How To Cook Hulled Barley In Instant Pot

How To Serve Barley

While barley is a fantastic addition to soups, there are plenty of other ways to serve this deliciously chewy grain. Herere just a few ideas:

• Toss them in salads for an additional texture and nutrients.
• Serve it as a simple side dish, in place of rice. My personal favorite is to serve it with beef stew!
• Barley is great in stir fries, like fried rice!
• You can also make risotto with barley!!!

How To Cook Pearl Barley In Instant Pot

• Wash the grains well before using.
• Add 1 cup pearl barley and 1.25-15 cups water to the inner pot.
• close the lid, turn the seal to cooking mode and press the pressure cook button. Set the timer to 20 minutes.
• Once done, wait for 5 minutes before you can release the pressure manually.
• Fluff the grains with a fork. If you notice any excess water, drain them completely as you would do for pasta.

How To Use Instant Pot Barley In Meals

There are tons of different ways to use cooked barley to prepare meals. One thing to keep in mind, you can substitute barley for any grain in a recipe or add it to create a combination with decent results.

When replacing dry barley in recipes, all it requires is to adjust the cooking time to allow at least 45 minutes on top of the stove and to use a 3:1 ratio of water to barley when using barley as a substitution.

Barley is most commonly used to prepare soups, stews, risotto, gratins, pilafs and salads.

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Step By Step Instructions

• Start the barley in the Instant Pot – Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker set to manual for 18 or 23 minutes . Add the barley and onion. Saute until it smells a bit toasty. Add the liquid and salt. Lock the lid in place.
• Prep the remaining ingredients – While the barley cooks, dice the ham . Chop any fresh herbs and/or scallions.
• Release the pressure – When the pressure cooker completes the cooking cycle, do a quick pressure release for pearl barley, or a slow release for hulled barley. Check for doneness. We like firm rather than mushy. If you’ve got a lot of liquid in the pan, you may wish to drain most or all of it. Return the pot to saute, and add the diced ham if using. Saute stirring occasionally while preparing the eggs.
• Prepare the eggs – Prepare your eggs your favorite way. When the eggs are ready, add the greens to the pot, and stir to combine. You just want to wilt the greens.
• To Serve: Scoop the barley mixture into shallow bowls. Top with an egg cooked to your preference. Garnish as desired with Aleppo pepper , fresh ground pepper, fresh herbs, scallions, etc. Enjoy!

I cooked my pearl barley 18 minutes in the pressure cooker with half water and half broth. After a quick pressure release I added some fresh baby kale, small diced turkey ham, gave it a good stir on the sauté setting to heat the ham and wilt the greens, and topped it with a boiled egg . And just because I can, I finished it with Aleppo pepper and my Peruvian sal de Maras.

How To Cook Barley In An Instant Pot

You only need barley and water to cook barley in a pressure cooker. I also recommend adding a little salt and oil for the best flavor and fluffy texture. Heres how to do it.

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Do You Have To Soak Pot Barley Before Cooking

If youre going to cook barley on the stovetop in a regular pan, you dont have to soak it first, although it is beneficial to do so. If youre going to use an Instant Pot or another type of pressure cooker, then you will need to soak it for a minimum of 4 hours before cooking otherwise, the grains may still be quite chewy.

For oven-baked barley, you dont need to soak the barley first, although it is perfectly fine if you do!

How To Cook Hulled Barley In Instant Pot

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How to cook barley faster? Cook it in an Instant Pot!Hulled barley is a true whole grain. Its rich in nutritious vitamins and minerals and has lots of benefits over pearl barley. Though it takes longer to cook hulled barley than pearl barley, its no longer an issue, since were using our Instant Pot!

Are you looking for a healthier alternative to your regular side dishes, like steamed white, or brown rice? Great news, there are many different whole grain alternatives, and today were going to show you how to cook super healthy, chewy, and nutty barley.

If youve never had barley before, or only had it in soups , then youll be surprised what a delicious and satisfying side dish it is!

But before we jump into cooking barley, lets talk about what barley is and what types of barley you can find on the market.

