Recipes › Fresh bowls & lunches› Roasted carrot grain bowl with lemon tahini
Fresh bowls & lunches · Easy · Serves 4

Roasted carrot grain bowl with lemon tahini

Warm farro, golden roasted carrots, crispy chickpeas, a tangle of fresh herbs, and a lemon tahini that ties the whole thing together. The kind of lunch that makes future-you grateful.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-06-06
Overhead view of a wide cream-speckled stoneware bowl with a grain bowl lunch: a base of nutty farro topped with golden roasted carrot wedges, crispy roasted chickpeas, a handful of fresh arugula, chopped parsley and dill, a small mound of crumbled feta, a halved lemon, and a slow drizzle of pale lemon tahini dressing. On a white marble counter with a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel, a small jar of tahini dressing on the side, and a light oak fork resting at an angle.
Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
easy

This is the lunch I make when I want to feel good after, but not in a way that takes the joy out of lunch. A grain bowl, healthy-ish in the most cozy sense: warm roasted carrots, crispy chickpeas, nutty farro, a tangle of arugula, and a lemon tahini dressing that ties it all together with one slow drizzle.

I keep the components in the fridge through Tuesday and Wednesday, so future-me has a five-minute lunch waiting. A little dill at the end is the small detail my grandmother would have stood by.

“Healthy-ish in the most cozy sense. The kind of lunch that makes future-you grateful.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01Healthy-ish in the most cozy sense. Warm farro, golden carrots, crispy chickpeas, the lemon tahini that ties it together.
  • 02Two sheet pans and a small pot. Most of the work happens hands-off while the oven runs.
  • 03Excellent for meal prep. Store the components in the fridge through the middle of the week and assemble a five-minute lunch.
  • 04Fully vegetarian and easy to flex: skip the feta for vegan, swap the farro for rice or quinoa, use whatever herbs you have.
A hand in a sage green cardigan with a white tee cuff visible underneath drizzling pale golden lemon tahini dressing from a light oak wooden spoon in a slow spiral over an assembled grain bowl, with golden roasted carrot wedges, crispy chickpeas, fresh arugula, chopped parsley and dill, crumbled feta, and a halved lemon visible in the cream-speckled stoneware bowl on a white marble counter. A small clear glass jar with more dressing sits to the right and a striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel is folded to the left.
Drizzle slowly in a spiral so every bite gets some. The dressing should be the consistency of pourable cream.
Ingredients

For the bowls

  • 1 cupfarro
  • 1 lbcarrots, peeled, cut into ½-inch coins or short wedges
  • 1 (15 oz)can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, patted very dry
  • 3 Tbspolive oil, divided
  • 1 tspground cumin
  • 1 tspkosher salt, divided
  • 4 cupsbaby arugula or mixed greens
  • ¼ cupfresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 Tbspfresh dill, chopped
  • ½ cupcrumbled feta
  • 2 Tbsppumpkin seeds, toasted
  • to tasteflaky salt and black pepper

For the lemon tahini dressing

  • ⅓ cuptahini
  • 3 Tbspfresh lemon juice
  • 1small garlic clove, grated
  • 2 Tbspolive oil
  • 2 to 4 Tbspwarm water
  • ½ tspkosher salt
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Heat the oven, roast the veg.
    Preheat to 425°F. On a large sheet pan, toss the carrots with 2 Tbsp olive oil, the cumin, and ½ tsp salt. On a second sheet pan (or the other side of the same pan), toss the chickpeas with the remaining 1 Tbsp olive oil and ½ tsp salt. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the carrots are tender at the thickest part and the chickpeas are crispy. Shake the pans once.
  2. 02
    Cook the farro.
    While the oven works, cook the farro in well-salted water per package directions, usually 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and toss with a tiny drizzle of olive oil so it doesn't clump.
  3. 03
    Whisk the dressing.
    In a small bowl, whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, grated garlic, olive oil, and salt. Add warm water a tablespoon at a time until the dressing is the consistency of pourable cream. Taste. Adjust salt and lemon to your liking.
  4. 04
    Build the bowls.
    Divide the farro between four wide bowls. Top each with a generous scoop of carrots and chickpeas, a handful of arugula, a sprinkle of parsley and dill, and crumbled feta if using. Drizzle with the tahini dressing. Finish with pumpkin seeds, flaky salt, and a crack of black pepper.
    Overhead view of a pair of hands in a sage green cardigan over a fitted white tee, one holding a small light oak cutting board piled with chopped fresh parsley and dill, the other picking up a pinch of the herbs to sprinkle over the assembled grain bowl. The bowl shows farro, roasted carrots, crispy chickpeas, crumbled feta, arugula, a halved lemon, and a swirl of tahini dressing. A small ceramic bowl of extra chopped herbs sits at the upper-left and a striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel is at the lower-left, on a white marble counter.
    Finish with a generous shower of fresh herbs. The dill is the small Nordic detail that pulls the whole bowl together.
  5. 05
    Eat or stash.
    Eat the bowls warm or at room temperature. To meal-prep, store the components separately (farro, roasted veg, dressing, greens) for up to 4 days, and assemble at lunch.
Macro close-up of a light oak wooden fork lifting a tangled bite from a grain bowl: a caramelized roasted carrot wedge with charred edges, several crispy chickpeas, nutty farro grains, and a small frond of fresh dill, all coated in pale golden lemon tahini dressing with a thin drip mid-fall back toward the cream-speckled stoneware bowl below.
A note from Anna

Dry the chickpeas thoroughly before roasting. Wet chickpeas steam instead of crisp, and the difference between soft chickpeas and shatter-crispy ones is the difference between a fine lunch and a great one. Pat them on a clean tea towel until they look almost dusty, then onto the pan.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    A wedge of warm pita
    For the last of the tahini dressing.
  • ·02
    A simple cucumber salad
    Cucumber, vinegar, dill, salt. Five minutes.
  • ·03
    Sparkling water with lemon
    Or a small glass of crisp white wine if it's the weekend.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Components separately, in sealed containers, for up to 4 days. Carrots and chickpeas in one, farro in another, dressing in a third, greens dry.

Reheat: Carrots and chickpeas in a 350°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes to re-crisp the chickpeas. Farro at room temperature is fine, or warm it briefly with a splash of water.

Make ahead: Roast a double batch of carrots and chickpeas, cook a double batch of farro, and whisk a big jar of dressing on Sunday. You've got lunch sorted through Thursday.

Freezer: Roasted carrots freeze well; chickpeas lose their crisp. I don't freeze the assembled bowls.

Recipe card

Roasted carrot grain bowl with lemon tahini

Warm farro, golden roasted carrots, crispy chickpeas, a tangle of fresh herbs, and a lemon tahini that ties the whole thing together. The kind of lunch that makes future-you grateful.

Prep
15 min
Cook
30 min
Serves
4
Total
45 min
Ingredients
  • 1 cup farro
  • 1 lb carrots, peeled, cut into ½-inch coins or short wedges
  • 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, patted very dry
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
  • 4 cups baby arugula or mixed greens
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp fresh dill, chopped
  • ½ cup crumbled feta
  • 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted
  • to taste flaky salt and black pepper
  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, grated
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 2 to 4 Tbsp warm water
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
Method (short version)
  1. 01Heat the oven, roast the veg.
  2. 02Cook the farro.
  3. 03Whisk the dressing.
  4. 04Build the bowls.
  5. 05Eat or stash.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

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