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Freshen up your Thanksgiving table with this gorgeous Autumn Farro Salad! Chewy farro is tossed in an autumnal medley of honeynut squash, red onions, kale, crisp apples and more. What beautifully ties it all together is sweet and tangy apple cider vinaigrette!
Table of Contents
An Autumn Grain Salad To Love
I love all the flavors of fall all on their own but they also come together so harmoniously in a simple grain salad. Autumn farro salad is stunning and SO easy to toss together, you’ll add it to the weekly menu just like I do!
Farro has never been this deliciously dressed up. Tender bites of honeynut squash, bold red onions, crisp apples, crunchy kale and pecans are just some of the ingredients I used in this fall salad. I think one of my favorite thing in this salad is the dried cranberries! They add a delightfully chewy, sweet and tangy treat to each bite that really makes this salad worthy of a restaurant.
It does’t need to be a holiday to enjoy this autumn farro salad recipe! Serve it as lunch on a November afternoon paired with a bowl of The Best Chicken Soup Recipe Ever or even as a light dinner with an Oven Baked Chicken Breast when you need something on the healthier side. This fall salad recipe is loaded with nutrients that your body will love, and flavors that will have you digging your fork back in for more. Extra apple cider vinaigrette for me, please!
How to Make Autumn Farro Salad
- Roast the honeynut squash. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread the honeynut squash pieces in an even layer across a baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then bake for 20 minutes. Let cool to room temperature before tossing in the salad.
- Toss the salad. Toss all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Garnish with a sprinkle of parsley and green onions.
- Enjoy! You can serve this farro salad recipe chilled or at room temperature. It’s a hit either way!
Tips and Variations to Try
Just like any good salad recipe, you can swap ingredients as needed and it should still be pretty great! Here are just a few ideas and ways to make it the very best:
- Change the nuts. I like pecans because they have a great crunch and they always make me think of fall. However, you can always feel free to swap them with any other nut you prefer.
- Use the BEST apple cider vinaigrette. Seriously, my recipe for apple cider vinaigrette is the very best. It comes together within seconds and has the best sweet and tangy flavor. Plus, you probably already have everything you need to make it right now!
- Finely chop your kale. If you take a quick look at my photos, you’ll see that the kale pictured is chopped into pretty small pieces. That’s so everything fits together nicely on your fork. If you leave the kale big and leafy, you’ll have a harder time enjoying all of the different ingredients in each bite.
Can I make this Farro salad recipe ahead of time?
You can easily prepare elements of this autumn farro salad ahead of time.
Cook the honeynut squash according to recipe instructions, let it fully cool to room temperature, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. It’s very smart to prepare the squash ahead of time! You can also toss together the apple cider vinaigrette and keep it stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
More of my favorite fall salad recipes!
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Autumn Farro Salad Recipe
Equipment
- 1 sheet pan
Ingredients
- 1 Honeynut Squash, peeled and diced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 cups cooked farro
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 2 honey crisp apples
- 2 cups chopped kale
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- Chopped parsley and green onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Arrange the honeynut squash in an even layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt/pepper. Toss to coat.
- Transfer the squash to the oven and roast for 20 minutes or until tender.
- Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, toss the farro, onion, apples, kale, pecans, cranberries, squash and vinaigrette to combine.
- Sprinkle with the parsley and green onions.
- Serve warm or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love, love, love this salad. My guests requested the recipe after their first few bites. (I wasn’t sure where to insert the honey, so I omitted it.)
The salad was just as delicious 2 days later. This is definitely a keeper.
Thank you for your comment! the honey is supposed to be in the dressing but I’ll make sure to correct the recipe card. This is definitely on repeat in our house this season.