Winter Brussels Bowl with Toasted Farro
This brussels sprouts farro bowl is the perfect winter meal. Toasted farro, roasted brussels sprouts with pine nuts and citrus and feta, all drizzled in a delicious vinaigrette!
Oh how I love a good grain bowl in the winter!
This one is loaded with toasted grains, roasty, toasty brussels sprouts, my favorite nuts, a hint of citrus and the most delicious dressing. Farro is one of my go-to winter ingredients and this bowl is perfect to add to your rotation.
I live for dressings, especially all the different vinaigrettes I make. They add so much to roasted vegetables, grain bowls, salads and marinades. Definitely a key secret for making good meals throughout the week.
This farro bowl is a dish that you can easily prep ahead of time for lunches for the week or even a quick and easy dinner. It’s also simple enough that you don’t NEED to prep any of it ahead. Of course, I am always pro-prepping things like grains ahead of time. But I prefer my vegetables freshly roasted. So I may mix it up and do half and half. Either way, it comes together fast.
There are so many things that I love about this bowl!
Beginning with flavor and crunch.
Here’s how it goes down!
The toasted farro has so much flavor. It is slightly high-maintenance because it has a few steps, but it’s not difficult. I soak the farro, then cook it. Then I add it to a skillet with some olive oil and toast it to maximize the flavor and give it some crispy bits. It’s incredible this way and I would love to eat it like this every time.
The roasted vegetables are super simple too! I use a big sheet pan and do brussels sprout, red onion and pine nuts. I’m obsessed with pine nuts and can eat them on anything. I love their flavor and crunch. Roasting these together gets them all caramely and toasty.
Citrus!! We’re in the height of citrus season and it’s just so good. Our family can go through a bag of clementines in mere days, we all love it so much. I used cara cara oranges for this bowl, but you can use any orange you have on hand. It brings the brightest pop to the bowl.
Cheese, of course? I mean I guess it wouldn’t be one of my recipes without a sprinkle of cheese! I like to do crumbled feta here. It’s tangy and crumbles so nicely that you can get a bite in each forkful. You could also do goat cheese or even parmesan. Or leave out the cheese entirely if you wish.
The citrus vinaigrette is dreamy. I like to use both freshly squeezed lemon and orange juices. And I also use dill. I find that when dill is used in a dressing or recipe, it often gives you that “ooooh what is that amazing flavor that I can’t put my finger on?” thought. Makes it really delish.
It comes together fast and of course you can use it as a clean-out-the-fridge meal! Anything wintery that you have – sweet potatoes, squash, more citrus, even herbs. Make it your own!
This bowl is so nourishing, satisfying and super good as leftovers too. It’s an easy one that can become a classic winter dish for your menu!
Winter Brussels Sprouts Farro
Winter Brussels Bowl with Toasted Farro
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry farro, soaked overnight
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, stems removed and quartered
- 1 red onion, chopped
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 orange, segmented and chopped
- ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
citrus vinaigrette
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced or pressed
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the farro and cook until it’s al dente, about 20 minutes. Drain and let it cool in a bowl.
- While the farro cooks, roast the vegetables. Place the brussels, onion and pine nuts on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Toss well. Roast the vegetables for 20 to 25 minutes, tossing once during cook time. If at any time it seems the pine nuts are burning, toss again. I find pushing them to the center helps.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the farro and press it into a single layer. Toast it on that side for 3 to 5 minutes, then stir and flip and repeat until more of it is toasted and golden.
- Place the toasted farro in a large bowl. Toss with the roasted vegetables. Stir in the orange and crumbled feta. Drizzle with the dressing and enjoy!
citrus vinaigrette
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined and emulsified. This dressing stays great in the fridge for about a week. You can make it ahead of time for easy prep!
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Bright + crunchy + toasty + cheesy + chewy.
10 Comments on “Winter Brussels Bowl with Toasted Farro”
Looks delicious! If I wanted to add a protein, what would you suggest?
Just made this for me and my daughter and we are dying….this is delicious! Hearty yet light. Ingredients go so well together. Always looking for different sides or bowls for lunches and this is a 10!
So tasty, need to try it!
Miki x
https://www.littletasteofbeauty.com/
Made this tonight and hubby and I were thrilled with it. Never thought I would say “thrilled” referring to brussels sprouts. I didn’t have pine nuts so I used almonds. And I pan roasted rather than oven roasted, just because I do a better job of not overcooking. That’s just me. I don’t feel these changes affected anything. And the combo with farro, oranges, feta…incredibly good. Thank you!
This looks fantastic! If you make it ahead of time for lunches, do you reheat it or eat it cold?
This is so good!! I used pearl barley and walnuts as that’s what I had already. Also used blood oranges! So yummy and easy too! This is definitely going into our meal rotation.
So good and satisfying. I’ll be making this again and again.
Truly, way better than I expected. I made it for something healthy and was very pleasantly surprised by how tasty it was! I added some carrots & sweet potato to the roasted veggies. Wish i made more – it will make great leftovers for lunch! The vinaigrette is super yummy!
Wow. I swapped a can of chickpeas for the pine nuts due to an allergy, added a half bunch of kale, finely chopped, and doubled the vinaigrette since I added kale and WOW. This is going to be in my forever rotation. Wow.
Make this for lunch now! Buy the pine nuts, toast the farro, you won’t regret it. So delicious. I used clementines instead of a regular orange and still turned out great. Definitely making again this coming winter season!