Creamy High-Protein Bean and Barley Salad

🔍 Quick Look: Creamy High-Protein Bean Salad

• ⏱️ Prep Time: 10 minutes
• 🎛️ Cook Time: 45 minutes for hulless barley (25 minutes pearled barley)
• 👥 Servings: 3
• 📊 Calories: ~528 kcal (based on nutrition panel)
• 👩🏽‍🍳 Flavor Profile: Creamy, tangy, savory, and slightly smoky with Mediterranean-inspired flavors.
• 💪🏼 Nutrition: 28 grams of protein, 20 grams of fiber, ~60% of the Daily Value (DV) for magnesium, ~40% of the DV for iron, and ~40% of the DV for zinc
• ⭐ Difficulty: Easy (about 10 minutes of prep, plus time to cook and cool the barley)

👩🏽‍⚕️ Dietitian's Note

This salad is especially rich in minerals, including magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. One serving of this salad provides approximately 60% of the Daily Value (DV) for magnesium, 40% of the DV for iron, and 40% of the DV for zinc, along with a generous amount of potassium, phosphorus, copper, and manganese. Thanks to the combination of white beans, edamame, barley, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, and tahini, it's a simple way to pack a variety of essential minerals into one satisfying meal.

Why You'll Love This Recipe:

These creamy bean and barley salad with edamame is light, flavorful, and comes together quickly. Plus, it's also:

• Made almost entirely with pantry staples.
• High in plant protein and fiber to keep you full and satisfied.
• Tossed in a creamy, oil-free artichoke dressing.
• Perfect for meal prep and packed lunches.
• Naturally vegan and dairy-free.
• Great as a main dish or hearty side salad.

🍃 Which Type of Barley Is Best?

Not all barley is the same. Here's how the most common varieties compare:

Hulless barley (best for this recipe): Despite its name, hulless barley still has its bran intact after the inedible outer hull naturally falls off during harvesting. It's considered a whole grain, has the highest fiber content, a pleasantly chewy texture, and a slightly nutty flavor.

Hulled barley: Hulled barley has its tough, inedible outer hull removed after harvest but retains its bran and germ, making it a whole grain. It is very nutritious but takes the longest to cook and has a firmer, chewier texture than hulless barley.

Pearled barley: Pearled barley has been polished to remove some or all of the bran layer. It cooks much faster and has a softer texture, but it contains less fiber than hulled or hulless barley. It can still be used in this salad if that's what you have on hand.

Dietitian's Tip: I recommend hulless barley for this salad because it offers the best balance of nutrition, texture, and cooking time. Its chewy bite holds up beautifully in meal-prep salads while providing more fiber than pearled barley.

👩🏼‍🌾 Ingredients

Below, I share ingredient notes from both a nutrition expert's and trained chef's perspective.

• White beans add creaminess, plant protein, and fiber, making this salad hearty and satisfying.
• Hulless barley has a pleasantly chewy texture and is a good source of fiber. Unlike pearled barley, it retains more of the whole grain.
• Edamame boosts the protein content while adding a fresh pop of color and texture.
• Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Capers are pantry staples and provide sweet, tangy, and briny flavors that balance the creamy dressing.
• Artichoke Hearts are blended into the dressing to create a rich, creamy texture without mayonnaise or dairy.

See the printable recipe card below for quantities.

🌱 Substitutions

This recipe is versatile and easy to adapt. Below are some simple ingredient substitutions.

• Hulless barley: Substitute pearled barley for a softer texture and shorter cooking time, or hulled barley for a chewier texture and longer cooking time. Brown or red rice, farro, or wheat berries also work, though the recipe will no longer provide barley's beta-glucans.
• White beans: Cannellini, Great Northern, navy beans, pinto beans, or butter beans all work well.
• Edamame: Use green peas instead, or roasted edamame for a delicious crunch.
• Pumpkin seeds: Substitute toasted sunflower seeds, chopped pistachios, walnuts, or sliced almonds.
• Capers: Use chopped olives instead.
• Artichoke hearts: Frozen, thawed artichoke hearts are naturally lower in sodium. If using jarred or canned, you can rinse them before blending to reduce the sodium.
• Nutritional yeast: Replace with miso to taste as needed.
• Lemon: Apple cider vinegar works in a pinch.

🫛 Variations:

Changing up a few simple ingredients can completely transform the flavor of this salad.

• Swap the white beans for chickpeas or butter beans.
• Use farro or quinoa if you don't have barley.
• Add chopped parsley, basil, or dill for extra freshness.
• Stir in baby spinach or arugula just before serving.
• Add chopped bell peppers for more crunch.
• Adjust the harissa to make it as mild or spicy as you like.

✔️ Storage & Meal Prep Tips

Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The flavors continue to develop as it chills. If the dressing thickens, stir in a splash of lemon juice before serving.

Meal Prep

This salad is perfect for meal prep because it holds up well in the refrigerator. Divide it into individual containers for easy grab-and-go lunches throughout the week.

🫘 More Bean Salads:

This creamy White Bean Barley Salad is packed with protein, fiber, fresh herbs, peas, and a smoky artichoke dressing. 

This Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Salad is fresh, vibrant, and tossed in a bright lemon-herb dressing.

This 10-minute Mixed Bean Salad is perfect for meal prep, barbecues, and picnics. 

Try my Black-Eyed Pea Salad. It's fresh, flavorful, and full of texture. 

This 30g protein Black Bean, Corn, and Avocado Salad with chipotle dressing is fresh, filling, and endlessly versatile.

Meet my Triple Antioxidant Black Bean Salad. It's vibrant, nutrient-packed dish featuring the three beans with the highest antioxidant content.

⚖️ Convert the Recipe to Metric (g & mL)

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