Learn how to cook farro on the stovetop. It’s such a delicious, versatile, and hearty grain. I know you’re going to love it!
A little while ago, Bob’s Red Mill sent me a big box full of different kinds of grains. There was tri-color quinoa, millet, bulgur, spelt, teff, wheat berries, and farro. I couldn’t decide where to start, which grain to cook with first. But then I remembered having a delicious side dish made with farro at an Italian restaurant and I knew that farro was the one.
Here’s a Video Showing How To Cook Farro Using Three Different Methods:
What is Farro?
Farro is an ancient grain that’s been around forever. Longer than any other grain, in fact. It’s believed that it is the grain from which all others derive (see thekitchn.com for more info). Farro is high in protein, fiber, and B Complex vitamins and it’s pretty low in gluten.
When cooked, farro looks a bit like barley but it has a chewier texture. That chewy texture remains even after long-cooking so it’s great in soups and stews where it never gets soggy. That chewy texture also makes for tasty salads. You can pretty much take any pasta salad recipe and turn it into a farro salad recipe successfully.
The first time I made farro at home, I cooked it according to the package directions and then mixed in some shredded cheddar cheese just until it melted in. Since then I’ve been making a bunch of things with farro! There are these amazing meatballs with farro and rosemary in them and this easy creamy side dish with spinach and cream cheese.
Do You Need To Soak Farro Before Cooking?
You can speed up the cooking time for farro by soaking it in cool water. But honestly, since it only takes about 30 minutes to cook farro without soaking it I don’t usually bother with this step, but it’s up to you.
To soak farro measure it into a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add enough cold water to completely submerge the grain. Put the lid on the pot and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
How To Cook Farro
In terms of portion sizes, farro doesn’t expand as much as rice or barley. So I tend to make a bit more than I would other grains. Where I would have started with 1 cup of uncooked rice or barley, I’ll use 1 and 1/2 cups of uncooked farro.
You can cook farro on the stove, in the oven, in the slow cooker, or in a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot. I’m giving instructions for the stove today. Head here for farro in the oven, and here for farro in the slow cooker. Farro in the Instant Pot is great too!
Note: There are different kinds of farro out there (whole grain, pearled, semi-pearled, and different varieties too) and it’s not always easy to tell which kind you have. This means that cooking times aren’t exact. I’m giving the cooking times that were needed for the Bob’s Red Mill Farro. Other farros may take a little less or a little longer to cook. Generally, for stove top you’re looking at between 20-40 minutes simmering time, for oven-cooked farro 30-45 minutes, and for slow cooker 2-3.5 hours.
Don’t worry too much about this large range though. Farro doesn’t get mushy when overcooked so if you plan for the longer amount of time and yours is ready sooner, it won’t hurt to keep cooking it for awhile. And if it’s ready earlier than you thought and you don’t need it yet, it reheats exceptionally well in the microwave.
How To Reheat Farro:
Just add a bit of water (1 tablespoon per 2 cups of cooked farro) and loosely cover it. Microwave it for 45 seconds at a time, stirring in between heats, until heated through.
Print
How to Cook Farro on the Stove
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
Learn how to cook farro on the stovetop. It’s such a delicious, versatile, and hearty grain. I know you’re going to love it!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups farro
- 4 cups water, stock or a mixture of both
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. butter or olive oil (optional)
Instructions
- Measure 1 and 1/2 cups farro into a fine mesh sieve and rinse with cold water. Drain.
- Transfer to a medium sized pot that has a lid. Add 4 cups water or stock or a combination of both and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, until it is softened but still chewy. If there is liquid remaining in the pot, drain it off or save it to add to a soup, stew or sauce.
- Use a fork to gently fluff in the butter or olive oil, if using.
This post originally appeared in January of 2014 and was completely revised in May of 2016 and then again in January, 2020.
Sarah L says
Thanks for the info on farro. I’ve never even noticed it in the store. I’d use it first in soups.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Sarah!
Pat says
Is Bob’s Red Mill pearl or non-pearl Farro? Will be cooking some for Charlie Bird’s Farro salad this Thanksgiving…cannot tell from packaging what type it is. Thanks much.
Christine Pittman says
Bob’s Red Mill is pearled farro, Pat. I think they should make that clearer on the packaging too! Happy Thanksgiving!
Madeleine Yeh says
Thank you. I was reading a pumpkin farro risotto and planning to make it. I needed a more in depth explanation of how to cook farro in general . I wanted reassurance that farro could be cooked without presoaking, and alternate ideas in case I wanted to use the slow cooker. This was just what I needed and it helped me cook my farro succesfully. I am trying to get out of my cooking rut and you have helped me do so.
This article was very clear and informative.
Christine Pittman says
You’re welcome, Madeleine! Always nice to get out of a rut and try something new.
Sarah Blackburn says
Farro stuffed peppers are the best!
Rut says
Haven’t attempted cooking farro yet, but just about ready too. The type I have is pearled farro. Do I need to soak it overnight or just soak it ? I can’t figure that out from reading all the comments.
