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    Home » Slow Cooker » Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto 

    Published on May 23, 2016. Modified on Sep 25, 2020 by bakingqueen74. This post may contain affiliate links. 5 Comments

    Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto 

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    Slow cooker spinach and halloumi pearl barley risotto makes a great side dish or vegetarian option that cooks in your crockpot in a couple of hours. So tasty and great for summer!

    Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto 

    This month the theme for the Slow Cooked Challenge over with Janice from Farmersgirl Kitchen is Rice and Grains. I’ve only tried a risotto once in the slow cooker, and it was partly extremely soggy and partly still hard, so not successful at all! So I thought I might avoid rice this time and try a different kind of grain.

    In the supermarket many of the grains I looked at only needed a short cooking time (things like buckwheat, couscous and so on) and so a long cooking time wouldn’t really work for them. Pearl barley though is a grain I’ve used in lamb stews I’ve cooked in casserole dishes in the oven before, so I knew it could handle a longer cooking time.

    I remembered a recipe in the book Slow Cooked by Miss South (check out her blog too) for a pearl barley risotto, or orzotto (orzo is the Italian word for barley), with beetroot. I decided to take inspiration from that recipe and make a pearl barley risotto with a similar base, using the ingredients in my fridge.

    A bag of spinach waiting to be used up and some light halloumi with mint caught my eye so these would go in too. Read on for my recipe for slow cooker spinach and halloumi pearl barley risotto!

    Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto 

    Risotto in the slow cooker

    Pearl barley doesn’t go soggy even if cooked for a long time as here. It retains a nice bite which is great and has a delicate nutty flavour. So it works well in this pearl barley risotto dish.

    It is easy to prepare, simply add the pearl barley to the slow cooker along with some onion, garlic and herbs for flavouring and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours.

    Then stir through chopped spinach and halloumi.

    How to serve

    This risotto was delicious warm served with avocado, mozzarella and salad on the side. I’ll also be using the rest up cold in salads over the next few days.

    It also works well as a side dish to hot dishes like chilli, or alongside shredded meat. So you can also have it as a side to other slow cooker dishes.

    Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto 

    Pin this recipe for later:

    Slow cooker spinach and halloumi risotto with pearl barley

    Risotto in a white serving dish with tomatoes in a bowl to the side.

    Slow Cooker Spinach and Halloumi Pearl Barley Risotto

    A delicious vegetarian meal or side dish with spinach and halloumi
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate Save Saved!
    Course: Side Dish
    Cuisine: Slow Cooker
    Keyword: slow cooker risotto
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 6 hours
    Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Calories: 232kcal
    Author: Lucy Allen | BakingQueen74

    Ingredients

    • 1 onion chopped finely
    • 2 cloves garlic chopped finely
    • 200 g pearl barley
    • 600 ml vegetable stock made using freshly boiled water and 2 tsp vegetable bouillon
    • 75 g fresh spinach chopped finely
    • 40 g light halloumi cut in small pieces
    UK Measurements - US Measurements

    Equipment

    large oval slow cooker

    Instructions 

    • Place the onion, garlic, pearl barley and vegetable stock in the slow cooker.
    • Cook on low for 5-6 hours, keeping an eye on the pot at the end of cooking to check for sticking.
    • Chop the spinach finely and stir it through the pearl barley.
    • Dice the halloumi and stir it through as well reserving some to place on top.
    • Season with pepper and serve as a light meal with salad.
    Did you try and love this recipe?Then please leave a review and rating in the comments at the bottom of the post. If you post your creation on Instagram, tag me @bakingqueen74 or use hashtag #bakingqueen74!

    Sending this over to the Slow Cooked Challenge hosted by Janice this month, with the theme of rice and grains. A great theme which made me cook something a bit different!

    Also linking up with Meat Free Mondays with Jac from Tinned Tomatoes.

     

     

     

    « Slow Cooker Mediterranean Chicken with Roasted Vegetables
    Slow Cooker Victoria Sponge Cake »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Iss says

      June 06, 2016 at 4:32 pm

      I love haolummi 😀 Will definitely try this one.

      Reply
    2. recipesfromapantry says

      May 25, 2016 at 9:40 pm

      I love checking out your blog and seeing all the fab thing you can make in a slow cooker. Yes please to this risotto.

      Reply
    3. Sarah Trivuncic, Maison Cupcake says

      May 23, 2016 at 5:04 pm

      This looks fantastic! I’m so loving the idea of slow cooker rice pud – I had a go at a sweet one today with your challenge in mind but need to attempt again to get consistency right before blogging it. Hope I can meet the deadline!

      Reply
    4. Katie Bryson (@cookingkt) says

      May 23, 2016 at 2:55 pm

      This looks so comforting, I really fancy giving this a try. I love making risotto in the oven as it takes the faff out of it, but i’ve never tried using pearl barley…

      Reply
      • bakingqueen74 says

        May 23, 2016 at 3:18 pm

        Thanks Katie, me neither but now I know it is tasty I definitely will use it again!

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Lucy! I'm a slow cooker addict, food blogger and also a busy working mum of two. I hope you'll enjoy the recipes I create and post which are perfect for busy families.

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