A super-food kinda day over here! This roasted vegetable barley recipe is prepared Mediterranean-style…chockful of flavor, texture and goodness. Bonus, you can make this ahead as part of your meal-prep! Omit the feta for a vegan option. Learn more about this ancient grain called barley and check out all the options to serve this barley recipe below.
I love a versatile dish that you can serve as light dinner, lunch, side, or a satisfying salad to feed a crowd. Even better, if it works for meal-prep and can be divided and stored in the fridge for later. This Mediterranean roasted vegetables and barley recipe is all this and more!
More about this Vegetarian Barley Recipe
Barley is a great ancient grain that’s been used in Mediterranean cooking for many years–in savory recipes like today’s vegetable barley or Soupe Jo (Persian Chicken Barley Soup), and in sweet ones like this delicious burbara pudding.
It’s not as popular as say quinoa or wild rice, but it has a lot of great health benefits. Barley provides a good range of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. And because it’s so fiber-rich, barley is a great ingredient to use if you’re looking to looking to add volume to augment a meal.
In this recipe, cooked pearl barley amps up my roasted veggies, turning them into a gloriously rich and satisfying dish by adding lots of volume and texture.
My spices of choice for this recipe are all-natural harissa spice and smoked paprika. Both adding depth and playing up the sweetness of the roasted veggies and earthiness of the barley. If you’re not familiar, Harissa is a fragrant spice blend of three different kinds of chili along with sumac, caraway, fennel, cumin, coriander, garlic and peppermint. It’s very unique, really. And it does not make this recipe spicy, but it adds a welcomed kick and a sweet North African aroma.
What kind of barley to use in this vegetarian barley recipe?
So, this is a pearled barley recipe. If you prefer to use hulled barley, it is certainly a healthier choice, but will increase the cooking time quite a bit (I would budget another 30 ore more.)
Pearl barley is more readily available in stores. It has been polished, or “pearled” to remove some or all of the outer bran layer along with the hull; this is why it cooks faster. Technically, pearl barley is bit of a refined grain, but still healthy and very good for you.
What to serve along?
If like, add your favorite protein such as this lemon chicken or a simple pan-seared salmon or this baked salmon. I often serve this barley as the star dish next to other vegetarian items like roasted garlic hummus and falafel patties.
More recipes to try:
Sicilian-Style Fish Stew Recipe
BESt Mediterranean Recipes of 2018
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Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables Barley Recipe
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves up to 6 people
Description
Easy roasted vegetable barley recipe, prepared Mediterranean style with fresh herbs, spices, citrus and extra virgin olive oil.
Ingredients
- 1 cup/163 g dry pearl barley, washed
- water
- 2 whole zucchini squash, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cored, diced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, cored, diced
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- salt and pepper
- 2 teaspoons harissa spice or baharat, divided
- 3/4 tsp/ 1.95 g smoked paprika, divided
- Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil
- 2 scallions (green onions), trimmed and chopped (both whites and greens)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 oz / 56 g chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp/30 ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Feta cheese, to taste (optional)
- Toasted pine nuts, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Place pearl barley and 2 1/2 cups water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low. Cover and cook anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes or until the barley is cooked through (should be tender but maintains some chew.)
- While barley is cooking, place diced vegetables (zucchini, bell peppers, and red onion) on a large baking sheet. Season with salt, pepper, 1 1/2 tsp harissa spice, and 1/2 tsp smoked paprika. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Toss to coat. Spread evenly in one layer on the baking sheet. Roast in heated oven for 25 minutes or so.
- When barley is ready, drain any excess water. Season with salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp harissa spice and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika. Toss to combine.
- Transfer cooked barley to a large mixing bowl. Add roasted veggies. Add chopped scallions, garlic, and fresh parsley. Dress with lemon juice and a good drizzle of Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil. Toss. If you like, top with crumbled feta and toasted pine nuts.
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold! Enjoy.
Notes
- Prepare ahead notes: If you don’t plan to have this barley dish the same day you cook it, it’s best if you don’t dress it with the lemon juice and olive oil until a few minutes before you are ready to serve it. Also hold off on adding the feta and pine nuts until ready. It will keep well in the fridge for 3 to 4 days in a tight lid container.
- Recommended for this recipe: harissa spice blend and smoked paprika from our all-natural spice collections. SAVE! Create your own 6-pack or 3-pack of spices!
- Recommended for this recipe: for best taste, highly recommend Early Harvest or Private Reserve Greek extra virgin olive oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: Roasted
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Beyond delicious!!! Grilled some sausages and thought they would on the side. Cut them up and added them to the barley mixture and it was the best. The mild heat from the harissa and smoked paprika was perfect with a sweet sausage. This dish is going to be party favorite! Great, flexible recipe!
Yum! Thanks for sharing!!
