Earthy flavors and sweet roasted veggies come together in this healthy farro salad with butternut squash, red onion, and brie.
farro salad with butternut squash, red onions, and brie

If you had seen me the week leading up to the wedding, you would have been shocked and appalled that the.boy showed up to the altar at all.

Knee-deep in the throes of apple butter despair, I’m pretty sure I forgot to shower for three days straight, lived in pajama pants (and not even the cute kind), and declared myself “too tired” for any sort of “physical exertion”, recreational or otherwise.

Then, out of the abyss, came this farro salad. And I can truly say that it saved my life.

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I mean, just look at those ombre carrots and try to tell me they don’t make you feel like you can conquer the world.

You know I’m right.

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Mostly, though, just knowing that I had this in the fridge and could sneak spoonfuls during a random two minutes of downtime is what did it for me.

Chewy but tender farro.

Sweet roasted butternut and carrot cubes.

Chunks of melty brie.

Hang onto these for dear life and I promise you can make it through the most troubled of waters, but especially the thick cinnamon apple pre-wedding jitters kind.

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This recipe was actually originally characterized as a stuffing, which just baffles me.

I mean, I suppose it could be shoved into the cavity of a bird but WHERE ARE THE BIG SOGGY BREAD CUBES?! And, WHY?!

Case in point.

No, this is definitely a salad and a fairly healthy one at that. Oodles of roasted veggies, warm fall flavors, and a touch of brie that I added in for good measure and cheese endorphins and all that jazz.

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Farro Salad with Butternut Squash, Red Onions, and Brie
 
Earthy flavors and sweet roasted veggies come together in this healthy farro salad with butternut squash, red onion, and brie.
Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
  • 4 cups water
  • 2 cups farro
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into ½-inch dice
  • 1 medium red onion, diced
  • 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
  • ¾ cup chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp minced fresh sage
  • 1¼ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 10 oz brie, cut into ½-inch dice
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 450F.
  2. In a large pot, bring the water and farro to a boil. Add in a pinch of salt and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 25 minutes, or until farro is tender. Drain any excess water and put farro in a large bowl.
  3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, red onion, and carrots. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Spread out on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.
  4. When the vegetables are cooked, toss them with the farro, parsley, sage, and brie. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Notes
Adapted from Cooking Light
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bowl

 For more hearty grain salads, check out these:

barley salad with kale, pistachios and feta

Barley Salad with Kale, Pistachios, and Feta

sweet potato salad with rye berries, pepitas and ricotta salata

Sweet Potato Salad with Rye Berries, Pepitas, and Ricotta Salata

roasted pumpkin, wild rice and white bean salad

Roasted Pumpkin, Wild Rice, and White Bean Salad

From Around the Web:

Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice, and Arugula Salad from Pinch of Yum

Chickpea and Veggie Brown Rice Barley Bowl with Tahini Dressing from Once Upon A Cutting Board

Barley, Lentil and Eggplant with Pomegranate and Mint from Hungry and Frozen

Spelt Tabbouleh with Jalapeno Vinaigrette from The Lemon Bowl

Quinoa Avocado Tomato and Black Bean Salad from Lauren Kelly Nutrition

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49 Responses to Farro Salad with Butternut Squash, Red Onions, and Brie

  1. Baby June says:

    Mmm that looks amazing! I love farro, this salad sounds like a great way to use it 🙂

  2. Sune Moolman says:

    Those colours really do make me happy. 🙂 And I’ll jump off a cliff for a bite of brie.
    Such a great salad (stuffing???), such a bonus that it is healthy too.

  3. I love hearty salad bowls, so I can definitely see how this saved you! I also like how long they last…perfect for wedding week food!

  4. Dixya says:

    This looks so hearty and filling. After all that pie, I’m going to need thos

  5. This sounds and looks amazing! You’ve just saved me – have to make something for a large gathering tonight and now I know what I’m going to bring 🙂

  6. Beth says:

    What a gorgeous salad! Can’t wait to try it.

  7. Johanna GGG says:

    looks like a salad to me (definitely needs bread to be a stuffing) and I can see the sense in having this in the fridge to stop you from tipping over the edge – glad you survived the apple butter and the lead up to the wedding – now you can breathe and relax!

  8. These colors are just stunning! I need to make this ASAP.

  9. Such lovely colors and the wedding pics on instagram looked BEAUTIFUL! Congrats!!

  10. The colors, flavors and textures are all phenomenal here!

  11. Emma says:

    Oh my heavens, love this! And the brie is such a luxurious creamy touch! Beautiful!

  12. Mira says:

    Wow, you’ve got some amazing stuff in this salad Joanne! Pinning! I can’t wait to see some more pictures from the wedding!

  13. Looks like a life-saving dish to me! Gorgeous and De-Lish!!

  14. That shot of the carrots. . damn, that was all I needed to see. This is glorious. This farro salad would save anyone’s life. Damn, looks SO good!!

