I love playing with my food.
Which means that I LOVE grain bowls.
My favorite way to eat is having the ability to create my own meal from a bunch of different options right in front of me (pancake bar, mimosa bar, chili bar… you name it, I love it!). Grain bowls lend themselves beautifully to this concept because you just need to cook up a grain and serve it alongside bowls of fun things.
Like colorful roasted vegetables.
These Roasted Vegetable + Farro Grain Bowls are the perfect vegan dinner that allows your crew to have a bit of fun.
All you need to do is cook up some farro (which packs 7gm of protein per ¼ cup), roast up a bunch of vegetables, and dinner is done.
If that is not a weeknight dinner win, I don’t know what else is…
These grain bowls start with the roasted veggies.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray two baking sheet with cooking spray. Dump a mixture of different vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces onto the trays and drizzle them with olive oil and liberally sprinkle over salt, pepper, and herbs.
There are no hard and fast rules to choosing what vegetables go into these grain bowls – they just need to be hearty enough to withstand roasting. We used carrots, red onion, sweet bell pepper, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, and purple turnips. But eggplant, zucchini, broccoli, or cabbage would be beautiful here too. Same goes for the herbs. We used fresh rosemary and thyme, but dried basil and oregano would be delicious as well.
Roast the veggies for 25-30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so, until tender and starting to become brown and caramelized.
While the vegetables are roasting, cook the SEMI-PEARLED farro according to the package directions. Guys, make sure you buy the semi-pearled farro. This means that part of the outer layer of the farro is removed (but not completely). This cooks up beautifully and al dente… which is what you want. Please make sure that you don’t buy pearled farro (too mushy) or unpearled farro (takes forever to cook)… trust me!
When the farro is cooked and the vegetables are roasted, you can set everything out and have everyone make their own. DIY dinner for the win.
I love that you can see all the different colors and textures!
But if you don’t want to wait (or want to make the bowl in advance)….
… you can dump everything into a large bowl and toss!
While this is absolutely delicious as is, you can definitely add some toppings to take these grain bowls over the edge. I love a drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction or tahini at dinner and a runny poached egg at breakfast. But you can definitely top these Roasted Vegetable + Farro Grain Bowls with whatever you have on hand!
Definitely a new dinner favorite in my house (and a great way to get veggies into your family!).
So, how do you customize your grain bowls?
oxox,
Catherine
- 8oz semi-pearled farro, cooked according to package directions
- 4lb hearty vegetables, cut into bite-sized pieces (i.e., carrots, turnip, brussel sprouts, etc.)
- 1 large red onion, cut into large chunks
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 springs fresh thyme
- Cooking spray
- Extras for garnish - extra olive oil, tahini, balsamic glaze, poached egg, etc.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray. Evenly distribute the vegetables on both trays, making sure that they are in an even layer. Crowded veggies means that they won't brown!
- Roasted the vegetables for 25-30 minutes, tossing occasionally until tender and browned. If the vegetables seem hard at 30 minutes, continue to cook for additional 5 minute increments until done!
- Add the cooked farro to a large bowl. Add in the roasted vegetables (including the oil from the pan) to the bowl and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately by itself or top with your favorite extras (this salad + an egg = breakfast of champions!). Enjoy!
[…] because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean that it has to be boring! This colorful Roasted Vegetable + Farro Grain Bowls are nutritious and totally […]