Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with Feta and Avocado
This satisfying vegetarian salad recipe features warm whole grains, roasted cauliflower, fresh greens and bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs well for lunch!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 10, 2024
Trying to eat better this year? I know, it’s extra-hard when it’s freezing cold outside and delivery pizza is just one call away. This warm, fresh yet hearty salad is the perfect solution. It packs well for lunch, too.
I really love the combination of garlicky farro with roasted cauliflower and salty feta and olives. Farro is an ancient grain related to wheat that you should be able to find in the health section of grocery stores. It’s nutty in flavor, freezes and defrosts well, and offers some heft to salads.
Fresh greens, sliced avocado, and lemon round it out. This seasonless salad is bursting with bold Mediterranean flavors.
You might recognize this salad from the archives. We have a lot of new visitors this year (hello and welcome!), and I’m trying to make sure my favorite recipes have appealing photos.
I love revisiting existing recipes because they give me more creative energy to devote to new recipes. I’m working on a new batch this week and can’t wait to share the results with you.
This recipe was inspired by a roasted cauliflower and farro salad I found in La Jolla, California. Four summers ago, I happened to be in San Diego at the same time as my parents. My friend and I met up with them for lunch at George’s, an unassuming restaurant with a faded, burgundy awning over the entrance.
We walked inside to discover an incredible view—the restaurant is built into the side of a cove that overlooks the sparkling blue Pacific. It was surreal since I’m accustomed to greeting my parents at home in flat, landlocked Oklahoma. (I’m not knocking Oklahoma—I love it for reasons that don’t include seaside views.)
My friend and I were feeling a little rough after a late night out, but that cauliflower salad brought me back to life. When I recreated it at home, I added some sun-dried tomatoes and greens to my version and loved how it turned out.
Change It Up
I love this salad exactly as written, but it’s a flexible recipe. For extra protein, stir some cooked chickpeas or lentils into the farro, or top your salad with a fried egg.
You could also add a handful of chopped leafy fresh herbs, like parsley, basil or dill. Other options include chopped red onions or freshly toasted pine nuts or sunflower seeds.
You could roast broccoli instead of cauliflower. Skip the olives if you’re not into them. See the recipe notes for suggestions on how to make this salad gluten free, and/or vegan/dairy free.
Please let me know how you like this salad in the comments. Your feedback keeps me going.
Craving more hearty, bold salads like this one? Don’t miss my Greek kale salad, Jessica’s Marinated Chickpeas, Greek Lentil Salad and Arugula and Wild Rice Salad.
This salad is a meal in itself, but you could round it out with a warm cup of lentil soup, butternut squash soup or creamy cauliflower soup.
Roasted Cauliflower and Farro Salad with Feta and Avocado
This satisfying vegetarian salad recipe features warm whole grains, roasted cauliflower, fresh greens and bold Mediterranean flavors. It packs well for lunch, too! Recipe yields 4 hearty salads.
Ingredients
Roasted cauliflower
- 1 large head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into bite-sized florets
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (scale back or omit if sensitive to spice)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Garlicky farro
- 1 cup uncooked farro, rinsed
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Everything else
- ⅓ cup pitted Kalamata olives, rinsed, half sliced into small rounds and the rest halved lengthwise
- ¼ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and roughly chopped
- ½ cup crumbled feta (about 2 ounces)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about ½ lemon), plus more for serving
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 avocado, sliced into thin strips
- 4+ handfuls leafy greens (spring greens, spinach, arugula or baby kale are all good choices)
Instructions
- To roast the cauliflower: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the cauliflower florets with the olive oil, red pepper flakes and salt, and arrange it in an even layer across the pan. Roast for 25 to 35 minutes, tossing halfway, until the cauliflower is tender and deeply golden on the edges.
- 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). Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, and 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 mix in the olive oil, garlic and salt. Set aside.
- In a large serving bowl, toss together the roasted cauliflower, cooked farro, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, feta and lemon juice. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.
