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This was really delicious, and very hearty. I was thinking it would be a great filling for stuffed peppers.
vivian
Good news: ONE POT and FIVE INGREDIENTS to yummmmmmy.
This recipe — side note: can we still call it a recipe if it’s 5x easier than mac and cheese from a box? doing it — is for hungry hungry hippos like yours truly who want 1) HEALTHY and 2) EASY food sitting on their table, like, ten minutes ago. And also may or may not have access to a kitchen. Serious.
This one pot wonder is a healthy combination of chewy farro aka my latest food obsession, white beans, tomato sauce (Dear DeLallo, I luv you and thank you for not adding sugar or other unnecessary things to your dreamy tomato basil sauce), tender bright green baby kale, halved grape tomatoes, and a handful of Asiago or Parmesan or – I’m gonna go there – shredded taco cheese if you don’t have anything else and you need to finish up a bag of it left over from your enchiladas verdes last week. Just lock me up right now. I am a complete and utter food criminal.
This whole thing was like a delicious Italian Rice and Beans combination, which is the best news ever because there is little I love more in this life than a cozy, humble, comforting rice and beans dinner.
It gave my hungry self a feel-good bear hug at the end of a long, exhausting day full of me pretending to knock down walls and generally be useful at all during a kitchen remodel. Exhausting, I’m telling you.
A note to the new readers who haven’t heard me say it yet: I’m cooking in the basement. Like, making meals for us as real people to eat for dinner, and making meals to share with you as food blog readers.
And you guys. I don’t mean in a kitchen in a basement – I mean like we packed all our stuff in boxes to prepare for the remodel, brought them downstairs, set out a few appliances (hi, rice cooker!) on a work bench covered with a tablecloth, and called the whole thing done.
I’m thinking I might have mentioned this before, like, one hundred and one times in the last three posts because I have this bad habit thing about never letting my woe-is-me situations go unnoticed. But when I am cooking in the basement, making really randomly delicious, healthy, and super easy things in small electric kitchen appliances instead of succumbing to the multiple happy hour snacks within a one minute drive from our house, you are going to know about it.
How To Make Our Asiago White Bean Farro:
So in addition to shoveling this healthy these Asiago White Beans and Farro and veggie crew straight from rice cooker to mouth, we are most definitely still working through this whole kitchen remodel and loving the progress.
So far, we’ve gone from two separate rooms (kitchen and dining room) to one open space. This redistribution of space is a BIGGIE BIG DEAL for us small house dwellers. The potential for natural light that I’ll get in the kitchen now from those two double doors being exposed is just making me crazy excited.
This week, Bjork and I are off and running for a road trip along the California coast — weeeeeeeeee! We’ll be hitting up lots of places for a whole bunch of different stuff, most of which revolves around food photography and you know that makes me one happy California dreamin girl. I hope you will virtually ride along in the backseat of our little economy rental car by following along on my favoritist of all the social medias, INSTA-GEE. I’ll even share my car snacks with you.
While we’re gone, our amazingly talented house fixin team is going to be getting the electric, plumbing, and drywall all good to go. So when we come back in eight days, we’ll have a real official space that doesn’t look like a skeleton of a house anymore.
One thing, though. Does a person need to limit how often they text, call, and FaceTime their contractor during a mid-remodel trip? Please say no. I already have him on speed dial.
If kitchen remodeling means I get to eat this all the time for all the meals and be happy and healthy and save lots of time, I think I might just like to make kitchen remodeling and basement cooking a regular part of our lives.
(Do not quote me on that ever.)
But truthfully, honestly, for realio, I just love this so super easy rice cooker one pot Asiago White Bean and Farro combo like 200x better than anything else that’s come out of the basement kitchen up till this point. And I don’t even think I would need to be cooking in a basement in order to love the comforting combo of the farro, the white beans, fresh veggies, tangy tomato sauce and sharp Asiago or Parmesan cheese. It’s healthy, colorful, loaded with protein and fiber, adaptable with what you have on hand but don’t even think about bringing up taco cheese right now.
This whole thing = happy, healthy, extremely easy, one pot dinner.
And that = a better Monday.
Asiago White Beans with Farro, Kale, and Tomatoes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 3 one-cup servings 1x
Description
This recipe for Asiago White Beans with Farro, Kale, and Tomatoes is a healthy one-pot recipe that can be made in the rice cooker!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked farro (usually found in the health foods or dry rice and beans section of the grocery store)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 2 cups baby kale or spinach
- 1/2 cup Asiago or Parmesan cheese
- 1 cup tomato sauce (I am loving DeLallo Tomato Basil – no added sugar!)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the farro in a rice cooker with the broth. Start the rice cooker, or if you don’t have a rice cooker, just cook it in a small pan on the stove according to package directions. (Farro takes a minimum of 30 minutes to cook so I always use the brown rice setting on the rice cooker. Soaking it overnight does speed up the cook time, but I never think ahead to do that and it always turns out just fine as long as you cook it long enough to be soft and chewy.)
- Add the white beans, grape tomatoes, kale, Asiago, and tomato sauce directly into the rice cooker or the pot on the stove. Stir it all up, season with additional salt and pepper and maybe a snip of fresh herbs, and you’re done.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: white beans, asiago cheese, farro recipe
Ooh, I hope you’ll get to drive along Big Sur! Now THAT will make for some awesome Instagram photos. Say hi to the seals for me.
SEALS! For cuteness!!!
I love this recipe because 1) I’m eating healthier for the Fall after an ice cream filled summer 2) You say this recipe is easier than boxed mac n cheese and 3) Only one pot to wash, yay!!!
