Barley Salad with Chicken and Crunchy Veggies
Servings
6
to 8 servingsPrep time
20
minutesCooking time
30
minutesTotal time
50
minutesThis is the kind of salad that tastes even better the next day, once the vinaigrette has had time to soak into the veggies! I love making it for lunch or packing it up for a picnic — it’s always a crowd-pleaser.
Ingredients
- Salad
1 cup pearl barley (yields about 3 cups cooked)
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3–4 radishes, sliced into half-moons
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4–5 handfuls baby spinach
1 ½ cups cooked chicken, roughly chopped
1 cup green olives (Castelvetrano preferred), pitted and roughly chopped
- Dressing
⅔ cup olive oil
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp honey
1 ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Cook 1 cup of pearl barley according to package instructions (yields about 3 cups cooked). Let cool completely.
- Make the dressig: In a Mason jar, combine ⅔ cup olive oil, ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tbsp honey, and 1 ½ tsp salt. Seal the jar and shake well.
- Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, mix the 3 cups of cooked barley with the diced yellow pepper, 3-4 sliced radishes, 1 cup diced cucumber, 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes, 4-5 handfuls baby spinach, 1 ½ cups cooked chicken, and 1 cup green olives.
- Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well to coat everything evenly.
