I love all things “one pot”. Cooking everything in one pot or skillet just makes my life so much easier, and when everything cooks together, all the flavor stays in the pot! This simple Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf is like a classic “beans and rice” meal, but elevated. It’s still super inexpensive and filling, but it has tons of herbs and spices, some extra greens to keep things well rounded, plus bright pops of fresh lemon and salty feta. SO GOOD.
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Serve as a Side Dish or Main
Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf is a tasty little skillet dish that can easily be used as a side dish for roasted meat (I’m thinking something like Herb Roasted Pork Loin or Greek Marinated Chicken), or can be served in bigger portions as a vegetarian main dish. With its herby flavor and bright pops of lemon and feta, it definitely has enough going on to stand on its own. I’m going to be eating it as a main dish this week, probably sometimes topped with a fried egg (because I luuuuurv my fried eggs).
Fresh Lemon is Key
Fresh lemon is really key for this recipe. You’ll be using both the juice and the zest. Fresh lemon zest adds a TON of lemony flavor, without all the extra acidity that the juice brings. Single lemons can be pricey on their own, so consider buying a bag of lemons and freezing them. Frozen lemons work great for juicing and zesting (but not slicing). Learn how to freeze whole citrus here.
What Kind of Skillet works Best?
For any one pot recipe you want to make sure you’re using a quality piece of cookware that is thick, heavy, and transmits heat evenly. If the cookware is too thin you’re likely to get hot and cold spots and the rice will not cook evenly. A wide bottomed (12-inch wide) soup pot would also work. And lastly, you need to make sure to use a skillet or pot that has a tight fitting lid. I’m using a 4 quart OXO stainless steel covered deep skillet (affiliate link).
Can you Freeze Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf?
Yes ma’am! This one should freeze very well, so if you have leftovers don’t let them go to waste! Just divide the Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf into single portions, place in freezer-safe reusable food storage containers, cool completely in the refrigerator, then transfer to the freezer. The frozen pilaf should be good for about 3 months. Reheat in the microwave first using the defrost function, then heat through on high.
Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf
Servings 4 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 1 fresh lemon ($0.37)
- 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($0.79)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 cup long grain white rice (uncooked) ($0.66)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin ( $0.03)
- 1 15oz. can chickpeas ($0.55)
- 1 3/4 cup vegetable broth ($0.23)
- 1 oz. feta, crumbled ($0.38)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.02)
Instructions
- Zest the lemon, set the zest aside, then squeeze the juice into a small bowl. Thaw the spinach in the microwave and then squeeze out the excess liquid.
- Mince the garlic and dice the onion. Sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat in a deep skillet until the onion are soft and translucent (about 3-5 minutes).
- Add the smoked paprika, oregano, cumin, and dry rice to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes to toast the rice and spices. You should hear the rice popping and it should begin to look slightly translucent.
- Drain the chickpeas and add them to the skillet along with the spinach. Add about 2 Tbsp of the lemon juice and the vegetable broth to the skillet, then stir the ingredients to combine.
- Place a lid on the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high. Allow it to come to a boil, then immediately turn it down to low or just above low. Let the skillet continue to simmer for 15 minutes, with the lid in place. After 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and fluff the skillet with a fork to redistribute the chickpeas and spinach. Sprinkle the lemon zest and crumbled feta over the skillet just before serving.
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Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Spinach and Chickpea Rice Pilaf – Step by Step Photos
Zest one lemon and squeeze the juice into a small bowl. Set the zest and juice aside. Thaw ½ lb. frozen spinach in the microwave, then squeeze out the excess liquid.
Dice one yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add them to a deep skillet (4 quart) along with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened.
Add 1 cup uncooked long grain white rice, 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp dried oregano, and ¼ tsp cumin to the skillet.
Continue to cook and stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes to toast the rice and spices. You should hear the rice popping and crackling, and it should begin to look a little translucent.
Drain one 15 oz. can of chickpeas, then add them to the skillet along with the spinach, 1.75 cups vegetable broth and 2 Tbsp of the lemon juice.
