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.
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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
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.
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.