Tarhonya substitute

Best substitute

Acini di Pepe

Use the same amount as the tarhonya you are replacing

Best for goulash side dish

Close match

Acini di pepe is the closest thing on a supermarket shelf and swaps in 1:1 - toast it in oil or lard until it smells nutty before adding liquid, and it behaves almost exactly like tarhonya. Fregola is even better if you can find it, because it is already toasted. Israeli or pearl couscous works too but is larger and softer, and orzo is a usable last resort that comes out sleeker and less chewy. Tarhonya is also sold in English as egg barley, which is a translation, not a barley product.

Other tarhonya substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Fregola Sarda
Close match
Use the same amount
Sardinian toasted semolina pellets, slightly larger than tarhonya and already roasted at the factory.
What changes
Best for
goulash side dish, porkolt, braises, soups, salads
The single closest substitute in eating quality, because the toasted, nutty, chewy character is exactly what tarhonya is prized for. It is a little bigger, so the side dish looks coarser, and it needs a couple of minutes longer to cook. No need to toast it first, though a quick pass in fat does no harm.
3Israeli or Pearl Couscous
Different texture
Use the same amount
Toasted semolina pearls about twice the diameter of tarhonya, sold almost everywhere.
What changes
Best for
goulash side dish, braises, pilafs, salads
Very easy to find and pleasant to eat, but the larger pearls give a softer, bouncier bite and read more like a modern grain side than the fine gravelly texture of a proper tarhonya. Cook it in stock rather than water and it stands up well next to a paprika stew.
4Orzo
Different texture
Use the same amount
Rice-shaped small pasta, longer and flatter than tarhonya but the same broad idea.
What changes
Best for
goulash side dish, soups, braises, weeknight substitution
Works, and almost everyone has it. Because the grains are long rather than round they pack together and come out sleeker and smoother, so the finished dish is more like a small-pasta pilaf than tarhonya. Toast it in fat first and pull it off the heat while it is still firmly al dente, since orzo goes gluey quickly.
5Ditalini or Other Tiny Soup Pasta
Different texture
Use the same amount
Small tubes and other pastina shapes that behave the same way in a pan and a pot.
What changes
Best for
soups, goulash side dish, children's meals
Fine for anything where tarhonya is going into liquid, especially soup. The hollow shapes take on more broth and go soft faster, so they lose the distinct chewy separateness that makes tarhonya worth its name. Check them a minute early.
6Homemade Tarhonya
Close match
Use the same amount
Flour and egg rubbed into coarse crumbs and dried, which is genuinely how it is made and is easier than it sounds.
What changes
Best for
authentic Hungarian cooking, goulash side dish, when nothing else is available
Rub 2 cups flour with 2 eggs and a pinch of salt between your fingers until you have irregular pea-sized crumbs, then spread them out to dry for a few hours or dry them in a 200F oven for 20 minutes. The pellets will be less uniform than the bought kind, which affects looks more than eating. Cook exactly as you would the packaged product.

What is Tarhonya?

Tarhonya is Tarhonya is a Hungarian dried egg pasta rolled into small irregular pellets about the size of a peppercorn, traditionally toasted in fat before being simmered so it finishes chewy and separate rather than soft and clumped.

Cooking tips

Toast before you simmer, whichever pasta you use. Tarhonya's whole character comes from being browned in lard, oil or bacon fat until it smells nutty, and then cooked in stock. Skip that step and even real tarhonya tastes like plain boiled pasta.
Cook it in liquid rather than draining it. Use about two parts stock or water to one part pellets, add it to the toasted pasta, cover, and let it absorb over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes like a pilaf. Boiling and draining washes off the starch that gives the dish its body and loses the toasted flavour.
A tablespoon of sweet Hungarian paprika stirred in off the heat, after the fat has cooled slightly, turns any of these substitutes into something that tastes properly Hungarian next to goulash or porkolt. Add paprika to hot fat and it scorches bitter within seconds.
Watch out for the English name. Tarhonya is often sold as egg barley, and some American recipes use that term, but there is no barley in it - it is an egg pasta. If you buy actual pearl barley expecting tarhonya, the cooking time and texture will both be wrong.
Do not confuse tarhonya with csipetke, the other classic Hungarian soup pasta. Csipetke is pinched flat scraps of the same dough dropped straight into simmering goulash soup, so if your recipe wants csipetke you can pinch bits off any fresh pasta dough rather than reaching for a small dried shape.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for tarhonya?

Acini di pepe if you want something you can buy at any supermarket, and fregola sarda if you want the closest possible eating experience. Both swap 1:1. Toast either one in fat before adding stock and the difference from real tarhonya becomes very hard to notice on the plate.

Is tarhonya the same as egg barley?

Yes - egg barley is the English name for tarhonya, used because the pellets look a bit like barley grains. It is a dried egg pasta and contains no barley at all, so do not substitute pearl barley, which takes far longer to cook and stays much chewier.

Can I use regular pasta instead?

Only the very small shapes. Tarhonya is served as a starchy side that soaks up paprika stew, and that needs pellets small enough to eat with a spoon alongside the sauce. Acini di pepe, fregola, orzo, ditalini and pastina all work; spaghetti or penne changes the dish into something else entirely.

Can I leave the tarhonya out?

You can, but you then need something else starchy under the stew, because that is its entire job. Boiled potatoes, spaetzle, wide egg noodles or plain rice all serve the same purpose next to goulash or porkolt. What you lose is the toasted, nutty flavour, which none of those bring.

How much liquid does it need?

About two parts liquid to one part pellets by volume, added to the pasta after toasting, then covered and simmered gently until absorbed - roughly 10 to 15 minutes. Use stock rather than water; tarhonya is bland on its own and takes its seasoning entirely from what it cooks in.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Tarhonya substitute

Other tarhonya substitutes

2Fregola Sarda

3Israeli or Pearl Couscous

4Orzo

5Ditalini or Other Tiny Soup Pasta

6Homemade Tarhonya