Thanks for your help,
Ruth
Christine Pittman says
No soaking required. I think the instructions in the post are clear about this. Have a look.
Kat says
I’ve had farro as a breakfast cereal at a restaurant in NYC…so delicious, so nutty, so toothy. It’s delicious with all the things you’d have with porridge, so cream, honey or maple syrup, fruits, whatever. So it’s not just suited to savoury things!
I cooked it for the first time tonight in my panasonic fuzzy logic (expensive and programmable) rice cooker. It has programmes for each type of rice, like jasmine, brown, sticky, etc., along with settings for mixed grains, steam, porridge, etc. It makes bang-on perfect rice every single time. So this time, I used the “mixed grains setting”. I used the amount of water they recommended. Not quite cooked enough. So I put it back in and probably cooked it for another 20 minutes, in five and ten minute increments, having added a bit more water each time. So no way it would cook on a white rice setting…FYI… Anyway, it’s finally done and delicious. Next time I’ll experiment some more. I think the way to go it just put it on a timer, likely 45 minutes on the “quick cook” setting. It will be worth the trouble to figure this out. It was Bob’s Red Mill farro. DELICIOUS!
Nanci says
Ididn’the read all the comments, but I Cook my Farro, if us in as a grain alone in my rice cooker. I also cook other grains such as barley, quinoa, wheat berries etc. Works like a dream!
Christine Pittman says
Nanci, I’ve never tried this. Great idea!
Henry says
Can you replace rice and use Fargo in places on a gumbo
Christine Pittman says
Yes, you can use cooked farro anywhere that you have cooked rice. However, rice and farro cook at different rates and with different amounts of liquid so you cannot just add raw farro where you would have added raw rice without making adjustments.
Cathe says
Thanks for the great tips on how to cook farro. I just found a recipe for roasted asparagus and scallion salad that is tossed with cooked farro that is tossed with a dressing – all of it is served on top of arugula. It looks beautiful and now I know it will be perfect! Thanks!!
Michelle Boor says
Hi Christine, I have a quick question that I hope you can answer. I’m going to cook farro for the first time and I was wondering if I can put it in my rice cooker. I am terrible at making rice and have only been able to successfully cook it if I use my rice cooker, so I was wondering if I can take the same shortcut and play it safe with my farro.
Thank you for your time
Christine Pittman says
Michelle, I have never tried it but I’m betting it would work perfectly. The only issue is the amount of time and the amount of water. I’d say put it in for as long as you would normally put white rice using the same amount of water. Then check it regularly and see if it is softened and if the water is absorbed. You can always add more water and more time. Make note of the amount of time and water needed and then you’ll know for next time. And I’d love it if you’d come back here and let us all know as well!
Mommer says
HI! Just found this page after buying some farro yesterday. My farro is imported from Italy, and all the instructions are in Italian! What’s more, it doesn’t look like your’s in the picture. I bought it at an Italian market attached to my favorite restaurant, and I even asked the sales person if this was “normal, regular farro” ! After doing some interweb research – aha! I have WHOLE farro, and the stuff you have, and have apparently been using is PEARLED farro. And it seems that it’s not always clearly stated on the packages, even if it is in English! The difference is the whole farro still has the bran / husk on it, and takes longer to cook, hence the SOAKING step is needed. Pearled farro has the bran knocked off and cooks in 20 min. Think about typical rice versus wild rice – how wild rice takes forever to cook, and may need to be drained when its done. It appears it’s like that – I will find out today when I make it, and plan on plenty of time before dinner so it’s done! : )
Christine Pittman says
Wow! Thanks for the extra info!
Susan Broughton says
Thanks so much for doing a posting about Farro. I have never tried it but have been curious about it for some time. I am a diabetic and am always looking for low gluten or gluten free recipes that I can substitute for something that I am not suppose to have. Thanks again for the information on Farro!
Anne says
I haven’t tried farro yet, but after reading your post, I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting some soon. I love salads that use grains as a base and incorporate chopped veggies, so that’s probably what I’d make with farro first.
Christine L. says
The first time I tried farro was as part of a dish served at the retirement luncheon for a former colleague. It was served risotto style as an accompaniment to chicken cordon bleu and fresh steamed vegetables. Thank you for the recipes! I’ll try using farro at home now ….
Candice says
I have never cooked farro myself but looking forward to trying it. I would like to attempt a farro risotto like dish.
Mireille says
I love farro and the product line also!
DONNA KIEVER says
Never tried it but i would love to . I would love to try a hot savory dish!
amanda says
I love Bob’s Red Mill! Just made some bread with their Dark Rye Flour yesterday! Would love to try Farrow as I am always looking for rice and starch replacements!
Erin says
I have never tried farro, but I’d love to try it warm, maybe with some roasted veggies…yum!
Rebecca says
I have never tried farro, but would love to try cooking it up in chicken broth with some herbs and spices as a side to grilled chicken breasts.
Christine Pittman says
Rebecca, I think that would be delicious. I love when grains soak up flavors during the cooking process. It adds so much to the dish.