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Prep this Easy Farro Chili recipe and have your slow cooker do the rest! Filled with vegetables and farro, it’s a delicious, filling, vegetarian chili recipe that you’ll want to make again and again.
Two words: FARRO. CHILI. Have you tried it? I feel like farro is highly underrated, but I love it so so much so today we're celebrating it. Rice and quinoa get all the love, but farro is the perfect grain to add to your next batch of chili. If you've never tried farro, I'd say it tastes most similar to brown rice: not a ton of flavor on its own but can easily be paired with practically anything.
VEGETARIAN CHILI WITH FARRO
Lately, I've been into farro as a side dish, but it's also perfect in chili. Though I originally thought about adding some sort of meat to this, I ultimately decided that a vegetarian chili recipe was needed around here! The farro goes really well with traditional chili ingredients, like kidney beans, tomato paste, onion, garlic, and vegetable broth. I topped the chili off with a spoonful of sour cream and a pinch of cheese, but if you want to keep this recipe vegan-friendly, simply omit those ingredients or use dairy free alternatives.
REASONS TO MAKE THIS EASY CHILI
If I haven't completely sold you on the idea of farro yet, let me convince you on why you need this farro chili in your life.
- It's made in your slow cooker/crock pot, making it a hands-off kind of recipe. You have two options depending on your schedule 1) you can cook it on low for 5-6 hours or 2) you can cook it on high for 3 hours. It's completely up to you!
- It's filled with nutrient-dense ingredients like onions, kidney beans and farro, meaning it's actually really good for you.
- The soupiness can easily be adjusted. What do I mean by this? I mean that if you like your chili to be more like the consistency of soup, you may need to add a little more broth than what my recipe calls for. Or, if you like your chili to be a bit thicker, then you can achieve that by sticking to the recipe.
- The recipe yields 4 on its own, but can easily be doubled or tripled for plenty of leftovers.
FARRO CHILI ADD-INS AND SUBSTITUTIONS
Beans: Traditional chili calls for kidney beans, so that's what I used in this recipe. However, feel free to use any beans you have on hand, like pinto or black beans.
Broth: The recipe calls for vegetable broth because it's a vegetarian-friendly chili recipe, but you're more than welcome to use chicken broth. Also, if you don't have the full amount of broth, you can use some water instead.
Diced tomatoes: Any time I use diced tomatoes, I always use the fire roasted variety because I think they have so much more flavor. Alternatively, if you don't have 2 cans diced tomatoes you can use 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 cup marinara sauce.
Add-ins: Topping chili with sour cream, cheese and cilantro is pretty standard, but feel free to get crazy with the add-ins. Other fun add-ins include jalapeños, peppers (red, green), and/or sweet potatoes.
If you still haven’t experimented with farro, this is a great starting point because it's delicious when paired with vegetables and kidney beans and tomato sauce, just like in this farro chili recipe. What a coincidence.
OTHER ALMOND EATER CHILI RECIPES:
Easy Farro Chili
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 28 oz. diced tomatoes fire roasted; with their juices
- 6 oz. tomato paste
- 1 ½ cups farro rinsed
- 32 oz. kidney beans (2 cans); drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 3 cups vegetable broth
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes until soft. Transfer to your slow cooker.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to your slow cooker and give the mixture a good stir.
- Cook on HIGH for 2 ½-3 hours, or until the farro is soft. NOTE: this chili is on the thicker side -- if you want it to be more soup-like, add an additional ½-1 cup of broth.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Karen Fitz says
Absolutely delicious and super easy. I did it in the insta pot for 30 minutes! Thank you for posting, this definitely will be a family favorite 💜
Erin says
I'm glad you enjoyed it and that it worked well in the Instant Pot!
Dianne Diffenderfer says
This recipe looks great. I love farro and have recently enjoyed use it in recipes. Can this recipe be converted for an Instant Pot? I gave my slow cooker away when I bought it.
Erin says
Hi! It probably can be but I haven’t tested it so I don’t know the exact cook time for the IP. Sorry!
Michelle Warburton says
It finally feels like fall and this chili totally hit the spot!! Love being able to toss everything into the crockpot and have a no-fuss dinner any night of the week. The farro is a delicious and hearty touch!
Erin says
YAYYY!! Thanks for the comment and I'm glad this was a hit 🙂
Rolandz says
Hi Erin,
How many total ounces of diced tomatoes are needed?
Erin says
You'll need 2 cans and each can is about 14 oz., so approx. 28 oz.
Kristin says
What a great idea using farro. I loved this recipe but I did increase the spices, I used a tbsp of chili, tsp of cumin and a pinch of cinnamon. Also I only used one cup of broth because my crockpot is small. The thickness of the chili was perfect for me. Thanks for the recipe Erin!
Pam says
I am a little confused. Does the farro go into the crockpot cooked or dry out of the package.
Erin says
Dry! And then it'll cook in the crock pot.
Pam says
Thank you
Emilie @ Emilie Eats says
Ever since I discovered Trader Joe's quick-cooking farro, I've been obsessed with the stuff! It's so deliciously chewy and filling. I love putting it in a chili! Love it!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
BAHAH OMG, I have done that with a few recipes! Hey, then you just KNOW it was THAT good right?
I've yet to try farro, but it's been on my "to make" list. I can't resist a good chili and this looks bomb!
Erin says
Exactly! And once you try farro I know you'll be hooked.
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday says
"Is it sad that when I have plans, I get a little burst of anxiety because I worry about not getting any work done?" <-- I relate on so many levels. It's unfortunate but oh-so-true.
And I adore farro but definitely don't use it enough, so this looks like a pretty excellent way to change that! 🙂
Erin says
Sooo unfortunate hahah ahhh well. And I'm the same way--love farro but forget about it, except when it comes to chili apparently.
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
That's too funny that you already have a really similar recipe! That just goes to show how good it is, right? 😉
It looks delicious and I love how easy it is!
I'm the same way about taking time off on the weekend. We have plans too and I'm already having anxiety about preparing my posts for next week. It's never-ending! I Anyways, I hope you are able to chill and have a great weekend!!
Erin says
Isn't it sad? Like, a little funny but mostly sad. I'm getting stuff done now, and laughing at myself for being stressed over nothing. I hope you're getting stuff done too--have fun with your plans!
ACKTIVE LIFE says
OMG I love farro and had no idea you could put it in the slow cooker...GENIUS! I will definitely try to make this and may even add some extra protein to it...I will report back after I've made it. Thanks for sharing and Happy Friday! XOXO
Erin says
Yaaaa you totally can and yes, please report back!
lindsay says
all i want to do is sing "pharro pharro ... oh oh let your people go, oh! ya ya ya ya." haha I grew up in bible study school, can you tell? and pharro is pronounced like farro. okay i'm a dork
Sarah | Well and Full says
Hahaha I had the exact same reaction, Lindsay!! Now I have that song stuck in my head :p
Erin says
Perhaps I should YouTube this... 😀 Clueless as usual!
Don says
Lindsay, you are an adorable dork!