23 Healthy Barley Recipes That Aren’t All Soup

For those who believe all barley recipes must be overly hearty or dietetic, we submit this list of our favorite uses for the ancient grain, from the classic to the contemporary. Here, you’ll find familiar partners like beef and barley in stew form and wholesome grain bowls brimming with all manner of toppings. But you’ll also find a satiating breakfast porridge, velvety risotto, and a pool of herb-infused buttermilk with grains of barley bobbing on top.

Beloved for its nutty flavor, chewy texture, availability (find it in any grocery store), and rich fiber and potassium content, barley—even the hulled variety—is considered a healthy, whole grain. If you want to make a big batch of the stuff, we have a method that works for hulled, hull-less, and pearled barley alike. (You’re welcome.) The cooked grains will keep in your fridge for about five days, but will last in your freezer even longer.

Let’s get cooking, shall we? Here are our best barley recipes.