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.
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!