You haven’t had a farro salad like this! Chewy farro, sweet berries, tangy blood orange vinaigrette, and loads of textures from all the remaining vegetables. You’re going to love how this one comes together!
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & we'll send it to your inbox. Plus you’ll get great new recipes from us every week.
The trick to salads people actually want to eat? It’s all about layering flavors and textures so every bite feels exciting.
Salads can be hit or miss—let’s be honest, most of the time they’re just boring lettuce and a few sad veggies tossed together that you found in the back of the friend.
That’s why I love creating salads that people actually look forward to eating, and this farro salad is the perfect example.
We’re talking chewy farro for a hearty, high-protein base, a citrusy blood orange vinaigrette that wakes everything up, and spiced maple pistachios that bring the perfect crunch with a hint of sweetness.
Add in loads of fresh fruit and herbs, and suddenly you’ve got a salad that’s colorful, flavorful, and satisfying enough to be a full meal—not just a side.
Jump to:
Why You’ll Love this Summer Salad:
- Flavor – The dressing gives you the burst of citrus while all the other flavor together you wouldn’t expect but just work together. It’s bold, spicy, sweet, and just plain deliciousness.
- Textures – softness from the beans, spinach, and avocado, chewiness from the farro, crunch from the pistachios, and radishes, and so much more – it’s got texture perfected in each bite
- Restaurant-Worthy – The bold flavors together make you feel like you just stepped out of your favorite restaurant and actually got a salad worth spending $21 for
Ingredients for vegan farro salad:
Gather your ingredients!
Farro
We’re using farro as a high-protein grain that adds a chewiness to the dish that goes great in here.
Substitute: Quinoa, barley, brown rice, bulgar wheat, and couscous are all examples of what you can swap out if needed
Pistachios
We’re making a maple spiced pistachio topping that adds sweetness, nuttiness, and a bit of stickiness.
Substitute: If you can’t have nuts, we’re recommend pepitas; however, you can also do cashews.
Beans
We’re using cannellini beans for added protein and a creaminess with each bite.
Substitute: Any bean that you enjoy will work here.
Vegetables
We also have mini cucumbers, radishes, pickled onions (or cabbage), avocado, basil, and spinach. All of these ingredients are especially picked to all work together.
Blood Orange Citrus Vinaigrette
We’re using blood oranges, olive oil, shallots, and more to get an epic salad.
Other Vegan Salads to Try!
Did you make and love this recipe?
Click the 5 stars in the recipe card above or below in the comment section! This is a great way to support us so we can continue to bring great recipes!
🥳 Get the Full Recipe
Farro Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 cups dried farro
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 3 cups cannellini beans
- 1 ½ cups fresh blackberries
- 2 mini cucumbers
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 2 radishes, sliced
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- ⅓ cup pickled red onions
Maple Pistachios
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 cup pistachios, shelled
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 orange zest (regular or blood orange)
For the Citrus Dressing
- 2-3 teaspoons zest of a blood orange
- ⅓ cup fresh blood orange juice
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
For the Farro
- Cook 2 cups of dried farro in a medium saucepan with a pinch of salad according to the packaged instructions. Once finished, remove from heat and let cool.
For the Maple Pistachios
- Prep a small baking pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a small bowl add ¼ teaspoon each salt, smoked paprika, and ground cumin, and ⅛ teaspoon each cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Whisk together.
- In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add 1 cup pistachios add toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring often. Add in 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil, and the spice mix from the step above. Toast until fragrant, stirring often, about 30 seconds.
- Add in 1 tablespoon maple syrup and the zest from 1 orange. Stir constantly until the maple syrup is all sticking to the pistachios, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread into an even layer and set aside while cooling.
For the Citrus Vinaigrette
- To an immersion blender cup (or a blender) add 2-3 teaspoon zest of a blood orange, ⅓ cup each fresh blood orange juice and olive oil, 2 tablespoon each shallots and white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoon each maple syrup and dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Blend until smooth and no chunks remain.
To Assemble
- Add the baby spinach to the base of a large platter or bowl. Then, add the farro, cannellini beans, blackberries, mini cucumbers, avocados, radishes, basil, and pickled red onions. Top with the spiced maple pistachios and citrus dressing.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Pistachios can be swapped for pepitas instead. As far as the farro, you can use quinoa instead.
We would wait to put the dressing on until ready to eat. But the salad itself can be stored for up to 5 days in a air tight container in the fridge.
We don’t recommend freezing this salad.
Yes! You can use quinoa, bulgar wheat, or barley are all good example. You could even do couscous.
I made this for a small group for lunch yesterday and everyone asked for the recipe! It was so beautiful – I didn’t add the red onions because I didn’t have any but threw in some snow peas I had on hand for extra crunch and it was just a great salad recipe! Thank you!
Thats amazing! So happy to hear that this was a hit. Love the idea of adding the snow peas for that extra crunch. Thank you for trying the recipe!
Wow, this salad is deeeee-lish! I didn’t have fresh basil or pickled onions so I left them out. I also only had one orange so put only a bit of zest in the pistachios but it was still amazing. Will definitely make it again.
OMG thank you! We’re so happy to hear that you enjoyed it (even with limited ingredients!). Hopefully the next time you make it, it’s even more flavorful!
This salad is amazing! So many layers of flavors, maybe seriously the best salad I have ever made or enjoyed. I couldn’t find pistachios and used sliced almonds and they turned out great. Also subbed hatch chili powder for cayenne.
Thank you so much! Love your choice in substitutions for this one. We appreciate you trying out the recipe!