Think barley is boring? Think again with these these 20 healthy ancient grain barley recipes created by registered dietitians!
If you haven’t noticed, ancient grains are becoming more and more popular in modern kitchens – and for good reason! There is a host of nutritional benefits to be gained from them. You can check out my post on 10 Ancient Grains You Should Be Eating for more information. As a spin-off to my 10 ancient grains post, I’m doing a series of RD curated recipes featuring each ancient grain. I started with amaranth and am now featuring one you might be a little more familiar with: barley!
Barley is the world’s fourth most popular cereal crop after wheat, rice, and corn. According to the Whole Grains Council, “one of the earliest known sites where barley was grown was on the southwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee in what is now Israel, in settlements dating back 23,000 years”. It also traveled across the ocean with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to North America in 1494.
It offers many of the same healthy vitamins and minerals as other whole grains and is the highest in fiber of almost all the whole grains, with most varieties clocking in around 17% fiber but with some as high as 30% fiber! Studies have shown barley provides many health benefits, including reducing the risk of many diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
For all of you thinking, “But barley is boring…all you can eat it in is soup,” I have news for you: barley is not just for soups! You can cook it as a side dish, bake it in bread, eat it as a breakfast porridge, or grind it to use as flour to bake cookies. Barley may take longer to cook (about 50-60 minutes), but it freezes well, so cook a big batch at one time and freeze the extra for later.
20 healthy ancient grain Barley recipes created by registered dietitians Share on XTo prove to you just how tasty (and un-boring) barley can be, I’m sharing some delicious dietitian approved recipes all featuring the hearty ancient grain. Let me know in the comments which one of these barley recipes you’ll try first!
Warm Roasted Cauliflower and Barley Salad from How To Eat
Barley, Bean & Vegetable Salad from Chocolate Slopes
Vegan Zucchini Bread with Barley Flour from 80 Twenty Nutrition
Mexican Barley Stuffed Peppers from Nourishing Plate
Roasted Fennel & Citrus Barley Salad from One Hungry Bunny
Persian Cream of Barley Soup from The Delicious Crescent
Broccoli Barley Casserole Cups from MJ and Hungryman
Instant Pot Vegan Mushroom Barley Soup with Pumpkin from Rachael Hartley Nutrition
Mushroom Onion Barley from Jessica Levinson, MS, RDN, CDN
Curried Barley Chickpea Salad from Fannetastic Food
Mushroom, Barley & Kale Stuffed Peppers from How To Eat
Barley Porridge with Blueberries from The Delicious Crescent
Spring Grain Salad with Fava and Fennel from Kara Lydon, The Foodie Dietitian
Vegan Korean Nourish Bowl with Barley from MJ and Hungryman
Instant Pot Vegetable Barley Soup from Sharon Palmer, The Plant Powered Dietitian
Barley Salad with Cucumbers, Tomatoes & Arugula from Liz’s Healthy Table
Roasted Acorn Squash Barley Salad from The Grateful Grazer
Slow Cooker Barley and Bean Soup from Liz’s Healthy Table
Apple, Fig and Barley Bowl from Fork In the Road
Italian Broccoli, Barley and Beans from Eat Real, Live Well
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