- Divide the avocado and greens between four dinner plates. Top with a generous amount of the cauliflower and farro salad. Finish the plates with an extra squeeze of lemon juice or drizzle of olive oil, if desired. Serve promptly.
Notes
Storage suggestions: Leftovers should keep well for several days. Store greens separately and slice the avocado just before serving.
Change it up: If you can’t find farro, spelt berries or wheat berries would be great substitutions. You might have to cook those grains longer.
Make it vegan: Skip the feta. You might want to add some extra olives to make up for it.
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 love your recipes and this one looks delicious! have a nice weeekend!
xo
Thank you, Vicky!
I need this salad in my life! I love all of these flavors. Oh man, I hope things go ok in bunnyville. Maybe Google knows something that you can spray on your garden that’s non-toxic and not bunny blood, eek. Also, I keep meaning to tell you that you saved me from dinner disaster recently. I made a tahini dressing recipe from somewhere else and it was a sour, bitter fail. Quickly I came to Cookie+Kate to find a tahini dressing replacement and you saved the day :) Thanks for being awesome.
Your comment made me smile, Nicole! Happy to save the day. I’m definitely hoping to find a less extreme solution to the potential garden issue. I just couldn’t bring myself to sprinkle bunny blood on anything! Yikes.
You have bunny problems – I have gopher problems. They are a menace and my dog digs a great big hole trying to get to them. It’s a constant battle (that they usually seem to win). Love the salad – all the pictures are gorgeous.
Oh, that’s terrible! At least the bunnies are cute. Thank you for the photography compliment!
Ok this looks yummy! And I actually have all this stuff in tonight … Except farro. What could I substitute with? Quinoa? Short grain brown rice?
Either of those would be great! I’d probably go for the rice but quinoa would be nice, too.
Officially my favourite recipe on your site! Took me back to my university post-bar days – we used to frequent this Lebanese restaurant and they made a tomato feta pita. This encompasses all that garlicky, lemony, feta taste explosion! LOVE!
Thank you, Natalie! Garlic-lemon-feta combinations are my favorite! I bet you’d also love my Lebanese bean salad with parsley.
Haha! I used to think bunnies were supper cute until I became a farmer. I’m a vegetarian but I’m not above taking care of the issue if they mess with my livelihood! Love this recipe too!! Perfect for spring.
I looooove the looks of this Kate!! It’s such a pretty recipe for Spring!
Oh man, your description of the bunny chase is priceless. My family’s terrier lived 13 long years and never snagged her arch nemesis–squirrels! (She did get plenty of geckos when we moved to Florida!)
This salad is probably not in my gluten and dairy free stars–but that roasted cauliflower certainly is!
Cookie dreams about squirrels, I swear. I think this salad would be really great with short-grain brown rice and no feta, if you’re so inclined!
I lived in a house with bunnies everywhere. I tried planting rosemary along the perimeter of the yard since I was told they didn’t like it, but it must not be accurate since their droppings were everywhere, yuk! I guess there were a lot more bunnies than coyotes.
Well, now I know not to try rosemary! Thanks!
I love roasted cauliflower, this might just be my dream salad!
This sounds lovely Kate! I’ve been all about the salads lately and am loving experimenting with new flavour combinations. Sign me up for avocado anything! :)
I love all the flavors in this salad. And the photos are gorgeous!
It looks wonderful. I am quite excited about the arrival of spring and eating more salads again. I enjoy lots of soup over the winter, but moving into salads is like changing over your wardrobe for lighter clothes. Everything seems new again.
I neeeed this salad in my life. This looks amazing, Kate! Can’t wait to have a bowl of it.
Greetings to Bunnyville (bunny blood, seriously?),
Sini
This looks awesome!!
Gorgeous salad, gorgeous photo. Coincidentally, I just made a farro salad for the first time the other day! Delicious… and warmed up leftovers made for great veggie tacos the next day! BTW, I live in North County, just up the highway from George’s– fabulous food indeed! We’ve had many lovely meals there. We are so blessed (and frankly spoiled) in this area with some truly excellent restaurants, and many with gorgeous views to boot. If you ever come this way again, I have several good suggestions for you!
