Looking to vary up your breakfast routine? You have to try this overnight barley porridge with maple and chia seeds.

It features loads of protein and fiber––you get 17 grams protein and 18 grams fiber!–– from a combo of plant-based and dairy ingredients—and it’s simply sweetened with maple syrup. Yum.

You might be wondering how to eat barley for breakfast, but I’m about to tell you. It’s really easy, I promise. Now, overnight barley is star of this breakfast show.

These overnight grains will be one of the tastiest barley dishes you’ve ever tried.

Ingredients

The ingredients for this overnight barley breakfast are really simple. You’ll need:

Pearled barley: I chose a very under-appreciated whole grain, barley, to make this breakfast recipe. Barley has a chewier texture than oats.

This is likely because its fiber content is found throughout the entire grain, not just the outer layer—and so barley is higher in fiber than other whole grains. It also offers more protein than many other whole grains, including corn, brown rice, and sorghum.

Chia seeds: I love adding chia seeds to everything from overnight bowls to smoothies. Why? Because they post both protein and fiber.

Greek yogurt: Here’s another protein-rich ingredient that adds creaminess to the breakfast.

Milk: This dairy adds additional protein and helps the barley and chia seeds to hydrate.

Maple syrup: I’m all for cooking with minimal added sugar, but I really love the taste of maple syrup. When sweetening my recipes, I prefer using pure maple syrup, versus table sugar, because it offers dozens of nutrients.

Yup, that’s right! These nutrients include 60-plus polyphenols, which are health-helping antioxidants that form when the sap is boiled to create maple syrup.

You also get the blood-sugar-helping mineral manganese, which helps to support healthy muscles, as well as the B vitamin riboflavin, important to the body’s cellular function.

Apple: I always encourage adding fruit to breakfast for extra hydration and fiber.

Hazelnuts: These are such an under-appreciated nut that provides both protein and fiber.

When I make any overnight grains recipes, I use at least one source of satiating healthy fat. In this case, you have the hazelnuts and chia seeds.

That fruit and nuts combo is so delish! In an overnight recipe, you could also use a nut butter such as almond butter.

So go ahead and elevate your dish with maple syrup and chia seeds for the ultimate brunch menu idea.

Why a barley breakfast is delicious

I’m a longtime fan of overnight oats (my mango oats in a jar and my high-protein overnight oats recipes are some of my faves!).

And while the breakfast staple made with rolled or steel cut oats is a delicious start to the day, I’ve been wanting to create a similar overnight cereal recipe with other breakfast grains.

Step-by-step instructions

Making this overnight barley breakfast bowl is so easy.

The first step? Just combine the barley, white chia seeds (two plant-based sources of protein and fiber are better than one!), yogurt, milk, and maple syrup together.

Then in a mason jar, layer the mixture with diced apples. Refrigerate overnight so the barley to soften and chia seeds can expand and soften.

Then in the morning, quickly toast the hazelntuts and remaining chia seeds and hazelnuts on the stovetop. Complete the recipe by topping the overnight barley bowl with the crunchy nuts and seeds.

So that’s a quick primer on how to use barley in an overnight breakfast recipe! This meal tastes like a barley yogurt breakfast porridge of sorts. 

I could hardly wait to open the fridge the next morning to see how the recipe turned out! (Spoiler: It was delicious.)