Stir the contents of the skillet until they are evenly combined. Place a lid on the skillet, turn the heat up to medium-high, and allow it to come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to just above low, and let it simmer for 15 minutes (lid in place, no stirring). After simmering for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let it rest, without lifting the lid, for another 5 minutes.
After resting for 5 minutes with no heat, lift the lid. The spinach and chickpeas will have all floated to the top, so use a fork to fluff the rice and redistribute the ingredients.
Finally, top the cooked pilaf with the lemon zest and crumbled feta.
Serve immediately or divide and refrigerate for later.
Delicious! Made a couple of minor changes: I used 12oz of prepared-from-dry chickpeas as I needed to use them up, used chicken broth instead of vegetable (again, had to use it up) and subbed in the lower part of green onions (about six white parts) instead of a yellow onion due to dietary needs. I found it flavourful with the fresh lemon, and a perfect filling lunch.
Really easy, fast, and delicious! Great combination of flavors, especially the smokiness of the paprika! This is also a shining example of why I like the BB comments section and feedback directly from Beth or the BB team. I had everything except for white rice. I did have quinoa though, and multiple comments inspired me to make this for dinner tonight and sub in quinoa for the missing rice. I added a bit more broth since I saw that as a suggestion. The only addition was shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken I happened to have on hand. I’m happy to have a one-pot veggie-friendly meal, even if I added chicken for the members of my fam who need meat for it to count as a meal haha We were all satisfied! I’ll make this again for sure!
When I cook vacation meals for my family, this recipe is usually on the menu. I love it.
I add a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes and two can of chick peas.
interesting recipe but not quite right as is. I doubled the spices like the comments suggested, added salt (why no salt?!), and used 5oz of feta instead of one. I also added about 1 tbsp more lemon juice after cooking. the lemon and feta are what give this dish flavor and it needed way more! after that it was a pretty yummy vegetarian dish.
Would you recommend making any changes if I substitute brown rice for white rice?
Yes, brown rice requires more liquid and a longer cooking time, so probably about 2-2.5 cups broth and about 45 minutes cooking time, but I’d need to test that first to verify the amounts. Also keep in mind that since the cooking time is quite a bit longer, the other ingredients may overcook.
Would definitely go with some olives and sundried tomatoes. And salt and pepper……
No salt or pepper?
I made this yesterday. I was sceptical at first, because it sounded quite bland, but figured I had nothing to lose and would just try out. Well, I was pleasantly surprised and still can’t believe how something so simple was so very good! It was actually very flavorful and quick. So easy and great to have staple ingredients on hand. I’ll definitely make this again!
I made this recipe last night. I didn’t have any spinach on hand, so I substituted broccoli and it was fantastic. This will be a staple recipe in my kitchen from now on. Thank you!
I would like to serve this beautiful recipe cold, can I make it a day ahead?
Yes I think it would be a delicious cold dish.
Can I add zucchini to it? when would I add that in?
I think that would be a great addition Liv! I’d add the zucchini with the chickpeas. Enjoy!
I had all the ingredients in my pantry, which was super convenient!
I really enjoyed making this dish!!
It’s been super difficult finding vegetarian meals packed with flavour and being a new cook I’ve been trying really hard to find easy and flavorful dishes that don’t involve a billion ingredients.
Thanks for the recipe :)
are there cooking time adjustments i should make when using long-grain brown rice?
Yes, brown rice will require both more liquid and a longer cooking time, but without testing the recipe using brown rice I’m unable to give exact instructions.
Have you tried this with quinoa instead of rice? I know quinoa is much smaller but the process for cooking both rice and quinoa is similar so I wonder if it would work…
I haven’t tried that, but you’re right, the cooking methods are very similar, so I do think it has a good chance of working well!
Update! I tried it and swapping for quinoa worked wonderfully. No other adjustments made and it turned out perfectly. Thank you! Added a fried egg on the side too which was tasty.
Hooray!
I’ve cooked this recipe many, many times. My wife and kids love it. However, like every third time I make it, a good amount of the rice is still crunchy and undercooked. Any advice?