  15. I love grain salads, this looks like proper power food. Love the mix of carrots and brie as well x

  16. I only make one type of stuffing: chestnut stuffing, and it has zero breadcubes (because ew). And I rarely stuff it in a bird because it is WAY too good for that. I think this was meant to be a salad. This looks amazing!

  17. DAYUM! Salad with Brie, WHAT??! Freaking LOVE it!

  18. cheri says:

    Hi Joanne, you are amazing you have not missed a beat before or after your wedding, I would of had to take at least a month off. Great dish, love faro. Congrats!

  19. Wait until you have kids. He’ll see you in a far worse state! Farro is such an unsung hero of the grain world, isn’t it. Love this. You had me at brie!

  20. Nicola says:

    Oh man, I bet the brie gets just a little bit melty and delicious when it hits the hot roasted veggies and farro. So good!

  21. This looks wonderful and I happen to have a half wheel of brie and some farro in my fridge as I write this! No butternut, but delicata should work!

  22. Pam says:

    Bookmarked! This one has me drooling… love the bits of brie in there.

  23. Oh, definitely a salad – imagine hiding all that prettiness in side a bird!

  24. Hotly Spiced says:

    I think you held your pre-wedding jitters together pretty well. I’m guilty of going around in ugly PJs and not showering and I have no excuse. This is a terrific salad that’s packed with flavour and has so much colour – I’m glad it came to your rescue xx

  25. Kate says:

    Those carrots look amazing.

  26. Eileen says:

    Yay! Grain salads are the best. I especially love how you can make a big batch and shove it in the fridge for emergency lunch all week. 🙂 And those carrots are totally gorgeous!

  27. You know the way to my heart, I am loving this salad

  28. Colorful, lots of texture and hearty—wow—wonderful attributes.

  29. sandra says:

    Lovely. I made something similar to this for Thanksgiving – Quinoa, Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash, Pomegranate Seeds, Feta and Kale. Wait, are you married already?? How did I miss that?? Blink and eye and I tell you…

  30. Farro has been on my “try” list in a salad form too. Love all the ingredients in this!

  31. The week before my wedding I drank whiskey straight (I haven’t touched alcohol in over 17 years now). I think I should’ve been eating this instead!

  32. Betty says:

    The only thing I want to stuff this into is my mouth. 🙂 Everything is better with Brie.

  33. I love the color of this salad. I’ve never tried faro, but it has been on my try list. Great recipe to try!!

  34. I love farro too. This is a great salad, Joanne.

  35. Jessie says:

    Joanne, you are a super star! Congratulations again on your wedding, and best wishes for the future 🙂 xoxo

    (If you have this delicious farro salad, you have a great start 😉 )

  36. Amanda says:

    What a gorgeous salad!!!

  37. This definitely deserves pride of place as a stand alone dish. Stuffing indeed! I’m glad it got you through a chaotic week too – it sounds like a meal for emergency situations, which is good to have up your sleeve 🙂

  38. Teffy says:

    Haha congratulations on surviving! Hopefully those ugly pajamas pants won’t need to come out again anytime soon!
    This salad looks amazing by the way, I can completely see how it kept you sane!

    {Teffy’s Perks} X

  39. Barbara says:

    Farro is fabulous! Love this dish, Joanne. (The brie pushes it over the top!) One of my fave all time dishes is farro, pine nuts and zucchini…now I have to try this one.

  40. These are my flavors. Earthy farro, creamy brie, and warm butternut squash. Yep yep yep. Pinning and totally making this this week.
    And please. PJs and jitters are to be expected! Good thing you had this salad to get you through 🙂

  41. grace says:

    brie! what an unexpected and magnificent choice!
    so many congrats to you, by the way. 🙂

  42. Yum! I love brie (guilty pleasures) and with butternut squash I bet it would go great!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  43. Kelly says:

    This is such a beautiful salad! I love farro and combining it with butternut squash, carrots and sage sounds amazing!

  44. Kate says:

    First of all: congratulations! You looked radiant at your wedding. Must have been all those carrots before the big day! 😉 This salad looks epic, Joanne! I never thought to add brie to a grain salad and now I must try it.

  45. Deborah says:

    I’m pretty sure you’ve just convinced me to make a big bowl of this to keep in the fridge to calm me when I get stressed out. It’s probably better than that pie I’ve been snacking on instead. 🙂 This looks amazing!!

  46. Carolyn says:

    I made this and loved it. I only sort-of followed the directions because I had leftover farro I wanted to use, and I added cranberries to the roasting vegetables for the last 10 minutes, and I swapped the brie for feta, and I added some spinach. The cranberries and feta were great, the spinach, meh. Maybe kale next time. But this is a great base recipe with delicious fall flavors, and adaptable! Very fun. The parsley is the surprise genius ingredient. I won’t leave that out.

  47. Carolyn says:

    I made this and loved it. I didn’t exactly follow the recipe because I had leftover farro to use, and I added cranberries to the roasting vegetables for the last 10 minutes and I swapped the brie for feta. The cranberries added a lot of flavor and color. I also added spinach but think kale would be better. The parsley is the surprise star. Don’t omit it.

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