Thank you, Marcia! I’ll let you know if I’ll be that way again soon.
I have been going through your blog and just wanted to say that I really like it :)
Thank you, Emmi! Glad you found my blog.
I’ve been leaving comments on your blog recently but I double-checked and apparently none of them went through! Which is sad only because you didn’t get filled in on how much one more reader enjoys reading your work :) Maybe you should play Best of Friends from Fox in the Hound rather than Circle of Life while Cookie is out bounding around–maybe Cookie will get the message you’re trying to send that way! Love this salad, by the way.
Ala, I found three comments total. I’m sorry if I’ve been missing out on others! Sometimes comments get caught up in my spam filter—I get hundreds and hundreds of spam comments, so I don’t usually find the real ones in the mix. :( Haha, love your Best of Friends suggestion.
beautiful photography!!
What a fabulously flavourpacked plate of food. Delicious!
Awww all the bunnies sound adorable, but also problematic. Maybe Cookie’s growls will eventually scare them away?
I love big grain salads like this! Total feel-good food.
WOW! This salad looks and sounds SO good. My mom used to cook with farro all the time, but for some reason I haven’t cooked with it in quite a while, but after reading this I’m going to have to start cooking with it again asap!
this looks so yummy! I’m going to have to send you a copy of The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson – i just edited it and it just went on sale…you’ll love it :)
Thanks, Dervla! I already got a copy of Erin’s book! It’s beautiful. I’m taking the book home with me this weekend so I can spend some quality time with it this weekend.
What a wonderful blog! Found you on Foodgawker and was
so inspired and excited by your recipes that I clicked on your Amazon, ordered a spiralizer and rushed out the door to buy piles of veggies.
(now that I know how to make em taste good)
Thank you! I’m so glad you found my blog. Have fun with the spiralizer. :)
Boyfriends dog was being uncharacteristically quiet one afternoon and sure enough he had grabbed a baby bunny from a nearby hole. Long story short, the predator won out and I had to keep myself from bursting into tears or getting mad at him because it is the way of the world. Sigh! To be a caring fur parent can be such a stressful job ;) Another fantastic looking salad though, thanks for being you.
Oh, that’s a sad story. I’m glad you didn’t get too upset with him. Thank you for your encouragement, Rachel. :)
OMG! I love in Bunnyville too! It’s a small world, eh? Bunnies I can live with, it’s just the squirrels that cause me to worry. One time I saw 9 squirrels in our backyard. I think they might have been plotting against me or something. OK. Let me find my happy place. Food always works. This salad looks fabulous!
Nine squirrels at once?! That’s a lot. I saw three bunnies congregating in my yard the other day. Up to no good, I bet!
Got a tip from some ladies at the beauty parlor…try human hair around the edge of garden or across the openings they come in. Apparently bunnies are afraid of the human smell and will stay away. Sounds weird, I know, but several people have confirmed to me that it works. Worth a try and no bunny blood involved…just a trip to the salon.
Tina, thank you! I’m totally going to try that. Another reader suggested adding Cookie’s hair, too. Between the two of us, we should have plenty of stray hair to scare those bunnies away.
I love farro! So great to see another recipe that highlights such a versatile and delicious grain! (P.S. If you find a way to keep the bunnies out of the garden please share!)
Hey thanks, Elizabeth! I haven’t started my garden yet, but a couple of others have suggested lining the garden with hair—like from your hairbrush or your dog’s brush. I’m going to try it!
OMG… This salad is a game changer! Seriously just made it for dinner (might still be eating it) and I am in heaven. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hooray! Thank you, Maggie!
This is my kind of salad. I fell in love with farro! I am going to make this this week. Great pictures as we’ll!
