Hey! If you are wondering how to make instant pot barley or a pressure cooker, you are in the right place. This method for cooking instant pot barley is a great kitchen trick to know about.
It is a delicious healthy grain dish to use for meal prep, to serve as a side dish, for buddha bowls, added to soup, or used in barley salad.
Plus with only 5 minutes of hands-on time and needing only 20 minutes to cook, it couldn’t be easier! Read on, because I have a complete guide to how to make perfectly cooked barley for you today. Let’s begin!
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Why I Love This Recipe For Instant Pot Barley?
If you are not regularly adding barley to your menu, I’m going to try to convince you that you need to change that. Not only is it delicious with a nutty taste and delightful chewy texture, but it is also good for you! Plus it is fast and hands-free when it is cooked in an instant pot.
Around here, we are all about quick recipes, so I get why choosing quicker cooking grains seems appealing. Trust me, I am team quinoa too! And I am well aware that normally barely takes 40 to 45 minutes to simmer on the stovetop.
All that changes today my friends, because delicious, fluffy, perfectly cooked barley can be ready in under a half hour when cooked in an Instant Pot.
So if sipping a cold beer is the only way you normally enjoy barley, then get out of your Instant Pot and let’s get cooking!
Instant Pot Barley Fixings
- 1 ½ cups pearled barley
- 3 cups water
- 2 teaspoons olive oil (or unsalted butter)
- ½ teaspoon salt
How to Make Instant Pot Barley?
Stir together barley, water, oil, and salt in the insert of an instant pot.
Cover and set the vent to sealing. Pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
Carefully turn the vent to quick release (or natural release if desired.) Remove the lid and fluff with a fork. If there is excess moisture in the bottom of the instant pot insert, drain the cooked barley through a fine-mesh sieve. Sounds good, right?
Instant Pot Barley Beneficial Nutrients
Barley is rich in vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial plant compounds.
It’s available in many forms, ranging from hulled barley to barley grits, flakes, and flour.
Almost all forms of barley utilize the whole grain — except for pearl barley, which has been polished to remove some or all of the outer bran layer along with the hull.
When consumed as a whole grain, barley is a particularly rich source of fiber, molybdenum, manganese, and selenium. It also contains good amounts of copper, vitamin B1, chromium, phosphorus, magnesium, and niacin.
Additionally, barley packs lignans, a group of antioxidants linked to a lower risk of cancer and heart disease.
However, like all whole grains, barley does have antinutrients, which impair your body’s digestion and nutrient absorption.
Try soaking or sprouting the grain to reduce the antinutrient content. These preparation methods make barley’s nutrients more absorbable. I have written an article on Exploring The Amazing Flavor & Health Benefits of Barley Rice.
Instant Pot Barley Health Benefits
Instant Pot Barley May Help You Lose Weight
Barley may reduce hunger and promote feelings of fullness — both of which may lead to weight loss over time.
Barley lessens hunger largely through its high fiber content. A soluble fiber known as beta-glucan is particularly helpful.
That’s because soluble fibers, such as beta-glucan, tend to form a gel-like substance in your gut, which slows the digestion and absorption of nutrients. In turn, this curbs your appetite and promotes fullness.
A review of 44 studies found that soluble fibers, such as beta-glucan, are the most effective type of fiber for reducing appetite and food intake.
What’s more, soluble fiber may target belly fat associated with metabolic disease. You can also read more about Beef Mushroom Barley Soup | Beefy Mushroom Barley Delight.
Reduce Your Risk of Gallbladder Surgery
Barley’s high fiber content may also help prevent gallstones.
Gallstones are solid particles that can form spontaneously in your gallbladder, a small organ located under the liver. The gallbladder produces bile acids which your body uses to digest fat.
In most cases, gallstones don’t cause any symptoms. However, from time to time, large gallstones can get stuck in a duct of your gallbladder, causing intense pain. Such cases often require surgery to remove the gallbladder.
The type of insoluble fiber found in barley may help prevent the formation of gallstones and reduce the likelihood of gallbladder surgery.
In one 16-year observational study, women with the highest amounts of fiber intake were 13% less likely to develop gallstones requiring gallbladder removal.
This benefit appears to be dose-related, as every 5-gram increase in insoluble fiber intake dropped gallstone risk by around 10%.
In another study, obese individuals were put on one of two rapid weight loss diets — one rich in fiber, the other in protein. Rapid weight loss can increase the risk of developing gallstones.
After five weeks, participants on the fiber-rich diet were three times likelier to have healthy gallbladders than those on the protein-rich diet. You can get more from this video.
Instant Pot Barley May Help Lower Cholesterol
Barley may also lower your cholesterol levels.
The beta-glucans found in barley have been shown to reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol by binding to bile acids.
Your body removes these bile acids — which your liver produces from cholesterol — via the feces.
Your liver must then use up more cholesterol to make new bile acids, in turn lowering the amount of cholesterol circulating in your blood. Another on Barley Seeds: The Best Nutrition Grain for Your Diet.
In one small study, men with high cholesterol were put on a diet rich in whole wheat, brown rice, or barley.
After five weeks, those given barley reduced their cholesterol levels by 7% more than participants on the other two diets
What’s more, the barley group also increased their “good” HDL cholesterol and reduced their triglyceride levels the most.
A recent review evaluating 14 randomized control trials — the gold standard in scientific research — found similar results.
Instant Pot Barley May Protect Against Diabetes
Barley may reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels and improving insulin secretion.
This is in part due to barley’s rich magnesium content — a mineral that plays an important role in insulin production and your body’s use of sugar.
Barley is also rich in soluble fiber, which binds with water and other molecules as it moves through your digestive tract, slowing down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream.
Research shows that a barley breakfast provides a lower maximum rise in blood sugar and insulin levels than a breakfast consisting of other whole grains, such as oats.
In another study, participants with impaired fasting glucose were given either oatmeal or barley flakes daily. After three months, fasting blood sugar and insulin levels decreased by 9–13% more for those eating barley.
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Conclusion
Thanks so much for reading! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Let me know in the comment section.
Mix grain and salt into energetically bubbling water. Cover, decrease intensity, and stew for 10 to 12 minutes or until delicate.
Pearl grain needn’t bother with to be doused before use and will become delicate during the cooking system. Pot grain is best when doused for the time being in cool water, then cooked in three sections fluid to one amount of grain.
It’s plentiful in nutrients, minerals, and other useful plant compounds. It’s likewise high in fiber, which is liable for a large portion of its medical advantages, going from superior processing to diminished craving and weight reduction.
You don’t need to soak the barley before cooking, but it is recommended to rinse it to remove the excess starch. Just give it a quick rinse before putting it in the Instant Pot.
Yes, if you cook more barley than you can use, it’s possible to store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.