Ready to Make Boiled Barley?

Boiled barley is a dependable cooking technique yielding nearly perfect results every time. It is such a nutritious and tasty grain with a chewy bite. Learn how to boil barley because it is one of the more popular ways of preparing this hearty grain (if you don't own a pressure cooker).

Begin by mixing your pre-soaked barley and water together in a pot (with a lid). Now, notice I said "pre-soaked"? That's because barley (like many other whole grains) should be soaked before cooking to not only help the digestion, but to cut down the cooking time. Refer to soaking instructions on the main Barley page

Note: This barley to water ratio (1 cup barley to 3 cups water) is for barley BEFORE it was soaked, regardless of how b-i-g the barley has grown after soaking...

* So if you start out with 1 cup of unsoaked barley, and then soak it, you would add 3 cups of water when cooking.

* If you start out with 2 cups of unsoaked barley, and then soak it, you would add 6 cups of water when cooking.

Over high heat, bring the barley and water, uncovered, to a boil. Cover, and reduce the heat to low. Allow the barley to simmer for 45 minutes. Do not add salt to your barley until AFTER it is cooked, since it can block absorption of water.

Cooked barley will always retain some chewiness. You'll know your boiled barley is done when 20 percent of them have burst open.

You can use the above method with non-pre-soaked barley too. Follow directions as above but cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours instead.

Helpful Tips:

• If you prefer to use pearled barley instead of hulled, reduce cooking time by at least half. (Note, pearled barley is less nutritious - like the difference between white rice and brown rice);
• Consider a pressure cooker - unsoaked barley takes 35-45 minutes, and presoaked barley takes just 15-20 minutes;

Your barley is now ready to be enjoyed in any way you'd like. Use Barley's "Vegan Flavor Matches" to create your very own recipe!

Do you have a question about boiling barley?
Click here to ask on the vegan Barley main page.

Return to Barley from the Boiled Barley page
Return to the Whole Grains page
Return to the Vegan Cooking page
Return to the VeganCoach.com Homepage

If You Like Barley Try...

Brown Rice!

Buckwheat/Kasha!

Quinoa!

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