Spanakorizo - Greek Spinach and Rice With Cauliflower Rice
Lemony, herby, and out of this world delicious, Spanakorizo or Greek Spinach and Rice is a wonderful side dish that you can make for weeknight meals. It pairs perfectly with a lean protein like chicken or fish or you can add protein to it like chickpeas to eat as a meal.
It's low-carb, vegetarian, gluten-free, healthy, and can be made dairy-free if you exclude the cheese. But honestly, the cheese makes it, so be sure to substitute with vegan feta.
I grew up eating Spanakorizo Kokkinisto, which is Greek Spinach and rice with tomato sauce. While it was one of my favorite meals as a kid, I've since discovered I prefer my spanakorizo without tomato sauce and with a lot of fresh herbs, lemon, and with salty feta cheese. It has a fresher flavor profile than the stewed tomato version.
Cauliflower rice is a popular low-carb substitute for rice that’s made by grating fresh cauliflower. The recipe below calls for frozen riced cauliflower, which is so convenient for busy people.
If you are watching your carbs, cauliflower rice spanakorizo is perfect for you as it does not have the same blood sugar-spiking effect as white rice.
At 25 calories per cup, cauliflower rice provides just 10–20% of the calories you’d expect from the same quantity of cooked rice. In addition, cauliflower rice is low in carbs. It provides only 3 grams of net carbs per cup, which is 18 times fewer carbs than the same quantity of rice.
Does it taste like rice? Well no, but it acts like rice, so you can add veggies and protein to it to make it take on the flavor of its pairings.
Greek Spinach and Rice Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 3 green onions, chopped, (reserve 1 tablespoon of the green parts for garnish)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 oz Frozen Riced Cauliflower
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 3 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped or 16 oz frozen chopped spinach
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice and zest
How to Make Greek Spinach and Rice Spanakorizo With Cauliflower Rice
Take the frozen riced cauliflower out of the freezer and allow it to thaw slightly while prepping the ingredients.
In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Saute the yellow and green onions until soft - about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the riced cauliflower and stir to incorporate with the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the cauliflower rice is hot.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the chopped fresh parsley and dill along with the chopped spinach. Stir to incorporate and cook until the spinach is wilted.
Add the feta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir and cook for another minute or so to warm the feta so it gets slightly melted.
Plate and top with green onions, additional lemon zest, and extra fresh chopped parsley and dill if desired.
If you want to make the traditional spanakorizo, you would need to use 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of vegetable broth to soften the rice. Because cauliflower rice is mostly water anyway, there is no need to add additional moisture other than lemon juice.
Note - an alternative to feta cheese would be crumbled Boursin cheese. The garlic herb flavor would work perfectly in this dish.
What to Serve with Greek Spinach and Rice
One Pan Roasted Chicken and Potatoes with Lemon, Feta & Dill
Riced Cauliflower Spanakorizo - Greek Spinach & Rice
Ingredients
- tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ yellow onion diced
- 3 green onions chopped, (reserve 1 tablespoon of the green parts for garnish)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 12 oz Frozen Riced Cauliflower
- salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 3 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped or 16 oz frozen chopped spinach
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- 2 oz feta cheese crumbled
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice and zest
Instructions
- Take the frozen riced cauliflower out of the freezer and allow it to thaw slightly while prepping the ingredients.
- In a large non-stick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Saute the yellow and green onions until soft - about 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the riced cauliflower and stir to incorporate with the onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until the cauliflower rice is hot.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the chopped fresh parsley and dill along with the chopped spinach. Stir to incorporate and cook until the spinach is wilted.
- Add the feta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir and cook for another minute or so to warm the feta so it gets slightly melted.
- Plate and top with green onions, additional lemon zest, and extra fresh chopped parsley and dill if desired.
Chrissy says
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for posting this recipe - it was spectacular! I absolutely love spanakorizo but since moving to a keto diet, I couldn't have the rice - the riced cauliflower is a brilliant idea and it was a delicious recipe.