This Sweet Barley Pudding is a delicious old Scottish pudding that is really easy to prepare in the slow cooker. If you love rice pudding then do give this recipe a try as it is a similar milky pudding. Top with canned or fresh fruit, a spoon of jam, or fresh berries for a delicious pudding or hearty breakfast. There is a stove-top method included in the recipe notes.
Barley Pudding is a dessert prepared with just a few pantry ingredients - pearl barley, milk, and sugar. We are a plant-based family so we use plant-based milk such as oat, soya or almond for our barley pudding but of course you can use your usual milk for this recipe.
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💛 Why You’ll Love Barley Pudding
- 🍚 This vintage dessert is a budget-friendly classic, made with just a few humble pantry ingredients: pearl barley, milk, and sugar.
🕰️ Barley pudding is centuries old & originates from British medieval frumenty and Georgian-era puddings!
💡 Set-it-and-forget-it: The slow cooker does all the work, making it a fuss-free treat for busy days or cosy weekends. But can also be cooked on the stove-top.
🥄 Its creamy texture and pleasantly chewy sweet milky barley grains is so moreish.
🎃 Ideal for themed dinners, historical reenactments, or serving up something different for Halloween, Burns Night, or even a Lord of the Rings watch party!
🍓 Serve warm with jam or chilled with fruit: it's a dessert and breakfast in one!
Origins of Barley Pudding
Click the toggle '🍚'below if you would like to find out more about the history behing barley pudding.
🍚 Origins of Barley Pudding
Barley is an ancient grain that has been cultivated in Egypt, Asia and Europe for thousands of years. By the British Medieval times, frumenty was a popular meal which consisted of barley grains cooked in milk or a savoury broth or soup until a really thick porridge consistency, or potage, was formed. (Incidentally we do have a vegan medieval inspired potage recipe on our blog. So if you like historical inspired recipes then do give this potage a try.)
If available other ingredients were added to the frumenty such as dried fruits, spices, herbs, eggs or nuts, although those ingredients would most likely only have been available to the richer members of society. Frumenty was also a popular meal during the Medieval Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter, where many Christian followers go through periods of fasting [giving up meat and dairy] on special days such as Ash Wednesday, and all the Fridays during the Lent period including Good Friday.
Sweet barley pudding or barley porridge is simply an adaptation of the medieval frumenty and has been enjoyed in Scotland for hundreds of years. There is a recipe that dates back to a 1764 English cookery book 'English Housewifry' by Elizabeth Moxon termed Pearl Barley Pudding. This pudding has the pearl barley boiled until soft before adding eggs, cream, sugar, salt, rose-water, butter and nutmeg. This barley mixture was then baked with a puff pastry topping. Sounds very interesting!
Although barley pudding and barley porridge has dropped from fashion in modern times, it is surely time for this delicious budget-friendly pudding or breakfast to have a much deserved come-back.
Slow Cooker Sweet Barley Pudding
The flavour of sweet barley pudding is similar to rice pudding but the texture of the barley is more pleasantly chewy and the grains larger than rice. The barley pudding is creamy, comforting and very satisfying. We use almond milk to prepare this pudding but you can use any type of milk you prefer.
It couldn't be any simpler to prepare barley pudding in the slow cooker as all you have to do is add the ingredients to the pot, set the cooker to high, and leave for 3 and a half hours. Although the pudding may require an addition 15-30 minutes depending on your slow cooker or crock-pot, but usually no longer than 4 hours.
Once cooked the barley will be soft but still a little chewy. If the pudding does not seem thick enough the slow cooker lid can be removed, the heat turned off, and the pudding left for 15 minutes to thicken up. A sprinkle of cinnamon powder is the perfect addition, but nutmeg, mixed spice powder, apple or pumpkin spice powder would all be tasty.
The barley pudding can be served hot with fruit jam and/or a few tablespoons of canned fruit such as the retro fruit cocktail. Fresh fruit and berries are also delicious added to the finished barley pudding. To create a barley porridge similar to oat porridge simply reduce the amount of sugar and add any flavourings that you would normally add to your oatmeal. Additionally, if you'd like to prepare the sweet barley pudding using the stove-top then do check out the recipe notes for an easy method.
How To Prepare
For this sweet barley pudding the ingredients you will need are - pearl barley, milk, and sugar. A little margarine or butter to grease the slow cooker pot is optional but can help prevent the milk sticking to the sides.
Step 1: Grease the slow cooker with a little margarine.
Step 2: Add the pearl barley and sugar.
Step 3: Pour in the milk and give it all a good stir.
Step 4: Set the slow cooker to the high setting and cook for 3 and a half hours.
Step 5: Give the pudding a good stir and if the barley is not soft or the pudding is not thick enough leave it to cook for a further 15-30 minutes.
Step 6: The pudding should be ready by the 4 hour mark but if its still looking a little thin then turn off the heat, remove the lid, and leave the pudding to sit for 15 minutes and it will thicken up.
Serving suggestion: Enjoy the pudding with a simple dusting of nutmeg or cinnamon, or a scoop of fruit jam or some canned fruit such as fruit cocktail, pears, pineapple, or peaches for a nice retro pudding.
***please note: for US measurements click the 'US customary button' within the recipe and the measurements will switch to tablespoons, cups, and ounces.***
📖 Recipe
Sweet Barley Pudding
Equipment
- slow cooker or crock-pot (at least 3 litres (3 quarts) in size)
- mixing spoon
Ingredients
To grease the slow cooker:
- 1 teaspoon margarine (or butter)
Barley pudding:
- 100 grams pearl barley [rinsed to remove any dust or debris]
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar [use more or less as desired, or replace with your usual sugar/syrup/sweetener - adjust the quantities to taste]
- 800 millilitres milk [we like to use almond milk but any type of milk will work fine]
Add at end of cooking: [optional]
- 2 pinches cinnamon powder, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, mixed spice powder [use more or less to taste or omit]
Instructions
- Grease the slow cooker with the margarine.1 teaspoon margarine
- Switch the slow cooker to the high setting.
