This White Bean and Farro Salad is perfect for summer. It is chock full of fresh veggies plus it has an herby oil-free yogurt dressing. The mint and dill really give this recipe a fresh zing. The combo of white beans and farro make this salad recipe filling and hearty enough for a meal. This summer salad is perfect to use up all those garden tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs. I love all the variation in texture with crunchy cabbage and cucumbers, buttery avocado and chewy farro. All the flavor bases are covered with tangy grapes, zippy red onions, sweet bell peppers, pungent dill, refreshing mint and a lovely light, oil-free, lemony dressing.
What makes this the best summer salad?
This summery white bean and farro salad is easy to love. First of all it requires minimal cooking. Boiling farro and roasting veggies is really easy! This is a really quick and easy summer meal. It utilizes garden fresh produce and is excellent when the summer tomatoes are going wild. You could also add some of the zucchini or summer squash that are taking over the garden to the sheet pan when you are roasting the peppers. The fresh herbs give this dish a great zing and if you are an herb fan, feel free to use a heavy hand.
Why do you make the dressing oil-free?
When possible, I avoid the overconsumption of oils. Even healthy oils like avocado and olive oil can be unhealthy when consumed in excess. There are many schools of thought who believe that ANY added dietary oil is detrimental to our health. I aspire to eat very low amounts of oils. Most of my recipes contain only 1-2 tbsp of oil. So when I can make a tasty meal without oil, I do. If you want to read more about oil-free eating I recommend checking out Forks Over Knives. They have a great website here or I encourage you to watch their film with the same title on Netflix. If you want more Betterfoodguru recipes that are oil free check out my ebook Betterfoodguru Oil Free Favorites.
Ingredients for White Bean and Farro Salad
The ingredients for this summer salad are humble and easy to find. I like using Kite Hill or Forager Project as my plain vegan yogurts of choice. If you are allergic to nuts, instead choose a plain Oat milk yogurt or if you are not vegan, you may use regular plain yogurt with great results. If you are allergic to gluten, sub quinoa for the farro and it will be delicious! Omit the grain entirely if you prefer and double the beans!
- farro
- cabbage
- cherry tomatoes
- grapes
- red onion
- roasted baby bell pepper
- avocado
- white beans
- persian cucumber
- fresh dill
- fresh mint
- vegan yogurt
- lemon
- date syrup
- salt and pepper
How to Make Rainbow White Bean and Farro Salad
- Cook farro according to package, drain, rinse with cold water and let drain well for salad.
- Roast peppers by adding to a sheet pan whole and cooking at 400 degrees for !5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Deseed and chop into small pieces.
- Make dressing by combining yogurt, lemon, date syrup, a pinch of salt and pepper and mixing well.
- To a large mixing bowl, add cabbage, tomatoes, grapes, onion, cucumbers, beans, farro, avocado, dill and mint and peppers. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well making sure it is all coated well.
- Taste for salt and add if needed.
Other Summer Salad Recipes
White Bean and Farro Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz farro cooked and cooled
- 2 cups cabbage shredded
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup grapes halved
- ¼ red onion diced
- 3 roasted baby bell peppers
- 1 avocado chopped
- 1 can white beans drained
- 2 persian cucumbers chopped
- 1 handful fresh dill chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
- 3 tbsp vegan yogurt
- 1 lemon squeezed
- 1 tbsp date syrup
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook farro according to package, drain, rinse with cold water and let drain well for salad.
- Roast peppers by adding to a sheet pan whole and cooking at 400 degrees for !5 minutes. Set aside to cool. Deseed and chop into small pieces.
- Make dressing by combining yogurt, lemon, date syrup, a pinch of salt and pepper and mixing well.
- To a large mixing bowl, add cabbage, tomatoes, grapes, onion, cucumbers, beans, farro, avocado, dill and mint and peppers. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well making sure it is all coated well.
- Taste for salt and add if needed.
Lee
Oh how I love this! This hearty, colorful salad is the summer dinner of my dreams. It has such interesting textures. Bookmarked!! I'm going to make this for a summer picnic!
Sara Tercero
Let me know how you like it!
Amanda
Made this recipe tonight and it is a WINNER! Even my young children are loving it. Thank you for another amazing salad recipe!
Sara Tercero
Yay that is awesome! Thanks for the feedback and 5 stars.
Bonnie
Quick question: when you say 3 baby bell peppers do you mean the mini peppers sold in bags? I usually buy normal sized bell peppers.
Sara Tercero
Yes I do usually use those cute, sweet, mini bell peppers. But if you prefer the big ones, no big deal. 1 large pepper equals 3 or 4 of the small ones.