Cooking barley in the instant pot is the perfect meal prep time saver. Use cooked barley as a healthy substitute for white rice, or make delicious grain salads, barley buddha bowls, or egg-fried barley. It is also a tasty addition to vegetable soups and stews!This recipe yields roughly three cups of cooked barley.
Servings6
Equipment
- Instant Pot (or alternative electric pressure cooker)
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearled barley*
- 2 cups water, or vegetable stock
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, or unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Rinse the barley to remove any starchy powder.
- Mix the pearled barley, water, olive oil and salt in the instant pot insert.
- Lock the lid in place and set the vent to sealing.
- Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
- Allow natural release for 10 minutes before switching it to quick release.
- Remove the lid and fluff the cooked barley with a fork.
Notes
- This recipe is for pearled barley. With hulled barley, increase the cooking time to 30 minutes and use 2 ½ cups of water.
- Drain the cooked barley through a fine-mesh sieve if there is excess moisture in the bottom of the pot.
- Allow leftover barley to cool to room temperature before sealing and refrigerating for three days. Or freeze it in an airtight container for up to two months.
- See the post for stovetop instructions.
- I use the Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1.