2 cup Parmesan, stirred in to make it creamy, a handful of frozen peas, mushrooms…. This is a great dish as written, but it’s also a great ‘finish up what’ in the fridge’ springboard.
I didn’t have fresh basil so I substituted with frozen spinach. It was delicious.
I keep coming back to this one. It’s just so good and so simple.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it many times and it’s fast, and adaptable. I didn’t have any cherry tomatoes today, but found one small-medium sized tomato that I diced up. I was worried about a lack of flavor from the small amount of tomato, so I used chicken broth instead of water. Only change while cooking was to lightly crush the tomatoes as they cooked. Still quick, easy, and delicious even when improvised on!
I loved your adapted Tomato & Sausage risotto recipe. I have since combined it with this one. I start off cooking the crumbled sausage in the pot and then remove the meat, leave what is left behind & then proceed with this recipe. Towards the end mix in the meat with a large amount of Parmesan & stir until it breaks similar to risotto. For this variation I also found less onions, more garlic & an absurd amount of basil counters it well. Thank you for this.
Love this idea!
I added 3-4 handfuls of cooked chickpeas to the pot for the last 10 mins. – it was so delish & the extra protein kept us plenty sated with a side salad. Can’t wait to eat our leftovers tom’w!
I just bought some 10 minute farro from trader joes because I wanted to try it. do you think it will work with this recipe?
Really liked this recipe as is. I wonder if you could make it in an Instant Pot! I also love your Wednesday uTube Videos!
Thank you! Here are comments from people who have made it in an Instant Pot:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-901761
https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/07/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes/#comment-1017083
Has anyone tried freezing it?
yes! I froze it in a plastic bag and then just reheated it on the stovetop. I actually think it tasted really flavorful after doing that, and I’m not sure why. My family enjoyed the frozen/reheated version better than the fresh one!
Thanks for the video that reminded me about this great recipe! I had a small pile of small ripe plum tomatoes from the garden and a pile of fresh basil. Easy, fast, one pot, and a rich delicious dinner that reflects the season. Every time I make one of your farro recipes I remember how much I love it and how much better it is than pasta!
Aces. Throw in a parm rind while it cooks if you’ve got one. Endlessly adaptable and amenable to toppings. Tonight was burrata, some buttery toasted panko, and chopped pistachios. Oh, and the first cherry tomatoes from our local farm stand. The recipe achieves that curious combination of fresh and comforting.
Parm rind- brilliant! I have some in the freezer. I’ll try that next time
I’ve been saving this recipe…not sure why I waited. I made it tonight in my Instantpot-12 minutes with quick release. Awesome!
Has anyone tried this version? It is a regular in our house–adding other vegetables to the roasting pan–not quite 1 pan, but super easy.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021817-farro-with-blistered-tomatoes-pesto-and-spinach. All good!
TY Deb, for always scouting out the good ideas for us–my favorite blog!!
Our turned out a bit soupy without too much texture so we put a left over portion of Dukkah in it (the dipping deal with Pistache nuts) turned out wonderful.
Made this this morning and although the first taste was, per other comments, very salty the flavors have mellowed in the 4 hours since. Will definitely make again, possibly with greens but, as is, easy, tasty, fast-perfect. Thank you again Smitten Kitchen.
What a great recipe…..thanks so much. The farro has great texture and flavor and so easy to make. I also used the same recipe for beluga lentils and it was just as good. Thanks so much for sharing.
Watching your video while prepping the ingredients for this dish was like cooking with a friend!
Wow! I saw your youtube video on this recipe and immediately knew I needed to make it. I added white beans and raw summer corn to this for lunches this week. I couldn’t stop eating it out of the plan. It’s amazing!
This recipe was fantastic! I plan on making it regularly now. Off to share the recipe with my sisters and mom….
This is such a special recipe! I can’t believe I haven’t commented before. I was inspired to make this again after watching your Youtube video on it and I’m so glad I did. I love the simplicity of just tossing everything in a pot and letting the flavor of the tomatoes shine. I used feta and served it with some roasted vegetables and grilled chicken and it was absolutely delicious.
Your description of this recipe was everything you said it would be and more – easy, no fuss, silky and extremely satisfying, not to mention inexpensive. It is also works with larger tomatoes and pearl barley. I extended the cooking time to an hour and add more liquid as needed. Thanks Deb for another favorite recipe
I added mushrooms to the mix and this is definitely a keeper recipe!
