Inspired by a classic warm spinach salad with hot bacon dressing, my warm farro salad might just be the best of all farro salad recipes. I roast sweet potatoes and kale until caramelized and toss them with nutty farro simmered in apple cider. Then I use pancetta to make an Italian version of the bacon dressing for even more savoriness. Chewy dates add a touch more sweetness and texture.

Actually, farro salads in general are my favorite. Like this farro and burrata version or maybe my chopped Mediterranean farro that doubles as a side dish.

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The perfect fall salad recipe

A warm farro salad featuring a bowl of grains surrounded by sautéed kale, roasted sweet potato cubes, sliced mushrooms, chopped dates, and a side of warm pancetta dressing.
Roasted kale, sweet potato and mushrooms are tossed with farro and dates for a warm fall salad.

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For this Italian farro salad, I borrowed a technique from New York City’s famed Italian restaurant, Charlie Bird (on my restaurant bucket list!) where they simmering the farro in cider. It creates a sweet, somewhat sticky but still chewy farro that pairs gorgeously with the bitterness of the roasted kale.

Recipe starting points

ingredients for a warm farro salad with kale, sweet potato, mushrooms, chopped dates and farro on a wooden cutting board.
Lacinato kale adds a rusticness
  • I use cold pressed apple cider found in the produce section of the grocery store. Don’t use regular apple juice. It’s too thin and watered down.
  • My go-to for most of my farro salad recipes is Trader Joe’s quick farro because it cooks up in about 10 minutes.
  • Look for Tuscan kale or lacinato kale. It’s more tender with a rich green color and great texture compared to curly kale. I also find I don’t have to massage it as much.

How to Massage Kale

Remove the kale leaves from the stem by gently tearing or running the tip of a knife down the stem. Place the kale leaves in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil and gently rub the oil into the leaves for about 3 minutes or so.

How to make warm farro salad

small saucepan of farro cooking in cider.
Start by simmering the cider and adding the farro. The ratio is 2:1 cider to farro. Set aside once cooked with that chewy texture farro is known for.
baking sheet with raw chopped mushrooms, sweet potatoes and small pieces of oiled kale.
Lay the chopped veggies and trimmed kale leaves on separate baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil and roast until golden. Check the mushrooms and kale at the 15 minute mark.
a stainless skillet of sauteed pancetta.
Cook the pancetta until crispy. Move the skillet off the heat to avoid a mess and slowly pour in the vinegar to the skillet to deglaze the pan. Stir in the honey with a whisk until the dressing thickens a bit (it’s runnier in consistency).
chopped dates, cooked farro, kale, mushrooms, sweet potatoes in white serving dish.
Add the farro to a large bowl and top with the roasted veggies. Drizzle the dressing over and toss.

Final notes

Add the vinegar to the pancetta skillet off the heat so it doesn’t boil over and burn you or make a mess on the stove.

Roasting the kale on its own sheet pan and placing on a rack below the mushrooms/sweet potatoes will help it from getting too dark too quickly.

Toss the dressing on the farro while the dressing is still warm.

photo of lori in a kitchen chopping

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white serving dish of cooked farro with chopped dates, pancetta dressing and kale
5 from 3 votes

Warm Farro Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Pancetta Dressing

Discover farro as a cornerstone ingredient in Italian cooking by preparing this warm farro salad tossed with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, sweet chopped dates and a tangy pancetta salad dressing. It's a hearty main course salad recipe that the whole family will love come fall.

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Print RATE PIN
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
Total Time:45 minutes
Servings 8

Ingredients
 

For the dressing

For the salad:

  • 1 cup farro
  • 1 cup apple cider
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
  • 8 oz baby bella mushrooms
  • 5 large lacinato kale leaves
  • 1 cup chopped dried dates

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400˚
  • Bring apple cider, water and bay leaves to a boil and add farro. Cook for 10 minutes (if using Trader Joe's quick cooking farro) until soft but chewy. Drain as needed and remove bay leaves and discard. If using a different farro, cook for 25 minutes.
    1 cup farro, 1 cup apple cider, 1 cup water, 2 bay leaves
  • Peel and cube sweet potato.
    1 sweet potato
  • Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel and cut into quarters.
    8 oz baby bella mushrooms
  • Wash kale leaves and remove leaves from stem by tearing or with a knife. Place in a large bowl and massage with olive oil and a sprinkling of kosher salt for about 3 minutes or so.
    5 large lacinato kale leaves
  • Toss the sweet potatoes and mushrooms with a little olive oil and sprinkling of salt and divide on to a sheet pan. Add the massaged and oiled kale to its own sheet pan. Roast the veggies until they're crispy and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Toss as needed for even caramelization. Check the mushrooms and kale at about the 15 minutes mark, removing sooner if needed.
    NOTE: If the kale starts to darken too quickly, pull it out sooner. You are looking for a bit of caramelization and crunch.
  • To make warm dressing, cook pancetta in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, about 5 minutes.
    Turn the heat off to keep the vinegar from boiling over. Slowly deglaze the pan with the apple cider vinegar, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the honey and stir until incorporated.
    4 oz. cubed pancetta, 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 T honey
  • Add farro to a wide rimmed, large bowl and top with roasted vegetables and chopped dates. Drizzle dressing over and toss again until evenly coated.
    1 cup chopped dried dates
Course: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Lori Murphy
Like this? Leave a commentI love hearing from you and I want to hear how it went with this recipe! Leave a comment and rating below, then share on social media @josieandnina and #josieandnina!
woman in a red shirt cutting pizza smiling.

About Lori Murphy

Lori has over 30 years in the food industry as a marketing strategist, culinary instructor and chef for three kids with discerning palates. As the chief content creator at Josie + Nina, Lori is dedicated to helping home cooks create food memories through fresh ingredients and Italian flavors.

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5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)

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