Salads do not have to be boring! Adding barley to your salads adds another layer of nutrition and dimension of flavor and texture to your meal. Whether it be warm or cold, a barley salad is a perfect addition to your mealtime.
Here are 5 barley salads you don’t want to miss out on!
Fire up your grill and cook up something everyone will enjoy. With the charred corn and roasted zucchini, it will be as if summer never ended. Make it today.
We have all heard of a grain bowl but how about a barley bowl? Rather than using rice, farro, millet, or quinoa, change things up by using barley instead! Barley packs a punch with extra fiber, protein, and vitamins and minerals, elevating your lunch to the next level and giving you the nutrition you need to conquer the day.
Making a barley bowl is as easy as one, two, three. First, layer your bowl with a good serving of barley. Second, add your toppings, load it up with your favorite vegetables and proteins. Finally, top with dressing and enjoy!
Here are 3 of our favorite barley bowls, each packed with flavor and nutrition!
Greek Barley Bowl
The Greek Barley Bowl ties together the flavors of the Mediterranean with the convenience of at-home cooking. This is easy to make and packed full of bold flavors and hearty nutrition. To make:
1. Add cooked barley to the bottom of your bowl. If you are wanting a whole grain, opt for hulled or hulless barley.
2. Top with spinach, cherry tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, and capers. For additional protein, add your favorite protein- chicken, tofu, lentils, etc.
3. Drizzle a light vinaigrette of your choice and sprinkle some feta on top. Then, enjoy!
Thai Barley Bowl
Bold flavors, loaded with fresh vegetables and packed with nutrition, this Thai barley bowl is hard to beat. Easy to make and full of fresh ingredients, this will quickly become a go-to lunchtime favorite. To make:
Add cooked barley to the bottom of your bowl. If you are wanting a whole grain, opt for hulled or hulless barley.
Top with kale, red cabbage, cherry tomatoes, and carrots.
Drizzle a peanut sauce dressing for a fresh, bold flavor and enjoy!
MexiBarley Bowl
Lunchtime doesn’t have to be boring! Pack up on proteins, veggies and fiber with this MexiBarley bowl. Fun flavors, easy to make, and loaded up on nutrition, make this today and amp up your day.
Add cooked barley to the bottom of your bowl. If you are wanting a whole grain, opt for hulled or hulless barley.
Top with bell peppers, black beans, corn, red cabbage, and carrots.
Drizzle a vinaigrette of your choice, and enjoy!
Try one of these creations today and amplify your lunch time experience!
When you think of barley, do you picture a big bowl of hearty soup? Does your mental image of barley pretty much end there? You may not be alone, but if your use of barley doesn’t extend beyond your mom’s beef and barley recipe, you’re seriously missing out.
When you think of barley, do you picture a big bowl of hearty soup? Does your mental image of barley pretty much end there? You may not be alone, but if your use of barley doesn’t extend beyond your mom’s beef and barley recipe, you’re seriously missing out. We recently spoke with two of the folks behind the Eat Barley campaign and learned that myths and misconceptions about barley seem to abound. So today, with help from Liz Wilder and Laura Wilder of Eat Barley and the Idaho Barley Commission, we’d like to set the record straight.
An Old Grain Meets New Needs
Using traditional cross-breeding methods, the barley we eat today has been bred to optimize many of the taste and health qualities that consumers are seeking from their grain. For instance, today’s barley has a higher beta-glucan content than older barley varieties. Beta glucans are dietary fibers that offer significant health benefits, promoting gut health, lowering blood cholesterol levels, and improving glucose metabolism. Barley and oats are two of the best sources of beta glucans, and barley has them in abundance – 1 cup of barley contains 2.5 grams of beta glucans. Today’s barley is also chock full of polyphenols, compounds found in many plant foods, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
Traditional barley varieties are somewhat notorious for their thick, stubborn hull. Most grains grow inside hulls, which protect them from moisture and pest predation, but barley hulls are perhaps the most difficult to peel away from their kernels, making it hard to keep the grain’s bran layer fully intact during the hulling process. Relatively recent developments in breeding have led to the introduction of hulless, or naked varieties of barley which grow without that thick suit of armor. And that brings us to our next fact about barley…
There Are So Many Ways to Purchase Barley – and Many of Them Are Whole Grain
Liz and Laura told us many people don’t know that whole grain barley exists. While it’s true that the pearled barley many people grew up eating is not whole grain, there are lots of ways to buy whole grain barley these days. Here’s a guide to the types you may see.
