This butternut squash farro salad is filled with delicious fall flavors. With tender squash, crisp apple, radicchio and more all wrapped in a flavorful lemon-tahini dressing. It's tasty, hearty and healthy. Perfect for a lunchbox, too.

Fall farro salad with roasted squash, radicchio and lemon-tahini dressing in bowl

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

I don't know about anyone else but I often find myself walking a fine line between repeating the same old favorites and trying new things. Not just in food, but in general - I need to go new places and explore. I know others, like my husband, are much happier with repeating.

Between that and the fact dinners can be more rushed, I often find lunch is when I get to experiment more. And often if those experiments work well, they become a more regular menu item. This tasty fall farro salad is definitely one of those.

Farro salad with roasted squash, radicchio and lemon-tahini dressing close up overhead view of corner of bowl

Cooking with farro

For whatever reason, farro is a grain I don't cook with all that much. In fact rarely, if I am honest. However it is a great choice to use as an alternative to rice to make a heartier risotto, and also works well both warm and chilled, so is great for salads.

It's that bit heavier than quinoa or couscous, for example, so is great when you want to make a salad that works as a meal in itself. It also travels well so is perfect for potluck/picnic options.

Farro has a lovely nuttiness to it that goes so well with roasted squash, giving a lovely contrast in flavor and texture. The two pair perfectly in a fall-inspired salad like this.

Close up view of fall farro salad with roasted squash, radicchio and lemon-tahini dressing

I have mentioned before that I like salads to have a range of both flavor and texture, and so with farro and squash as a base, I've added in apple, pine nuts, radicchio and pepper to give that nice range, as well as giving a lovely mix of colors.

One of my favorite autumn/winter salads is a squash and chickpea salad from Moro that has a delicious tahini dressing that I've made a version for this farro salad that goes really well with everything. It is relatively thick, but that means it grasps on to the farro and everything else well and you get some of the tasty dressing with each mouthful.

partial view of bowl of farro salad with roasted squash, radicchio and lemon-tahini dressing

How to make this fall farro salad

Dice the squash and peppers, toss them and the garlic clove with oil and roast.
Roast until the squash is tender then let cool.
Meanwhile cook the farro then let cool.
Lightly toast the pine nuts, shred the radicchio and slice the apple and salad onions. Put in a bowl with the farro.
Mix together the dressing ingredients then mix through the farro.
Add the roasted vegetables, mix gently and serve or pack to use later.

Make ahead tips

One way to make this feel a little easier, or to meal prep it, is to roast the squash, pepper and garlic and cook the farro ahead of time. You can also chop other ingredients and make the dressing ahead of time, then store all in the fridge.

You could easily do the roasting and cooking of the farro a day or two ahead of everything else. The rest, I would probably only prepare the day before, at most, ideally. If you chop the apple ahead, be sure to toss in lemon juice to limit browning.

I prefer to only assemble the day you will be serving, to keep things that bit more crisp. But even once it's fully made, the ingredients are pretty robust so this is a perfect salad for taking to work or to a potluck and it won't all mush and spoil.

This butternut squash farro salad has such a delicious range of flavors and textures, it's hearty enough to fill you up but doesn't feel heavy. The dressing is relatively thick but is so full of flavor that goes so well with everything else. Plus, it's so colorful, it would look great on the table as part of a potluck. Just find any excuse you like, it's incredibly tasty and so good for you too, you really need to give it a try.

Fall farro salad with roasted squash, radicchio and lemon-tahini dressing in wooden bowl on blue mat

Try these other tasty fall salads:

Acorn squash wild rice salad
Beet apple salad with maple vinaigrette
Vegan lentil salad with roasted Brussels sprouts
Butternut squash wild rice salad with cranberries and fennel
Plus get more ideas for make ahead salads and fall recipes.

Print Recipe

5 from 3 votes