This is on my steady rotation but I sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil first, then I add to saucepan of soaking farro, then add the tomatoes. More flavor that way. Otherwise, the onion just tastes a bit watery and you don’t get as much garlic flavor or heat from the red pepper flakes.
Longtime SK fan but came across this recipe through your youtube video! Lovely weeknight meal, made with couscous and took about 25 minutes on the stove overall. Perfect cozy weeknight meal!
I’m not sure what I did wrong, but this was just okay. My farro (from Kroger) said on the bag that it takes 15-20 minutes, but I gave up on cooking after 40ish. The salt was a little overpowering, and otherwise, it tasted pretty bland.
I’ve long since committed it to memory, but I’ve made this so many times that the cookbook opens to it, even though I’m constantly using the book for the other recipes, too. I find that the Bob’s red mill semi-pearled farro that I can get needs a 1/4 cup more water and 10 minutes longer to cook.
So easy and so delicious! I used the Trader Joe’s 10 min farro. I used the entire bag and 2 cups of water. I followed the recipe as written and it was finished in 30 min with just enough water left. I can’t wait to eat leftovers tomorrow! I served it with salmon.
I cooked this for dinner tonite and we both loved it. I, for one, could eat it twice a week! Thank you for always making your recipes so approachable.
Just chiming in to say how much I love this recipe. Especially while working from home, it’s so nice to have something I can whip up almost instantly while still typing away at my laptop. I’ve found some farro brands cook up better than others. Nature’s Promise pearled farro seems to cook up really nicely in this recipe. I usually finish each dish with a nice swirl of pesto (Gotham Greens is a great store bought brand) and sprinkling of pecorino. Lucky for me, my boyfriend won’t eat farro so I always have leftovers for lunch the next day. Yum!
I made this with TJ’s 10 minute farro. Simmered for 20 minutes. Everything was good except the garlic didn’t break down. (I picked it out.) Very good otherwise. Next time, I’ll grate or press the garlic. Thanks, Deb, for a good one!
I must admit, I have a love of farro that’s may equal yours! Thanks for another fantastic summer farro dish.
Made this and topped with roasted chickpeas and burrata. Delicious!!!
This recipe translates well to an instapot. Just adjust the amount liquid and cook time to whatever is recommended for the grain you use.
After making this for years on the stove, this summer we’ve discovered how great it is in the IP. In fact, it’s BETTER. We start out on high sauté, and then simmer it using low sauté and a glass lid that’s cracked open. It gets creamier in the IP. We started doing this because didn’t want to heat the house up with the stove. But now I think it will be our preferred method.
I made this tonight (doubled the recipe) and my picky son liked it! I used vegetable stock in place of water and added an extra clove of garlic. There was enough for two moderate dinner sized portions for the kids (11/15) and two larger bowl for my husband and I. This is an absolute winner!
Made this last night with the cherry tomatoes and basil from my garden. Added sauteed sausage and made 3 heaping servings. It was delicious!! Will definitely make again, waiting for the next harvest!
Place water and farro in a medium saucepan to presoak (I find just 5 to 10 minutes sufficient) while you prepare the other ingredients. Adding each ingredient to the pot as you finish preparing it, cut onion in half again, and very thinly slice it into quarter-moons. Thinly slice garlic cloves as well. Halve or quarter tomatoes. Add salt, pepper flakes (to taste) and 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan, and set a timer for 30 minutes. Bring uncovered pan (no lid necessary) up to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. When the timer rings, the farro should be perfectly cooked (tender but with a meaty chew), seasoned and the cooking water should be almost completely absorbed. If needed, though I’ve never found it necessary, cook it for 5 additional minutes, until farro is more tender.
I am I love with this dish! It is perfection! I set out to make your Summer Farro Gratin for a change, but couldn’t bring myself to turn on the oven in this 100° weather, plus I just love the one pot cooking of this version here. So I made this one yet again, this time subbing out some of the water with the white wine called for in your other recipe, and adding the cubed zucchini. It is delicious! Thank you for showcasing it in a video, because I probably wouldn’t have tried it otherwise.
Made this with pearl barley and it worked a treat,.
Made this last night, and threw a few saffron threads in. Every family member, including my epically picky teenage son (no really, you have no idea), ate this. Thank you, Deb! p.s. your chicken meatballs in marsala sauce (I use sherry) with egg noodles is my kids’ all-time favorite dinner. XOXO
My pearled farro says 1 cup to 4 cups of water cook for 20 mins. Will the recipe work doing that?
