Too busy for a healthy, delicious dinner tonight? Not with this addictive Mexican Barley Salad! It is loaded with two kinds of beans, whole grain barley, jicama, peppers, corn, and the most amazing dressing. It lasts for a week in the fridge and only gets better tasting the longer it sits.

I created this recipe over 15 years ago and it is still one of our family’s all-time favorites! First off, you can never go wrong with southwest flavors and the jicama in this Mexican Barley Salad adds the perfect amount of crunch as well.

What is quick cooking barley?
I used to make this salad with whole pearl barley but it does take quite a long time for that barley to cook so a few years ago I began using quick cooking barley and now this whole recipe can be done in 15 minutes!
Quick cooking barley is partially steamed and rolled to make their surface area larger, then dried before being packaged. These two steps that are done make for a quick 10 minute cook when you are preparing it in your home.

What recipe variations can I try?
Like any great recipe, the sky is the limit so feel free to substitute ingredients you know your family loves! Here are some easy additions or substitutions you can make to the original recipe:
- 1-2 fresh jalapenos minced
- cooked chicken, pork, or beef for added protein
- use flat leaf Italian parsley instead of cilantro
- for more crunch, some toasted almonds or cashews would be great
- chopped avocado mixed in would create a more creamy texture

Mexican Barley Salad Video
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Mexican Barley Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 7 large servings
- Category: Salads
- Method: Fresh
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Simple and delicious 15 minute meal!
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
*If you like a bit of heat, add a minced jalapeno or two to the salad
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/7th
- Calories: 384
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 758mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 49g
- Fiber: 13g
- Protein: 12g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: main dish salad recipes, whole foods, healthy salads
Eleni says
Made this tonight, and it is absolutely delicious!!! It’s my first time using jicama, which is now a new favorite 🙂
Thank you for the incredible recipe!
God bless 🙂
Carole says
Hi Eleni! So glad you gave the recipe a try and I couldn’t agree more about jicama! We adore it -Carole
Marie says
I had forgotten how much I love this salad! Thanks for reminding me 🙂
★★★★★
Carole says
You are very welcome Marie! Thanks for coming back and leaving your review 🙂
Denise says
Love it.and I sever it with Tortilla chips.
Carole says
We often scoop it up like it is salsa with tortilla chips!
Mark Wilson says
What a delightful summer salad! This was delicious and has been added to our rotation! Thank you! – Mark
★★★★★
Carole says
Thanks for coming back Mark and leaving your review! It helps so much 🙂