Delicious grains, cherry tomatoes and seafood come together in this hearty and easy tuna farro salad! Perfect as a side dish or all on its own.
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Why this recipe works ❤️
This delectable tuna farro salad is one of my go-to favorite lunches and light dinners all year round. Hearty, healthy and it stars my all-time favorite grain, the scrumptious farro. And while you CAN sub in other grains (more on that later), if you haven’t tried the deliciousness that is farro, here’s your chance!
What is farro? 🧐
I tried farro a while back purely because I saw this bag somewhere and I fell in love with the look of it. This happens to me sometimes. Sometimes it doesn’t work out – but most of the time it does!
Farro is an ancient grain that is kind of like a cross between rice and barley…
…but it cooks up to have a wonderful, nutty, chewy, one of a kind taste and texture that makes me temporarily forget all about rice and barley.
Although either one of those would work perfectly well in this salad! But if you can find farro, and more and more supermarkets are stocking it – give it a whirl. It may rock your world, grain-wise.
Ingredients you need 🍅
Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- Farro: Can’t find farro? SOB. Barley and brown rice will also work…just follow the directions on the package to cook it up.
- Tuna: I know, there are so many choices! We like Albacore tuna (sometimes also labled as white tuna) for its versatile and mild flavor. We always opt for it packed in oil, also for the rich flavor, but you can use tuna packed in water if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: The magical cherry tomato holds its flavor all year round, but if you are making this during tomato season, use those larger local tomatoes!
- Mint: You can find mint in the produce section of your supermarket (and in my mom’s sunroom 🥰)…you can also swap in basil, thyme, oregano or any other fresh herbs that catches your fancy.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe 👩🏻🍳
STEP 1: Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
STEP 2: Toss tomatoes with a little olive oil and roast them for 30 minutes.
STEP 3: Meanwhile, bring some water to a simmer, add some farro and simmer for 30 minutes or until the farro is tender, but still chewy. Drain.
STEP 4: Gently toss farro, tuna, mint, and tomatoes together. Drizzle on a few tablespoons of olive oil and add the lemon juice and toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
STEP 5: Divide among plates, top with a little more mint, and serve it up!
Recipe FAQs 🤔
Farro can usually be found in the rice aisle of your grocery store (and if you can’t find it, brown rice is a great substitute – follow the cooking directions on the package.
We like albacore (also labeled as white) tuna for its mild flavor but if you want a stronger tuna flavor go for yellowfin.
They will! Fresh basil, oregano and thyme are all great choices.
It can! We do recommend stirring in the herbs at the last minute so they don’t wilt.
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
Equipment we used for this recipe 🥣
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Citrus Juicer: We love this handy juicer that catches every single seed.
- Fine Mesh Strainer: This is the one we reach for when we need teeny tiny holes! Or if we just need to drain something.
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Medium Pot: We have a drawerful of these, but this pot is the one we reach for first.
- Parchment Paper: This paper is great for lining baking sheets, casseroles or anything else where you need a nonstick surface.
- Rimmed Baking Pan: This sturdy baking pan is perfect for everything from catching any drips from pies to making a sheet pan full of pancakes!
What to serve with this recipe 🍽️
Other tuna salad recipes we love! 🥰
We want to know what you think! 🤔
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Tuna Farro Salad
Delicious grains, cherry tomatoes and seafood come together in this hearty and easy tuna farro salad! Perfect as a side dish or all on its own.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop and Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups water
- 3/4 cups farro
- 14 ounces good quality canned or jarred tuna, broken up into pieces
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/4 cup chopped mint
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or use the olive oil from the can)
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Toss tomatoes with a tablespoon of olive oil and roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring water to a simmer, add farro and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender but still chewy. Drain.
- Gently toss farro, tuna and tomatoes together. Drizzle on a few tablespoons of olive oil and add the lemon juice and mint and toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Divide among plates and serve.
Notes
- Farro: Can’t find farro? Barley and brown rice will also work…just follow the directions on the package to cook it up.
- Tuna: I know, there are so many choices! We like Albacore tuna (sometimes also labled as white tuna) for its versatile and mild flavor. We always opt for it packed in oil, also for the rich flavor, but you can use tuna packed in water if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: The magical cherry tomato holds its flavor all year round, but if you are making this during tomato season, use those larger local tomatoes!
- Mint: You can find mint in the produce section of your supermarket (and in my mom’s sunroom 🥰)…you can also swap in basil, thyme, oregano or any other fresh herbs that catches your fancy.
Ruby says
Such a low effort and healthy meal – the best combo! I will definitely be making this again! The tomatoes were so tender and just perfection!
Ruby! I’m so glad you liked this one! :)
hg says
Longtime reader, but never commented. I’m not that much older than your daughter, but I yet I remember reading your post about her senior prom! We seem to be just far apart that each of her milestones make me juuust slightly nostalgic. Without being too far ahead of her (5 years??), I wish her so much luck and good fortune, and I think of all the good things she has to come with a smile. The post-college difficulties and joys are often spoken of with contempt, but a lot happens in a few short years! Life happens reeeal fast, you will enjoy it! I’m going to go call my mother now! All my best wishes.
I love this comment SO much! Thank you for these sweet and kind words – I am going to share them with my daughter (and YES, prom seems like it was yesterday!) :)
Theresa M. says
This looks really yummy! Wish my tomato plants were a little further along so I could use garden-ripe ones for this recipe. (patience, Grasshopper, patience) We had rain almost all weekend and a tornado warning, which made for some excitement. I did manage to grill some pork chops without getting too wet. Served them with some homemade applesauce, fruit salad and chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. That cake was a good start to summer.
Hi Theresa! I rely on cherry tomatoes while I am waiting for regular tomato season to start – somehow they don’t lose their tomato taste the way the out of season bigger ones do! Meantime, your summertime kick-off menu sounds fabulous – be careful in that weather!!
Ala says
I have a friend who would be totally in LOVE with this recipe, Kate–I can’t believe the start of summer is approaching already, wow! Cheers for sharing this, bookmarked! xo
I know, it seems like only yesterday we were complaining about all the snow! Happy summer, Ala!