An easy and tasty Grain Bowl with farro, veggies, chickpeas, feta, and a lemon-tahini dressing that you can make ahead for a quick, delicious meal!
My Current Go-To Lunch
This Grain Bowl has become my favorite for a quick and delicious lunch these days. It’s the ultimate trifecta – delicious, quick to make, and packed with nutritious ingredients.
I love using farro as the base grain, but you can use any grain you like such as brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, or barley. The combination of crunchy veggies, creamy avocado, and tangy feta makes this dish so satisfying, but the real secret to this dish’s success is the amazing dressing.
This quick-and-easy dressing is also dairy-free! We achieve the creamy texture with tahini. With the added lemon zest, garlic powder, oregano, olive oil, and red wine vinegar, it’s bursting with flavor and is the perfect complement to the grain and veggies.
By making everything ahead of time, you can easily assemble this Grain Bowl throughout the week for a quick and healthy meal. It’s a great way to brighten up your cold winter days with its fresh and vibrant flavors.
Grain Bowl: The Dressing
Introducing the star of this Grain Bowl: the dressing! This dressing is not only creamy and luscious but it’s also dairy-free and vegan! A few more details:
- Tahini paste. If you’re unfamiliar with tahini, it’s a paste made from sesame seeds that has a rich, nutty flavor (kind of like peanut butter, but with sesame seeds!). Not all tahini pastes are equal, so be sure to get a high-quality one. My personal favorite is Soom Foods® Sesame Tahini Paste. It’s smooth and creamy and provides the perfect base for this dressing.
- Olive oil. We recommend extra virgin olive oil for this recipe.
- Pure maple syrup. This dressing uses a natural sweetener–maple syrup is made by boiling down sap from maple trees. Unlike corn syrup or pancake syrup, it contains only one ingredient and is more expensive due to the intensive process of making it.
- Fresh lemons. Avoid using bottled lemon juice– it doesn’t compare to the taste of freshly squeezed lemons. Since we’re also using the zest to add an extra layer of flavor, using fresh lemons is essential. We love zesting the lemon with a microplane and then juicing with this citrus juicer.
How To Make This Grain Bowl (Tips)
Here are some tips for making the Grain Bowl recipe:
- Cook the farro ahead of time: Fixing the farro ahead of time makes assembly much quicker and easier at mealtime. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Make the dressing in advance: The dressing can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated for 5-7 days. Just make sure to give it a good shake or stir before using it again.
- Adjust seasoning to taste: Taste the dressing and add salt, pepper, or additional lemon juice to taste. The same goes for all of the Grain Bowl ingredients. Adjust the seasoning to your liking.
- Use English/Persian/Salad cucumbers in this recipe: These types of cucumbers are smaller and have a thin skin, making them ideal for adding to salads and grain bowls. They are also less watery, more crunchy, and seedless. They have a sweeter, milder flavor compared to regular cucumbers.
- Use a ripe avocado: To test for ripeness, gently press the skin around the stem end. If it yields to gentle pressure, it’s ripe. Ripe avocados provide such a great creaminess and flavor in these bowls.
Variations
Grain Bowl Variations
- For a more filling Grain Bowl, consider adding some grilled or blackened chicken or tofu to the bowl.
- Use leftover dressing as a dipping sauce for veggies or as a marinade for meat.
- If you are not a fan of tahini, try our Greek Salad Dressing instead!
- You can also switch up the veggies to use what you have on hand, such as diced bell peppers, shredded carrots, or chopped kale.
- If you like a little more crunch in your Grain Bowls, try adding some roasted almonds.
- Instead of farro, you can try brown rice, quinoa, bulgur, barley, or even a blend of grains.
- Add more veggies: Mix in roasted or steamed veggies such as carrots, Brussels sprouts, beets, or sweet potatoes.
- Swap out the chickpeas for kidney beans or cannellini beans.
- Feta can be replaced with goat cheese or just left out.
Storage
Storage
When storing this grain bowl, it’s best to keep the components separate and then combine them right before eating. This way, the farro and dressing remain fresh and the veggies stay crisp.
Quick Tip
Meal Prep For The Week
Cook up a big batch of farro using my go-to guide. (Here’s the easiest and best way to cook farro.) Then make the lemon-tahini dressing, and store them both in the fridge. Putting together a flavorful Grain Bowl is as simple as prepping just a few fresh ingredients. Enjoy a delicious and healthy lunch, every day!
More Nutritious Bowls
- Nourish Bowls with a hot honey sauce
- Buddha Bowl with chickpeas, sweet potato, and avocado
- Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl with an herby cilantro sauce
- Big Mac In A Bowl with the best burger sauce
- Harvest Bowl with butternut squash and chicken
Grain Bowl
Ingredients
Per 1 Bowl (Easily scales up!)
- ½ cup cooked farro (or another grain you like! Note 1)
- ⅓ cup each: diced cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, and chickpeas
- ¼ of 1 large ripe avocado, diced
- 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
- 1 tablespoon feta, optional
- Optional, for serving: fresh parsley, lemon, salt & pepper
Dressing (See Note 2)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus 1 tsp zest
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons tahini (Note 3)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Fine sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- DRESSING: Combine all of the ingredients in a wide-mouth glass jar. Season to taste (I add 1/2 tsp fine sea salt & 1/4 tsp pepper). Add lid and shake vigorously until well combined. Taste and adjust to personal preference. Store in the fridge until ready to use, shaking to re-combine before using.
- GRAIN BOWL: Add cooked farro, diced cucumber, diced or halved tomatoes, drained and rinsed chickpeas, diced avocado and red onion, along with feta to a large bowl or plate. Drizzle on the dressing (to taste). Serve with lemon wedges and fresh parsley. Sprinkle on additional salt/pepper as needed. Enjoy!
- STORAGE: When storing this grain bowl, it's best to keep the components separate and then combine them right before eating. This way, the farro and dressing remain fresh and the veggies stay crisp.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is this a hot or cold dish?
I like it eaten cold; like a salad!
This was SO good. Thank you for the recipe!
So thrilled you loved this Grain Bowl! Thanks so much Steph! 🙂
I made the Grain Bowl O,My so good.I made another for the next day. I am 85 and was looking for something simple. This was perfect. Going to make more of your recipes
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Eleanor! 🙂
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i use vegan feta i never had grain bowl before perfect for my after office meals love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
You most definitely can! Thank so much for your kind comments Ramya! 🙂