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Home » Main Dishes

Published: Jan 13, 2022 · Updated: Mar 15, 2023 by Carole Jones · 8 Comments

Mexican Barley Salad with Beans, Corn, & Jicama

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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.

mexican barley salad

I created this barley salad 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.

square bowl of barley, beans, and veggies

What is Quick Cooking Barley?

I used to make this barley salad recipe 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.

bowl of mexican salad with jicama barley and corn

What Barley Salad 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 with beans, jicama, corn, and veggies

Mexican Barley Salad Video

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Looking for more great Mexican recipes?

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Pork Carnitas Recipe
Authentic Pork Carnitas
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Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Cilantro Lime Rice recipe
Cilantro Lime Rice
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mexican barley salad

Mexican Barley Salad

5 from 2 reviews

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Simple and delicious 15 minute meal!

  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 7 large servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 C quick cooking barley
  • 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 15 oz can corn, drained
  • 8 green onions, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 C chopped cilantro
  • 3 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
  • 1/2 large jicama, peeled and diced
  • Fresh lime, cut into wedges

Dressing

  • 1 large clove garlic, minced
  • 1 Tb chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/3 C red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Cook barley according to package directions.  Once it is cooked, quickly rinse in cool water to reduce the temperature of the barley.
  2. Combine all your salad ingredients in a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl, whisk together all your dressing ingredients and pour over the salad.  Toss to combine.
  3. Serve at room temperature and squeeze a generous amount of fresh lime juice on each serving.

Notes

*If you like a bit of heat, add a minced jalapeno or two to the salad

  • Author: Carole Jones
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Category: Salads
  • Method: Fresh
  • Cuisine: Mexican

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

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @thecarolejones on Instagram and hashtag it #mykitchenescapades

Categories: Main Dishes Tags: Beans, healthy, Mexican

Filed Under: Main Dishes
8 Comments
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eleni says

    July 05, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    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 🙂

    Reply
    • Carole says

      July 06, 2015 at 8:41 am

      Hi Eleni! So glad you gave the recipe a try and I couldn’t agree more about jicama! We adore it -Carole

      Reply
  2. Marie says

    January 13, 2022 at 6:00 pm

    I had forgotten how much I love this salad! Thanks for reminding me 🙂






    Reply
    • Carole says

      January 13, 2022 at 6:00 pm

      You are very welcome Marie! Thanks for coming back and leaving your review 🙂

      Reply
  3. Denise says

    January 13, 2022 at 6:28 pm

    Love it.and I sever it with Tortilla chips.

    Reply
    • Carole says

      January 17, 2022 at 11:10 am

      We often scoop it up like it is salsa with tortilla chips!

      Reply
  4. Mark Wilson says

    March 31, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    What a delightful summer salad! This was delicious and has been added to our rotation! Thank you! – Mark






    Reply
    • Carole says

      April 06, 2022 at 3:15 pm

      Thanks for coming back Mark and leaving your review! It helps so much 🙂

      Reply

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