Hi Kate – Thank you for this delicious and healthy recipe, it’s always refreshing to find a new and unique take on salads. I don’t think I’ll be able to find farro where I live, can you please recommend a substitute?(buckwheat? spelt?)
Hi Valerie, I’m sorry I didn’t answer your question sooner. Any similar whole grain, like wheat berries or spelt berries, will be great. You might have to adjust the cooking time a bit.
I also just made this with barley, and it was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe, Katie!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe, Melissa! I bet barley is lovely in this dish. Thank you for commenting!
Just made this recipe tonight and my husband and I both loved it. I discovered your blog recently and I am excited to try more of your recipes! Thank you Kate!
Sarika, I’m delighted that you both enjoyed the recipe! Welcome to my blog and thank you for commenting!
This salad was fantastic! I substituted the quinoa for farro. I was out of feta, and I threw in some shredded mozzarella cheese. It’s one of my new favorites from all of your great recipes. Yum!
Becky, that’s great to hear! Thank you for letting me know. I bet it’s really good with quinoa.
Made this salad for lunch today and it was out of this world! A firm five stars from my husband, even, who would usually be rather suspicious of this sort of thing. I’m ashamed to say that we devoured the whole recipe between us, but we just couldn’t stop eating it. :-)
Carol, so glad you both loved the salad! Yes! And no shame in eating all of it in one sitting—salads are good for that!
Made this for my sister and I tonight and we both really liked it. She definitely said ‘this is so good’ at least four times. I made it as listed and we both felt it wasn’t lacking for anything, but next time I might use garbanzos and pine nuts just to mix things up. Anyway, great recipe, thanks.
Awesome! Happy to hear you both enjoyed the salad. Thank you, Jeff!
My family all enjoyed this for dinner last evening. Super yummy!
I tried this salad last night and it was absolutely fabulous. I am not a very good cook at all but found this to be super easy -my husband was amazed. I have been wanting to try eating like this for a while but felt overwhelmed -no longer! I’m going to go and check out your other recipes and the book “Feast”…thank you so much for helping us all!
Debbie, I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, and it sounds like you enjoyed cooking it, too! I have tons of other salad recipes on the blog. “Feast” is so fresh and inspiring, I think you’ll love it. Thanks for commenting!
Hi Kate,
Made this salad just this morning to take on a picnic & will definitely be saving this recipe for later use.
I’m so glad we didn’t eat it all so that I can have leftovers of it!
Well done & thanks!
Katie
Thanks for commenting, Katie! So glad you enjoyed the salad. I bet it was a lovely picnic dish.
I made this recipe this week, and it was wonderful! All of the flavors worked together so well, and it’s nice having a new recipe for farro. (I have also discovered 10-minute farro at Trader Joe’s, which dramatically cuts down the cooking time.) I will may add more of the grain next time, and my husband requested more feta, but then again he would eat feta every day if he could…
Thank you, Lauren! I’m so glad you both loved the salad. My fridge is overflowing with packages of feta from a sponsored post, wish I could give you some!
Great recipe Kate thank you! Had to use brown rice but was still great. Wonderful way to cook cauliflower too. It’s the first of many recipes I want to try on your website. Anna uk.
Anna, so glad you enjoyed the salad! I just love roasted cauliflower. I hope you enjoy my other recipes, too!
Just finished a meal of this salad with my meat loving husband! Not only did it turn out exactly as the pictures, it was delicious! I had to substitute Frekkeh for the farro, but otherwise exactly as described. My hubby said “I could eat this every day”. A hit. It’s been two weeks I have been menu planning from your blog and everything has been a hit (yam and black bean burgers, butternut squash fettuccine, soba sesame slaw….all as described and yummy! Love your blog….real, healthy good food that has me excited about cooking again!
Julia, thank you so much for your sweet comment! I’m delighted that you’re enjoying my recipes so much. I should give Frekkeh a try!
