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Asparagus Barley Bean Salad

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Asparagus Barley Bean Salad

Asparagus Barley Bean Salad

This is a lovely salad for late spring or early summer when the asparagus is in season. It pairs beautifully with boneless, skinless grilled chicken breast as your protein. Hulled barley is one of my favorite grains because it’s so gentle on my blood sugar. It’s versatile and can be used in soups, sides or salads.  You can read more about this amazing ancient grain in my Tomato Barley Turkey Soup recipe.

This post may contain affiliate links to Amazon or other programs. I do earn a small commission from the sales made through these links; however your price never changes.

Using my Instant Pot makes short work of cooking the barley but it can easily be done on the stove top as well. Soaking the barley helps to reduce the phytates in the grain but it can be done without soaking, your cooking time will be longer. I find soaking them over night in a ratio of 1:3 (1 part grain to 3 parts water) with a 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar works very well for me.  I like both Bob’s Red Mill Hull-less Barley or Grain Place Foods Non-GMO Organic Hulled Barley.

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Asparagus Barley Bean Salad Ingredients and Instructions

Salad Fixings:

2/3 cup hulled barley, soaked over night in 3 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar
3 cups cut asparagus pieces, about 1 inch in size
1 can dark red kidney bean, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
Juice of 1/2 large lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar or Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon MCT Oil
1/4 teaspoon dried organic tarragon
1/4 teaspoon dried organic basil
1/4 teaspoon organic garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon organic onion powder
1/8 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Scant 1/4 teaspoon THM Super Sweet
1 tablespoon dried organic parsley flakes or 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
Optional Garnish – chopped and sliced spring onions

Instructions:

  1. Soak your hulled barley over night or for at least 6 hours in 3 cups of water and 1/2 teaspoon of cider vinegar. Once soaked, drain and rinse thoroughly.
  2. Place 4 cups of water in your Instant Pot liner and add the drained rinsed barley. Put liner in the pot set using either [Manual] or [MultiGrain] setting for 20 minutes with natural pressure release. To cook barley on the stove place rinsed drained barley into a 3 – 4 quart sauce pan, bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer, cover and simmer 45-50 minutes. Once the barley is cooked drain and rinse with cold water.
  3. Rinse and thoroughly dry your liner, add 1/2 cup of water, steamer basket and 3 cups of cut asparagus. Place in pot, set using [Steam] setting for 3 minutes with quick pressure release. For the Stove top place the 3 cups of cut asparagus into a pan with 1 cup of boiling water, cook about 5 minutes.  To retain a nice green color gently ladle asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain.
  4. Combine barley and asparagus in a large glass bowl and chill for 2 hours.
  5. Prep your dressing by placing all the first 9 ingredients (except for the parsley) in a small glass jar with a top, shake vigorously, this will allow your herbs to bloom.
  6. Once your barley and asparagus has chilled, rinse and drain the kidney beans. Add to the asparagus and barley, stir gently.
  7. Add the dried parsley to your dressing, shake and quickly pour over the salad, toss gently and return to the frig for about 1/2 hour.

NOTE: For the Drive Thru Sue’s if you want a quick dressing trick whisk 1/4 cup of lemon juice with 1/4 on plan Fat Free Italian Dressing.



Asparagus Barley Bean Salad
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serves: 8
  • Calories: 130
  • Fat: 2g
  • Carbohydrates: 24g
  • Sodium: 185mg
  • Fiber: 7g
  • Protein: 6g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
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Hearty, healthy salad that pairs great with grilled chicken or fish. It make a great lunch box salad too.
Ingredients
Salad Fixings:
  • ⅔ cup barley. hulled (soaked over night in 3 cups of water with ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar)
  • 3 cups asparagus (cut in 1" pieces)
  • 15¼ ounces red kidney beans, canned (rinsed and drained)
Salad Dressing
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon MCT oil
  • ¼ teaspoon tarragon (dried)
  • ¼ teaspoon basil (dried)
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon THM Super Sweet
  • ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (dried flakes)
Instructions
Prep:
  1. Soak your hulled barley over night or for at least 6 hours in 3 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of cider vinegar. Once soaked, drain and rinse thoroughly.
Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:
  1. Place 4 cups of water in your Instant Pot liner and add the drained rinsed barley. Put liner in the pot set using either [Manual] or [Multi-grain] setting for 20 minutes with natural pressure release. Pour barley into a strainer and rinse with cold water; drain.
  2. Rinse and thoroughly dry your liner, add ½ cup of water, steamer basket and 3 cups of cut asparagus. Place in pot, set using [Steam] setting for 3 minutes with quick pressure release. To retain a nice green color gently ladle asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain.
  3. Combine barley and asparagus in a large glass bowl and chill for 2 hours.
  4. Prep your dressing by placing all the first 9 ingredients (except for the parsley) in a small glass jar with a top, shake vigorously, this will allow your herbs to bloom.
  5. Once your barley and asparagus has chilled, rinse and drain the kidney beans. Add to the asparagus and barley, stir gently.
  6. Add the dried parsley to your dressing, shake and quickly pour over the salad, toss gently and return to the refrigerator for about ½ hour.
Stove Top Cooking Instructions:
  1. To cook barley on the stove place rinsed drained barley into a 3 - 4 quart sauce pan, bring to a boil, turn heat down to a simmer, cover and simmer 45-50 minutes. Once the barley is cooked drain and rinse with cold water; drain.
  2. Place the 3 cups of cut asparagus into a pan with 1 cup of boiling water, cook about 5 minutes. To retain a nice green color gently ladle asparagus into a bowl of ice water. Cool and drain.
  3. Combine barley and asparagus in a large glass bowl and chill for 2 hours.
  4. Prep your dressing by placing all the first 9 ingredients (except for the parsley) in a small glass jar with a top, shake vigorously, this will allow your herbs to bloom.
  5. Once your barley and asparagus has chilled, rinse and drain the kidney beans. Add to the asparagus and barley, stir gently.
  6. Add the dried parsley to your dressing, shake and quickly pour over the salad, toss gently and return to the refrigerator for about ½ hour.
Notes:
  1. For the Drive Thru Sue's: A quick dressing trick whisk ¼ cup of lemon juice with ¼ on plan Fat Free Italian Dressing.