Maybe increase the broth just by 1/4 cup to see?
Can I use fresh spinach instead?
Yes, but I would make sure to chop it well and then you can stir it in right after the rice to wilt it down before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Wonderful recipe! I’ve made it a few times now. But I recently got an instant pot and am wondering if I could make it in the instant pot instead. Would appreciate any suggestions on cooking time.
You could definitely use the rice cooker function on the IP to do this recipe, but I’m not sure about the pressure cooking settings. I’m not well versed enough in the IP to offer specific instructions, unfortunately.
I still remember this was the first review I left you when I first started diving into home cooking (previously, the fanciest cooking I did was maybe boil some frozen tortellini and use jarred marinara). After my first few solid attempts at cooking like an adult, I stopped due to difficult circumstances in my life, but after realizing how much money I was wasting (and how much weight I gained, and how crappy I felt…) eating fast food/junk food, I decided to try to start cooking again about a year ago and I’ve been pretty darn solid with it ever since.
I’ve tried many new recipes of yours since then (I totally owe you so many reviews when I have a chance to give you the full praise and love you deserve!) but I hadn’t made this dish in a couple years. I totally forgot how flavorful and wonderful this is! And I think since I’ve gotten the hang of cooking more, it came out even better than I remember. My poor co worker just started a keto diet this week and I’m pretty sure she’s about to stab me, she thinks my leftovers smell so amazing! :)
Just wanted to say thanks so much for helping inspire me with easy recipes and affordable ingredients. It’s always a bummer when I see a super awesome dish but it requires 10 specialty ingredients I can’t afford. You also give so much encouragement to your readers and it has definitely kept me going. I still have a really, really long way to go on technique, flavors, and learning in general, but you’ve really got me off my butt and out of the convenience food rut. In fact, I’m happy to report that I’ve had a bag of frozen tortellini in my fridge for over a year now that still hasn’t been touched! ;)
I got so caught up in my long winded train of thought, I forgot to rate it! *face palm*
Five stars for sure! Great flavor, aroma, and heats up excellently as leftovers with a lovely texture. Between the rice and the chickpeas, it’s also filling as a standalone. :)
Thank you!! That means so much to me! <3
OMG, thi was super delicious, i ran out of lemon but it was still impressive.
Yum! Just made it. Eating as a rice “bowl” with hummus, yogurt, and left over salmon. Highly recommend!
Curious if you–or anybody–has recommendations for adding ground beef or turkey to this recipe. Would that not go well? Thank you, this looks so delicious!
I think that could definitely work. I have another rice skillet dish that has turkey, so you can look at the instructions for that to see how I cooked them together: Greek Turkey and Rice Skillet.
Very delicious and simple! I substituted half of the spinach for eggplant for some variety and it was a great addition, gave a little extra sweetness and creaminess to the dish.
I love this recipe soooo much! I could probably eat it for every meal lol.
Do you think white jasmine rice would work okay?
Yes :)
I have some leftover rice from Chinese food takeout this weekend, and I’d like to use that. Any suggestions on how to make this with precooked rice? Thanks in advance!
Hmm, unfortunately I think you need to cook the rice with all the other ingredients for this one. When they soak up all those flavors, that’s what makes it so good! :)
I am very happy to report that I stubbornly used leftover rice anyway and it turned out great! I basically followed all the steps, except I didn’t add the uncooked rice and I used maybe 3/4 cup of broth. Then after everything else simmered down a bit, I dumped in my leftover rice. I don’t doubt that cooking it together’s even better, but entirely good enough for me when I had way too much rice!
Really enjoyed this!
I made this tonight with double the spices and I also used fresh spinach – it was delicious!! My family loved it and even my fussy 3 year old ate it all and asked for more!! This will be a firm favourite in our house from now on. Cheap, nutritious and very tasty -what’s not to like??!!
I’m wanting to make this today and only have fresh spinach. Saw your comment and wanted to ask if you did any special prep to the fresh spinach or just added it as in same as the frozen as stated in recipe?
