This chicken barley stew is the ultimate healthy comfort food. It's an easy make-ahead recipe (even the night before) with tons of flavor.
There is no shortage of barley in our house. I was cleaning out my pantry recently and realized that there are no less than 5 bags of barley in my newly organized "grains" section. It's one of those ingredients that I buy every 6 or 7 trips to the grocery store because I'm certain that I don't have any left at home. Clearly a photographic memory of my pantry contents is nonexistent.
Now that I know that we have such a wealth of the healthy grain, I have some cooking to do!
There are plenty of recipes using barley on Cookin' Canuck, so thinking of something to make shouldn't be a problem. Some of my favorites are Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup, Quick Cheesy Vegetarian Barley Risotto and Lean Bison and Barley Soup. All comfort food, all good.
This particular stew is one I made for The Pioneer Woman's Food & Friends site and you can find the recipe over there. It's hearty, it's easy, it's healthy and it's absolutely delicious.
If you make the stew the night before or earlier in the day, be sure to have some extra chicken broth on hand. The barley absorbs will absorb the extra liquid while sitting in the fridge, so you'll need to add a little extra broth while re-heating the stew.
Hearty Chicken Stew Recipe with Barley
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound Boneless skinless chicken breast, cut Into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper divided
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots cut Into ½-circles
- 1 stalk celery cut Into ½-inch dice
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup pearl barley
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Head to The Pioneer Woman for the recipe.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sommer @aspicyperspective
This stew looks and sounds AMAZING!
M Carr
Can I use farro instead of barley?
Liz
Thank you Dara. All your recipes are wonderful.