Caprese Barley Salad
Caprese barley salad is a great summer dish for those sunny days. When the weather gets warm I crave cold and fresh meals like this dish. Tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil are a classic combination, but the addition of barley turns the simple salad into a hearty meal. Don’t be afraid to experiment with barley. It is chewy and filling, and is delicious as the base to a cold summer salad. I make a big batch of a different dish each week for us to eat as the week goes on, the most recent bring shrimp & bean barley salad and healthy chicken salad. This dish, however, didn’t even make it past one day. It is fresh, light, and flavorful; caprese barley salad is perfect for this nice weather!
Caprese Barley Salad
Serves 4 as an appetizer, 2 for dinner
Ingredients:
1 cup dry pearled barley, rinsed
2.5 cups of water
1 tbs kosher salt
3 oz fresh mozzarella
1 cup grape tomatoes
10 large basil leaves
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
Directions:
1. Bring 2,5 cups of water to a boil and add the rinsed pearled barley and salt. Cover and set to low for 30 minutes. Drain any excess water and set aside.
2. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and cut the mozzarella in small pieces. Rip the basil into small pieces. Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil to the barley.
3. In a separate bowl whisk together the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and pour the dressing over the barley salad. Mix well. Serve cold as an appetizer or a meal! Enjoy!
I am updating my workouts every day. I have a skeleton work out plan that I change as the week goes on, but my goal is 4-5 days of exercise. Check out my workout page to see what I am up to!
I love this, Sabrina! A nice alternative to a traditional pasta salad!
That sounds delicious and so fresh. Beautiful, too!
This recipe looks and sounds so delicious. I love the simple flavors of tomato and basil in the summer. I will make this very soon! Thank you for sharing.
I love barley! The quick cooking kind is so easy and it makes the best grain salads like this. It’s also awesome in chili!
This is so pretty! And I LOVE barley- its one of my favorite grains. This would make a perfect lunch or side dish at dinner. Hope you’re doing well 🙂
Mmmm…can’t go wrong with tomato-basil ANYTHING! I bet that chewy barley is just fantastic in this. I saw a recipe a while ago for an asparagus-mushroom barley risotto. Barley is big right now!
This is a gorgeous dish! I think I will try it this weekend!
This salad screams summer! Just look at all those purty colors 😀
Um, yummm! I live for all things Caprese! I don’t know if this is local to me (NJ) but my Whole Foods has a one day deal today on a log of fresh mozzarella that is normally $7.99 for $3.99! So, everyone check your store and see if they have this and go make this salad!!
@Carla, Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!
@RhodeyGirlTests, No problem! I work in Philly but I go to the WF near my house in Marlton, NJ so I am not sure if it is store specific.
Ok, I’m trying this soon. How do you make such great things all the time?!
i’ve just recently fallen in love with barley…i LOVE the chewy texture! can’t wait to try this salad ASAP 🙂
Gorgeous!!!!
Absolutely gorgeous!
..just like you, mama!
I’ve made a recipe similar to this one, but with jasmine rice instead of barley. What’s the nutritional advantage of one ingredient over the other?
great idea of what to eat instead of a whole caprese
also, pat on the back for all the workouts! they cannot be easy!
I love the idea of taking the caprese concept and adjusting it into a flavourful delicious salad, The colours are gorgeous and fresh too.
What a wonderful way to turn a caprese salad ito a well rounded meal!
I love barley! Did you know it’s super awesome at reducing the glycemic index of anything it’s eaten with? This looks fabbbulous!
this looks amazing!! i am obsessed with barley but never know what to do with it! this is perfect!