Bringing you an antipasto farro salad that’s full of bold Italian flavor! It’s loaded with nutty farro, peppery arugula, and classic antipasto ingredients. Tossed in a sweet and tangy sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. It’s the perfect, nourishing salad to throw together for an everyday gathering as a light lunch or appetizer!
This recipe is made in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill.
antipasto farro salad – the details
Antipasto is an Italian appetizer consisting of a variety of tasty ingredients typically arranged on a big platter. I used those ingredients as inspiration, combining the best flavors and textures into one delicious salad.
The base of the salad is farro, an ancient grain that has a wonderfully chewy texture with a rich, nutty flavor. For the best quality, I love using Bob’s Red Mill Organic Farro. It’s an absolute staple in my kitchen (see this warm farro salad from last year) and adds a nourishing element to any dish.
You’ll start by making the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. This bold dressing uses the olive oil that the sun-dried tomatoes are marinated in for lots of sweet, tangy flavor running throughout. It has lemon, garlic, red pepper flakes, fresh parsley & oregano, and all of those plump and juicy sun-dried tomatoes. It’s really the star of this antipasto salad!
Next, you’ll cook the farro (which is a simple stove-top process). When it’s done, I recommend spreading it out onto a large plate or parchment-lined baking sheet so that it can cool down quickly and avoid becoming too mushy.
The farro gets tossed with the vinaigrette, fresh arugula, olive oil toasted walnuts, quickly sautéed fennel, and those classic antipasto ingredients – fresh mozzarella cheese (you can use the smallest balls, known as “ciliegine”, or cut a larger ball into pieces), castelvetrano olives, quartered artichokes, sopressata, and sliced pepperoncini (you could also use banana peppers).
The result is an extremely flavorful salad that’s full of texture and really fun to make when you’re cooking for family or friends!
PrintAntipasto Farro Salad with Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
a hearty farro salad full of classic antipasto ingredients – fresh mozzarella, olives, artichokes, sopressata, pepperoncini – and tossed in a sun-dried tomato vinaigrette
servings: 8
Ingredients
Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 (8.5 oz) jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
- kosher salt
Antipasto Farro Salad
- 1 ½ cups farro, rinsed
- olive oil
- ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts
- 1 fennel bulb, cored + diced
- 4 cups arugula
- 8 oz “ciliegine” fresh mozzarella, drained
- ¾ cup halved castelvetrano olives
- ¾ cup quartered artichokes
- ½ cup diced sopressata
- ½ cup sliced pepperoncini or banana peppers
Instructions
- For the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette: combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. Drizzle in the olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar plus the ¼ cup of olive oil, whisking continuously. Dice the sun-dried tomatoes. Stir them in, along with the parsley and oregano. Season with salt to taste.
- For the salad: bring a 4-5qt pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farro. Bring the water back to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and gently boil the farro for 25 minutes. Drain the farro and spread it onto a parchment-lined sheet pan (or other large surface) to cool.
- Meanwhile, heat a 12” skillet over medium heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Once hot, add the walnuts. Toast for a minute or so until golden and fragrant. Season with a pinch of salt. Transfer the walnuts to a plate.
- Wipe out the skillet and return it to medium heat. Add another layer of olive oil. Add the diced fennel. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat to low and finish cooking for another 3 minutes or so until tender. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Combine the farro, walnuts, fennel, arugula, fresh mozzarella, olives, artichokes, sopressata, pepperoncini, and half of the vinaigrette in a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine. Arrange the salad in a large serving dish and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over top. Garnish with any extra fresh herbs or fennel fronds.
Looks delicious! How much of this can be made ahead of time?
Thanks, Tricia! You can prep pretty much everything ahead of time – make the dressing, cook the farro, prepare the rest of the ingredients – and then just mix everything right before you serve it.
I just wanted to tell you how fantastic this salad was! I brought it over to my parents for Easter and it was a HIT! Everyone was raving about it! Thanks for an awesome recipe! I wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Hi Candace! I am SO glad to hear this recipe was a hit. It’s definitely one of my favorites for entertaining. Thank you for the comment! -Kayla
This salad was a huge hit with my family and friends. Followed it to a “T” and it turned out perfectly. I have made it several times and always am asked for the recipe. Thank you!!
Hi Tammy! I’m so glad to hear this recipe has been such a hit! Thank you for sharing! -Kayla
Finishing my bowl now and wanted to tell you how much we loved it! I took a chance on this recipe for the beautiful pictures alone, since there were no reviews, and let me be the first to give it 5 stars! Everything came together magically and even though I was nervous the sun dried tomatoes would be overpowering, they meshed perfectly. I also LOVED the walnut addition! I don’t usually love walnuts, I usually find them to be dry, but they worked well here. Thanks for the recipe, easy breezy and delicious! I will be making again.
Hi Maura! Thank you so much for such wonderful feedback. I’m really glad you gave this recipe a try and enjoyed it! I agree with you that sun-dried tomatoes can sometimes be overpowering in dishes, so I’m happy you felt they were nice and balanced here.
This salad was delicious, packed with great flavors and textures. Loved it and will definitely make again! Thanks for a recipe filled with so many of my favorite ingredients!
Thank you for this recipe. The salad was yummy.
This was excellent
Tons of flavor, I used barley instead of farro because that’s what I had
I will be making this again
Farro is such a fantastic base for the antipasto ingredients in this salad. I made a huge batch of this for a party and everyone wanted the recipe. The sun dried tomato dressing and lemon juice gives it such a bright flavor. Don’t skip any of the ingredients-they all combine to make a really unique salad. I have literally been eating leftovers for days!