Roasted Squash Farro Salad
on Aug 31, 2020, Updated Sep 03, 2024
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This beautiful roasted squash farro salad is perfect for the Fall and Winter. Enjoy this stunning dish as a healthy main or serve as a side dish at Thanksgiving or Christmas.
About the Recipe
Farro’s nutty flavour and chewy texture makes it perfect for salads and bowls. You can also try it in this Vegan Farro Bowl and Broccoli Chickpea Farro Salad. Paired with roasted butternut squash, sweet apple and pomegranate, it’s delicious in this fall salad.
The recipe is vegan, oil-free and can be made gluten-free and nut-free. It makes a beautiful addition to a holiday meal, either as a side salad or main dish.
For more squash salads, try this Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad, Roasted Squash Salad with Marinated Chickpeas or Vegan Quinoa Power Bowls.
Ingredients
- Farro: Farro’s nutty flavour and chewy texture makes it perfect for salads, however, you can use barley, brown rice, freekeh or quinoa in its place.
- Squash: I used acorn squash but kabocha squash or butternut squash also work. As for the cooking method, I roasted it in the oven but any cooking method can be used (Instant Pot, stovetop etc.).
- Pomegranate: Pomegranate adds a sweet, tangy flavour and crunchy texture to the salad. Whole pomegranates are a bit of a pain to prepare and always a little messy, so I actually used thawed frozen pomegranate arils. If you prefer, you can use dried cranberries for a similar flavour.
- Apple: Use any variety of apple you like but a crunchy one works best.
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Add tofu feta for some extra tanginess and flavour.
- Use pecans or slivered almonds instead of walnuts.
- Swap the tahini dressing for Maple Dijon Dressing or Miso Tahini Dressing.
- For gluten-free, be sure to swap the farro for quinoa or brown rice,
- For nut-free, use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seed instead of walnuts.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. Roast the squash. The squash can be cooked any way you like but I like roasting it in the oven best. Here’s how:
- Cut an acorn squash in half from the stem to the bottom and scoop out the seeds.
- Slice each half into wedges approximately 1.5 inches thick.
- Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper or give it a little spritz of non-stick cooking spray. This isn’t totally necessary if you have a good roasting pan as acorn squash doesn’t really stick to the pan.
- Place the wedges on the pan and roast for about 30 minutes. I like to give them a little sprinkle of salt and pepper before roasting. The squash is ready when you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork but it’s still somewhat firm.
- Pull it out of the oven and let cool until you can handle the wedges. Once it cools down, you should be able to easily peel the skin away from the flesh. Chop up the wedges to use in the salad.
Quick Note: You can also use butternut squash in this recipe. Butternut squash can be peeled and cubed before roasting but I still peel it after since I just find it easier.
Step 2. Cook the farro stovetop or in an Instant Pot.
- For stovetop: bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup of farro, cover, reduce to a light simmer and cook for about 20 minutes until tender.
- For Instant Pot: Find full Instant Pot farro instructions here.
Step 3. Make the dressing by whisking the ingredients together until smooth and creamy.
Finally, slice the apple, prepare the pomegranate and assemble the salads, finishing off with a generous drizzle of tahini dressing.
Storing and Prep
This salad is best served fresh but you can make these components in advance and store for quick assembly:
- Tahini dressing can be made up to 5 days in advance, thin with water as needed after storing.
- Farro can be prepped up to 3 days in advance and stored in the fridge in a sealed container.
- Squash can be roasted up to 3 days in advance and stored in a sealed container in the fridge once cooled.
- Assembled salads can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days with the dressing stored separately, just note the greens will get a bit soggy. If you’re making this for meal prep, consider substituting kale for greens as they hold up better than leafy greens. To use kale, finely chop and massage with a little olive oil to soften.
More Fall Salads
Loving this Fall salad? You might like these too:
- Harvest Bowl
- Fall Harvest Salad
- Vegan Roasted Beet Salad
- Wild Rice Salad
- Vegan Roasted Vegetable Salad
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.
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Roasted Squash Farro Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 acorn squash, seeds removed and sliced into wedges
- 1 cup uncooked farro
- 1 cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries
- 2 medium-sized apples, diced or sliced into very thin wedges
- mixed salad greens, a few handfuls per salad
- 4 tbsp pecans or walnuts
For the Tahini Dressing
- 5 tbsp tahini, 75 g
- 3 tbsp water, plus more to reach desired consistency
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp maple syrup, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the acorn squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice each half into 1-2 inch thick wedges. Place the wedges on a baking tray (use a bit of cooking spray or a silicone baking mat or parchment paper to prevent sticking). Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.
- Roast the squash for 25-30 minutes until you can easily pierce the flesh with a fork. Flipping once half-way through cooking. Once cooked, let sit on the pan until cool enough to handle at which point, peel the skin away from the flesh and discard. Chop each wedge into chunks and set aside.
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the farro according to package directions. If you bought bulk farro, see post above for cooking instructions.
- To make the tahini dressing, whisk the ingredients together in a jar or dish until smooth and creamy. Adding more water slowly, if needed, to adjust the consistency.
- To assemble the salad, prepare serving dishes and start by adding a couple big handfuls of mixed greens to each plate or bowl. Top each serving with equal amounts of the squash, cooked farro, pomegranate and sliced apple. Drizzle each salad with desired amount of dressing and top with a sprinkle of pecans or walnuts, if using.
Notes
Nutrition
Update Note: Originally published on August 23, 2019. Updated with new photos and text on August 31, 2020.
This is my favorite fall salad. It is delicious and I feel amazing when I eat it. All the different textures come together perfectly. If I’m in a hurry, I substitute dried cranberries for the pomegranate.
Yum. Perfect with cranberries too! Thanks for the review.
Absolutely delicious!
Loved this! Such an easy, delicious, seasonal recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it! I love this one too! Thanks for the rating and comment 🙂
How can you make Tahini without Garlic and Lemon (if you have allergies to these, at the moment)
I would use some apple cider vinegar instead of lemon, probably not quite as much though, maybe just 1 tbsp, and you can skip the garlic. Some onion powder might be a good replacement for the garlic.
This is definitely the perfect salad for Fall! Gotta get my hands on some Farro and make this!!
Definitely! Let me know if you do!
I’ve never even seen farro before. How are all the grains coming up? Although, I would like to try some since you said it’s similar to barley….This salad looks like a great addition to my new diet. I’m thinking more grains like this and more veggies. It’s just cutting out sugar that’s going to be the problem lol.