How to Cook Farro in the Slow Cooker

Learn the simple hands-free method for cooking farro in the slow cooker.

Video: How To Cook Farro Using Three Different Methods:

What Is Farro?

Farro is an ancient grain that has been around longer than any other grain, in fact. It might even be the grain from which all others derive (see thekitchn.com for more info).

In terms of nutrition, farro is high in protein, fiber, and B Complex vitamins and it’s relatively low in gluten.

When cooked, farro looks a bit like barley but is chewier, in a good way. That chewy texture remains even after long-cooking so it’s great in soups and stews where it never seems to soak up too much liquid and disintegrate, the way rice or barley sometimes do.

What To Make With Farro:

I really love farro in soup. Here’s a recipe for Beef and Farro Soup that I particularly love. It’s also great as a side dish on its own seasoned with garlic powder and drizzled with olive oil. Or, make it even better by stirring in some cheese. I like shredded cheddar stirred in, but you can also do cream cheese like this.

Really, anything you can do with rice, you can do with farro. Have a look at this Special Fried Farro over here, for example!

Do You Need To Soak Farro Before Cooking?

You can speed up the cooking time for farro by soaking it in cool water, but this is not necessary when doing cooking it in the slow cooker.

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 slow cooker today.

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 the slow cooker you’re looking at 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.

And now, here are the instructions for cooking farro in the slow cooker.

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