Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
This kale and farro salad recipe is delicious and nutritious! Toasted almonds, crumbled goat cheese, dried cherries and tangy vinaigrette make it amazing.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Another kale salad? Yep. I can’t stop eating this one. It’s full of tender massaged kale, chewy cooked whole grains, tangy crumbled goat cheese, toasted almonds and dried cherries. The vinaigrette is intentionally zippy, and it brings it all together.
This salad is a dead ringer for one of my favorite Kansas City salads, the winter farro salad at French Market. It’s a cozy place with grab-and-go salads, amazing pastries and crêpes. The woman behind the counter typically has a lovely French accent. We often stop there on our way out of town for healthy road snacks.
I’ve become quite enamored with their farro salad. Since it’s labeled “winter,” I thought I’d better come up with a homemade version before it’s too late. Here it is!
This salad would be a wonderful hearty vegetarian option on your Easter table. It also packs great for work lunches and spring picnics. Beware, it’s hard to stop eating it once you start.
Watch How to Make Farro & Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
Salad Notes & Tips
- Farro cook times can vary, depending on whether you buy pearled, semi-pearled or whole farro. Sometimes it’s hard to know which one you have, so check the cook time on the label or just test the farro frequently for doneness after about 15 minutes has passed.
- While the farro cooks, you can work on the remaining components (whisk together the dressing, toast the almonds, chop the dried cherries, and massage the kale).
- Yes, I just said “massage the kale.” Sprinkling the chopped kale with a few dashes of salt and repeatedly scrunching it in your hands until darker greens helps do two things. One, it makes the kale taste less bitter and “raw.” Two, it makes the kale more soft and easier to eat, which makes a big difference!
- Keep a watchful eye on the almonds as they toast in the skillet, and stir often. They can go from golden brown to burnt quickly. Freshly toasted nuts add tons of savory flavor and extra-crisp texture—don’t skip this step!
- Once you’ve drained the cooked farro, stir the vinaigrette and dried cherries into the warm farro. The farro will absorb some of that delicious vinaigrette flavor, and the warmth will temper the garlic. The moisture and warmth will also help plump up the cherries a bit.
- Lastly, wait until the farro is almost completely cool to stir it into the kale and add goat cheese. Otherwise, the goat cheese will melt, and your salad won’t be quite as pretty. You can serve the salad immediately, or let it marinate in the fridge for a few hours.
Please let me know how this salad turns out for you in the comments! I really love hearing from you.
Looking for more kale salads? You’ll find more kale salad recipes here.
Farro and Kale Salad with Goat Cheese
You’re going to love this delicious and nutritious kale and farro salad recipe! It’s full of hearty greens and chewy whole grains, plus flavorful toasted almonds, crumbled goat cheese, dried cherries and tangy vinaigrette. Recipe yields 4 large salads or up to 8 side salads.
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 big bunch curly green kale, ribs removed and chopped into small, bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup raw sliced almonds
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped dried cherries or cranberries
- 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- To cook the farro, in a medium saucepan, combine the rinsed farro with at least three cups water (enough water to cover the farro by a couple of inches). Add the salt, bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the farro is tender to the bite but still pleasantly chewy. (Pearled farro will take around 15 minutes; unprocessed farro will take 25 to 40 minutes.) Drain off the excess water and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place the chopped kale in a large serving bowl. Sprinkle it with a few dashes of salt and massage it with your hands by scrunching up large handfuls at a time until it’s darker and more fragrant (this makes the kale taste less bitter and makes it easier to eat). Set aside.
- To toast the almonds, pour them into a small skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently (careful, they can burn), until the almonds are fragrant and starting to turn golden on the edges, about 4 to 5 minutes. Pour the almonds into the bowl of massaged kale.
- To prepare the vinaigrette, simply whisk the ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl. Set aside.
- Once the farro has been cooked and drained, stir in the chopped dried cherries (so they have a chance to plump up a bit) and vinaigrette (the heat will temper the garlic a bit).
