Transform your health with our #1-rated Forks Meal Planner. Click here to try it FREE for 14 days!

Blood Orange-Farro Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

  • Prep-time: / Ready In:
  • Makes 7 cups
  • Serving size: 1¾ cups
  • Print/save recipe

This blood orange salad absolutely bursts with flavor. Chickpeas are rolled in a savory curry spice blend and then crisped up in an air fryer to create a delicious crunchy topping. Blood orange segments add juicy chunks of citrus to every bite, while chewy farro offers a hearty helping of whole grains. And don’t even get us started on the dressing—it’s so tasty that you might want to drizzle it on all your salads from now on!

Tip: No air fryer? Oven-roast the chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet 45 minutes at 400°F, stirring every 15 minutes.

By Nancy Macklin, RDN,

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry farro
  • 1 15-oz. can no-salt-added chickpeas
  • 1 tablespoons tahini
  • ½ teaspoon curry powder
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 2 blood oranges, peeled and sectioned
  • 1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
  • ½ cup sliced scallions
  • Sea salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • ¼ cup blood orange juice
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Place farro and 2 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes or until farro is tender and liquid is absorbed. Spread in a shallow baking pan to cool.
  • Drain chickpeas, reserving the liquid (aquafaba). Rinse chickpeas then pat them dry. Place in a medium bowl. Add tahini, curry powder, and smoked paprika; mix well. Preheat air fryer 5 minutes at 370°F. Place chickpeas in a single layer in fryer basket (may need to do in batches). Air-fry 15 minutes or until crispy. Spread on a paper towel; cool.
  • For Blood Orange Dressing, in a small bowl whisk together orange juice, 3 tablespoons of the reserved aquafaba, the red wine vinegar, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, and cinnamon until smooth.
  • In a large bowl toss together cooled farro, the romaine, oranges, bell pepper, and scallions. Drizzle with Blood Orange Dressing and season with salt and black pepper. Just before serving, sprinkle with chickpeas.
Nutritional Information:

Per serving (1¾ cups): 403 calories, 74 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein, 5 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 204 mg sodium, 13 g fiber, 12 g sugar

Note: Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only.

Comments (18)

(5 from 8 votes)

Recipe Rating

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Shelia Stanford

I made this for my dinner tonight and it was so good, but the best was the dressing. OMG it is so good. Will be using it on more salads.

Sheryl

Loved it!

Kenny

I made this over the weekend. Delicious! Made a change from farro to black lentils. Loved the blood oranges... I picked from the neighbors tree. Great timing. Thanks Darshana.

Ghaniya Saeed

Good recipe. Crispy chivk peas are super tasty snacks

Liz Turner

Thanks for bringing our attention to this error, Ryan. This salad is absolutely not gluten-free, and the tag has been removed. —Liz Turner, FOK editor

Andrea

I doubled the paprika and added garlic powder and black pepper and a tiny tiny shake of salt to the garbanzo beans. I also turned up the heat a bit to make them a tad crunchier. They turned out pretty good. As for the salad, I love farro, but the salad dressing left something to be desired. I'll remake the salad but I'll change up the dressing next time. We also ate the garbanzo beans as a snack vs putting them on the salad. I often AF garbanzo beans. This was a nice change in flavor,

Elaine Tsai

I really enjoyed this. I made the farro the day before so it was quick and easy to put together. I loved the chick peas, they were yummy and nicely spiced. I did add avocado and cucumber but I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Very good, crunchy, and a keeper. I will make it again.

Lynnea

Looks wonderful! And no need for nutritional information on this site. If you stick to a plant based diet with lots of variety, you won't need it because you're already eating healthy.

peggy

how many servings is this and how many grams of protein

Rod Wood

Sound fab but how can farro be gluten free? It is a type of wheat!

VM

Made this today and it was more work than it was worth. The dressing was bland as were the chickpeas. The farro was a good filler but this could have used more oomph IMO.

Debby Brehm

Sounds delicious, but I need to know serving size and nutritional content. Any chance future recipes might include that information?

Shelia Stanford

Going to make this tonight or tomorrow night for dinner! Sounds delish.

Barbara Foye

I don't have an air fryer how long should I bake the chickpeas in the oven and what degrees Fahrenheit?

Susan

Tip: No air fryer? Oven-roast the chickpeas on a parchment-lined baking sheet 45 minutes at 400°F, stirring every 15 minutes.

Marcia Boehm

I m going to do this! How long does aquafaba stay fresh?

barbara

I keep it about a week in the fridge. I try to always have some on hand by saving each time I use a can of garbanzos. I can toss the oldest in the fridge and keep the freshest.

Melanie Drescher

I pour the aquafaba liquid into ice cube trays and freeze it in ziplock bags. The ice cube tray usually is a 2 Tablespoon size.

About the Author

Headshot of Nancy Macklin

About the Author

Nancy Macklin, RDN

Nancy Macklin has a bachelor of science in dietetics from Iowa State University and a Master of Science in health services administration from the University of Saint Francis. Macklin worked as a hospital-based clinical dietitian, providing counseling for diabetes, heart disease, and weight loss and as a food service director in health care dining sites. She now serves as a test kitchen dietitian, developing 500+ recipes per year. She is a member of the Academy for Nutrition and Dietetics and International Association of Culinary Professionals. Find her on LinkedIn.
See More from this Author

Join our mailing list

Get free recipes and the latest info on living a happy, healthy plant-based lifestyle.

By providing your email address, you consent to receive newsletter emails from Forks Over Knives. We value your privacy and will keep your email address safe. You may unsubscribe from our emails at any time.