I made this recipe in the Instant Pot yesterday! I’m pretty sure my farro is whole. I threw everything into the pot and set it for 10 minutes and used natural release. I did have a lot of liquid left so I sauteed it for a bit to draw it out. Super delicious!
This was my first time using farro so I wasn’t sure about the type of farro as it was not labeled as pearl , semi pearled, etc.Luckily, I started it 2 hours before dinner as it took a long time to soften and cook on the stove,
Does the amount of water remain the same regardless of the type of farro? Thank you, can’t wait to try it!
Made this for the first time tonight, husband and I were both happy and the 14-month-old was OBSESSED so big win for our house!! I think I’ll serve with burrata next time.
I absolutely love this! I saw your new baked farro recipe and it reminded me that I haven’t made this one in a while. I used chicken broth instead of water because I had some to use up. It’s always wonderful, but it seemed especially wonderful last night and I couldn’t stop eating it! I think I may try adding some sauted Italian sausage another time – that would put it over the top!
Hi, Deb:
I made this farro recipe yesterday, and my taste buds were singing your praises all day.
Into the pot went a handful of spinach and some leftover cubed ham, although I wouldn’t do the ham again. I needed to cook the grain for another twenty minutes and add more liquid. No big deal.
Am I missing nutritional information, or is it not attached? It would be a great help to those of us who keep food journals.
Fantastic recipe – thanks!
The hype is real! Made this tonight for the first time and we’re hooked. The mandoline was my saving grace and I recommend to others who have trouble (or spend too much time) slicing the onion and garlic into thin slices. Added zucchini we had in the fridge, next time…olives, mushrooms… maybe? This was such a comforting fall-feeling dish on a cold, rainy day. All the praise.
Made this tonight and it was absolutely easy and fantastic. I was surprised at just how flavorful it was (and I didn’t even have basil). I couldn’t stop eating it. Will add this to my regular rotation! I served it with chicken thighs but think it would be delicious with shrimp.
I love this recipe and have made it many times. The last couple of times I’ve made it I have added a can of cannellini beans which adds a nice texture to the finished product.
Deb
I made the farro tomatoes tonight. Quite tasty. But I have lots leftover…can it be frozen?
Happy new Year and see you in May at obc!
Thanks
Sara
Hi Sara — Happy new year! You can definitely freeze it.
Hi Deb!!!
I LOVE your recipes!! They are always easy and more importantly, delicious!!!
I actually added baby bella mushrooms (sliced) to this and it was great!
I try to add mushrooms a lot more lately since I discovered that they are loaded with vitamins, can help lower blood pressure and have anti-inflammatory properties!!
I made a similar version this winter but initially sauteed onions and jalapenos, added the liquid, tomatoes and farro and mixed the final result with some feta and stuffed/baked it into acorn squash. Super hearty and comforting this time of year!
Why I only used 1 cup of farro? Such a hit at my house and dead easy! I added kale and feta as well and roasted chix breast. So many variations! Thank you!!
Hi Deb, just wanted to let you know that this recipe is posted on epicurious with your verbatim commentary with absolutely no attribution to you. It was a member post, but still does not feel right! hope you can get this resolved
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/one-pan-farro-with-tomatoes-577d42992cd485bf35b0446b
Thanks. Sadly, it happens all of the time on member-submitted recipes and it’s a headache to get removed. I hope people will know to come here first!
This is so divine!!! I’ve been making it every few weeks for the last few months. So easy and so yummy, perfect for colder months. I use the TJ’s 10 minute farrow and about half of a container of the TJ’s mini pearl grape tomatoes and it works well every time.
very good!! i cooked it in garlic broth and added zaatar seasoning!! ive never had farro before and it was a lovely treat :)
Just made this and it’s so delicious! None of my grocery stores carried just the farro grain so I ended up grabbing a prepackaged farro with Quattro four cheese. In that case I just skipped the grated parmesan at the end. Still came out fabulous. Also ended up adding Trader Joe’s andouille CHICKEN sausage. It went really well with the tomatoes and onion. Will definitely make this again.
The dish was simple to make and DELICIOUS! The only thing was burnt food during the cooking process I found myself constantly stirring towards the last 1/2 of the cooking time. Wondering if you have any tips on preventing burnt food.
Thank you so much!