- Once the farro has cooled down to room temperature or close to it, stir it into the kale mixture. Gently crumble most of the goat cheese into the salad and lightly stir. Taste, and if the salad doesn’t taste amazing yet, stir in more vinegar by the teaspoon until it does.
- Crumble the remaining goat cheese on top of the salad. Serve promptly, or refrigerate for later. This salad keeps well for four to five days in the refrigerator, covered.
Notes
Recipe inspired by the winter farro salad at French Market in Prairie Village, Kansas.
Make it gluten free: Substitute wild rice (cooked according to package directions) for the farro. Long-grain brown rice would be ok, too.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Omit the goat cheese. If you really want a creamy element, you could drizzle a little bit of my vegan sour cream over individual servings.
Make it nut free: Replace the almonds with pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) or sunflower seeds.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I find that I like the idea of kale more than I like kale itself, but this salad changes everything. The balance of the farro and goat with the kale makes the difference. Since it is so hearty, it’s a perfect partner when I’m serving soup for dinner.
Made this last night to take with me on a plane trip today. I followed the recipe with no changes. Packed up nicely and tastes great! Another, healthy delicious recipe!
Thank you for your review, Claire!
I made this for lunch this week and loved it! It kept well all week. And I’m telling all my friends and coworkers that they’re supposed to be massaging their kale. Consider me a changed woman :)
I love this recipe! My new favorite salad. Easy to make and filling. Thank you.
You’re welcome, Jodi!
This recipe is surprisingly more delicious than you would expect. I’m not a fan of kale but I eat it anyway for it’s health benefits. This is the first time I have enjoyed eating kale! Even better is how easy it was to make. I will definitely be making this salad again. Also, massaging the kale was really useful and I will continue to do this in other recipes. Thanks Kate. :)
I’m glad this helped you to enjoy it more, Belinda! I appreciate your review.
I was thinking about adding some cooked chicken breasts to bulk this up for my teen son. Should I marinate chicken and grill them? If so, what kind of marinade to use so it wont compete with the salad flavor? Will I need more vinagarette?
Hi Danielle, sorry to not be of help here as I’m a vegetarian so don’t eat chicken. :)
Seriously this is amazing! I can’t stop making it – I’ve made it 3 times in the last 10 days to share. The first time I made it, I only had whole raw almonds so I chopped those up and used them; I liked it so much I kept doing it and can’t bring myself to use sliced just in case I don’t like it as much! Yum!
I am confused on the calorie count.. It says in the nutrition info:
Serving Size 1 large salad
Serves 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 565
Serving size is listed as 1 large salad then serves 4 …Are the 565 calories for 1/4 of the salad or the entire big bowl?
Sorry about that, Tracy—by one large salad, I mean one large single-serving salad. The full bowl of salad yields four of them.
hi Kate
I just discovered this site and I love love love the recipes I’ve tried to so far. My son has just decided to eat healthy and asked if I could make some vegetarian meals. He loves the spicy kale and coconut and tonight I am making this Farro and Kale Salad. I substitute quinoa for Farro (going to the store tomorrow to get some) and we love the dish! It’s rare that I have so many ingredients on hand :) Thank you!
Absolutely my favorite salad! Wonderful textures, colors, and flavors. Addictively delicious!
OMG, I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! I had never had farro before and now have a new favorite! Loved the tip about making the kale less bitter. The almonds and goat cheese were just the right touch. We didn’t have cherries, so I used raisins.
A neighbor grows kale in her front yard and let me pick a generous helping. I just gave the recipe to her too. GREAT WORK!
Wonderful, Debra! This is a great favorite to have. Thank you for your comment and review.
Delicious! Added more almonds and cherries then the recipe called for. Love the nutty flavor of farro. Will be making this one again. Thanks!
Definitely in heavy rotation at my house. A great salad to prep for lunches at work.