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Why Cook With Barley

• Healthy. Barley is an “ancient grain” and even when used as pearl barley, is still considered a whole grain. It is high in fiber and packed with other nutrients. It has a relatively low glycemic index and less gluten than wheat.
• Cheap. Unlike some other “superfoods”, barley continues to be much cheaper than say, quinoa for example. In addition, barley expands to about 3.5 times its volume when cooked, and a serving is considered to be 1/2 a cup. So for the cost of 1 cup of barley, you should be getting about 4-5 servings out of it. Not a bad bargain, is it?
• Blood Sugar Regulation. Barley was found to aid in blood sugar regulation, not only because of its low glycemic index but also because so much of the fiber in barley is indigestible, that it is believed gut fermentation can take several hours, and that may aid in lowering blood sugar for up to 10-14 hours.
• Texture. Barley has a great, slightly chewy texture that is very pleasing in soups, risottos, and salads.

Where Can You Find Whole

As mentioned above, your regular grocery store probably carries pearl barley. If it doesnt list the particular type of barley on the package or if it looks very white, then you can assume its pearl barley. This is the case, for example, with Goya Barley.

If youre having trouble finding whole-grain barley at your grocery store, try the specialty foods or organic aisle, a Whole Foods store in your area, or purchase it online. I buy my hulled barley online in bulk and have had good luck with this barley, which I buy in 10-pound bags.

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Instant Pot Rice Pudding

Last but not least, lets cover the basics of rice pudding. Like with risotto, youre going for a very specific texture here while cooking your rice with things besides water, so its important to note a few distinctions between techniques. Remember to be mindful of what type of rice you buy. Please note you can use dairy milk in place of the almond milk and coconut milk recommendation.

• Begin with short-grain white rice, which is sometimes also sold as pudding rice. No doubt you know what to make with it!
• Youre going to want a lot of liquid. You can choose a blend of milk or milk substitutes and water that works for you. For a dairy-free version, one cup of almond milk, one cup of coconut milk, and 1.5 cups of water work well.
• You can add in additional ingredients now or later. Its good to toss some warming spices in the pot while cooking so it really infused the flavour cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, etc.
• Cook on HIGH pressure for 5-6 minutes and let the steam manually release for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.

How To Cook White Rice In Instant Pot

The trickiest part to master? The rice to water ratio, of course. Hint: its not the same as it is for the stovetop!

• Rinse white rice 3-4 times until the water runs clear. This will give you fluffy, not stodgy rice.
• Use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice and add an extra splash. While this is the recommended official ratio, we find that adding just a little more water works even better. So for 1 cup rice, we would use 1 cup + just a bit under 1/4 cup extra.
• We seem to get the best results using Manual/Pressure Cook function key, HIGH pressure for about 4 minutes. White rice cooks relatively quickly, but still needs some time to soak up all that water!
• To add more flavour, try cooking your rice in chicken broth or vegetable broth.
• We prefer to not leave on natural release pressure for longer than 2-3 minutes as the rice continues to cook and although it wont have any more liquid to soak in, it might get a little softer than you like. If youre cooking a large batch of white rice, then you might be okay leaving it to naturally release some pressure for 5-10 minutes.
• Try our yellow rice with peas and corn, turmeric Jasmin rice, spinach Basmati rice or one of these amazing Instant Pot rice dishes.

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How To Cook Instant Pot Polenta

• For one cup of dried cornmeal or polenta, use 4.5 cups of water or broth.
• Add 4 tablespoons of butter or your fat of choice. Ghee or coconut oil would also work well.
• Add your liquid and your oil to the pot first and saute until its simmering. Then, stir in the polenta slowly and whisk.
• Press the Manual button and cook on HIGH pressure for 7 minutes or 4 minutes for the instant quick-cooking variety.
• Let the pot naturally release for 10 minutes.
• Stir the polenta well and serve.

Here Is How To Cook Bulgur Wheat In Instant Pot

• Use two cups of liquid for one cup of bulgur wheat .
• For reliable results, use the rice function on your pot and cook on low pressure for 12 minutes, followed up by a quick release of pressure.
• You can substitute water for chicken or vegetable broth if youre using the bulgur for a savoury dish.
• Add in some butter and spices for a creamier and more flavourful end result.

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Instant Pot Barley Minestrone Soup

This colourful Instant Pot barley minestrone soup, hearty with beans, barley, and vegetables, is brimming with flavour and perfect for chilly nights.

To me, few things are as comforting as a minestrone soup. Full of vegetables that are good for you, it is nourishing and healthy yet robust enough not to leave you wanting more. Versions of this soup are everywhere and mine is ever-changing depending on what vegetables I have in the fridge. I have a stove-top version of minestrone soup that I make as often in the winter as I do in late summer when zucchinis and carrots are plentiful. The Instant Pot version I offer you today has a little more bite and substance with the addition of pearl barley making it a very satisfying, and downright delicious soup.