This recipe is so good. Minimal effort, but so packed with flavor and is really satisfying. You’re right, even with winter grocery store tomatoes, it’s excellent! We’ve been adding mushrooms and white beans to make it a bit more substantial!
I have been making this since the first time it was posted. Love, love, LOVE it! A family favorite. The most recent time I made it, I added some leftover roasted broccoli & cauliflower… and sweet Italian sausage on the side. Delish!
First time commenter. I’ve loved many of your recipes but this one is so exceptional that I had to chime in.
Easy, healthy, crowd pleasing. I was amazed by the depth of flavor ghat came from such simple ingredients. I substituted chopped regular tomatoes for the cherry because that’s what I had. Running out today to buy more farro!
Package says pearled farro, cooking time 50 mins. I thought pearled farro only took 20- 30 mins? If I cook 50 mins, do I toss all ingredients in at the beginning, or cook for 20 mins first? Or soak the farro first?
All ingredients can cook that long too; it will be fine.
I substituted the tomatoes for one yellow squash because it’s what I had on hand. I also added a little tomato paste just to try and keep the tomato flavor. It was delicious and incredibly easy. I’m looking forward to making again with the tomatoes. I’m eating leftovers now with a runny egg on top – so good.
Okay, dammit, this is perfect. I have so many mix and match ideas. And it’s healthy. And it tastes good. And it’s easy. And it’s fast. So yeah, dammit, where you been all my life?!?
Trick I use to help with tears from onions!
A wet paper towel on your cutting board! Supposedly the ‘sting’ from the onion is attracted to the nearest ‘water site’ most of the time, that being our eyes!
Give it a try! It has helped me and my daughter.
If you do, I would love to hear the results
Cheers!!
This is outrageously delicious and forgiving in every way. Only tip is to let it rest for a few minutes before draining any liquid. Just make it!
We are currently doing a complete remodel of our 1922 kitchen – like down to the studs – so making do using a hot plate and the bbq for cooking right now. This dish was completely perfect for that. Small number of ingredients to prep, all cooks in one pot, and really delicious to boot. Thanks for sharing!
Made this as a side dish to accompany an Italian stuffed flank steak. Our guests were unfamiliar with farro but loved it! They both had two helpings. (I wish I had doubled the recipe)!
Hi.
Made it this week for the first time. I like the simplicity and it’s delish.
Will make it again.
I’ve been meaning to make this for so so long, finally did tonight and it is delicious! Two things I noticed. 1. I made half since it was just 3 of us for dinner (including my low-no carb husband), and maybe because the pot I used was wide and the volume was low I had to add a bit more water half-way through (however the cook time was spot-on). 2. I had a whole 6 oz tomato I needed to use up, so I used that instead of the cherry tomatoes and it worked just fine. So delicious. Thanks Deb!
This was ridiculous. Hearty. Homey. Tangy. Silky. Chewy. This will be on repeat.
This was absolutely incredible. Hearty, healthy and delicious! We tossed in some chicken sausage that needed to be used up and it was a nice complement. I plan to try a variation with feta and olives soon. First time I have ever had farro and it’s now going to be a staple in our kitchen.
I made this with Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro, only had regular tomato which I sliced and quartered & even used TJ’s grated Parmesan instead of freshly grated + the other ingredients as listed and it was very good.
This is soooo good, and so easy. I have to admit that I sauté my onion and garlic before adding everything in. Someday I’m going to trust you and just…not!
The first time I tried this, I used barley because it’s what we had. It was good. The next time? Farro, and it was GREAT.
I love this recipe for using the rest of my grape tomatoes that are starting to get wrinkly. I don’t usually have basil on hand, and it doesn’t matter. Yes, it would be prettier, and slightly more interesting, but it’s delicious anyway. And I use less salt, because that’s how we are at our house.
Thank you for an easy and delicious dish! It’s now a staple at our house.
I make this recipe quite often and we love it. It reheats well too, so sometimes I double the recipe. I often put a whole onion in (to the original quantities) and it tastes just as good.
I’ve made this twice now, second time a double batch. Very simple and delicious. My 9-year -old asked for seconds. I made mine with mostly homemade vegetable broth and some white wine. I take it to work for lunch and it reheats well – I just add the parm and basil after heating. For packing as lunch, I’ve found the little tubs of “lightly dried” basil that you can find with the fresh herbs work very well.
Yum! Easy. Hearty. Will serve to my vegetarian friends with a salad. Thanks again, SK!