Made it as written and it was alright. The second time, I doubled the spices and the chickpeas and I loved it! Since I doubled the chickpeas I added 1/4 cup more broth and that worked out. A bit of sriracha mixed in is wonderful, as is a fried egg on top! I’m always looking for good vegetarian dishes, so thank you!
Beth! This looks amazing ! How can I swap rice for quinoa ????
You’d definitely need to adjust the liquid ratio, but I’d have to test it to find out exactly how much you’d need.
Beth, your rice dishes are awesome! I was never a big fan of pilaf, or other dishes featuring rice. But I made this one anyways, because, you know…money. I flagged it as a fav! Keep it up girl :)
First time commenting on any recipe EVER! Usually too lazy lol but this recipe?? OMG! I made this twice already in 1 one week! Yummm! I made a few adjustments, I used cooking spray instead of olive oil. I used quick-cook brown basmati rice from Trader Joe’s. I used lime instead of lemon because that’s what I had. And I added some red chilli flakes for a little kick, left out the feta because I didn’t have any and my my my! Thanks for this!
This is fantastic! My husband and I are vegetarian and always looking for new recipes. We used a smoked swiss instead of feta on top to complement the smoked paprika and loved it. I’d recommend about a tablespoon of all the spices instead of a teaspoon to get the best flavor. This is definitely a recipe we’ll repeat!
I’m thinking of making this as a side/vegetarian entrée option for Friendsgiving. Do you think farro would work as well here or should I stick with white rice for the flavor?
I would definitely stick with rice for this one. Farro would be too strong of a flavor, I think, and the texture would be too rough.
could I use pilau rice?
I’m sorry, I’ve never used that type of rice before so I’m not sure. :)
plesase stop auto play of videos..
This meal is stellar. Simple, flavorful, nutritious, reheats well. We made it with brown rice and chicken broth because it’s what we had. Thank you for all that you do – truly – your recipes have carried me for 4 years and counting!
Made this dish this afternoon and not sure what went wrong… I had too much liquid in the pan when I was finished so wondering if my measurement of frozen spinach was off and gave off excess liquid. Pretty tasty but would up all the seasonings next time, and maybe use an extra stock cube (I used chicken since it was all I had in). :)
Would I be able to substitute edamame for the chickpeas? It seems possible but I’m a bit of a newbie to real cooking and don’t want to mess up!
Hmm, to me the flavor and texture of edamame wouldn’t work nearly as well as chickpeas in this dish. I wouldn’t suggest it.
Oh man, this is so good! The combination of flavors is unique and somehow light but filling. A new staple in my house.
This pilaf is REALLY good with salmon. Just for the record.
I made this recipe last week. I doubled the recipe and I freezed some for lunches. It was delicious! Don’t skip the lemon; it’s a must.
thanks,
Love this dish. It has become a family favourite especially for ‘Meatless Mondays’ and I have shared it around the office and received many thanks. We all make our own alterations (subbing in fresh spinach, omitting feta, stirring in salsa, adding chicken) and somehow it always turns out great!
Very nice – extra star for the egg!
Thank you!
Made for my toddler. She loved picking the chickpeas out to eat. She normally loves spinach, but didn’t like it in this format. Perhaps she is use to eating fresh spinach and has never had frozen. We also liked this dish, we just added salt to our servings. Plan on serving leftovers tomorrow with a crumbled veggie burger in it.
Replying to add rating. 😀
Another great recipe. We had this with fried eggs and fruit. My boys cleaned their plates and went back for seconds. We have some left over so I want to pair it with tuna with a couple of splashes of garlic vingerette as a lettuce cup. Oooohhhh, I’m excited!!!
All right, so I’m super terrible at commenting on blogs, but I really had to thank you for this recipe. I’m starting a third year straight of financial crisis, and as a result suffering a terrible diet from the stress/lack of income that leaves me feeling terribly physically, and also packing on tons of weight (eating ramen cups, dollar menu Taco Bell, and plain white pasta with butter because you’re too depressed/dirt poor to make an actual meal will do that to you).
