Pesto Farro Chickpea Bowl
Flavorful soft veggies, crispy chickpeas, and chewy farro with pesto come together to make the perfect weeknight meal!
The Origin
Often at the end of a week, I'll have some random vegetables left in the fridge and not much energy left for cooking. For years I had been making them into roasted vegetables and serving it over quinoa and topped with tahini sauce. Although I enjoyed that meal sometimes, I am not a huge quinoa lover, and I definitely never found myself craving a bowl of quinoa. Enter farro (for great texture), pesto (for great flavor), and chickpeas (for both a crunch and some extra protein). Suddenly, I was always hoping we were down to the last "random scraps" of vegetables so that I had an excuse to make this super craveable bowl of deliciousness.
The Ingredients
There are 4 main components to make up this recipe: farro, chickpeas, pesto, and vegetables!
- Farro: It should be relatively easy to find in the grains section of most grocery stores. Farro typically takes about 30-35 minutes to cook, which doesn't slow down this recipe since you're already waiting for the vegetables to roast. Trader Joe's has a great 10-minute farro that is my favorite!
- Chickpeas: I love chickpeas for this dish, but you could absolutely use a white bean instead of you prefer. I have also made this with tofu instead of chickpeas which is great if you're looking for that extra protein boost.
- Pesto: The quality of your pesto will make or break this recipe. A few options: gotham greens (from whole foods, both vegan and non-vegan versions), sauces 'n love (from most major stores, not vegan), or make your own if you can get fresh basil! There are tons of great pesto recipes out there using various types of nuts and herbs and that would go great in this recipe. If none of these are options for you, any pesto stored in the refrigerator section is going to be much better than any pesto alongside the dry pasta. Let me know any other brands you love in the comments!
- Vegetables: I usually use onion, zucchini, tomatoes, and sweet potato, but truly the sky is the limit with this recipe. You can use any vegetables you have on hand. I do highly recommend including the tomatoes, as I have never seen other recipes with roasted tomatoes like this. I think they add a phenomenal flavor to the dish! Otherwise, you can use what you have and like.
The Method
It doesn't get much simpler than this recipe! Prep all your ingredients, then roast the veggies and chickpeas while you boil the farro. Combine it all at the end in a bowl with pesto. The flavors and textures of the ingredients carry this dish by themselves!
If you're looking for another easy weeknight dinner, check out my Tofu Udon Stir Fry!
- 1 onion
- 2 zucchinis
- 6 campari tomatoes (or other small tomatoes)
- 1 sweet potato
- 14 oz canned chickpeas
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup farro
- 6 oz pesto
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Halve and peel the onion and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Halve the zucchinis (or quarter for a large zucchini) and cut into 1/2-inch-wide semi or quarter circles. Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1/2-inch cubes. Drain and rinse the can of chickpeas.
On one sheet pan, spread out the onions, zucchini and tomatoes, keeping the tomatoes peel-side-down if possible. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and stir the zucchini and onions to make sure they are entirely coated. There is no need to stir the tomatoes.
On the second sheet pan, spread out the sweet potato and chickpeas, and again drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, stirring them around to ensure they are evenly coated.
Once the oven is preheated, put both pans in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
Fill a medium pot with water and add your farro. Cook according to package instructions. The farro should be chewy but not too firm and not crunchy at all.
When the farro is done, drain it and combine it with about 4 ounces of pesto, or enough to coat all the farro.
When it's time to check on the vegetables and chickpeas, make sure the zucchini has at least started to brown and the sweet potato is soft when stabbed with a fork or knife.
Once everything is cooked, assemble each bowl with 1/4 of the farro and 1/4 of each of the vegetables and chickpeas. Drizzle the bowls with the remaining pesto.
