The One Trader Joe’s Pantry Staple You Should Always Keep In Stock
Convenient, affordable, and in a little blue bag, this quick-cooking ancient grain makes for delicious weeknight dinners.
Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham
We have our Trader Joe’s favorites. (Trader Joe’s has a Product Hall of Fame, so we know we’re not alone in this.) Often, we enthusiastically fall in love with a new product, become obsessed, maturely recognize it as just a phase, then move on to something shinier. However, there are a few staples that will forever be on our list of must-buy Trader Joe's finds.
Some are shinier finds like the salsa we rave about to all of our friends and the fan-favorite cauliflower gnocchi. Others are the back-of-house kind of products that are affordable, practical, and no less deserving of accolades. One such item that is always stocked in our pantry is Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro ($1.79). There’s nothing quite like farro! It’s a hearty ancient grain that is nutty and delightfully chewy. TJ's version is a keeper for a reason.
Simply Recipes / Wanda Abraham
The name says it all. This partially cooked farro can be made in 10 minutes (nine if you like it extra chewy like us) while from-scratch farro requires pre-soaking and a cook time of close to an hour. It's a huge time saver!
Trader Joe’s farro couldn’t be easier to make: boil water, add the farro, and drain it like you would cook pasta. (Instead of water, sometimes we use vegetable broth as the cooking liquid to infuse extra flavor.) This foolproof product is convenient for nights when we want a quick and easy home-cooked meal. The little blue bag is one of the most consistent and reliable things in our lives, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Read More:Instant Pot Cooking Times for Rice, Quinoa, and Other Grains
Simply Recipes / Sally Vargas
Our Favorite Ways to Use TJ's 10 Minute Farro
We like to make extra farro and store it in the fridge for the week. Having it at our fingertips has elevated our weeknight meals. Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy it:
A combination of farro, massaged kale, chickpeas or tofu for protein, and a creamy dressing is one of our go-to meals. We’ve had many conversations trying to nail down what makes this combination so insanely good but nothing profound ever comes to us because we’re too busy shoveling in perfect bites.
We love adding farro to soups, particularly with mushrooms, because the earthy flavor pairs so well with farro’s nutty taste.
Farro is delicious reheated with a leafy green like spinach or broccoli rabe and seasoned with olive oil, garlic, lemon, and balsamic vinegar.
We use farro as the base for grain bowls, toss it into salads, or simply enjoy it as a side dish by turning it into a pilaf.