I’ve heard of and been linked to your site for quite some time, and even though your blog caters to my specific situation, full of delightful drool worthy pictures, for some reason I always felt everything would be too unapproachable and intimidating for a lazy, poor, unhealthy eater and newbie to “real” cooking like me.
However, I tried this recipe a few weeks ago, because as simple as the ingredients are, it instantly sparked an interest in me and i found it rather intriguing. I’m pretty unconfident with my cooking abilities, so the first time I pretty much stuck to your recipe down to a T, other than using chicken broth because that’s all I had, and adding black olives because I’m going through a random olive phase and i feel they pair well for me with spinach/chickpeas/lemon. it was surprisingly hearty, and as simple as the recipe is, I felt VERY grown up serving up and eating this nice little combo. (This is a sad revelation, seeing that I’m 31).
this week was a particularly bad one, and I’ve been living off a pot of spaghetti and canned pasta sauce for three days. the only saving grace was knowing that I could probably put together a modified version of this recipe tonight, as a pre-pay day celebration (wow, my life is lame). I already had a can of chick peas and olives from the last time I made this, the biggest difference was I had to make do with a bag of mixed veggies in leui of the spinach. I noticed in your comments you’re very encouraging of substitutions and working with what you got, so I gave it a go. The olives felt a bit more out of place this time with the mixed veggies, so I lost out on the Mediterranean-ish vibe of your original recipe, but I’m still scarfing it down as I type this and my belly is happy I’m feeding it something more nutritious and complex than 99% of my past month’s diet.
Seriously, knowing in the back of my mind I could make this today made my week livable. Otherwise I guarantee i would have ended up eating some questionably 4 day old leftovers and feeling like CRAP!!! Again, I tend to be reluctant about cooking, and taking care of my body falls to dead last of my priorities when I have other issues, but I truly feel like small things like this will really help me lead to a better lifestyle. Sorry for the tl;dr whining, but Thank you!
ps- also tried your Dragon noodles multiple times, and my boyfriend loves his ‘sriacha noodle.’ only way I’ve been able to get him to eat a big bowl of heavy carbs (he doesnt stress eat like me and pig out on carbs when he can afford not to). Makes me feel a little less guilty when we are dirt poor and I can only afford a bag of pasta or rice to get us through the week!
Awesome!! I’m so glad that you took the plunge and tried something new AND that it worked out so well for you. :) Hang in there, small changes like this really do lead to big results!
I don’t know if you’ll see this, but you might have good luck with this too: I modified the southwest chicken skillet by subbing a can of drained corn kernels for the cooked chicken, pretty much leaving the rest of the recipe intact (https://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/05/southwest-chicken-skillet/). The corn adds a nice touch of sweetness and texture against the rest of the spices, and the substitution makes it even easier, plus a touch cheaper [especially if you’re not finding meat for as cheap as Beth does]. If you can, pick up a head of green or red leaf lettuce (usually around $1.49 each at stores in my area) and serve these kinds of dishes with a simple side salad to be good to your body. Best of luck!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely deeeeeelish! Perfect balance of spices and a nice brightness from the lemon. It was a smash hit! After my husband, my two toddlers and I snarfed it up there was barely enough left for my husband’s lunch. It feels so good to make a healthy dish for my fam that they actually enjoy! I can’t wait to make it again. Thanks a mil! PS. I used brown rice and fresh spinach (cuz that’s what I had on hand) and didn’t have to adjust any liquid amts or cooking times. Turned out perfect! Cheers!
This is really good! I didn’t have a lemon but it was still tasty. I used brown rice and just followed the directions on the bag (2 cups of broth and about 50 minutes cooking time) and added the chickpeas and spinach when it had 20 minutes left to cook.
This looks delish & I’d really like to make this tonight for dinner to accompany turkey burgers. However, I just bought a bag of white jasmine rice, will that still work? Thanks!
Yep, jasmine rice cooks up pretty much the same as white rice (they’re both long grain, so they take about the same amount of water).
It worked great and is absolutely delish! Using the leftovers tonight for a base with chili:) This is a dish that will definitely be on repeat this winter.
