Orange Barley Chicken

Total Time

Prep: 30 min. Cook: 45 min.

Makes

8 servings

Updated: Dec. 01, 2023
My mother used to prepare orange chicken with rice back in the ‘60s, and it was so good. My version uses pearl barley instead of rice, and I added parsnips for flavor as well as baby carrots for color. —Helen Glazier, Seattle, Washington
Orange Barley Chicken Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon celery salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 broiler/fryer chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut up and skin removed
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 cups orange juice
  • 2 medium parsnips, peeled and chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups medium pearl barley
  • 1-1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1-1/2 cups fresh baby carrots
  • 2 bay leaves

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, celery salt and pepper. Add chicken, a few pieces at a time; turn to coat.
  2. In a Dutch oven, brown chicken in oil in batches. Remove and keep warm. In the same pan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add the broth, orange juice, parsnips, barley, mushrooms, carrots, bay leaves and chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 45-50 minutes or until barley is tender, turning chicken occasionally.
  3. Transfer chicken to a plate. When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Return meat to Dutch oven.
  4. Remove from the heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves.
Test Kitchen tips
  • Be sure to purchase the right kind of barley to use in this recipe. This recipe was developed with pearled barley–if hulled barley or another type of barley is used, you may need to increase the liquid.
  • Nutrition Facts

    1 serving: 384 calories, 8g fat (2g saturated fat), 59mg cholesterol, 349mg sodium, 54g carbohydrate (13g sugars, 8g fiber), 26g protein.