Slow Cooker Barley & Chickpea Risotto
When you make this Slow Cooker Barley & Chickpea Risotto, your crock pot does all the work for you! Slow cooked whole grains packed with chickpeas and vegetables.
“One of my personal favorites for fall – and all year round!”
—Crystal
After many years of experimenting and discovering that the risotto cooking method works for not just arborio rice (hello, coconut risotto) but just about any grain, I make whole grain risottos for dinner quite often.
Especially in the winter, when nothing is more comforting than a big, hearty bowl of grains. I’ve conquered a savory oatmeal recipe and farro and kale risotto.
The time has come to let my slow cooker do some of the work with this Slow Cooker Barley & Chickpea Risotto.
Of course, since the “risotto method” refers to stirring small amounts of hot stock into rice or grains gradually, this recipe isn’t a true risotto. I know that.
But I’ve found that using a slow cooker allows the barley to slowly simmer in broth, and the end product is very similar to barley cooked using the traditional risotto method.
About this Slow Cooker Barley & Chickpea Risotto:
This isn’t a traditional slow-cooker recipe that you can set and forget for eight hours.
Barley only takes about two hours to cook using this method. If you try to cook it for eight hours, it will sadly be very overcooked.
So, while you can’t leave for work all day, you can leave for a few errands. Or clean your house.
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Or relax on the couch and drink a glass of wine. No judgement, friends.
If you’re somebody who eats dinner kind of late on weeknights, feel free to just stir the ingredients into your slow cooker bowl as soon as you get home from work, and in two hours, a big pot of barley, carrot, cauliflower and chickpea risotto will be waiting for you!
Or, save this recipe for a weekend meal. Get the Parmesan cheese out of the fridge, pour yourself [another] glass of wine, find some forks, and you’re ready for dinner.
What kind of barley do I use for barley risotto? What is the difference between barley and pearl barley?
This particular barley recipe calls for pearl barley (sometimes called pearled barley), which is barley that has been processed to remove the outer hull and some of the bran layer.
This means that it cooks faster and is less chewy than traditional unprocessed barley. I also love pearl barley in my beet tomato salad.
What are the ingredients in slow cooker barley risotto?
- olive oil
- carrots
- garlic
- cauliflower
- onion
- thyme
- pearl barley
- garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
- chicken or vegetable broth
- salt and pepper
- lemon juice
- Parmesan cheese
- parsley
Can I make this crockpot barley risotto vegetarian or vegan?
Absolutely! For a vegetarian or vegan dish, be sure to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and omit the Parmesan cheese.
Or, while I haven’t tried it personally, I’ve read that nutritional yeast makes a good vegan substitute for Parmesan cheese.
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Slow Cooker Barley and Chickpea Risotto
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 3 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ head cauliflower cut into small florets
- ½ small yellow onion minced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 ¼ cups pearl barley rinsed
- 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 15.5 ounces
- 2 ½ cups less-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 ¼ cups water
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add carrots, garlic, cauliflower and onion. Cook until vegetables being to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in thyme and barley; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Transfer mixture to slow cooker bowl. Stir in garbanzo beans, broth, water, salt and pepper. Cook on high 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until barley is tender and most liquid is absorbed.
- Remove and discard thyme sprigs; stir in lemon juice. Serve in warm bowls garnished with cheese and parsley.
Notes
- For a vegetarian or vegan dish, be sure to use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and omit the Parmesan cheese.
Just wondering if you have ever just put all the ingredients in the crock pot without cooking them in a saucepan first?
Hi Jessica – I haven’t tested it that way. If you do try it, please report back how it turns out 🙂
Made this for a “healthier” post holiday dinner – didn’t want to dirty two pieces of cookware so I did the sauté in such oven and popped it in the oven at 300 for 2 hours – turned out great! Also added some lemon zest abou halfway through (loooovee lemon)
So glad to hear this turned out great, Alex. Happy New Year!