This was perfect! My only mistake was not putting in enough spinach: I was ‘measuring’ by eye and I said, ‘Enough’ after just a handful. It was still amazing, though…
Just made this for the first time last night. I toasted some pecan pieces in the dry skillet before I started and stirred them in at the end. It turned out to be a fabulous addition. (I also tripled the feta and was heavy handed with the spices.) i served it with your Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs. Excellent meal!
Love it!! So easy and delicious and easily modified to what’s in your kitchen. I added frozen peas, a couple of cans of tuna and different spices and still delicious! I’ve already added to my recipe book
This one was just OK for me. My husband really liked it, but I felt like the frozen spinach taste really overwhelmed the rest of the dish in a not so pleasant way. I do like the simplicity of this recipe, though, and the combination of ingredients. I might try it again sometime with a little less spinach and see if that suits my tastes better.
Can thus be made with brown rice and if so, in what order would the ingredients be added?
This was yummy and healthy. I would make it again. My husband liked it a lot better with sriracha on top. Unfortunately my toddler wouldn’t touch it though (spinach may have been the culprit).
I bookmarked this when the post originally went up and finally made it for dinner tonight. SO delicious! The feta really makes it, although I’m pretty heavy-handed with any type of cheese. Next go around, I’ll probably increase the seasonings, but that’s to suite my own palate (I’m trying to break my salt habit). Thanks so much for sharing it!
i *just* made this and now i’m trying to keep myself from eating the entire pan. it turned out so good. #thestruggleisreal
I feel your pain! :)
Do you think you could use fresh kale with this?
You could, but I’d probably chop it pretty finely to make sure it gets tender while the skillet is simmering.
I am planning to make this dish tomorrow and bring it to a potlock. All we have at home is short grain white rice ( calrose). I wonder if I need to make changes to the quantity of the broth.
As always, thanks for all the easy and tasty recipes.
I haven’t really ever cooked with short grain rice (except for making sushi rice once long ago), so I don’t remember the rice to water ratio that it needs. The short grain rice may also change the overall texture of the dish.
Can i make this with brown rice? Since it takes longer to cook I wasn’t sure. Or if I wanted to use brown rice, could i just make that separately and serve this over?
You would need to adjust both the cooking time and amount of liquid if switching to brown rice, and I can’t say exactly what those adjustments would be without testing it.
Oops just read the answer to my question. I’ll try to figure it out and let you know if it works.
Really quick and easy, so perfect for a student such as myself. And of course tasty
I’m trying this for dinner tonight… of course, we only have brown rice, so I’ll try it according to your suggestion (2 cups broth, 30min) and check back in.
Also, thanks to your recommendation, my husband and I recently purchased the same pots and pans you have. Thanks for your thorough review! I love them, though there is a bit of a learning curve when you graduate from nonstick to steel! The only thing I’m not a fan of is that there’s no hole for steam in the lids, but it’s really a small thing.
I’ve been waiting all weekend to make this for my lunches this week. Oh my…soo yummy! I used 2 cups of chickpeas I had from dried in the freezer. Adjustments made: sautéed 2 celery stalks (chopped small) with the onions and garlic, added approximately 3/4 cups chopped fresh mushrooms when toasting the rice, doubled the oregano and cumin, tripled the smoked paprika, used chicken stock instead of vegetable broth, added 1.5 cups shredded roast chicken at the same time as stock and spinach, left out the lemon zest but did use the juice. I think it would have been great as written, but I had the other stuff sitting in my fridge begging to be used up! I love quick one skillet meals that are packed full of filling, nutritious, and budget friendly ingredients…this one definitely fits the bill!
Hot tip! Add in a bit extra water while cooking the rice, and then add the spinach before resting the dish for 5 minutes – the resting time is all it needs to be warmed through and it won’t get that icky brown color.
Also we used crumbled goat cheese instead of feta and it was delish!
Not sure where I went wrong with this, as I used the exact measurements described, but I found the dish a bit under seasoned. Any idea why?