Hello
I am new to the Mediterranean way of eating. My husband has many health issues. So this diet has been a recommendation for him. I have noticed some of the recipes have Harrisa Spice as an ingredient. Could you tell me if this is a strong spice flavour. Thank you
Catherine
Hi, Catherine. It’s flavorful and has a little kick, but I personally don’t consider it particularly strong. You can read more about it here: https://shop.themediterraneandish.com/product/harissa-spice-blend/
Catherine…..I had never used Harissa either but it was really good, made the dish tonight for the first time. A nice depth of flavor…it has a small bite but I would not call it spicy. Really rich earthy flavors. Suzy, this was delicious! Loved the roasted veggies and the playful layers of flavors with all the extras on top, very good! This recipe is a keeper!!! I am new to these grains and struggled with brown rice until I learned to soak it. So, I did soak my barley for a couple of hours and it turned out perfectly in 30 min of cooking (also used almost boiling liquid). Can’t wait to try more!
Awesome! Thanks, Kemberly!!
I discovered this recipe when looking for ideas to use Pearl barley as I’d read about the health benefits. It is absolutely delicious and quite easy to make too. Have made it several times now. It’s absolutely delicious!
Thanks, Sonia!
So good – we did a “Greek night” to pretend we were on holiday and I randomly found this recipe and made it. I’ve made it several times since because it was so good!
So glad you enjoyed it, Abby!
Fantastic delicious recipe! What else can I say?
Thank you so much, Sylvain!
I think it’s super good.
I made this for my family and this was seriously delicious! Even my non-vegan parents liked it. Thank you for sharing!
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks, Katherine!
I have never cooked with barley but will definitely try this recipe. I want to add healthy grains to my diet. Please continue posting vegetarian recipes along with various healthy grains.
Will do!! This is a great one! Hope you love it!
WOW!! Never cooked with pearl barley before so was a bit concerned and also didn’t have harrissa spice. Made up the spice mix plus added a few more fennel seeds after. Made a huge bowl thinking of lunch for the next day but it all went!! Daughter went back for more 3 times, a real winner that I’ll be making again.
Wonderful! Thanks, Sian!
Made this Roasted Vegetables and Barley recipe along with the pan seared Salmon and loved both. This was a hit with my husband who generally isn’t a salmon eater. I didn’t have the harissa spice so I made my own version with coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper and garlic. I loved the colorful look and texture of the roasted vegetables and barley. I am excited to explore your other recipes! Thank You for sharing such delicious foods with us Suzy!
Thanks for sharing, Casandra!
We love this dish! I’ve made it twice now to serve with grilled fish and it’s wonderful. I didn’t have harissa the first time I prepared it so improvised with spices I had on hand. Ordered harissa after that (which we are now hooked on using in all sorts of dishes). The second time preparing it I added broccoli florets to the vegie mix which was also good. It is nice to have something different for a vegetable/side dish. Plus barley is so nutritious!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Can you recommend any substitutes for the barley? I don’t react well to heavy grains/cereals – I was wondering if maybe couscous or quinoa may work?
Hi, Brendon! I think either couscous or quinoa would work fine here, if that’s what you prefer! Enjoy!!
substitutes for barley 🙂
-lentils
-quinoa
-wild rice
-couscous
Thanks for sharing this, Emily!
This is so good! I’ve never used barley as a base this before. Great flavors. I’m glad I doubled it!
So glad you enjoyed it, Ashley!
This is absolutely delicious and easy to make.
I’ve prepared it a few times now, both as a stand-alone dish or as a side dish to accompany roast chicken, grilled fish, koftes, skewers etc. I don’t always add the feta or pine nuts as that bumps up the cost of the overall dish.
The recipe also works well with giant cous cous and bulgar wheat.
If you’re wanting to speed up the veggie aspect of the recipe, you can use frozen diced peppers, red onion, courgette, garlic and flat leaf parsley to reduce chopping and oven time. I think some stores now also stock prepared barley in those little microwave pockets if you’re feeling extra lazy or have a lot of mouths to feed!
All the best!
Thank you for sharing your tips, Melissa.
Delicious! My 15-year-old daughter remarked, “It looks disgusting, but tastes really good!” High praise indeed. Thank you!
Hahaha! I’ll take it! Thanks, Heather!
This is so good! I couldn’t find any harissa so I used a Mediterranean-type herb blend instead. I’m sensitive to dairy so I left out the feta, and didn’t use any pine nuts since they’re pricey. I’m a big fan of barley and always looking for new ways to eat it – this will definitely be in rotation! I served mine with seared salmon. Leftovers were just as tasty. 🙂
Yum! Sounds like a great meal, Gabrielle! Thanks for sharing!
Excited to try this! I do not have harissa. What would you suggest as a substitute?
Awesome Cathy! There is not another spice that’s quite like harissa, but you can use the idea of this recipe with another combination of spices that you may have on hand.