Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake
Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake is a cheesy side dish with spinach, cheese, and rice. Even your pickiest eaters will love this once they take a bite.
SPINACH PARMESAN RICE BAKE
My friends and I just started reading a book called Deliberate Motherhood. My first thought was what is deliberate motherhood? Then that day as I was playing at the park with my kids, I saw a mom drive up, drop her kids off at the park, then she preceded to take a nap on a blanket under a tree.
Meanwhile, her young kids ran around eating other people’s food and pushing other kids off of the slides. Maybe you can let your kids roam free in other parts of the country but in Florida, you better watch your kids or someone will take them. No joke. And I really can’t judge. Maybe she was having A DAY and her choices were to take a nap or drive her car into the ocean. Who knows.
Okay…that sounded bad. I’m not perfect. I definitely check my Instagram more than I should and let out a sigh of relief when bedtime comes (amen). That’s actually what the first chapter is on…accepting that you’re not the perfect mother; letting go of what you think the perfect mom is and what you should be. I think I’ve already mastered that chapter.
I’ll admit that I do have this stigma that I have to serve something green at every dinner. Broccoli, asparagus, salad…those are our staple sides that make me feel like a good mom and make me feel like I tried to serve something nutritious to my kids. This Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake is green but it’s not exactly healthy since it has a fair amount of cheese, butter, and more cheese. But they ate it. And liked it! It’s almost like spinach dip, but baked.
OTHER SPINACH RECIPES:
- Strawberry Spinach Salad
- Creamy Sausage and Spinach Pasta
- One-Pan Creamy Spinach and Chicken
- Spinach and Feta Pizza
- Strawberry Wonton Spinach Salad
- Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip
- One-Pan Chicken and Spinach Orzo
Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake
This Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake is a cheesy side dish with spinach, cheese, and rice. Even your pickiest eaters will love this once they take a bite.
Ingredients
- 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed to remove excess liquid)
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup chopped onions or 2 large green onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 3/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, for topping
- shredded mozzarella cheese (optional)
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350°F and generously grease a 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
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In a large bowl, combine spinach, rice, butter, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onions, garlic, eggs, and milk until well combined.
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Season with salt and pepper to taste.
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Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Bake for 25 minutes and then top with mozzarella cheese the last 5 minutes of baking if desired.
Recipe Notes
Source: Food.com
Chrissy – Do you think this could be done in a 9×9 pan? I only have 13×9 or 9×9/8×8. Going to try for Thanksgiving!
Sorry typo – “Christy” ! 🙂
Yes, I think the 9×9 would be a great option. Good luck!
Trying this tonight as a main dish. I only had fresh spinach so I chopped that up and added diced smoked sausage. I can’t wait to get it out of the oven and try it! It smells so good cooking!
Hope you love it!
This looks so good! Totally perfect for an easy weeknight meal!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Thanks!
I make something almost exactly like this but I top it with chopped pistachios. So yummy!! Thanks for sharing this!
You are welcome!
Can I use fresh spinach? If so how much?
I would replace ounce for ounce. 10 ounces is called for in the recipe.
Can you use fresh spinach?
This has become one of my favorite recipes to use with leftover rice. We use broccoli instead of spinach because one of my girls is super picky and I also like to add rotisserie chicken which makes it a main dish. So yummy!
Ooh great idea!
I just made it with cauliflower rice, a little healthier and still yummy! I reduced the cheese too. My kids ate it!
Anytime you can get the kids to eat it, I consider it a win.
This looks really good and I can’t wait to try it!
I don’t have an 11×7 dish so should I use a 11×13 or a 9×9?
Can this be made ahead?
this looks delicious! I noticed some questions about freezing it. Wondering if anyone has had success and whether or not they froze it before or after cooking? With the rice and the zucchini I wonder if it gets mushy if you were to freeze it after cooking and then thaw and reheat? I was almost thinking of maybe freezing it without cooking the rice first? I will be using brown rice so that may make a difference to. I love recipes that I can prepare ahead of time and then take out for busy weeknight meals
Rice dish in oven now …hubby made a mistake and bought finely chopped broccoli . So we shall see ….did not use all the cheese !.Looks wonderful……so shall see if these changes make a difference ! Thanks 😁
Yum!!!
Made its tonight…my husband and I loved it! Very delicious!
So glad you liked it!
I simply cannot get enough of this recipe! My husband and I live it so much we almost fight over leftover squares left cold the next day. It’s A favorite for gatherings and tomorrow night it is going with me to a homeowners potluck!!
Ooh! Awesome!
I just made this in the oven now. I used cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese. I also chopped up fresh spinach so I didn’t think it needed to be cooked prior to mixing. We will see how it works out there is a lot of dairy with the milk then eggs and I used margarine and garlic powder rather than chopped fresh garlic. I think as long as you add the eggs and cheese you will get it to bake and create a layer that will easily cut into squares. We will see some of the other posters has some great ideas I think you can improvise quite a bit here just got to use the eggs and the cheese as your binders.
I made this last night (with goats cheese & soy milk as can’t do dairy) & it was delicious!!! My son had 2
helpings & loved it too! Thank you so much for sharing!!! Have a wonderful rest of your week!! Kate
Oooh yum! So glad it worked out.
I made this last night (with goats cheese & soy milk as can’t do dairy) & it was delicious!!! My son had 2
helpings & took some to school for lunch!! Now his new favourite!! Thank you so much for sharing!!! Have a wonderful rest of your week!! Kate
I added about 1.5tsp of Dijon mustard to give it a little kick! Was awesome! (and definitely sautéed the onion and garlic ahead of time)
Great addition!