Greek Spinach Rice

This Greek Spinach Rice recipe is an excellent accompaniment to a variety of Mediterranean main dishes of chicken, lamb, fish, and stews.

Spinach dishes are my usual go to whenever I am looking for an easy way to make a less nutritional ingredients such as white into a healthy meal. Spinach is a very versatile vegetable and very popular in a lot of Greek and Mediterranean dishes. So, it’s no surprise a recipes like this exists – spanakorizo, as it is sometimes called.

This rice recipe is very simple to make and nothing too technical about it. In fact, there are many ways to make it. However, I find the method I used here easy and fail-proof. While others will start the recipe by frying the accompanying ingredients before adding the rice, this recipe is the opposite. Pre-cooking the rice ensures we end up with fresh and crunchy onions and bright green spinach that will not lose its color from being over-cooked.

Let’s talk about the ingredients and where you can make substations if necessary.

Ingredients and Substitutions For Spinach Rice

• Fresh Spinach – this is a rice recipe cooked with lots of spinach so you’ll be needing a couple of cups because they wilt down. Regular or baby spinach is a great idea but you can make this Greek spinach rice with frozen spinach too. However, if you are using frozen spinach, make sure to thaw it overnight in the fridge while placed in a sieve and then a bowl to drain. It is important to wait for the water completely or use a cheesecloth to squeeze out excess water if necessary. This will prevent soggy rice.

• Basmati Rice – I used white basmati in this recipe but you can use white long-grain rice or make it even more healthy by ditching rice altogether and using quinoa. I wanted reduced starch that’s why I used basmati instead of long-grain rice.

• Olive Oil – is needed to fry the onions, parsley, and ground pepper. Fried vegetables and spices have a different taste that will flavor the oil in the process.

• Onion – white or yellow onions can be used.

• Dried Parsley – or fresh parsley. Either one should be fine.

• Black Ground Pepper and Salt – they act as flavor and taste enhancers in this dish.

How To Make This Dish Perfectly

• Cook the rice according to the package directions after giving it a quick rinse to remove as much of the starch as possible. After it has been cooked, drain it entirely into a sieve and set it aside.

• In a skillet, heat olive oil, sauté onions for one minute, add black pepper and dried parsley. Mix. Add spinach and stir constantly until wilted.

• Combine the rice with the other ingredients in the skillet well. Check for salt and add if necessary and serve.

What To Serve With Spinach Rice

This dish can be served as a side dish to chicken, fish, meat recipes, and salads. Vegetable curry is my favorite pairing with spanakorizo.

How To Store

This rice will keep well in the fridge for about a week however, it can also be frozen too but if you store it this way, allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight before heating. Also, using an air-tight container stores food best because it prevents freezer burns on food.

Other Greek Recipes To Try

Greek Potato Wedges with

Yogurt Dill Sauce