I make this salad every few days. As a self-proclaimed kale unenthusiast, I was skeptical about this salad but liked the sound of it and decided to give it a try about a month ago. Kale is now a staple on my grocery list and I think about this salad constantly when I’m hungry, bored, or just feeling kind of blah. I’ve tried a variety of substitutions and you basically can’t go wrong as long as you massage the kale well and use the vinaigrette. I cannot get enough of this.
Thank you for introducing me to farro, which I now love! As I couldn’t get fresh kale this week, I’m curious to know if anyone has tried using frozen chopped kale for this salad and roughly what quantity. Thanks!
I made this last week with the ginger soup. What a delicious meal.
This has to be one of my favorite salads ever. I don’t like goat cheese so I substituted some smoked provolone. DELICIOUS!!!
Smoked provolone sounds nice! Thank you for sharing, Jeannie.
I think this is my favorite salad recipe! It’s a regular in my lunch rotation. I LOVE it!
What is the difference between farro and winter wheat? Can the wheat be used instead of the farro?
They are different, but you can substitute them as needed.
This salad is labelled “Winter”….. oh no girl, a salad this good is labelled “all season and any day”! Thank you!
Okay, this recipe is amazing. We make it all the time, and it’s our go-to potluck recipe. Whenever we bring it, people ALWAYS ask us for the recipe–and this is in Nebraska, the middle of beef country. We’re making it again tonight, and I just signed on to double check the dressing measurements…figured I should finally leave a review. Thanks, Kate!
I’m glad you came back to review, Rachael! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been making this salad about once a week for the past month and a half. I can get kale and goat cheese at my farmer’s market, which I’m trying to support this year. I have started added slow cooker beets (skin on) that I also get at the market and it is awesome! (Side note, put your washed, whole beets in the slow cooker, pour in about 1/2 inch water, shake over some salt, cover and cook on high for 3-4 until beets are tender.) Farro is the best, but I’ve improvised with brown rice and barley too. Almonds are awesome, but I’ve improvised with walnuts too. And I’ve been using golden raisins because that’s what I have. Super versatile, super delicious!
this was one of my fave salads ever! we used red grapes instead of cherries or cranberries and an insanely delish herbed goat cheese which went SO well with the grapes! made baked polenta fries as a side to go with this salad and it was all amazing. thank you!
This salad is wonderful, tastes great and keeps well. It would be great to bring to share if we ever get to socialize again! I used a mixture of Lecanto Kale and regular kale because that is what I had on hand. Thank you for another great recipe!
I love it! Thank you for sharing, Julie.
100% WOW factor!!!! I used fig goat cheese and Maple candied walnuts! Love your kale salads! Easy for a girls lunch or even for a weeknight dinner with the man! Never thought he would enjoy kale, but he has been asking for more!!
That sounds amazing, Sarah! Thank you for sharing.
This is my favorite go-to filling salad. I’ve probably made it about 10 times now. My tip: if you have access to honey goat cheese, it makes the salad even better!
Delicious!!! I don’t dig mustard so went a little radical and subbed it with pesto and cholula and it was fantastic. Thanks for the recipe!!
This was amazing! Your site is my go-to for yummy recipes – they never disappoint. Thank you!
This is soooo yummy! I followed recipe exactly, except that I did add about a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and a teaspoon of olive oil to the kale before massaging it. I’ve eaten this 3x times… my hubby may not get any.
This is delicious! I made it with feta cheese (because we had it) and it was still fantastic.
This was amazing!! I knew it was going to be good when I smelled the vinaigrette but putting it all together was mind blowing!! I’m gonna make this all the time now!
Hooray! I’m glad you loved it. Thank you for your review, Jess.
I love this salad! Hubby does, too! He especially loves massaging the kale! I make it so often I usually make a big batch of farro and freeze it in salad sized portions to make prep quicker. Have served it to many people and it always gets rave reviews. I have handed out the recipe so often that I keep it on my phone now to give out. Your recipes are the bomb!
