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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!

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

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!

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

Just for fun, I wanted to share a few of my favorite finds with you:

You know me, the produce section drew me in like a magnet. Tons of gorgeous fruits and vegetables and crazy good prices! I bought baby carrots, a bag of these awesome Honeycrisp apples (which normally cost an arm and a leg), some gorgeous mushrooms, broccoli, grapes, and more.

Nearby, I got some L’Oven Fresh whole wheat mini bagels and an assortment of cheeses and breakfast meats. Stay tuned for more recipes out of those!

In the freezer section, I snagged some Season’s Choice Veggie Burgers and Mediterranean Quinoa – great to have on hand for throwing together a last-minute meal. (And not far away I snagged some frozen shrimp and frozen scallops – tons of great stuff in their freezer section!)

I also picked up some fresh salmon because it was too beautiful to pass by. A good piece of salmon always gets me…

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), a bag of fresh spinach (they have tons of great produce, including organics, at such good prices) and a wedge of Parmesan cheese. Normally so pricey, not so much at ALDI! 🙌

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

A few quick 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 😉
• I like to serve this with extra Parmesan shaved on right at the table. So lovely!

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 and do give ALDI a try – I think you’ll like it! Find a store near you and happy shopping 🛒 😊

Have a wonderful weekend!

XO,

Kathryn

Brown rice with spinach and Parmesan cheese

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

Serves 4 people     adjust servings

 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 cups SimplyNature Quick Cook Brown Rice
• 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

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.

Add onion and sauté 5-6 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and sauté another 30 seconds.

Add quick cook rice, thyme, salt and pepper and stir to get the rice coated in the oils.

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.

Add chopped fresh spinach on top of the rice, then cover and let sit for 5 minutes off the heat.

Stir spinach into the rice and add Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve hot.

Recipe Notes

The ALDI SimplyNature quick cook brown rice 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.

3.3157894736842 19

19 reviews

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 269kcal Calories from fat 48
% Daily Value
Total Fat 5g	8%
Saturated Fat 1g	5%
Sodium 309mg	13%
Carbohydrate 50g	17%
Dietary Fiber 4g	16%
Sugars 1g
Protein 6g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g