Hmm, well it could simply be a difference between our personal taste preferences or maybe it’s because of the type of broth you used? I use Better Than Bouillon and it tends to be a bit on the strong side compared to boxed or canned broths. Another possibility is quality or age of spices. Some brands are just not very potent, and as they get old they lose their oomph.
I’m eating it right now! I didn’t have regular rice, so I used basmati; no frozen spinach, used several handfuls of fresh spinach. YUMMMM!!
Hi!
It says that it’ll be good to freeze it. How do i reheat it after i freeze it? Do I left it defrost first and then reheat in a pan or microwave?
JC
I usually just take it straight from the freezer to the microwave and cook for one minute intervals until it’s heated through (stirring between intervals).
Love your site and have many of your recipes in my regular rotation! The thing I don’t love is smoked paprika. It just seems to overwhelm. Can you recommend a substitution? Oh, like the new design of your site too! Thanks.
You can use a regular sweet paprika if the smoky flavor doesn’t sit well with you. :)
Awesome! This looks like a great dish for me to make on a busy night or for lunch. Can’t wait to try! Any other cheese you would recommend besides feta/goat? My husband doesn’t care for either
Parmesan would go really well with these flavors, too. :)
I just made this tonight, and it came out great! I have the absolute worst luck in the world cooking rice (I have no idea how I manage to mess it up every. single. time…), but for once, one glorious moment in my life, it turned out perfect! All your recipes turn out great, thank you so much for giving me another favorite.
It’s been a LONG time since I found a recipe so good I had to make it more than once in the same week… My husband and I have been LOVING this rice dish – we have been eating it with shredded rotisserie chicken and feta cheese. I didn’t have the fresh parsley, onion, frozen spinach, or a real lemon on hand so we have been leaving out parsley and onion and I cook the fresh spinach with the chickepas, garlic, and seasonings and then add some lemon juice with the broth. It is fantastic!! Thanks! :)
Being a silly goose, I forgot to pick up feta when getting the ingredients for this recipe. I have parm and mozza though: do you think they would be good in this recipe?
Love the redesign btw : )
Thank you! I think both would be good (I actually put a little mozz on mine one day), but I think Parm will have the biggest flavor punch.
Tried it with both and it was amazing!
Hello,
I usually don’t comment on any of your recipes (though they are quite amazing oftentimes), but I’d just like to divert your attention to the fact, that your website update seems to have broken some of your recipes (like https://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/01/curried-lentils/ or https://www.budgetbytes.com/2015/01/lemony-kale-quinoa-salad/ ). They’re missing almost all of their pictures!
I hope you can fix the issue, I was looking forward to trying some of them over the weekend, and without pictures it’s a little less fun.
Have a nice day.
Wow! Thanks for letting me know about this! I was able to fix them pretty easily, so I’m going to go back through the posts and see how many others are broken. I appreciate you letting me know so much!
Delicious. I added a pinch of cinnamon and think it really worked well with the dish!
My friend just recommend your blog to me and I tried this recipe – it was fantastic! I had some wild rice that I substituted 1/2 cup in with the white rice and 3 cups broth and it was great! I had the leftovers this morning with an egg and it was even better. I can’t wait to make more recipes.
Could I make this with kale instead of spinach? I have 2/3 of a bag I am trying to use up!
As long as the kale is cooked down until tender before adding to the pilaf, it will probably work pretty good!
Made this yesterday for my meal for the week, tried it with the fried egg, so good!!
If I were to put ground beef in this, at what point would I add it to the pan? Would it be best cook it separately?
I guess I would try to brown it after the onion and garlic are soft, then continue on with the rest of the ingredients.
I made this last night, and wow. All of your rice dishes knock it out of the park!
Haven’t tried the recipe yet but just wanted to say I love the new site design! And wanted to give you a HUGE THANK YOU for not having one of those obnoxious ‘subscribe to my mailing list’ popups that so many recipe sites seem to have!
You’re welcome. They annoy me too. ;)
I just made this. SOOOO GOOD!!! As a college student just feeding myself, I love one dish meals!
Oh wow! This looks so easy and delicious. I also think it’s a good pantry-cleaning recipe since a lot of the ingredients are staples. This is the sort of thing I’d make the day before I go grocery shopping.
