Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad

Combine Grilled Chicken with a Farro Salad and you end up with a quick and easy lunch or dinner.  This Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad will become a family favorite!

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Grain Salads are My New Favorite

I have firmly jumped upon the grain salad bandwagon.  I love them!   I love all grains, but one of my favorites is farro.   Truth be told, I don’t even know what the difference between farro, spelt and wheat berries is.   Even after Googling it, I still don’t understand, they are all wheat.

Choose Your Favorite Grain

So, feel free to choose your favorite grain in this recipe, just check on the cooking times.  For example this recipe comes from Ellie Krieger’s, So Easy.  She actually called for hard wheat berries, with a cooking time of 1 hour.  Farro only needs to cook for about 30 minutes.  So, just be mindful of the cooking times.  Perhaps I should have called this Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Grain Salad instead of Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad – because it is so easy to sub your favorite grain.

Lemon Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad

We loved this salad.  She had it listed in her “lunch to go” section, and it would make a great lunch to take to work, but we enjoyed it for dinner and then had it again for leftovers the next day.  The salad is filled with all sorts of good things:  walnuts, celery, parsley and tart dried cherries.

The chicken gets rubbed with a flavorful cumin rub, grilled and then drizzled with lemon juice.  To assemble the salad, you simply layer the spinach leaves, grain salad and chicken.  Right before you eat, you give it a fresh squeeze from a lemon wedge.  Light, healthy, and delicious!

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5 from 2 votes

Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad

A flavorful grilled chicken breasts rests atop a farro salad filled with all sorts of goodness in this Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken Farro Salad.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 528kcal

Ingredients

Grain Salad

• 1 cup farro
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts toasted
• 2 stalks celery finely chopped
• 1/3 cup tart dried cherries chopped
• 1 small scallion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and black pepper
• lemon wedges for serving
• 4 cups lightly packed spinach leaves for serving

Lemon-Cumin Grilled Chicken

• 4 small boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• cooking spray
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

• Pound the chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap with a mallet until it is an even thickness about 1/2 inch thick.
• In a small bowl, combine the cumin salt and pepper. On both sides of the chicken, rub with olive oil and then rub the spice mixture in.
• Spray a grill with cooking spray and heat to a medium high heat. Grill about 3 to 4 minutes per side or until cooked through.
• Remove from the heat and let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes. Slice into 1/2 inch thick slices and drizzle with the lemon juice. (chicken will keep in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days.)
• In a medium sized pot, combine the farro and enough water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Drain and let cool.
• In a large bowl combine the farro, toasted walnuts, celery, parsley, dried cherries, scallions, olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. (This will keep in fridge in a container for up to 5 days).
• To serve, place 1 cup of spinach on a plate. Top with about 3/4 cup of the farro salad. Place the sliced chicken breasts on top of the farro. Serve each salad with a lemon wedge for squeezing right before eating.

Nutrition

Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 469mg | Potassium: 850mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 3325IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 3.4mg

Looking for more farro salads:

Chicken, Sweet Potatoes and Farro Salad

Roasted Asparagus and Prosciutto Farro Bowls 

Yellow Squash and Farro Salad