You might wonder why you should bother cooking this soup in an Instant Pot when the cooking time is not much shorter than the stove-top version. Well, hear me out. In this post I explain that the instant pot does not really cook food in a shorter amount of time. It does, however, make the cooking process easier — chuck everything in to one pot, seal it, walk away. In less than an hour you have a delicious dinner on the table that practically cooked itself. To be honest, if I were making minestrone soup without the barley, I would likely just make it on the stove. When adding grains to the soup, however, the instant pot does a brilliant job of cooking everything together quickly and sealing in all the flavours.

How Do You Add Flavor To Barley

There are two ways to add flavor to barley. You can flavor barley while it cooks with aromatics such as onion, garlic and other spices or herbs or you can wait to add flavor after it cooks.

If you prefer to add some flavor while it cooks, any fresh veggies you want to add can be sautéed in a bit of olive oil or other healthy oil prior to adding the barley and water. Some of my favorites to use in this way include onions, garlic, ginger and bay leaf.

I generally will wait until after cooking to add additional flavors to the barley so their full aromas are present. Sometimes, heat will destroy the flavor of spices and herbs in dishes and since the Instant Pot cooks at high temperature under pressure, I prefer to wait until the end.

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How To Make Pearled Barley Instant Pot And Stove Top

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Making instant pot barley is the guaranteed perfect way to cook barley up for meal prep each week. Once its cooked barley works great added to a variety of different types of dishes, adding nutritional value and texture. Discover more about the flavors that work best with barley and how to make sure your instant pot barley comes out perfect each and every time.

NOTE: CookEatLiveLove is supported by readers and links to products I love in this post are Amazon and other affiliate links which means I do make a small amount of money when you click and make purchases. Thanks for stopping by and I hope youll come back again soon!

Ive always loved barley in soups and stews! It has a chewy texture that softens just a bit more when cooked this way. It also thickens up soups and gives them an almost creamy texture.

But recently Ive been exploring this grain and all many ways to use barley! Its definitely way more than just soups!

Im not an early adapter, so the Instant Pot is super new to me and I am just now beginning to develop recipes for it. But I have found it to be a super handy tool for cooking grains such as barley and brown rice. It improves the quality of my cooked grains with better results than when I cook it on the stove , but its also almost completely hands off which makes cooking it so much easier.

How To Cook Pearl Barley In The Instant Pot

Place the barley in a colander and wash it well. To the inner insert of your Instant pot, add the washed barley and water along with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cold-pressed coconut oil. Mix well.

Ensure that the sealing ring is in its correct place in the lid. Close the IP with the lid. Turn the valve to SEALING. Now switch on the PRESSURE COOK MODE ON HIGH FOR 15 MINS.

Allow the cooking cycle to complete. When the cooking cycle is complete, do a natural pressure release for 15 mins. After 15 mins, quick-release pressure by turning the valve to venting.

When done, strain the cooked pearl barley in a colander and reserve the water that you just drained. This is our homemade barley water. I will tell you what to do with it in my next post. Stay tuned.

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Tips & Tricks For Cooking The Best Barley You’ve Ever Eaten

• Use the 1 tablespoon of oil/ghee/coconut oil etc. that I ask you to use. It keeps the grains from sticking and makes it a lot less likely to cook up into a sticky clump. Sometimes, I use bacon instead because, bacon!
• Salt the barley before cooking. This lets the salt penetrate into the grain and lends a LOT of flavor.
• Let the barley steam for 10 minutes after it is cooked. This is cooking time and allows the grains to continue to get softer, without becoming water-logged.
• Fluff the barley with a fork before serving. This allows the grains to separate further, and makes them nicer to present and to eat.
• Use Stock instead of water. I love using chicken stock for cooking barley. It’s also why I made a Chicken and Barley Stew that I think you’ll enjoy.

What Flavors And Ingredients Work Great With Barley

Some ingredients and flavors match better than others with barley. This doesnt mean you can use other ingredients and seasonings and I have found that other flavors do work and result in excellent dishes with tons of delicious flavors.

Here are some of the best flavors to use when cooking barley:

Flavorings such as herbs and spices: garlic, basil, leeks, lemon and parsley and other ingredients like, mushrooms, onions, beans, cheese, corn, fennel and other grains.

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