Family Food on the Table

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Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese

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Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients!Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! #brownrice #wholegrains #easysidedish #glutenfreerecipe

This post is sponsored by ALDI. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hiya friends! How is the week treating you so far?

Before we get to today’s brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese recipe – a delicious and healthy side dish – let me tell you about my latest shopping excursion.

I finally… after years of hearing about it from a good friend who lives close to one… after moving across town and finally having one up the road… after hearing three neighbors in the past couple of weeks talk about going there…

I finally visited an ALDI grocery store. #longoverdue

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

I went without the kids on a rainy weekend morning and just had a fun time wandering the aisles and seeing what all they had. I came home with a trunk full, too, because there were so many great finds and the prices are incredible!

Oh, two quick tips for any other newbies like me:

1. You’ll need a quarter to unlock a shopping cart.

2. Bring your own bags to pack your purchased groceries in – they don’t have any (except for purchase). It helps them keep their prices low.

What I love the most about ALDI is how prominently they feature and call out healthier products. You know I’m all about that!

Plus, they have tons of gorgeous produce at a great price. Lots of it is organic, too, if that’s important to you.

I also had some serious scores in the freezer section. Veggie burgers, quinoa mixes, tons of meats and lots of great seafood options too.

Definitely my kind of store!

So now I guess I know why everyone’s been telling me to go… 😉

And for today’s recipe, I snagged some SimplyNature Quick Cook Brown Rice, which is ready faster than regular long-grain brown rice and has a better texture than Minute rice, in my opinion.

I also picked up a bag of fresh spinach and a wedge of Parmesan cheese. Parmesan cheese is normally so pricey, but not so much at ALDI! 🙌

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese

OK, so this brown rice with spinach recipe. It’s similar in method to my one-pot broccoli cheese brown rice and easy cheesy zucchini brown rice, meaning we cook the rice with all kinds of flavor, then add the veggies at the end to steam and top it all off with some cheese.

I mean, it’s really kind-of a winner!

And this is so creamy and tender and just perfectly seasoned.

Even M, who sometimes gives a snake eye to green things mixed into foods, loved it!

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

Notes on this brown rice with spinach:

  • You can use chicken or vegetable broth, whatever you have, but do try to use low-sodium so you can control the amount of salt.
  • I managed to cram all of the spinach into my pot but if you don’t have room, you can either do it in batches (waiting for the first batch to wilt down before adding more) or just put in as much as you can fit. I tend to like A LOT of spinach 😉
  • Serve this with a little extra Parmesan shaved on right at the table. Such a great touch!
  • You could also add a sprinkling of pine nuts for a little crunch if you have some.

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

You could round out the meal with some quick and easy balsamic chicken, or my slow cooker balsamic chicken if you want a hands-off, cooks-all day main dish. It would also go great with pork chops (or my balsamic roasted pork tenderloin with thyme) or a nice steak.

Do try this dish though – I think you’ll really like it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: 4 people

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! | www.familyfoodonthetable.com

 Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/4 cups quick cook brown rice (see notes)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 (8 oz.) bag fresh spinach, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for serving)

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
  2. Add onion and sauté 5-6 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds.
  3. Add quick cook rice, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to get the rice coated in the oils.
  4. Add chicken or vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Then cover, lower the heat to medium low and cook 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked through.
  5. Add chopped fresh spinach on top of the rice, then cover and let sit for 5 minutes off the heat.
  6. Stir spinach into the rice and add Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve hot.

Notes

The ALDI SimplyNature quick cook brown rice that I use takes 15-20 minutes to cook. If you are substituting another kind, you may need to adjust the cooking time.

You can use chicken or vegetable broth, whatever you have, but do try to use low-sodium so you can control the amount of salt.

I managed to cram all of the spinach into my pot but if you don’t have room, you can either do it in batches (waiting for the first batch to wilt down before adding more) or just put in as much as you can fit.

I like to serve this with extra Parmesan shaved on right at the table.

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Nutrition Information:


Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 309mgFiber: 4gSugar: 1gProtein: 6g
Cuisine: American / Category: Side dishes
Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese is an easy, healthy, one-pot side dish with just a few simple ingredients! #brownrice #wholegrains #easysidedish #glutenfreerecipe

Comments

  1. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says

    Lol-ing over here!! I’ve heard great things about Aldi’s too, but I’ve never been. Mostly because I also heard it’s set up like Ikea and you’re forced to go through every isle. And I’m totally impatient and easily distracted, so that scares me. 😉 I should get over my fear and just go, huh? Thanks for the tips on the shopping cart and bags. Never heard that!! Anyways, loving this dish! You know I love me some spinach.. and parmesan is a given, so this rice has my name written all over it! Looks delish, friend! Cheers!

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      Good news my friend – ALDI is NOT set up like IKEA! That would make me a little batty too, especially when shopping for groceries. I can be all over the place in a grocery store! So no, it’s just like a regular one and you can wander the aisles freely! Doooo it! Have a great weekend! XO

      Reply

  4. Shelley @ Two Healthy Kitchens says

    It’s been waaaaay too long since I popped by your wonderful blog, but today was the absolute perfect day to check in! Kindred Aldi spirits, for sure! People keep telling me how terrific Aldi is, how many healthy items there are … and I just really need to make the trip (it’s not that far compared to my other stores!) and DO THIS! After reading your post, I’m totally inspired, and I love that you even called out some of your fave products that I need to look for! (Side note: isn’t it funny how, now that we’re moms, a morning without kids to go grocery shopping counts as big fun?!?! 😉 ). Anyway … beyond all that, I love this recipe! So simple, so jam-crammed with nutritious ingredients! I’m totally pinning this to share – and also so that I remember to make it SOON (like after my big Aldi adventure!).

    Reply

    • Kathryn says

      Aww, thanks so much Shelley! Yes, you definitely need to get over to ALDI – you will seriously LOVE it! So many great, healthy foods and so much gorgeous produce! You’ll be in heaven 🙂 Especially if you are there solo like I was – because, sadly, that is such a treat 😂 In the meantime, wishing you a very happy Mother’s Day! XO

      Reply

  7. Laurie Kaye says

    I get that not everyone likes their food spicy, but for our tastes this dish was rather bland and needed some zippidy-doo-dah…made again with 1/2 spicy arugula, 1/2 spinach and added some dried red chili pepper as well…then gave it some crunch with roasted sunflower seeds on top instead of extra cheese – worked for us!

    Reply

  8. Melissa Moles says

    I made this recipe two ways at supper time tonight. One, the regular recipe second I exchanged brown rice for riced cauliflower. I didn’t add as much broth to the riced cauliflower recipe. It was a hit for us keto people and the non keto people. Will definitely be making again.

    Reply

  9. Katie says

    College student here prowling for cheap meals! I made this today with some sautéed broccoli and cherry tomatoes (and extra cheese…) – pretty sure I ate half of it in one sitting before I forced myself to put the rest aside and save it for tomorrow. (Even if I don’t think I cooked it entirely right; it seemed a little gluey but that’s likely because I didn’t have quick-cook rice.) I know it’s not a recent recipe but thank you for this anyway! It was delicious and I already had everything in my tiny pantry/fridge to make it, so I’m saving this forever. 🙂

    Reply

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