Your salad recipes are life changing!! followed recipe exactly (toasting the almonds + massaging the kale are essentials here) and it turned out amazing. also love the fattoush salad with mint dressing + the wild rice argula salad with lemon dressing
Hi Kate,
This salad was SOOO DELICIOUS!!! My husband ( who despises salads) loved this and wants me to make it again!!!
I substituted dried cranberries with chopped mejdool dates, it was still quite delicious.
Thanks & keep it up!
Love this recipe. Great mix of flavors and textures. I subbed beets for the cherries (because I don’t like dried cherries), and used toasted pumpkin seeds Instead of almonds because that’s what I had.
This salad was delicious! Definitely going to be in the regular rotation. We’ve never tried farro before and we loved the texture! Thanks Kate!
Where have you found to be good sources of kale this winter in KC? Which grocery store?
Hi! Whole foods has a great selection.
This has become a staple in our family. What a slam dunk combination of flavors and textures in that tangy-swangy vinaigrette! Yu-uh-um
That’s wonderful! Thank you, Craig.
I love this salad- the combination of grains and greens is lovely and the farro is the perfect combination for the hearty kale. I used two medium sized garlic cloves and while I love garlic, it seems a bit too much. I also used half the mustard and I am glad I didn’t use a full tablespoon – I think it would have overpowered the dressing. Overall a great find – and one of the things I love about kale salad is that it holds up well in the frig for several days so it just keeps giving! Thank you!
Thank you for reporting back, Cindy! I’m happy you loved it.
Wow love this salad! We enjoyed it so much that we added it to our regular rotation of veg recipes for meal planning! One question though – in the nutrition facts, is the 565 Cal for one serving (1/4 of the salad creation) or is it the whole thing?
Hi! That’s one serving. I’m happy you enjoyed it, Lisa!
Excellent combinations. My guests loved it. I doubled it and it was all eaten. I used an Ancient Grains mix instead of just farro. Worked out very well. Thank you.
Love this salad. I eat chicken and fish so served with Ina Garten’s tuscan chicken. So good!
So good. Thanks!
I made this to get out of a dinner rut – mission accomplished. I love the texture of farro and kale together and when you get a bite of toasted almond?? Sheer bliss! Thank you for another winning recipe!
This is one of my favorite recipes for wfh lunch prep. The combination of flavors is just perfect. I sometimes add some chopped roasted sweet potatoes or delicata squash as well. Yum!
I’m excited you enjoyed it, Daniela! I appreciate your review.
This looks amazing and I want to make it ASAP. However my husband really does not like goat cheese (things to find out before accepting a marriage proposal!). Do you think feta would work?
Hi! Feta would be a great alternative. I hope he likes it!
Forgive me if I’ve already reviewed this. I love this salad. Love it. The blend of ingredients is just perfect.I made a pan of cornbread with it and that was a satisfying dinner.
I have made this as written, but substitutes work beautifully – most greens, any nut or cheese. Last night was spinach,romaine, pecans, and feta.
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Cara! Thank you for your review.
I was hesitant on this one. I was thinking bitter greens and cardboard whole grains. But, I made it as written and it is fantastic! I’m already planning to make it a second time. May even be my new favorite salad. Thanks for helping me eat healthy.
That’s great! I’m glad you made it anyway, Sherry! I appreciate your review.
Love this salad! My daughter found the recipe and made it for me on mothers day, knowing I love farro. Needless to say I’ve made it many times since and can’t stop eating it!
I love this recipe, thank you! It’s soooo good :) I never have seem to have goats cheese around but always feta so I made that one substitution which worked fine for us.
Wow! This was so good! I had never had farrow before and the chew was so great. We’re growing a lot of kale in the garden this year so I had to try this.
I’m glad you liked it and were able to use kale from your garden! How fun.