Yum! Another winner! My whole family (extended family!) is addicted to your Greek farro salad, so I’m nut surprised, but this was so good! I made a giant batch and took it to some friends who just had a baby. I added chickpeas and didn’t use olives or avocado, but I can see how they’d be awesome. Only thing was I found it a bit dry, so I made a vinigrette using the oil from the sun dried tomato jar and some red vinegar and dresses the greens before topping them with the farro mix. Perfect! I loved the little zing of vinegar with it.
Thank you!!
Cara, thank you for your comment! So glad you all are enjoying the farro salads! Your red vinegar addition sounds lovely!
Your salad recipes make me so very happy. Huge hit with this one. I so appreciate using your recipes as inspiration–don’t really like to measure and often substitute, but the principles you preach are so fantastic and flexible. More than once the salad creating confidence you’ve given me has saved me from a less healthy alternative.
Thank you very much for your comment, Anne! I’m happy to hear that you appreciate my recipes! Salads are my favorite, and I always try to encourage adaptation and experimentation in my notes and things. Glad to hear it’s working!
I have a question…I don’t like olives, can I omit or replace them? If I replace them, do you have any suggestions? Don’t want to mess up the flavor balance! Thanks!
Hey Erin, good question. I would probably just omit them. You might want to add a little more feta to make up for that salty punch. If you like capers, those would be good here.
Wow, this salad is amazing, what a great combo of flavours! This was my first time trying farro and I enjoyed the chewy texture. I’ve been stuck in a cooking rut and have been searching for some new vegetarian recipes that are flavourful and healthy. I’m so glad I found your blog. I also appreciate your suggestions when it comes to substitutions as I often have to modify recipes due to food allergies /intolerances. I’m looking forward to trying many more recipes, including some to satisfy my sweet tooth :)
Thanks, Jen! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes.
Hi Kate! I have a question: Do you wash the cauliflower before roasting it? Sure washing isnt hard it’s the drying part that is a pain!! Cauliflower must be really dry for proper caramelization and for some reason i never cant get it right! What do you think?
Thank you so much!
Hi Cecilia, yes, I washed the cauliflower! I guess I usually just run the whole head of cauliflower under running water before I sling it dry and chop it into florets. I’ve actually never had trouble with it not caramelizing. Seems like it always does as long as I leave it in there long enough!
Hi Kate I stumbled onto your website a few months ago browsing for my vegetarian daughter. It is now my go to for recipes and ideas! I’m going to her house to make dinner for her tomorrow (what a great Mum) and will make Roasted Cauliflower and Farrow Salad. Thanks for the great recipes!
Gwyn, thank you for saying hello! I’m so glad you’re both enjoying my recipes!
Wow! What a great recipe. I made it twice in two weeks. Huge hit with my husband and 7 year old son. So delicious. Thanks for the great recipe – it’s destined for heavy rotation on the menu!
Thank you, Nicole! Give your son a high five from me, I didn’t like cauliflower until I was much older than he is now!
I made this for dinner tonite & had all I could do to keep myself from finishing it off. Even now, as I lay in bed, I can hear it calling to me from the fridge. This gets a solid 5 stars.
Victory!!! Thanks, Lori! :)
I recently discovered your website & recipes and LOVE everything I’ve seen and tried!! This is a WONDERFUL and unique recipe– a great way to revive the tired world of a “lettuce, tomato, onion” salad!!! Wow. The flavors and textures of this salad really melded beautifully. I noticed your “Change it Up” section and I substituted pearled barley for the farro in today’s version since that’s what I had on hand, and it was just as delicious! I may try it next time with bulgar wheat and love your idea of wheat berries too!! Thanks again and I look forward to trying many more of your recipes. I’m making a move to get healthier but maintain my love of cooking and discovering new recipes which your blog seems perfect for!
Welcome, Jacquelyn! I’m glad you found my site and really happy to hear that you enjoyed this salad! It’s one of my favorites.
What a lovely mash-up! The flavor combination was great. Even better the next day. Sprinkled on some pinenuts for a little crunch!
Well done :-)
Thanks, Danyel! Glad you enjoyed it!