I love this farro recipe and it has been in my regular rotation for some time. When I saw your roasted tomatoes and white bean recipe I knew I had to make it. I already had heirloom alubia blanca beans from Rancho Gordo in the freezer and had gorgeous very plump ripe Romas. I made the farro without tomatoes and then combined the two recipes…heavenly. I used the leftovers to stuff three bell peppers, topped with panko, garlic butter, and parmesan, gave them a few minutes under the broiler after baking. All this to say thank you so much for giving me four days of good eating for very little work! I love how you make simplicity so elegant and delicious!!
I have made and loved this recipe for years now. I make it at least 2-3 times a week during the summer months when we can buy fresh cherry tomatoes from our farmers’ market. We use a red onion and love that flavor. Thank you so so much for creating this recipe, Deb!
This is Yummy – note capital Y.
I loved the sweet / spicy plus the meatiness of the farro which is a new grain for me. I saw this in the thrill of NJ August and all my cherry tomatoes!
Farro berries are so hearty and with summer cherry tomatoes, basil in the house, and one pot dish?! Winner for sure. We enjoyed with parmesan cheese as suggested. I will be repeating this dish again. Thank you 😊
Added chopped kale and lemon zest in final 4 minutes. Delish!
We were shocked by how tasty and flavorful this was! Our new go-to for an easy and healthy weeknight meal! Thank you for the recipe!
I thought I had read the instructions incorrectly I
in that you just throw everything in the pot and simmer. No sautéing or anything. Garnish with fresh basil and parmigiana? Unbelievably delicious!!!!
Thanks you!
I tried this dish with enthusiasm and I was not disappointed. It is so delicious and fresh tasting.. It’s winter here now but it was beautiful as a lunch. I also appreciate it all the tips that you provided regarding the grain farro. Thank you so much.
I’ve made this many times as written but tonight I wanted to change it up a bit. I added a heaping spoonful of Trader Joe’s zhoug sauce (very spicy, cilantro-based) at the beginning of cooking and, WOW! A new favorite
I’ve made this as written and its amazing but today a read the list of ingredients and…that’s pretty much salsa ingredients if you swap cilantro for the basil and leave out the parmesan….I’ve got tons of home canned salsa has anyone tried to swap a jar of salsa for the veggies and red pepper flakes? maybe cheddar for the parm and take it in a Mexican instead of Italian direction?
Hi Samantha, what a great idea!! I have a lot of cilantro and a new block of extra sharp cheddar. I think I just found tonight’s dinner! Maybe add some black or pinto beans…
I have made this many times, and what I love most about it is how adaptable it is. First, I always add greens to mine in the last 5 minutes. Strips of lacinto kale work especially well, but baby spinach and baby kale work well too.
Another thing I have done is use the leftovers for stuffing red bell peppers, adding some panko on top and baking, and two minutes under the broiler to brown the panko. Yum.
I think that would work great with your Mexican version, stuffing green bell peppers or poblanos. Just me, but I would dice up a jalapeno and add it to the leftovers first.
Happy eating!
Ours turned out great, a pint of homemade salsa, 2 cups water, a tsp of cumin, a tablespoon of ground red peppers from.this years garden and tossed in a package of chicken sausages halfway through.Topped with cotija and its delicious definitely a great way to use our stockpile of home made salsa from gardening!
Love your recipes and youtube videos. I bought an OXO grape cutter to use for my little grandchildren so they don’t choke. When I first saw it I thought it was the craziest gadget ever and couldn’t understand why anyone would buy it. NOW I use it all the time–not necessarily for grapes but for grape or cherry tomatoes! They are the perfect size for your farro dish as well as for salads, tacos, and even burgers when you don’t have a large tomato to go on top.
I followed the recipe exactly using semi pearled farro, leaving it to soak even longer than 10 minutes. I have two comments. It took at least 10 minutes longer. I used a copper pot and put the burner on low (gas stove). I then turned it up to medium for the last ten minutes and that wasn’t long enough. Next time I will put it on medium and watch it, turning it down if necessary. Also, I think 1 1/2 teaspoons salt is too much. I usually go along with how much salt you use but feel your amount this time is too much. Sorry, I hate to criticize your usually great recipes.
Just to let you know – kosher salt is less salty than table salt. If using table salt, you half the recipe quantity
Delicious and comforting!
The little bit of juices are so tasty. Easy to throw a salad and veg together while it cooks:) Thank you:)
Do you think this could be cooked in the oven in a covered casserole? Meal-prepping for my SIL (new baby on the way!) and I think this would work well that way and be less hands-on. Curious if anyone has tried it that way?
