Barley is one of the most versatile grains in the world, used for everything from brewing beer to feeding livestock to thickening soups. It ranks as the fourth most-produced grain globally, and its uses span food, beverages, animal nutrition, and health supplements. Here’s a closer look at each one.
Cooking and Everyday Meals
In the kitchen, barley shows up in soups, stews, salads, grain bowls, and pilafs. It has a chewy texture and mild, slightly nutty flavor that absorbs the seasonings around it. A quarter cup of uncooked whole grain barley provides about 163 calories, 6 grams of protein, 34 grams of carbohydrates, and 8 grams of fiber.
The two varieties you’ll find at most grocery stores are hulled barley and pearled barley. Hulled barley is minimally processed: only the tough outer hull is removed, leaving most of the bran intact. That makes it a true whole grain with more fiber, iron, and B vitamins. Pearled barley has been scraped down further, stripping away most of the bran layer. It cooks faster and has a softer texture, but it loses a significant share of its fiber and micronutrients in the process. If nutrition is your priority, hulled barley is the better pick.
Barley flour also works as a partial substitute for wheat flour in baked goods, adding a denser crumb and earthy flavor. Barley flakes, rolled similarly to oats, can be cooked into a hot breakfast cereal or stirred into granola.
Brewing Beer and Distilling Spirits
Brewing is arguably barley’s most iconic use. The vast majority of beer in the world starts with malted barley, and the grain is also central to Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, and many other distilled spirits.
The reason barley dominates brewing comes down to enzymes. When barley seeds begin to sprout, they produce enzymes that efficiently convert stored starch into fermentable sugars. Brewers exploit this through a process called malting: the grain is soaked in water until it reaches the right moisture level, then spread out and allowed to germinate over four to five days while being constantly turned. The sprouted grain, called green malt, is then kiln-dried to halt germination. The length and temperature of kilning determine the malt’s flavor and color, which is why a pale lager tastes completely different from a dark stout even though both start with barley.
Different barley varieties are bred specifically for malting quality, with traits like high starch content, low protein, and a husk that aids in filtering during the brewing process.
Lowering Cholesterol
Barley is one of the richest grain sources of a soluble fiber called beta-glucan. This fiber has a well-documented effect on cholesterol, and the mechanism is surprisingly specific. When high-molecular-weight beta-glucan enters your small intestine, it forms a viscous gel that traps bile acids, preventing them from being reabsorbed back into your bloodstream. Your liver then pulls cholesterol from your blood to make new bile acids, which lowers your total circulating cholesterol.
Research published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that consuming 3 grams of high-molecular-weight beta-glucan per day for five weeks significantly reduced total cholesterol levels. The effect was driven entirely by increased bile acid synthesis, not by blocking cholesterol absorption or production. Notably, lower-molecular-weight beta-glucan at the same dose did not produce the same benefit, suggesting the fiber’s thickness and gel-forming ability are what make it work.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows barley products to carry a heart health claim on their labels if a single serving provides at least 0.75 grams of soluble fiber, with the label noting that 3 grams per day from barley or oats is needed to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
Blood Sugar Control
Barley has a remarkably low glycemic index of 25, compared to 87 for white rice. That means it raises blood sugar far more slowly and to a much lower peak after a meal. The same beta-glucan fiber responsible for cholesterol reduction also slows the digestion of carbohydrates, keeping glucose from flooding into the bloodstream all at once.
This makes barley a practical swap for higher-glycemic grains like white rice or refined pasta, particularly for people managing blood sugar levels. Replacing even one serving of white rice per day with barley can meaningfully flatten post-meal glucose spikes.
Barley Water as a Traditional Remedy
Barley water, made by simmering barley in water and straining out the grain, has been used for centuries across cultures as a home remedy. It has a long folk history as a drink for kidney health and urinary tract support, and it remains popular in parts of Asia and Europe as an everyday beverage. Some people drink it to support digestion or as a mild, hydrating alternative to sugary drinks. While the scientific evidence behind many of these traditional claims is limited, the drink does deliver some of barley’s soluble fiber and minerals in an easy-to-consume form.
Livestock Feed
A large share of the world’s barley crop never reaches a human plate. It goes straight to animal feed, particularly for cattle, hogs, and poultry. Barley’s appeal as a feed grain is its combination of energy and protein. On a dry matter basis, barley contains between 7.5% and 18% protein, with about 75% of that protein being digestible. Its total digestible nutrient value falls between 80% and 84%, making it a strong energy source for growing and finishing livestock.
Compared to corn, barley delivers more protein and more fiber but slightly less metabolizable energy. Cattle digest barley starch almost completely, at rates above 99%, which is on par with corn and better than grain sorghum. In regions where barley grows more readily than corn, particularly in the northern United States, Canada, and northern Europe, it serves as the primary grain in feedlot rations. It’s also commonly used in dairy cattle diets to support milk production.
Nutritional Profile at a Glance
Per 100 grams of uncooked pearl barley, you get about 9.9 grams of protein and 13.1 grams of dietary fiber. Barley is also a notable source of manganese (1.1 mg per 100 grams) and selenium (17 micrograms per 100 grams). Manganese supports bone health and metabolism, while selenium plays a role in thyroid function and immune defense. The grain also supplies meaningful amounts of B vitamins, phosphorus, and magnesium, though these are reduced in pearled varieties where the outer bran has been removed.