How many calories are in barley?

Cooked pearl barley is 123 calories per 100g, so a cup at 157g comes to 193 calories. That is lighter than white rice at 130 calories per 100g and heavier than brown rice at 112.

Is barley gluten free?

No. Barley's storage protein is hordein, which is a gluten protein, so it is out on a coeliac diet and so is anything malted from it: malt vinegar, malt extract, malted milk and most beer. Sorghum and buckwheat are the usual stand-ins.

What is the glycemic index of barley?

28, which is the lowest of any common grain and less than half of most breads. The glycemic load of a cup works out around 12. The intact grain structure is doing the work, so barley flour behaves nothing like this.

Is barley good for cholesterol?

The soluble fiber in barley is beta-glucan, the same molecule oats are sold on, and cooked barley carries 3.8g of total fiber per 100g against oatmeal's 1.7g. That is the strongest evidence-backed claim the grain has.

Is barley keto-friendly?

No. Net carbs are 24.4g per 100g even after 3.8g of fiber comes off, so a cup lands near 38g. It is a good grain on a low glycemic diet and a bad one on a ketogenic diet, and those two things get confused often.

Pearl barley or hulled barley?

Pearled is what shops mostly sell and what these figures describe: the bran has been polished off, so it cooks in about 30 minutes. Hulled barley keeps the bran, takes an hour or more, and carries more fiber than the 3.8g per 100g here.

Is barley good for weight loss?

It holds well for its calories. 123 calories per 100g is roughly cooked quinoa's 121, and the 3.8g of fiber per 100g does more for fullness than the 2.3g of protein does. Barley also triples in weight as it cooks, so a small dry measure fills a bowl.

How do you cook barley?

Three parts water to one part pearl barley, simmered covered for about 30 minutes, then drained. It never quite goes soft the way rice does, and that chew is the point in a soup or a grain salad. Cooked barley keeps five days in the fridge.

Barley vs oatmeal for breakfast?

Barley is denser, 123 calories per 100g against oatmeal's 71, mostly because oatmeal is cooked with much more water. Fiber per calorie is where barley wins: 3.8g per 100g against 1.7g, on a grain you can also put under a stew.

All Foods

Calories in Barley

USDA Verified · FDC 170285 · Sep 2026

193 calories

per 1 cup (157g)

2.3g

Protein

28.2g

Carbs

0.4g

Fat

3.8g

Fiber

Per 100g cooked

Log Barley in one photo

That took a search. Point Calvin at the plate and it takes about three seconds, with every food listed separately so you can fix anything it got wrong.