Hulless Barley is that “naked” barley we were just talking about that grows without a hull. This variety requires extremely minimal processing and does not get polished. It’s safe to assume hulless barley is always whole grain.
Hulled Barley has been lightly processed and polished to remove its tough outer hull, but its bran remains almost entirely intact and therefore it still counts as a whole grain.
Pot Barley has been processed and polished more than hulled barley, but less than pearled barley. It’s not as common in the US, but you might see reference to it in old recipes or in recipes from Europe or Australia. It doesn’t count as a whole grain.
Pearled Barley isn’t a whole grain since it’s undergone significant polishing to remove all or most of its bran layer. However, unlike other grains which lose most of their nutrients and fiber in the process of refining, the nutrients in barley are more evenly distributed, which means that even pearled barley is a healthy choice (despite not being whole).
Barley Flakes are similar to rolled oats and can be cooked into porridge or used in granola or bread. Barley flakes are whole grain as long as they were flaked and rolled using hulled or hulless varieties.
Barley Grits are made by finely chopping barley kernels into pieces. Grits can be cooked into porridge or polenta. Barley grits can be either whole grain or refined.
Barley Flour is perfect for use in baking. Barley flour can be used as a substitute for 25% of the wheat flour in most recipes without requiring other adjustments. Barley flour can be either whole grain or refined.
Depending on the size of the grain selection at your grocery store or natural foods store, you may be able to find these different grain types locally, or they can be purchased online from some of our member companies.
It’s Not Just for Soup!
Cooked barley is pleasantly firm and chewy, making it the perfect base for a grain salad, a tasty pilaf, or a rice substitute in curries or stir-fries. “Barley has a really nutty flavor, but also blends well with other flavors, adapting and thriving in most contexts,” Liz told us. She loves using barley in a mushroom risotto with white wine or in a heavy, tomato-based dish. She also highly recommends cooking barley flakes just as you would oatmeal. “It’s a great way to get used to the flavor and they hold their structure better than oats, so the texture is really nice.”
Laura loves hulless barley, though she recognizes that its cook time (45-60 minutes) can be a barrier for some. She recommends batch cooking and then storing in the refrigerator for a few days or freezing for future use. Using an Instant Pot can also speed up the cook time significantly.
If you’re looking for a few inspirational barley recipes to get you going, here are two of our favorites:
Bring 3 cups water to a boil then add barley. Reduce heat and simmer until barley is tender and liquid absorbed about 35-45 minutes. Alternatively: Place water and barley in Instant Pot. Close lid, set to sealing, and turn on to high pressure for 35 minutes. Conduct natural pressure release or quick valve. Drain and rinse when done.
While the barley cooks, combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk until combined.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, including the barley, and mix until well combined. Stir dressing and enjoy!
3cupsvegetable broth or chicken brothwater will also work
1cupkale, shredded
1cupcarrots, sliced
1cupbell pepper, diced
1/2cupcelery, chopped
1/2cupradish, sliced
1/4cupred onion, chopped
For the Dressing
2clovesgarlic, minced
2tbsplemon juice
1 1/2tbspdijon mustard
1/2tspsalt
1/2tsppepper
1/2cupolive oil
Instructions
Bring 3 cups water to a boil then add barley and thyme. Reduce heat and simmer until barley is tender and liquid absorbed about 35-45 minutes. Alternatively: Place water, barley, and thyme in Instant Pot. Close lid, set to sealing, and turn on to high pressure for 35 minutes. Conduct natural pressure release or quick valve. Drain and rinse when done.
While barley is cooking, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk together. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and barley, stir to combine. Mix in dressing. Serve immediatley or store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