I think it could!
This is SO SO good. So easy and filling, wow!
I’m definitely making this for Friday’s dinner. It sounds like you don’t drain the farro soaking water, you just add the rest of the ingredients and cook it with the same water. Is that correct? I always drain that water and perhaps I don’t need to?
Don’t drain the water. The whole thing cooks together and it’s just perfect. In the summer I use fresh tomatoes and Basil but it works with about anything.
This is absolutely fantastic! I have had it twice this week. Superb texture & flavor. ❤️
Absolutely trust the process here and you will have a delicious one pot meal.
I was skeptical about the onion and garlic but Deb’s right- They cook down perfectly. I teach a high school culinary class and we’ll be making this as an introduction to whole grains.
**I did end up adding a bit of water at the end and putting a lid on it. My water cooked out before the farrow was a nice texture
I’m a little embarrassed to say I have cooked this three times in eight days. I love this! It’s so quick & easy & delicious. On a sad note my hubby won’t try it. (His mother is to blame; she should have made him try things when he was a kid). My kids, now very old, with their own kids eat everything.
I just made this as a side to go with The Mediterranean Living’s sheet pan chicken thighs with peppers and onions. Sooooooo good! I’ve never had farro before, but I’ve been trying to eat more whole grains. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing!
Yum! This was surprisingly good! Great side dish that comes together fairly quickly, super flavorful and simple. Definitely making this again! I didn’t have farro so I used bulgar and I’m pretty sure they are easily interchangeable with each other.
OMG, how did it take me so long to get around to trying this? Five minutes of work, 30 minutes totally hands off, resulting in a delicious, healthy meal with one pot to clean. My new favorite quick recipe, especially for summer. Had it with some chicken breast cooked on a griddle over the weekend and sliced cold for an almost no cook weekday cool-kitchen after work meal.
Wow! Easy and delicious!
This is one of my favorite recipes for using my summer tomatoes. I love the recipe as is and have also made many iterations of it — with chickpeas, with zucchini, and tonight I’m topping it with meatballs. Deb, you’re the best!!!
I have made this recipe quite a few times since I discovered it and it’s absolutely delicious. Farro is much better for my family than pasta. Just read some of the comments and I think I might add a handful of spinach myself. Thanks for a great recipe!
I Read comments for suggestions.
I doubled everything to make an entree for 4.
I Had TJs 10 m farro on hand so adjusted cooking time for that.
First, Sautéed some mushrooms with garlic. Used 1/2 low sodium broth/ 1/2 water for the liquid.
Added other ingredients; added farro after 10 minutes.
Added some spinach (about a cup) towards the end as well as some homemade pesto (about 1.5 T).
Cooked it down a bit more beyond the recommendation to reduce liquid.
Finally, a sprinkle of shredded Parmesan and T of white wine vinegar.
Served with crusty bread and good butter. Very tasty and easy.
Adapting to current pantry stock: Ziyad brand freekeh, 15 oz can of canned stewed tomatoes (plus one fresh plum tomato); feta, fresh parsley & cilantro, and sliced, sauteed beef smoked sausage for garnish. Freekeh could have used another maybe 10 minutes (and another half-cup of water) to be a smidge more done, but that’s on me – it was my first time working with it. (As a result, I’d call it more like three generous entree portions, not two.) It’s a very satisfying and delicious dish!
Delicious! I could eat the whole bowl! I had really sweet red and yellow cherry tomatoes from the farmers market. Looking forward to trying it again with commercial tomatoes
As your farro with butternut squash is a big winter favorite over here couldn’t wait to try this last gasp of summer in a bowl. Absolutely delicious – followed directions to a T and needed 35 min with Bob’s Red Mill farro. Thank for Deb for another winner
I had farro and various late-summer garden veggies I needed to use up and knew Smitten Kitchen was the place to look for ideas on what to do with them. I made a mashup of this recipe and the baked farro with summer vegetables. It was amazing!
I loved that once I had all the ingredients in the pan, it was hands-off except for stirring occasionally, and I didn’t feel the need to make any additional sides since was literally a one-pot meal and super easy to clean up.
I ended up using about 3 slicing tomatoes, 3 cherry tomatoes, two ears worth of corn kernels, an wimpy-sized zucchini and equally small yellow squash, an onion, and garlic. My husband ate his with parmesan on top and I dressed mine with feta and they were both delicious. It would have been even better with more tomatoes but we inhaled it as it was.
