Easy Vegetable Barley Pilaf Recipe (Stovetop, Oven, or Instant Pot)

When you’re tired of the same rice and pasta side dishes, I love this easy vegetable barley pilaf recipe as a fun way to change things up! Tender, chewy barley cooks with sautéed onions, sweet red pepper, and garlic in broth and a splash of white wine, making a flavorful side dish with just 10 to 15 minutes of hands-on prep.

I love the nutty, hearty flavor of barley and wish I would remember to cook it more often. It’s such a great addition a lentil soup, makes a great slow cooker curry side dish, and pairs well with chicken and cajun flavors in a soup.

But when I need a simple side dish and I’d like to get out of a rice-pasta-potato rut, I pull out this easy vegetable barley pilaf recipe for something different. It makes a great side dish for any meat or seafood and is good hot or at room temperature, making it a great potluck recipe.

A pilaf is a dish where you sauté the grain first before adding the water and cooking, so it’s easy to add chopped vegetables to cook along with the grain. Barley is a great choice for this, as the chewy and tender texture pairs well with all kinds of vegetables. In addition to the onions and peppers shown here, I’ve made this barley recipe with:

• Chopped mushrooms
• Diced carrots and turnips
• Chopped kale (added with the liquid)
• Chopped spinach (stirred in at the end of cooking – a favorite of mine)

I’m sure you could use chopped broccoli, sliced snap peas, and more – this recipe is a great base to use what you have.

This is such an easy side dish- in fact the only hard part is remembering to start it about an hour before serving. But that’s why we plan a menu, right?

Is barley good for you?

While barley isn’t as common as rice or other grains, it really has a great flavor and texture and is surprisingly healthy.

Barley’s nutrients include a lot of B vitamins, magnesium, selenium, vitamin E, calcium, and more. Plus, barley can help maintain weight since it is a low-glycemic grain, high in both soluble and insoluble fiber. It also contains phytochemicals that act as antioxidants to help protect against disease. And this is interesting: in a four-week study in 28 healthy individuals, 60 grams of barley a day increased a beneficial type of bacteria in the gut that may help reduce inflammation and improve blood sugar balance. (source)

That’s good stuff! Just another reason we should be eating a varied diet, isn’t it?

Ingredient Notes

Consider this recipe your “base” barley pilaf recipe. I would always include the core ingredients pictured and then add more veggies if desired.

• Pearl or hulled barley: Both work in this recipe, with a change in cooking time since hulled barley (that’s had it’s hull removed, but still has the outer husk and bran layers) takes almost twice as much time to cook as pearl barley.
• Broth and white wine: Use a broth of your choice and if you don’t want to use the wine, substitute more broth.
• Vegetables: I’m using onions and sweet red pepper here, but like I mentioned lots of different veggies will work, provided they are chopped in similar sizes and added as the right time.

Do I have to rinse barley?

If it’s bought in bulk, you can do a brief rinse to wash away any debris, but it’s optional and shouldn’t be needed in packaged barley.

Let’s Make this Barley Pilaf Recipe

Some of my favorite things to serve barley pilaf with

• Maple Mustard Baked Chicken
• Whole Rotisserie Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Chicken
• Sheet Pan Sausages with Peppers & Onions

I hope this becomes as great an option for your menu to help you get out of a rice-potato rut like it is for me!

This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in March of 2011.