This farro with mushrooms recipe takes the chewy whole grain to new heights! It’s sauteed with garlic, fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese.
When Alex and I first started cooking together, we quickly came to enjoy farro. This chewy ancient grain has a texture similar to barley, but it’s much quicker to cook. We whipped up a batch of farro salad and took a bite. Hey, that’s actually really good!
Today, I love cooking up a batch as a healthy side dish or as part of a grain bowl. This farro with mushrooms is bursting with flavor from the savory mushrooms, garlic, and fresh thyme and oregano. Add a spritz of fresh lemon juice and some grated Parmesan cheese and it’s a side dish everyone raves about!
Want more with mushrooms? Try Mushroom Soup, Sauteed Mushrooms and Onions, Portobello Burger and more.
Tips for farro with mushrooms
This farro with mushrooms is incredibly flavorful and a total crowd pleaser. Even mushroom haters might be convinced here! The garlic, herbs, and cheese are reminiscent of our Mushroom Pasta recipe that become a reader favorite.
This recipe works as a healthy side dish and would work well alongside baked salmon or cedar plank salmon. Or, make it into a vegetarian meal by adding a few salads and cornbread. You can serve it in any season. But to us with the hearty whole grain and dark flavors in the mushrooms, it’s perfect for fall and winter. A few tips for this recipe:
- Farro is made of wheat, so it is not gluten-free. If you have sensitivity to gluten but want to make this recipe, it would work well with brown rice or millet.
- Make sure to use the fresh herbs listed: it makes the dish!
How to cook farro: two methods
Cooking the grain for this farro with mushrooms is very easy: and relatively quick! We love that pearled farro cooks in only 15 to 20 minutes on the stovetop. You can also cook it in an Instant Pot. Here are our two methods:
- Stovetop: Add farro to a saucepan along with 3 times the amount of water and a few pinches of salt. Bring to a low boil, then cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the farro is tender.
- Instant Pot: Add farro, water and kosher salt to an Instant Pot. Pressure cook on high for 7 minutes and natural release for 7 minutes. With the “preheat” time, this method takes about 20 minutes total and is fully hands off! Go to Instant Pot Farro.
A note on types of farro
You can buy farro as whole, semi-pearled, or pearled. We recommend buying pearled farro for this farro with mushrooms recipe. Why? Pearled farro is the quickest to cook. It’s also likely what you’ll find at the store.
If you do buy whole or semi-pearled, the advantage is that it contains even more nutrients (but the difference is not significant, so we go with pearled). To make whole or semi pearled farro cook a little faster, you can soak it for an hour or overnight to speed things up. Another recipe with farro? Try our Hearty Farro Salad.
Ways to serve it
This farro with mushrooms is a great side dish for pan seared chicken or baked salmon. You could also serve it with sauteed shrimp over the top, or alongside pan seared scallops for an elegant meal.
I like adding another green vegetable to the plate, like sauteed broccolini or roasted asparagus.
Dietary notes
This farro with mushrooms recipe is vegetarian.
Farro with Mushrooms & Parmesan
This farro with mushrooms recipe takes the chewy whole grain to new heights! It’s sauteed with garlic, fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 as a side 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetarian
- 1 ½ cups dry pearled farro or about 4 cups cooked
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 8 ounces mixed mushrooms (such as baby portobello, shiitake, and oyster)
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh thyme and oregano, loosely packed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
- Make the farro: If you have a pressure cooker, use our Instant Pot Farro method. Otherwise, place the farro in a saucepan with 4 ½ cups water. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and bring to a low boil. Cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes (or about 30 minutes if using semi-pearled farro).
- Meanwhile, prep the vegetables: Mince the onion. Mince the garlic. Clean the mushrooms, then slice them. Chop the thyme and oregano.
- In a saute pan or skillet, heat the olive oil to medium heat. Add the onion and saute 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the cooked farro and lemon juice. Cook for about 2 minutes until heated through.
- Stir in the Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and fresh ground pepper. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. Serve immediately. (Leftovers store refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
Notes
Note: Farro is made of wheat, so it is not gluten-free. If you have sensitivity to gluten but want to make this recipe, it would work well with brown rice or millet.
Side dish recipes you may enjoy
If you like this farro with mushrooms, here are some more healthy side dishes you might enjoy:
