Italian Farro

Italian Farro is a dish made with farro, baby broccoli, and cannellini beans in a light tomato sauce topped with melted parmesan cheese and burrata. It is a filling, family-friendly weeknight meal that can be made in about 30 minutes.

This is a really easy dish to throw together and if you can manage to make it without distractions (like 3 little kids running circles around the house and occasionally being asked to be picked up) you can make the whole thing fairly quickly on weeknight.

✏️ Variations:

• Saucier Sauce: For an even thinner sauce, reserve an extra ½ cup (for 1½ cups total) of cooking liquid from the farro and add to the dish before putting it in the oven.
• White Wine: If you have a little extra time and some white wine on hand you can add about ½ a cup of white wine after cooking the shallot, baby broccoli, and garlic and allow to cook for about 5 minutes before adding the San Marzano tomato sauce.
• Burrata: We've also made this with fresh and low-moisture mozzarella at different times, which our kids love, and can be less expensive than burrata.
• Adding Meat: Feel free to add chicken sausage or a loose Italian sausage, which we do from time to time, which also goes well in a Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta Dish.

🛒 Ingredients

Below are the ingredients needed to make this Italian Farro dish.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Using extra virgin olive oil adds flavor, and doesn't have to be too expensive if purchased at Costco, or a place like Trader Joe's.
• Shallot & Garlic: Adds flavor to the tomato sauce. Mince these so that they disappear into the sauce.
• Baby Broccoli: Adds a green veggie to the dish. Baby broccoli is hearty enough to hold up to the tomato sauce.
• San Marzano Tomatoes: I love, love San Marzano tomatoes. They gain their incredible unique flavor because they are grown in the volcanic ash of Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. Look for ones imported from Italy. While I don't recommend substituting, you can use a can of crushed tomatoes if you cannot find imported San Marzano Tomatoes (many stores carry them). We use these tomatoes all the time in a variety of dishes like Grandma Pie Pizza and Italian Egg Casserole.
• Fresh Basil: Adds flavor and a little freshness. You can add ½ teaspoon of dried basil if you cannot find fresh basil (or if the fresh basil is expensive).
• Salt: Balances and brings out flavor.
• Farro: Look for a small bag of quick-cook farro. Adds a nutty, toasty flavor.
• Cannellini Beans: Rinsed and drained, adds texture and makes the dish even more filling. These beans are also great in soup, like Fagioli Soup.
• Parmesan: Freshly grated, I recommend you grate the parmesan yourself. I love the parmesan at Trader Joe's because the flavor is not too strong and it's not too expensive.
• Burrata: Melts into the sauce and is so so good.

📝 How to Make this Italian Farro Dish

Below are the step-by-step instructions and photos for how to make this Italian Farro Dish.

Prep: Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Step 1. Saute the Shallot: Bring a large saute pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil and allow to warm through. Add the shallot and saute, stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.

Step 2. Cook the Broccoli: Add the broccoli and additional olive oil as needed (so that the pan is not dry) and cook, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Step 3. Cook the Farro: Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and cook the farro according to the package directions, roughly 10-12 minutes. When straining the farro, reserve 1 cup of the farro cooking liquid (to add to the sauce later).

Step 4. Make the Sauce: Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes to a blender and puree until smooth, about 10 seconds. Add the tomato sauce to the pan with the baby broccoli along with the basil, and salt. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Step 5. Add the Farro and Beans: Add the farro, reserved cooking liquid, and the cannellini beans. Stir to combine and let warm through.

Step 6. Add the Cheese and Bake: Break the burrata into pieces and arrange on the top of the dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375° F for 8-10 minutes.

🍴 What To Serve With This Dish

• You can serve this Italian Farro with an easy side salad tossed with an Italian vinaigrette.
• Serve it with warm crusty bread to sop up any extra sauce.
• For a simple Italian dessert to pair with this dish, try this Italian Olive Oil Cake.

How to Store and Reheat

To Store: Store any leftovers in a sealed container (preferably microwave-safe) in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To Reheat: Because this contains burrata, it's best to reheat this slowly. Microwave any leftovers at 40% power starting for 1 minute, adding 30 seconds as needed.

Italian Farro FAQs

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If you tried this  Italian Farro Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. I'd love to hear your feedback