These hearty Fig and Farro Grain Bowls are filled with a nutty blend of farro, crunchy toasted seeds and buckwheat. Tossed with curly kale, a quick balsamic vinaigrette and served with fresh figs and feta. Simple, delicious and full of healthy ingredients.

What’s in These Fig and Farro Grain Bowls?

Farro: Perfect for cold or warm grain salads, farro is nutty and has a nice chewiness. It’s also high in nutrients and fiber. If you can, you with semi-pearled farro as it will better absorb the vinaigrette.

Toasted Seeds & Buckwheat: A blend of hulled sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and buckwheat groats. Instead of cooking the buckwheat in water, we’ll toast it in a dry skillet along with the seeds to add some crunch.

Kale: Curly is my favorite!

Fresh Figs & Blackberries: Whole, fresh figs are usually available in grocery stores and farmers markets (in the US) from August to October. Black mission figs are my personal favorite because they’re plump and sweet. The blackberries are optional, but they add a delicious tartness to the whole dish!

Balsamic vinaigrette: The most basic vinaigrette of just olive and balsamic vinegar really compliments the sweetness from the figs and helps mellow out the intensity of the other ingredients.

Feta: Feel free to use dairy feta, but I made this recipe completely vegan by making my favorite Tofu Feta Recipe!

How to Make Fig and Farro Grain Bowls

Let’s start by making the farro. Depending on the type of farro you choose, it will take different amounts of time to cook. Semi-pearled farro is the most commonly available type and takes about 30 -35 minutes to cook on the stove, but make sure you follow the instructions on the package. Let the farro cool completely or serve warm, both are delicious!

The only thing you’ll need to chop in this recipe is a big shallot. Red onion could be substituted, but I prefer shallots because they’re slightly sweeter. Shallots are also pretty intense when eaten raw so to help mellow out the flavor, we’ll soak the chopped shallot in a blend of balsamic vinegar and olive oil for a few minutes. This will later become the dressing for the bowls.

Next, toast the seeds. Super simple, just heat a large skillet with lots of surface area over medium heat and add the seeds and buckwheat groats in an even layer. Let those toast for about 5-10 minutes. You’ll know they’re done when they start smelling nutty and the pumpkin seeds begin popping.

Last step: put it all together. Toss the seeds with the farro, saving half to sprinkle on top for extra crunch. Add the kale, shallot/vinaigrette mixture and good pinch of salt. Serve each bowl with a few sliced figs, blackberries and a crumble of feta.

Tips and Substitutions

• To add some more protein to these bowls, make some tofu feta (pictured above) or add a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas.
• While the farro can be served slightly warm, let it cool off for at least 15 minutes in a glass bowl before adding the kale to prevent wilting.
• The farro/kale blend stores well in the fridge for about 4-5 days. Wait to add the figs, blackberries and feta for each portion.

More Recipes to Try

• Blackened Cauliflower Bowls with Pineapple Salsa
• Grilled Tofu Shawarma Bowls
• Basil Pesto Zucchini Noodles with Whipped Ricotta
• Farro and Melon Salad with Prosciutto

Made this recipe? Tag @wandering_chickpea on Instagram and follow along on Pinterest for more delicious recipes!

Yield: 3-4 servings

Fig and Farro Grain Bowls

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These hearty bowls are filled with nutty farro, curly kale, toasted seeds and a quick balsamic vinaigrette. Served with a fresh figs and feta for a delicious, healthy end of summer meal.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked farro (from 1 cup dry)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
• 2 tbsp hulled sunflower seeds
• 1 bunch curly kale, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Fresh figs, blackberries and feta for serving

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar and oil. Add the chopped shallot set aside for 5-10 minutes to mellow.
2. Heat a skillet over medium low heat then add the seeds and buckwheat groats. Toast for 5-10 min, tossing occasionally, until lightly brown and fragrant.
3. In a large bowl, combine cooked farro, the balsamic shallot mixture and the chopped kale. Add half the toasted seeds and save the rest for sprinkling. Add salt to taste.
4. Serve each bowl with a few fresh figs, blackberries, remaining seeds and feta. (See notes for tofu feta recipe)

Notes

To make these bowls vegan (and more delicious) follow this recipe for the best tofu feta,

Cook time does not include time needed to cook the farro

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 306Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 470mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 9gSugar: 9gProtein: 12g

All nutritional info is an estimation