Spicy Farro Risotto - a delicious one-pot simple spicy and hearty risotto using the lovely flavour of nutty farro in place of rice.
Farro Risotto
I love farro, it has such a lovely texture and is great in risotto or salad type dishes.
It's a delicious whole grain that is both packed with protein and fibre, so a great alternative to rice and other grains.
Handy to always have a jar of it stored in my pantry along with all my other dried beans, pulses etc. As it is such a versatile ingredient.
Where to Buy Farro
Bob Mills is the brand I tend to prefer to buy here in Canada, but that one may be hard to source in the UK, so use the brand available to you.
Check wholefoods or health stores local to you or you can also source Farro online.
Is Farro Gluten-Free?
Unfortunately, farro is a type of wheat so is not gluten-free.
Can I substitute Farro for another ingredient?
Yes!! Farro is a pretty versatile ingredient, so can be substituted with some of the following.
- Spelt
- Wheat Berries
- Kamut
and if you are gluten-free:
- brown rice
but do not use the instant stuff or white rice as you want an ingredient that has a similar cooking time/ratios to Farro.
I also recommend starting off with slightly less liquid to begin with if not using farro and adding more as needed until cooked. Just to ensure you don't end up with too much liquid.
How to Cook Farro
Usually, to cook farro, you rinse the grain thoroughly and then use a ratio of 3:1 for liquid.
So for example, if you were cooking 1 cup of farro you would require 3 cups of liquid (water or stock) and cook for 30 minutes, draining off excess liquid.
But as we are cooking the farro with other ingredients in this Spicy Farro Risotto and we want to keep all the flavour which we would remove if we drained any liquid.
So I find 5 cups of stock to the 2 cups of farro to be enough liquid. 6 cups would just overcook the farro in this recipe and make it too wet.
What to serve with this Spicy Farro Risotto
I like to serve alongside some chopped tomatoes, chopped spring onions and cilantro (coriander).
But you can add a variety of different toppings or sides (some not vegan or dairy free) such as:
- Avocado
- Cheddar/Cheese
- Sour Cream (or plain yoghurt)
- Crisp Shredded Lettuce
- Black Beans
- Refried Beans
- Salsa
and so many other great ones to choose from.
More Risotto Recipes
Love risotto recipes? Check out these other recipes:
- ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO
- ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND TOMATO RISOTTO
- CHICKEN, RED PEPPER AND SWEETCORN RISOTTO
- SPICY PRAWN AND VEGETABLE RISOTTO
- MUSHROOM RISOTTO
- CHICKEN, ROASTED RED PEPPER, SUN-DRIED TOMATO RISOTTO WITH CRUMBLED FETA
- FENNEL AND SWEET CIPOLLINI ONION RISOTTO
or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 850 delicious Slimming World and Weight Watchers recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value and smart points etc
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Spicy Farro Risotto
Spicy Farro Risotto - a delicious simple spicy and hearty risotto using the lovely flavour of nutty farro in place of rice.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400g) of farro (uncooked)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 3 clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 5 cups (1.2 litres) of vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon of tomato puree (paste)
- 1 tablespoon of cumin
- 1.5 teaspoon of chili powder (not hot)
- ⅕ tsp of paprika (not smoked)
- 1 tsp of oregano
- ½ tsp of cayenne (use more if you like really spicy)
- 1 cup of frozen sweetcorn
- 40g of sultanas (6 syns)
- salt and black pepper
- cooking oil spray
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse farro thoroughly, set aside.
- Spray a deep frying pan with cooking oil spray and saute the onion, garlic and carrot till onion is translucent.
- Add the peppers and fry for a couple more minutes.
- Add in all the spices, tomato paste, sultanas, corn, farro and stir to coat in all the seasonings.
- Pour in the stock.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes (or slightly more if needed) until the farro is cooked and is just loosely covered in stock (similar to regular risotto).
- Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro (coriander).
- Serve as is or with your choice of toppings.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
This recipe is dairy free, vegetarian (vegan), Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Slimming World - 1.5 syns per serving
- WW Green Points - 8 per serving
- WW Blue Points - 7 per serving
- WW Purple Points - 1 per serving
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Nutrition Information
Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 363Total Fat 2.8gSaturated Fat 0.1gSodium 463mgCarbohydrates 71.GgFiber 13.4gSugar 9.8gProtein 11.7g

Karen Sanger says
Really enjoyed this!!
Cathy Hollingsworth says
This was delicious... I'm on a journey of finding plant based recipes and this one was delicious, my husband loved it but I didn't use the oregano ..I also used dried cranberries. Thank you for this recipe...
Shevy (Slimming Eats) says
love the additional of cranberries - sounds like it would work well. I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this.
McKinsey says
Bought some farro at the store the other day and will be my first time cooking it! I always order it at my favorite Italian restaurant. So excited to try this recipe!! Thank you for all of your healthy alternatives!