How to make slow cooker chicken and barley (video)

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A fabulous and fragrant way to showcase a whole chicken, the pearl barley is nutritious and toothsome, soaking up all of those wonderful juices from the garlic and chicken pieces.  By cooking the chicken and barley this way, you're effectively making a sort-of risotto but without the constant stirring and watching!
Browning the chicken pieces until the skin is crisp and golden will add flavor, but if you want to skip this step, then take off the chicken skin before placing into the slow cooker.  
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Cooktop Cove
Chicken and barley
4
10 minutes
2 hours, 30 minutes
2 hours, 40 minutes
4 chicken breasts
1 cup barley
2 cups water
2 cups mushroom
1/4 cup white wine
1 onion diced
8 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons parsley
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
In a 6-quart slow cooker add in barley, mushroom, onion, half of garlic, water, white wine, butter, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt, be sure to mix well.
Season chicken with remaining garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. Gently place into slow cooker on top of barley mixture.
Turn heat on high and cook for 2 hours (depending on the size of chicken breasts you may need more or less time, check half way through cooking to gauge).
Push chicken aside and stir barley, then arrange chicken back to as it was.
Cook for the remaining 30 minutes then serve.
This is an exceptionally tasty and nutritious one-pot meal, and looks special enough to serve at a dinner party, but is equally practical for feeding a hungry family!  Any leftovers are better served cold with a handful of bitter salad leaves the next day rather than frozen, so you have a delicious lunch to look forward to as well!  
Note: All slow cookers are a little bit different in temperature and calibration. This recipe was tested in Cooktop Cove's Test Kitchen using this slow cooker, which is available for purchase here.
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