Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro

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Lean chicken breasts and chewy farro give this spinach salad a major boost of protein to give you long lasting energy.

Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes

Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro - The Lemon Bowl

Lean chicken breasts and chewy farro give this spinach salad a major boost of protein to give you long lasting energy.

Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro - The Lemon Bowl

My Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro is my husband’s favorite make-ahead brown bag lunch. In fact, once I made it for him the first time he started requesting it on a weekly basis. As a healthy food blogger with a picky husband, I can’t tell you how much joy this brings me.

Salad Assembly Line - The Lemon Bowl

Creating his lunches for the week has actually become a bit of a Sunday afternoon ritual for the two of us. We love being in the kitchen together and I love seeing him take charge with these salads. He always picks out his favorite veggies and asks for different grains each week. On this particular day we used farro but wheat berries and spelt also do a great job of maintaining their chewy, nutty texture throughout the week. 

Bob's Red Mill Farro - The Lemon Bowl

If you’ve never tried farro, I encourage you to give it a try. Packed with protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, this ancient grain is an affordable and versatile source of energy.

Spinach Power Salad with Chicken Farro - The Lemon Bowl

We almost always have leftover cooked chicken breasts on hand (we even used leftover tandoori chicken once!) but any lean protein works including pork tenderloin, tuna, flank steak, you name it. The salad is hearty enough to dress ahead of time but I always recommend waiting until you’re ready to serve.

What is your favorite make-ahead lunch idea? I would love to hear from you.

Your fork is waiting.

Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro - The Lemon Bowl

Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro

Rate It!
Lean chicken breasts and chewy farro give this spinach salad a major boost of protein to give you long lasting energy.
PREP: 10 minutes
TOTAL: 10 minutes
Servings: 5

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup uncooked Bob’s Red Mill farro
  • 10 cups baby spinach (or any baby greens)
  • 10 ounces thinly sliced leftover chicken breasts
  • 2 cups shredded carrots
  • 2 cups mushroom slices
  • 2 cups red pepper slices

Balsamic Vinaigrette

Instructions
 

  • Prepare farro according to package instructions and set aside to cool.
  • Place spinach in a large bowl or 5 individual travel containers. Top with chicken slices, carrots, mushrooms, red pepper slices and cooled farro.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinaigrette. Drizzle over salad bowl if you plan to serve immediately. Otherwise, place in a travel container and dress individual salads as needed throughout the week.

Notes

Undressed salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Feel free to mix and match toppings with whatever veggies or leftover meat you have on hand.

Nutrition

Calories: 388kcalCarbohydrates: 50.8gProtein: 25.5gFat: 11.8gSaturated Fat: 1.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9.9gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 841mgFiber: 14.3gSugar: 11.5g

34 thoughts on “Spinach Power Salad with Chicken and Farro”

  1. Micheke & Fredie

    Both of us started eating clean. Going to try this salad, hoping the hype is as good as everyone here is making it to be. Thank you

  2. I was inspired by you when you originally posted pics on Instagram and have been making Larry a version of this salad for lunch last couple weeks! No farro, but I do love farro! I could eat this for lunch every day, especially if it was ready to go!

  3. Wow-this looks fantastic! My mom (who is an amazing cook) used to make farro for us all the time, and I haven’t had it since I was a kid, so I’m definitely going to have to try it in the super yummy looking protein salad!

  4. I love a good healthy salad!! This looks wonderful. I have been trying to eat salads a lot more to help loose the baby weight and this would mix things up.

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