And it will feed all my hungry hungry hippos. As a side note, I personally know the inventor of the game Hungry Hippos, they’ll a lot of fun and have an awesome house to go visit, lemme tell ya!!! Talk about fun and games!!!!
No way! That is awesome!
This looks so good! I had farro for the first time with your ancho chil, and I loved it!
Thanks Joey! I’m so glad you liked that chili too – it’s one of my new faves.
Lindsay,
Have FUN in California! I have two crockpots, so you are welcome to borrow one when you get back. I also have a TON of great crockpot recipes (even desserts) that I can share with you. Text me, if you’re interested.
Jammy
p.s. I’m so glad you are getting OUT of the house during the remodel. Just seeing those torn-down walls and imagining plaster dust everywhere gives me a stress-out session right through the screen and since we’re kindred souls in the organization/anxiety department, this trip is going to be really GOOD for you!
Hahaha – you should come over and share a basement meal with me just to get your feathers all ruffled. It’s so dirty, dusty, and awesome in that camping sort of way. 😉
Love seeing all the progress of the kitchen remodel. I’m totally digging the idea of a one pot meal in a rice cooker. Definitely gourmet style food, and like you said, easier then mac and cheese. Love it!
P.S. i’d totally have the contractor on speed dial too.
One pot meals are the best (especially went you’re working in cramped quarters!).
Oh so pretty too.
Pinned.
Have a marvelous Monday!
Thanks Melanie! Appreciate that!
THANKS for this recipe. I’ve wanted a recipe that uses faro. I am so trying this this week.
My goodness, we never created anything nearly as fabulous during our kitchen remodel. It was 8 weeks (! – let me tell you, the kitchen is not that big) of take-out and peanut butter sandwiches 🙂 Your dish looks delicious – and have a wonderful time in California!
Oh I know it. We have peanut butter at the ready for most meals. 🙂
Ooooh I love a good hearty recipe that uses Asiago! That sounds so yummy. I’ll have to try the DeLallo tomato sauce- it’s disappointingly hard to find no sugar added ones!
I know. Tell me about it. The DeLallo stuff is spendy but it’ so so so good.
The fewer pots the better! This sounds great!
Lindsey, this looks like such a fantastic, quick meal! I love how you’re putting your rice cooker skills from the Philippines to good use in the basement. Keep those videos coming, can’t wait to see the final result!
Thanks Kathryne! 🙂 We’re totally babies at the video thing at this point but it’s really fun (MOST of the time) to learn it together. It’s a good new challenge!
Putting on my list of recipes to try! So many of my favorite ingredients all in one dish. Farro is one of my top grains too!
I just can’t stop with it. It’s my fave!
I love rice cooker recipes! 1 pot anything is a dream for me and my kitchen is fully in-tact… well currently. A remodel would be lovely, and all I would need is a few more recipes like this to keep business as usual right? Just don’t tell hubby!
Have a wonderful road trip and the contractor on speed-dial is absolutely a necessity!
One pot meals are the best! Good luck with the kitchen remodel, I look forward to seeing the finished result!
I love your “can-do” attitude!
Gotta make it work, otherwise you know I’m gonna be eating Chipotle for six weeks. Which sounds kind of okay right now… 😉
This looks lovely something I would definitely take to work for my lunch. I have never heard of farro before do you think its called something different in the UK?
Hm, it’s similar to brown rice but more grainy and sturdy. If you can’t find it I would just sub brown rice or any other hearty grain. Quinoa would be great, too!
Yum! This sounds so good! I have a stock of white beans that I’ve been hoarding for no reason and this is such a fun and delicious way to use them up!
ONE pot ;-)))
MY LIFE.
This recipe sounds like the kind of deliciousness that would come from a basement makeshift kitchen. It’s amazing what one can do with a little creative thinking.
I’m thinking about your calling/texting the contractor question, and even if you are friends, I would tell you to keep that kind of activity to a minimum. You don’t want to annoy them. It’s also helpful if you don’t keep coming up with changes, unless it is something truly essential, because that always ends up costing you. I think your trip is a great idea; it’s no fun living in a house that’s under construction…
It’s great that you’ve been able to set up a make-shift kitchen and cook healthy meals. Keep those videos coming — love them!
Thanks Amy! It’s really fun to do something that we’ve never done before – starting from ground zero with nothing and making it a little better each time. 🙂
Yum! White beans are my jam lately, but I never quite know how to use them aside from in a white chili. FYI, you have at least 2-3 ads playing videos in your sidebar.. I opened the recipe from my email while I was finishing a blog and had to navigate back 3 times in the span of about 10 minutes to turn off each video. Doesn’t bother me but thought you might like to know 🙂
Oh my goodness, I am SO SORRY about those. We are working really hard with our ad networks to get them removed. Just know that they are driving me crazy too and we are doing everything possible to kick those to the curb. Thanks for your patience with it Cheryl!
Remodeling looks like in good progress. Reminds me of our house construction couple of years ago. 🙂
Oh yeah, now this is MY kind of recipe, except for the cheese (I grew up in WI and I’m NOT a cheesehead. What!). Props to you for keeping up such a positive attitude while cooking in your basement.
Thanks Linda! Fake it till you make it, right?!
Red sauce and white beans are amazing together–love Italian flavors but not the usual loads of pasta that come with it. I’ll have to try this combo, especially since it doesn’t involve 24 hours of soaking and cooking beans!
Ugh, the soaking of beans. I want to do it but I just, I never, I … no real excuses other than lazy, I think. 😉
Made this for dinner tonight. When I saw it this morning I knew it had to happen! I used stewed tomatoes instead of fresh because I like them better and it’s what I had. It came out AMAZING! This is definitely going to be a new staple!
Love that! Thanks Lily!