Lori, I am making this dish as a dump meal for my children – my daughter and s-I-l just had a baby and my son and d-I-l are in the process of moving to another state and having another baby. They love getting healthy meals. My question is about the barley. Should I add all the ingredients and freeze or leave the barley out and have them add it when they cook the meal?
Thank you so much for this healthy offer (I also make a freezer meal for me and my husband).
Hi Paula – great questions! I have to confess that I’ve never tried freezing any part of this meal, but I know that barley generally stands up pretty well to freezing (at least in soup). I would probably add all of the ingredients and freeze 🙂
What do I need to do if I have actual garbanzo beans and not in a can…?
Hi Angie – I would cook the garbanzo beans according to their package instructions and then proceed with this risotto recipe.
Hi, After it is cooked, are all the chickpeas still whole? I am wondering if the chickpeas become mashed during cooking or can be mashed a bit, maybe prior to adding to the crockpot. Thanks for your feedback.
Hi Heidi – Yes, the chickpeas remain whole after this risotto is cooked. However, if you wanted to mash them a bit before adding them to the crockpot at the start of the cooking time, you certainly could. Go for it!
I made this tonight. Healthy, easy and delicious! Thank you!
So glad to hear that, Marie!
Thank you for posting this easy-to-prep healthy recipe. I’ve started using our slow-cooker to make meals once a week to give my wife a break from constant cooking. So far she’s loved it, and so have my two little ones.
I love that idea, PT! So glad your family enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Recipe looks great. Where can I get those little pots? What are they called?
Thanks!
Hi Joe – great question. They are Le Creuset mini cocotttes: http://amzn.to/2ppitII
To prep it the night before, should I combine everything? Or leave the beans etc.. apart until I’m ready to put it in the slow cooker?
Hi Lolo – great question. To prep the night before, I would combine everything except the broth and water. Then when you’re ready to start it, just stir in the broth and water at that point 🙂
Great, I’m going to try it tonight for tomorrow, thanks!
Came to the comments looking for the answer to this exact question, thank you! I can’t believe no one else has asked this in the 4 years of comments on this page.
Can you freeze the leftovers for future meals?
Hi Marcy – I’m sorry, I’ve never tried freezing this, so I’m not sure 🙁
Hi! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. What sized slow cooker did you use? Mine is a much smaller cooker (2 qt.), so I want to be sure that I’m doing the reduction math properly.
Hi Daisy – My slow cooker is actually very large (7 quart), although in no way did this recipe fill that all up. For a 2 qt. slow cooker, I would recommend cutting this recipe in half. No promises, but I *think* a half recipe should fit in your slow cooker 🙂
I use a 7 liter crock pot for pot luck dinners at church, where many members are vegetarians.
by what factor should I increase the ingredients, and how much cook time?
Hi Rory – I actually used a 7-QUART slow cooker for this, since I’m in the US. Looks like the conversion of quarts to liters is pretty close to 1-to-1.
These look delicious. I am making Freezer Crockpot meals for a young mother of 2 just diagnosed with breast cancer. She is vegetarian (I am not) so these recipes should be great! Thanks for sharing them. 🙂
So glad to hear that this recipe will be helpful to you, Susan. Best wishes for the woman you are cooking for. <3
I made this tonight. DELISH! I added two handfuls of chopped kale into the crockpot. We were really happy with it and will def make it again. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Robin – So glad this was a hit for you! I love the idea of adding kale. Did you add it at the start of the cook time, or towards the end? I’m just curious, because I want to try it now, too 🙂
I added the kale at the start of crockpot cooking. I didn’t cook it with other veg first.
Has anyone tried adding some white wine in place of some of the broth and/or lemon juice? Trying this weekend!
Hi Emily! I haven’t tried it in this particular recipe, but I use white wine in most other risottos (not sure why I didn’t do that here). I’m sure it’d be absolutely delicious to sub all of the lemon juice, and maybe 1/4 -1/3 cup of the broth for white wine. I hope it turns out great. Enjoy!
I made this today, and it is delicious. Do you have any suggestions on another vegetable to use for the cauliflower? Thanks
I’m so glad you liked it, Susan! How about broccoli or brussels sprouts?