Instant Pot Scarlet Farro Salad | Food Under Pressure
Instant Pot Scarlet Farro Salad is healthy, hearty and delicious!
This is one of those dishes you can prep on a Sunday and snack on all week! I work from home, so I love preparing food on Sunday that I can easily grab and eat.
This Instant Pot Farro Salad features beets! I absolutely love beets! If you think you don’t, try them mixed with the delicious ingredients of this salad and I bet you’ll change your mind.
The Simply Tangy Balsamic Vinaigrette in this salad is EVERYTHING – so many flavors and it brings everything together. Its homemade vinaigrette made SO EASY. Seriously, just add ingredients to a tupperware and shake, or to a bowl and whisk – literally, it takes 2 minutes!

Beautiful, healthy ingredients!
Farro – ever heard of or tasted farro before? If not, literally run to the store right now to buy some. It is so, so good. The texture is somewhere between rice and barley. It cooks in 15 minutes and you can’t mess it up like you can (like I always do) rice.
An essential tool to cooking farro: a wire strainer — the little morsels may fall right through your average plastic strainer.
This grain is not only healthy, but it is delicious, filling and satisfying — and, what I like most about it, it is DIFFERENT! Most people don’t use it, therefore most people are seriously missing OUT! When I cook and eat something like farro, I swear it just speaks to and fills my soul (and my belly!) Beets also speak to my soul – you should allow this recipe to speak to yours!
The varieties can really be endless — You could make a cold salad out of farro just like you can pasta. Today, allow me to introduce the stunningly delicious Instant Pot Scarlet Farro Salad.

- 2 T olive oil
- 1 1/2 lb chicken cubed, 1 inch
- 1/2 tsp salt preference
- 1/2 tsp pepper preference
- 1 box lb pasta, rigatoni or cavatappi
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper optional
- parmesan cheese optional as garnish
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Turn on Pressure Cooker to Sauté or Browning setting, then add 2 T olive oil
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Add chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 t each). Sear for 2-3 minutes - do not cook through.
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Add pasta, water, 1/2 t salt, plus 1 T butter, cut in small pieces
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Stir lightly. Close lid, and close vent knob - on Instant pot, turn vent knob to “Sealing”.
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Set cook time to 4 minutes on High Pressure - for Instant Pot, press Manual and adjust cook time with “+/-“ buttons to 4 minutes.
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When cook time is complete, quickly release pressure (QPR) and remove lid.
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Press cancel or off on your pressure cooker. Turn on sauté or browning function.
Add pesto and stir.
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Add spinach, stir and allow to wilt, 1-2 minutes.
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Turn cooker OFF and Serve immediately. Garnish with parmesan cheese, cracked pepper and/or crushed red pepper, if desired.
Step by Step Directions
Cook Farro using Instant Pot Farro Method
I have fine mesh strainers like these
Prepare Simply Tangy Vinaigrette

Prepare Salad ingredients

Combine ingredients
Instant Pot Scarlet Farro Salad
This healthy, hearty side dish feeds your SOUL… because this is just wholesomely, soulfully good eats!