- Add the barley and sugar.100 grams pearl barley, 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Pour in the milk and stir everything together.800 millilitres milk
- Place a lid on the slow cooker and cook for 3 ½ hours.
- Check the barley pudding, stir it well, and if the barley is not soft enough pop the lid back on for an extra 15-30 minutes.
- Barley pudding should be ready after 4 hours cooking at the most. To thicken up the pudding after 4 hours turn the slow cooker off and leave to sit for 15 minutes without a lid.
- Sprinkle in the cinnamon power or a different spice, if using.2 pinches cinnamon powder, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, mixed spice powder
- Serve the pudding hot or chilled. Adding some canned fruit, such as fruit cocktail, pears or peaches makes for a nice retro pudding. Or add a dollop of fruit jam. Chilled barley pudding makes a nice breakfast.
Notes
- Nutritional data is provided for guidance only and is not intended as a strict calculation as ingredients vary.
- Store leftover barley pudding, within a covered container, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Or freeze for up to 2-3 months.
- To reheat place in a non-stick pot and bring to a gentle boil. Simmer for 2-3 minutes or until piping hot. A little extra milk may be needed to thin down the pudding.
- To cook sweet barley pudding on the stove-top: If preferred this sweet barley pudding can be prepared on the stove top using a non-stick pot. Just add all the ingredients to the pot and gently simmer until the barley is soft and the pudding thick and creamy. However, do keep an eye on the pudding and stir it frequently to prevent sticking and burning. Add extra milk as required during cooking if it cooks too thick. Barley cooking will take around 45-60 minutes to cook on the stove-top. Exact cooking times will depend on the barley grains, for example, older grains will require longer cooking.
- Enjoy barley pudding as a breakfast porridge. You can reduce the amount of sugar or omit and add savoury flavours if liked.
- If preferred replace the sugar with maple syrup/date syrup/agave syrup/coconut sugar/date sugar, brown sugar, stevia, monk fruit sweetener, etc. You will have to adjust the quantities to taste.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
Unfortunately as barley contains gluten this pudding is not suitable for gluten-free diets. For a similar pudding do try our rice pudding recipe as this is fine for gluten-free diets.
If preferred this sweet barley pudding can be prepared on the stove top using a non-stick pot. Just add all the ingredients to the pot and gently simmer until the barley is soft and the pudding thick and creamy. However, do keep an eye on the pudding and stir it frequently to prevent sticking and burning. Add extra milk as required during cooking if it cooks too thick. Sweet barley cooking will take around 45-60 minutes to cook on the stove-top. Exact cooking times will depend on the barley grains for example older grains will require longer cooking.
Pearl barley is the type of barley that you need for this pudding.
Yes, similar to chilled rice pudding, barley pudding can be enjoyed chilled straight from the refrigerator. Chilled barley pudding is a nice alternative to overnight oats or chia puddings.
Serving suggestion: Add the cooled pudding to small individual portion tubs, chill, and then when ready to enjoy you can top with fresh, canned, or stewed fruits.
No, barley pudding is perfect for breakfast along with some sliced fresh fruits or berries, dried fruits, stewed fruits, chopped nuts, coconut shreds, etc. Anything that you would normally add to oat porridge or oatmeal is perfect for barley pudding. Barely pudding can also be known as a barley porridge and if you make it in advance you can reheat it for breakfast or enjoy chilled.
For a more savoury barley porridge you can reduce the amount of sugar or omit altogether and add alternative seasonings such as salt, pepper, herbs, spices, stock powder, nutritional yeast flakes, toasted nuts or seeds, cooked green veggies such as kale, stewed mushrooms, miso, etc.
You can use any type of milk for barley pudding so just go with your usual milk. We like to use plant-based milks such as soya, oat, or almond and they tend to make milky puddings nice and creamy but any type of milk can be used.
Yes, you can sweeten the pudding with your preferred sugar, sweetener, or syrup. We use granulated sugar so do consider how a substitute will change the flavour of the pudding. Also, you may need to adjust the amount of sweetener depending on which one you use.
Substitutions can include maple syrup, agave syrup, date syrup, rice syrup, coconut sugar, date sugar, brown sugar, Demerara sugar, stevia, monk fruit, etc.
More traditional milky puddings
As we are a plant-based family we use plant-based milk for all our puddings and desserts but our recipes will work with any type of milk so you can use your usual milk.
If you like our barley pudding then you will likely love our creamy easy Rice Pudding which is also prepared in the slow cooker, and this British Semolina Pudding which is an old school dinners favourite that is ideal for cosy evenings.
For a refreshing milky pudding do try our Chocolate Custard Pudding which is similar to chilled chocolate pudding pots.
Comments
Prepared our Old-Fashioned Sweet Barley Pudding recipe? We would love to know how you got on with the recipe so do pop back and drop us a comment below and click the star ratings. All feedback is very much appreciated. Thanks so much! Love Jacq x
Lonnie says
Can this be cooked on low overnight for breakfast?
Jacq says
Hi Lonnie, Yes I would think so. Keep it on a low setting, and if it is too thick by morning, add some extra milk. Jacq x
Julie Keogan says
I am 63 and I've not had this pudding since I was 18 what a lovely delicious memory thank you.
Jacq says
Hi Julie, Thanks for your lovely comment. So glad that the barley pudding brought back fond memories. Jacq x