This Mediterranean Barley Salad is an awesome make and take recipe. Loaded with healthy ingredients that will energize your body with whole grains and lean protein it is a great way to change up any cook out or potluck. Mediterranean Barley Salad is a wonderful Trim Healthy Mama meal.

Barley salad is not something you see often at cook outs or potluck dinners, at least not in my personal experience. Probably because many people are not sure how to cook it properly. My Instant Pot makes short work of cooking barley to perfection so that we can incorporate this wonderful grain into our meals.

Barley especially Hull- Less Barley is great, it doesn’t spike my blood sugar nearly as bad as many others. I do soak it for about 6 hours before cooking it. There are a few good reasons to soak your barley and other grains before cooking them.

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The Different Types of Barley

There are different types of barley. Some are better for you than others however you can use any of them in place of the other in this Mediterranean Barley Salad.

Pearled Barley

You will find pearled barley most often. Pearled barley has had the hard outer hull removed and has been polished so that it cooks the fastest of all the varieties. However it is a bit lower in fiber content than hulled or hull-less.

Hulled Barley

Hulled barley has had the hard outer hull removed. Unlike hull-less barley hulled barley grows with a hard outer hull that has to be removed before we can cook it and consume it.

Hull-less Barley

Hull-less Barley is an ancient grain. It grows with a loose outer hull that is easily removed It has the best nutritional profile of all of the varieties. I use it to make my Barley Mushroom Salad and this recipe for Barley, Beans & Greens from Carey over at The Healthy Milestone.

Reasons Why You Should Soak Barley

• Soaking reduces the phylates in grains and allows them to be digested easier
• Barley that has been soaked does not produce as much foam when cooking in your Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.
• Soaked barley cookes faster and more evenly than unsoaked.

How To Soak Your Barley

Place 3/4 cup of Barley into a glass container, cover with about 2 cups of water. Allow to soak for 6-24 hours. Drain and cook your grains with an additional 1 3/4 cups clean water or low fat broth.

I love how quickly I can cook it in my Instant Pot, it cuts the cooking time in about half from using the stove top.Just remember not to fill your electric pressure cooker more than half full with grains like barley because they do foam and expand. You can read more about that here.

Sprouted Barley

Sprouting your barley is even better than soaking it. However it does take an extra day or two. You can easily sprout your barley by rinsing it in cool water. Cover the container with  cheese cloth allow to sit over night. In the morning rinse and repeat until you see small sprouts starting to form. as soon as you see the tails it is time to cook your sprouted barley.

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How I Make Mediterranean Barley Salad

Ingredients:

1 cup barley, cooked
2 cups boneless chicken, cooked & cubed
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cups chopped cucumber
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup roasted red pepper, chopped
1 cup red onion, sliced
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 cups cherry tomato, halved
THM Mineral Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place cooked barley into a large mixing bowl.

2. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine.

3. May be served warm or cold

Mediterranean Barley Salad Printable Recipe

5 from 1 reviews

Mediterranean Barley Salad

 

Author: Judy

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 6

• Serving size: ½ cup
• Calories: 90

• Fat: 2g
• Carbohydrates: 15g
• Sodium: 174mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Protein: 3g
• Cholesterol: 8mg

Recipe type: Salad

Cuisine: Mediterranean Barley Salad

Prep time:  40 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  1 hour 10 mins

Save Print

A bright and airy Mediterranean Barley Salad that can be served warm or cold. It pairs nicely with grilled chicken breasts.

Ingredients

• 1 cup barley, cooked
• 2 cups boneless chicken (cooked, cubed), optional
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped cucumber
• 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup roasted red pepper (chopped)
• 1 cup red onion (sliced)
• 2 ounces feta cheese (crumbled)
• 2 cups cherry tomato (halved)

THM Mineral Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place cooked barley into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine.
3. May be served warm or cold

Notes

We love this served over a bed of dark leafy greens.

3.5.3239