Thank you so much for these recipes! This one looks amazing.
Off topic but what is the pan that’s shown in the picture? I’ve been trying to find a frugal yet high quality non-stick deep pan :/
That’s one of my new OXO pans. I love them so much! I wrote a blog post about how I came to decide on this set and you can find that here. :)
We are trying to eat more whole grains beside rice — what other grains would work in this recipe?
Well, if you change up the grain you may have to change the broth to grain ratio (some grains require more) and the grains may add quite a bit of flavor. I like rice the best for this one because it’s neutral and doesn’t overpower the herbs and other flavors.
Hi Beth, I have all the ingredients for this recipe, but only have short white rice and long brown rice. Do you know how much more liquid I would need for brown? Thank you!
I can only guess, but I’d probably try 2 cups of broth.
Thank you for your fast response! So that’s still 1 cup of brown rice and 2 cups of broth. I’ll let you know how it turns out! :)
Hi, I made the recipe with short white rice and two broth cups. All went right.
Congrats on the site redesign. Things are looking mighty spiffy (and delicious) around here!
Thank you!! :)
Your new photo is so beautiful :)
Thank you!! :)
I’m super impressed by how you managed to make a stew like dish look so lovely. My stews usually just look like mess. I also like the addition of frozen spinach. It’s so much cheaper than fresh, and this dish looks like a great way to enjoy it.
Just made this for dinner, used Quinoa instead of rice, It was fantastic!! Thank you!
Not the biggest fan of feta… Any suggestions on a substitute?
I bet Parmesan would be a good substitute. Or maybe some roasted cashews?
A little Parmesan would be good, or you can just leave out the cheese all together.
This looks absolutely mouthwatering!!
Thanks Beth, this was really good! I actually had all the ingredients on hand for once (except for the smoked paprika—I used regular paprika instead.) I cut the recipe in half since this was a new recipe for me. I will be making the other half later this week. A 10″ skillet was the perfect size for the half-recipe.
Can this be made with brown rice?
You’d probably have to increase the amount of broth some, since brown rice requires more moisture, and also increase the cooking time. Since I haven’t tested it out, I can only guess that you’d need about 2 cups broth and to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
The site looks great Beth and loads much quicker then it did before.
It’s going to take some getting used to the new layout but it looks great!
Congrats!
Thank you!!
This looks fantastic. Any ideas for a smoked paprika substitute? I just have the regular kind.
I think regular would also work fine. If you happen to have any liquid smoke, you can add a drop or two of that, but the smoky flavor of the smoked paprika isn’t super pronounced in this dish anyway. :)
I luuuuurve my fried eggs too, and chickpeas! And feta. ……. (and some roasted red peppers on this, would complete it for me. :D)
One pot meals are always appreciated. This looks delicious.
This sounds delicious! Would basmati rice take the same amount of cooking time?
If it’s long grain, probably. I haven’t cooked much with basmati, though, so I’m not sure if it has special requirements.
Saw the picture before the lid goes on and immediately thought it would make a great soup. I just need some spinach and I have my weekend meal.
You are so right about that! Good call!
I’ve been following your recipes for a while now, and they always turn out delicious! Can’t wait to try this one.
I love your new website layout!
Looks great! I’ve got a bunch of fresh spinach right now instead of frozen – what’s your recommendation for when to add it so it doesn’t completely wilt into nothingness?
I would put it on top and cover the skillet back up in the last 2 minutes of cooking time; it should wilt just fine.
Not OP, but I usually add fresh spinach at the very end of cooking. So, the instructions say “Let the skillet continue to simmer for 20 minutes, with the lid in place. After 20 minutes, turn the heat off and let it sit undisturbed for an additional 5 minutes.” If you add fresh spinach at the end of the 20 minutes, it should be okay.
I agree with the commenter who suggested piling it in the skillet on top at the end, replacing the lid, and letting the steam do the work. Then you can just mix it in as you fluff the rice. I would suggest chopping it just a bit into smaller pieces, too.