These Mediterranean-inspired farro bowls with garlicky white beans, roasted veg, and tahini dressing are designed for meal prep – perfect for toting to school or work.
If you’re looking for an easy but not boring way to meal prep lunches for the week, look no further than these vegan farro bowls with garlicky beans, roasted vegetables, and creamy tahini dressing. These four simple elements are easy to make and literally take just 1 hour of work for a week’s worth of healthy meals.
Thanks to whole grains and beans, these bowls are packed with protein and fiber. They also have healthy fats – in the form of olive oil and tahini – which will keep you feeling full until dinner. Plus, you can use this recipe as a template and swap in whatever vegetables you feel like eating this week (substitution ideas below).
What’s In These Farro Bowls
These Mediterranean-inspired vegan bowls consist of chewy farro, garlicky white beans with fresh herbs, sweet roasted bell peppers, onions, and carrots, and a tangy tahini dressing. Sounds fancy, but let me remind you: all of it takes just 1 hour.
Note: This recipe makes 4 to 6 complete meals, which is perfect for 1 person for 1 week. If you’re cooking for more than yourself, double the recipe.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
- Farro: Comes in two forms – pearled and whole. Pearled has had its outermost layer polished away, which strips some of the nutrients but does help it cook faster. Whole farro takes about 15 minutes longer to cook. As substitutes, try buckwheat, brown rice, barley, quinoa, or millet (i.e. literally any other whole grain).
- Vegetables: Feel free to sub with any other veg, like broccoli, sweet potatoes, Brussels, cauliflower, green beans, mushrooms, etc.
- Beans: Feel free to sub with kidney or pinto beans.
- Tahini: Tahini is a middle eastern sesame seed paste. You can find it in most supermarkets today, either alongside the nut butters or in the international foods aisle. All tahini brands are slightly different, so try a few to see what you like best. Be sure to read the ingredient label when purchasing – the only ingredient should be sesame seeds.
How to Make These Farro Bowls
Find complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Cook the Farro
Start by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil (farro cooks just like rice). Add farro and salt, cover with a lid, and simmer til all the water is absorbed. Do not stir during cooking to prevent mushy grains.
Step 2: Roast the Vegetables
Cut up your peppers, onions, and carrots, place on a baking sheet, and toss with EVOO, salt, and pepper. Roast until the vegetables are soft and caramelized, ~25 minutes.
Step 3: Prep the Beans
Next, make the garlicky oil by combining EVOO and sliced garlic in a small skillet. Heat just until the garlic starts to sizzle [a few minutes] and cook until it’s golden [15 to 30 seconds]. (Watch it carefully; if the garlic burns, it’ll become bitter and you’ll have to start over.) Then turn the heat off and let the oil stand for 5 minutes to infuse.
Combine with beans, chopped herbs, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. This mixture needs to marinate, so let it stand for at least 20 minutes before eating.
Step 4: Make the Dressing
Last but not least, whisk together tahini, water, lemon juice, garlic, and salt.
Storage and Reheating Tips
To store: Cool the farro and roasted vegetables to room temperature. Then place all 4 elements into separate lidded containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Alternately, if you’re more of a grab-and-go person, assemble farro bowls in individual lunch containers.
To reheat: I don’t advise microwaving the tahini sauce (although, it won’t be the end of the world if you do!). If taking this to school/work, I suggest keeping the dressing in a separate container until after reheating. Alternately, skip reheating altogether and eat this bowl at room temp.
More Meal Prep Ideas…
Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with @thenewbaguette on Instagram.
The Full Recipe
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Meal Prep Farro Bowls
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These vegan farro bowls with garlicky white beans, roasted vegetables, and tahini dressing are designed for meal prep. Perfect for toting to school/work.
Ingredients
For the Farro and Vegetables
- 1 cup farro* (see note below)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 2 bell peppers, ribs and seeds removed, cut into strips
- 1 large yellow or red onion, cut into half-moons
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Bean Salad
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- Two 15-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed (or 3 cups home-cooked beans)
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro, dill, and/or parsley
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the Tahini Dressing
- 1/3 cup well-stirred tahini
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1 garlic clove, crushed or finely minced
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup farro and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover tightly with a lid, reduce the heat to low, and cook [without stirring] until all the water is absorbed (~20 minutes for pearled farro and ~35 for whole). Turn the heat off and let stand covered for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, roast the vegetables: on a large rimmed baking sheet, combine the peppers, carrots, and onions. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Toss to coat. (The vegetables should be moderately oily – not too dry and not swimming in oil either.) Arrange in a single layer. Roast for about 15 minutes, then toss and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the veg are soft and browned around the edges.
- Start the beans: in a small skillet, combine 2 tablespoons of oil and 3 thinly sliced garlic cloves, and place over a low flame. Warm just until the garlic starts to sizzle, about 2 minutes. Sizzle until golden, about 30 seconds, then turn the heat off. Let stand for 5 minutes to infuse.
- In a large bowl, combine the beans and garlicky oil with 2 tablespoons each minced herbs and lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine.
- Lastly, make the dressing: in a medium bowl, combine 1/3 cup tahini, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic clove, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Whisk into a thick paste. Then gradually whisk in the water 1 tablespoon at a time; the sauce may seem lumpy at first, but keep whisking and it’ll come together. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
Notes
As a substitute, try wheatberries, buckwheat, brown rice, barley, quinoa, or millet.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the recipe
- Calories: 433
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