How to Cook Farro

Learn how to cook farro with this step-by-step guide! Plus, find my favorite farro recipes, along with more serving suggestions for this delicious grain.

Herbed Farro

Do you have a favorite whole grain? I love everything from millet to quinoa, but if I had to choose one, I think it would be farro. It’s hearty and wholesome, with an amazing chewy texture and nutty flavor. I enjoy it all year long, but it really becomes one of my kitchen staples in the fall. Its toasty flavor is delicious with fall produce like squash, apples, and kale, and cozy herbs like sage, rosemary, and thyme are its natural companions.

If you’ve never tried it before, now is the perfect time – toss it into salads, add it to bowls, or stir it into your next autumn soup!

Farro

How to Cook Farro

My cooking method for farro is a lot like cooking pasta. Some farro recipes swear by using a specific number of cups of water for every cup of the grain, but I find I get the best results when I simply boil water, add the grain, and cook until it’s tender! Here’s my easy, tried-and-true method for how to cook farro:

First, rinse the dried farro. Add it to a fine mesh sieve and rinse it with cold water.

Then, it’s time to cook! Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over your stove top, and add the rinsed grains. Cook until they become tender and chewy but still have an al dente bite. The cook time will vary depending on the age and variety of your farro. (Find more on that below!)

How to cook farro

Next, drain the grains and transfer them to a baking sheet or large plate. Spread them into a single layer to cool and dry for 20 minutes or so. Skipping this step means that your grains will continue to steam, which can make them mushy.

When your farro is cool, transfer it to the fridge for future use, or enjoy it right away!

How to cook farro

Farro Tips

  • Know what kind of farro you have. Grocery stores typically sell 3 types of farro: pearled, semi-pearled, and whole. The cooking times for each vary widely, ranging from 15 minutes for pearled to 40 minutes for whole. When you buy your farro, make sure you know what kind you have – you don’t want it to come out too hard or too mushy! If you don’t know what type you have – start tasting it for doneness at 15 the minute mark and go from there.
  • Batch cook and freeze. Having a stash of cooked grains on hand is a lifesaver when it comes to meal prepping lunch or whipping up a quick dinner. Cooked farro keeps in the fridge for 5 days, but you can freeze it for even longer. To freeze it, spread the grains in a single layer on a baking sheet, and transfer it to the freezer for at least 2 hours. After the grains are frozen, you can store them in a freezer-safe container. Don’t skip the initial freeze on the baking sheet, or the grains will freeze in one big clump!
  • Dress right before serving. I love to toss my farro with anything from a lemon vinaigrette (see the recipe below) to cilantro lime dressing or chimichurri. If you plan to dress yours, do it right before serving, as the flavor of dressed grains fades in the fridge. But if you end up with leftovers, not to worry! Just give them an extra squeeze of lemon or lime and a sprinkle of salt and pepper before serving.

Whole grains on a baking sheet

Favorite Farro Recipes

You’ll find my go-to way to serve farro in the recipe below: I like to toss it with a zingy lemon dressing and plenty of fresh herbs (Feel free to add crumbled feta or goat cheese, dried cranberries or tart cherries, or your favorite nuts for a fun twist!). Once it’s dressed, I serve it as a side dish with grilled or roasted veggies or a hearty salad – it’s excellent with this kale salad in the fall and winter and with my Greek or broccoli salad in the spring and summer.

If I’m not serving it as a side dish, I like to add it to bowls and salads. Top plain or herbed farro with your favorite roasted veggies (maybe butternut squash, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts or tomatoes?), a protein like roasted chickpeas, and a delicious sauce like tahini sauce, tzatziki, or hummus to make an easy, healthy meal. You could also toss it onto any salad or stir it into a brothy vegetable soup.

Want more ideas? Try one of these farro recipes:

Let me know what farro recipes you try!

Farro recipes

Looking for more healthy cooking components?

Serve any of these grains or veggies as a healthy side dish or base for your next bowl:

Herbed grain salad

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How to Cook Farro

rate this recipe:
5 from 67 votes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Learn how to cook farro perfectly every time! Toss it with the zippy lemon dressing and herbs listed below, or add it to salads, bowls, soups, and more.

Ingredients

For the Farro:

  • 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed

Lemon Herb Dressing:

Instructions

  • Cook the farro: Fill a medium pot half full of water and bring to a boil. Add the farro, reduce the heat and simmer until the farro is tender, chewy, but still has an al dente bite - 15 to 20 minutes for pearled farro; 20 to 30 minutes for semi-pearled farro; up to 40 minutes for whole farro.
  • Drain, then spread onto a large plate or sheet pan to cool and dry for 20 minutes. This keeps it from continuing to steam which makes it mushy.
  • Make the lemon herb dressing: Mixing the olive oil, lemon juice, thyme, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Add the farro and toss. Stir in the parsley and red pepper flakes, if using. Season to taste and serve.

Notes

Store cooked farro in the fridge for up to 5 days. To freeze farro, first freeze it on a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer container.

 

40 comments

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  1. Britannia Willes
    03.03.2024

    5 stars
    Should I salt the water?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.08.2024

      Hi Britannia, yep, I’d salt it!

  2. Emily
    01.04.2024

    This is excellent. I used dried parsley and dried thyme, and it turned out just fine. Next time I might back out a little of the salt because it seemed a tad salty. Will be in my side dish rotation for sure!

  3. Shirls
    10.02.2023

    5 stars
    So good! I used fresh rosemary because I had some fresh in my garden. I served it with your farro recipe & it was so amazingly satiating. Great Fall recipes. Thank you! It is not easy to find simple, vegan, filling dinners.

  4. Katie
    09.23.2023

    Thanks for the tips on cooking farro! When you freeze it, how do you reheat when you want to use it? I’m thinking I would have it warm with a dressing, but I don’t want to overcook it. Thanks!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.27.2023

      Hi Katie, I reheat it in the microwave, you could also just let it thaw to room temp.

  5. GH Kuba
    05.30.2023

    Looks interesting, first time i heard of Farro!

    • Valentina
      01.06.2024

      5 stars
      Super! Love the way she explains everything about how to cook farro. I got farro but I have not idea how to cook it. But after reading this I just realized you have many variations to cook it. I love to eat healthy food so farro will be part of all my dishes from now. Thank you! Keep posting more advices and recipes please! 😁

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.