Excellent!!!! Perfect pantry meal!! Added italian chicken sausage and a salad, WAY better than ordering pizza when you’re dreading coming up with a dinner idea.
I’ve made this before as stated and loved it. I did it a bit different this time and making this note for myself. Sauteed the onion in a bit of butter and instead of garlic added a few dollops of Roasted Garlic Achaar (brooklyn delhi brand). Let that sauté a bit with the tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes and dried basil (I didn’t have fresh for later). Added the water and farro brought to boil and simmered about 20 min. (I used the 10 min TJ farro but I simmer it low, so it takes longer than 10 min). I did not add olive oil since I had used butter in sauté step. Served with crumbled feta because that is what I had. It was very good. I’ll definitely be making this on repeat.
Made this tonight and it worked exactly as advertised. It was cooked perfectly after 30 minutes, and no need to saute the onions and garlic. I added some fresh thyme to the pot too. Simple, healthy and delicious dinner.
I make this with Job’s tears. I couldn’t find farro here in Slovakia so I thought I’d try the ancient grain and our family loves it. Tonight I’m trying it with spelt because I am out of Job’s tears.
Quick and tasty, even better reheated the next day served over a bed of kale, with a dollop of ricotta and a crispy fried egg. Another SK fave!
Happy New Year I just made this with some revision as cannot have onion/garlic. I chopped a small carrot and a large stalk of celery. Turned out amazing! In the video feta and mint as topper was mentioned so I did that. So good, so easy, so refreshing. Thank you!
It doesn’t seem possible this humble group of ingredients could be so good! This inexpensive, incredibly satisfying bowl of comfort is my favorite no effort meal. I wish I came up with this. It’s wonderful with no additions, but I sometimes add a tiny swirl of pesto or harissa in each bowl. Easily elevate this for last minute guests (I enjoy it that much and I cook and entertain a LOT) with sliced, grilled sausage or chicken on top and the customary salad and bread. Bingo.
We love this recipe and make it all the time! It’s so versatile — I always add chopped baby spinach, tonight I added fresh corn, you can really tailor it however you want and it’s always delicious!
This recipe was AMAZING! I used a random whole wheat/farro/grain in my cupboard. Not knowing exactly what it was, I soaked it for 2 hours before cooking. I cooked it mostly with the lid on. It turned out perfectly delicious. I would eat this every single day. I can only imagine how much better it would be with summer tomatoes and summer basil instead of the winter stuff. THANK YOU for this delicious recipe!
Stunning! I’ve made this twice so far. The first as written, but with pearled farro, and I cooked it for 30 minutes in boiling salted water, drained and proceeded with the recipe.
The second time (my favourite) I boiled 1 C farro in salted water for one hour, and drained. Then, I added 4 C veg broth (rather than water,) 1 t salt, 2 C chickpeas, 9 oz sliced tomatoes, 1 large sliced onion, pepper flakes. After 25 minutes of simmering this, I added the cooked farro. Simmer with the lid half on- half off, for 10-15 minutes until still stew- adjacent but the liquid is mostly absorbed. Off the heat, stir in an excessive amount of basil. Top with black pepper (the amount you would use to make cacio e Pepe) and more basil.
Both times I served with my favorite Brussels salad: mix 2.5 – 3 C shredded Brussels, 1 T pecorino and chives (or parsley, or omit,) dress with 1 T lemon + 1 T good olive oil + 1/2 t djon + 1/2 t salt. Sometimes 1 t honey, the other person I cook for prefers with, but I prefer without. Let this sit for 30 minutes (whilst farro comes together) then add 3 T chopped walnuts. You can add pepper too, but I like so much in the farro I don’t think the salad requires it. I also like to stir the two together upon serving. The salad usually serves 2, and the farro four. This works beautifully as leftovers, so you can scale up if you’d like to have the salad alongside the farro a second day.
Thanks so much for this recipe deb! I’m excited to use it with in season tomatoes.
this is absolutely delicious! i always want to eat the whole pot. i’ve made it as written & riffed on it as well. when i don’t have basil i use dill & add some zucchini as well. sometimes i sauté the onion and garlic first. i use nutritional yeast instead of cheese. i usually use vegetable broth. it’s fantastic. the chewiness of the farro with the sweet juicy tomatoes is amazing.