Hulled Barley substitute

Best substitute

Pearl barley

Use the same amount but cook 25 to 30 minutes instead of 50 to 60 as the hulled barley you are replacing

Best for soups and stews

Different texture

Pearl barley is the obvious swap at 1:1 and tastes right, but it is polished, so it cooks in 25 to 30 minutes instead of 50 to 60 and it goes softer and starchier. That timing gap is the entire problem: add pearl barley to a soup at the point the recipe says and it will be mush by serving. Wheat berries, spelt berries, farro or oat groats match the cook time and the chew instead, but they will not thicken a broth the way barley does.

Other hulled barley substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Pot barley or Scotch barley
Close match
Use the same amount cooking 40 to 50 minutes
Barley that has been lightly pearled, so some bran is gone but most remains.
What changes
Best for
soups and stews, Scotch broth, pilafs, grain salads
Worth knowing that labeling is loose here. Bags saying pot barley or Scotch barley sometimes mean true hulled barley and sometimes mean this lightly polished middle grade, which sits between hulled and pearl in both chew and cooking time. If your bag is the middle grade, expect it done in 40 to 50 minutes and slightly softer than full hulled barley. It is the closest possible substitute either way, so if you see it, buy it.
3Wheat berries or spelt berries
Different taste
Use the same amount
Whole kernels of wheat or spelt, with the bran intact, the direct equivalent of hulled barley in another grain.
What changes
Best for
grain salads, pilafs, grain bowls, hearty soups
The best match for timing and texture: 50 to 60 minutes, the same firm chew, the same ability to sit in dressing overnight without softening. What you lose is the starch. Barley makes a broth silky and slightly thick, and wheat berries do not, so a Scotch broth made with them stays thin and clear rather than becoming that comforting cloudy stew. If the soup is the point, stir in a spoonful of pearl barley alongside, or finish with a small potato mashed into the pot.
4Whole farro
Different taste
Use the same amount adjusting time to the grade you have
Whole or semi-pearled ancient wheat kernels with a nutty flavor and springy bite.
What changes
Best for
grain salads, soups, pilafs, warm side dishes
Read the bag, because farro comes in three grades and they behave differently: whole farro takes 45 to 60 minutes and is a close match, semi-pearled takes 25 to 30, and pearled takes about 20. Whole farro tastes nuttier and less earthy than barley and stays a little more distinct in a soup, since it releases less starch. It also goes from chewy to blown out faster once it is done, so do not leave it simmering.
5Oat groats
Different taste
Use the same amount
Whole oat kernels with only the hull removed, naturally gluten-free.
What changes
Best for
soups, grain bowls, pilafs, porridge
Very similar in the pot, 50 to 60 minutes for a plump, chewy grain, and one of the few gluten-free options that keeps the whole-kernel bite. Oats taste mild and faintly milky rather than earthy, so a mushroom and barley soup made with groats loses the savory backbone barley was providing. Add a little soy sauce or a dried mushroom to the broth to make up for it.
6Whole sorghum or short-grain brown rice
Different taste
Use the same amount
Two naturally gluten-free whole grains that hold their shape through a long cook.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free soups, grain salads, grain bowls, pilafs
Sorghum is the better structural match, round and firm with a satisfying pop, done in 50 to 60 minutes, which slots straight into a hulled barley recipe. Brown rice is softer, quieter in flavor and done in about 45. Neither gives you barley's earthy taste or its thickening starch, so lean harder on the broth, and note that barley is not gluten-free at all, so this is the only route if that is the reason you are substituting.

What is Hulled Barley?

Hulled Barley is Hulled barley is the whole barley kernel with only the inedible outer hull removed, so the bran is still intact, which makes it chewier, nuttier and far slower to cook than the polished pearl barley most shops stock.

Cooking tips

Keep the timings straight, because this is where barley substitutions go wrong. Hulled barley: 50 to 60 minutes, sometimes 75 for a stubborn batch. Pot or Scotch barley: 40 to 50. Pearl barley: 25 to 30. Quick-cook barley: 10 to 12. Same grain, four different recipes, and the packet you bought may not say which you have.
Soaking hulled barley overnight cuts the cook to roughly 30 to 40 minutes and makes the kernels swell evenly. Drain the soaking water and cook in fresh. This is the simplest way to fit whole barley into a weeknight soup without switching to pearl.
Add salt and any acidic ingredient, such as tomatoes, wine or vinegar, only after the barley is tender. Both slow the hydration of a bran-covered kernel, and a pot of barley simmering in tomato can stay stubbornly hard for well over an hour.
Barley thickens things, and that is often half of why a recipe chose it. As it cooks it sheds soluble starch that makes broth glossy and slightly viscous. Pearl barley does this most and hulled barley less; wheat berries and brown rice barely at all. If your substitute leaves the soup thin, that is why, and a mashed potato or a spoonful of pearl barley will fix it.
For a grain salad, cook barley in plenty of salted water and drain, then rinse it briefly under cool water. That rinse washes off the surface starch that would otherwise make the cooled grains gummy and clump them into a single mass in the fridge.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between hulled barley and pearl barley?

Hulled barley has only the inedible hull removed, so the bran is intact. Pearl barley has been polished further, taking off the bran and some of the starchy layer beneath. That makes pearl barley whiter, quicker to cook at 25 to 30 minutes against 50 to 60, softer when done, more starchy in a broth and lower in fiber. Flavor is similar; texture and timing are not.

Can I use pearl barley instead of hulled barley?

Yes, in a 1:1 ratio, but you must change when you add it. Because pearl barley cooks in roughly half the time, adding it at the point a hulled barley recipe specifies will leave you with disintegrated grains and a thick, cloudy soup. Add it around halfway through the simmer and start tasting at 20 minutes. For a cold grain salad, hulled barley or wheat berries hold up much better.

Is pot barley the same as hulled barley?

Sometimes. Strictly speaking pot barley, also sold as Scotch barley, has been lightly pearled, so it sits between hulled and pearl barley, cooking in about 40 to 50 minutes. But some producers use pot barley and hulled barley interchangeably on the label. Judge by look and behavior: if the kernels are dark and rough-coated they are close to hulled, if pale and smooth they are closer to pearl.

Can I just leave the barley out?

In a soup, more or less yes. Barley there is bulk and body rather than flavor, so a beef and vegetable soup without it is thinner and less filling but perfectly good, and you can add potato, pasta or rice instead. In a barley risotto, pilaf or grain salad it is the substance of the dish, so it has to be replaced by another chewy grain rather than skipped.

What job is hulled barley doing in a recipe?

Three things. It gives bulk, turning a broth into a meal. Its intact bran gives a firm chewy bite that survives a long simmer and stays firm when the dish is reheated the next day, which pearl barley does not. And it releases soluble starch that thickens and softens the liquid around it, which is why barley soups feel silky. When you pick a substitute, decide whether you need the chew, in which case use another whole kernel, or the thickening, in which case pearl barley is your answer.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Hulled Barley substitute

Other hulled barley substitutes

2Pot barley or Scotch barley

3Wheat berries or spelt berries

4Whole farro

5Oat groats

6Whole sorghum or short-grain brown rice