Greek inspired flavors marry in this easy to make (and easy to clean up after) plant-based meal. And who knew that the most perfectly cooked rice is done in the oven? It's deeply infused with roasted lemon, garlic, oregano, dill, and sun dried tomatoes. Chickpeas, spinach, cherry tomatoes and olives add extra nutrition and bursts of color.
There's lots to be excited about here: The colors! The Greek flavors! It's pretty! One skillet! Clean up is a breeze! But, I'm actually just so excited about the rice. The reason is because it cooks so perfectly in the oven! Zero sogginess, mush or burnt rice on the bottom. Just perfectly cooked rice every time that has soaked up all the awesome flavors. Plus there's the odd crispy bit that forms on the sides of the pan which I'll fight you for! Kidding, that's not very hospitable of me, but seriously those bits are gold!
This dish is really good the next day, too. I'm not sure when I was last so excited about leftovers!
The whole process is pretty quick. In a large skillet, we sauté the aromatics, deglaze with the a touch of wine then add in most of the ingredients. Cover the skillet up and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. Once it's baked, we add olives, spinach and cherry tomatoes and dinner is served! So delicious, made with such simple ingredients and pretty nutritious, too!
If you make this quick and easy One-Skillet Greek Baked Lemon Chickpeas and Rice, be sure to let me know in the comments below and give it a rating in the recipe card! Also, I love connecting on Instagram where you can tag me in your creations using my recipes. Thank you for reading along!
One-Skillet Baked Greek Lemon Chickpeas and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup white wine
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes, oil packed, sliced or diced
- 1 tbsp oil from oil packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large lemon, sliced and seeded
- 2 ¼ cups vegetable stock, boiling
- ⅓ cup Kalamata olives, pitted
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- salt, pepper and chili flakes, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In a large cast-iron skillet over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the diced onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano. Cook for another minute, then deglaze with the white wine. Cook for another minute until the wine has reduced but things still aren't starting to stick to the pan.
- Stir in the rice, stirring to coat. Add the chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, oil from the tomatoes, dill, and salt. Mix well. Carefully pour the hot stock over the mixture and gently mix. Wedge the lemon slices into the mixture. Cover tightly with tin foil, and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
- Carefully remove the foil, and stir in the spinach, olives and cherry tomatoes (or serve them over the top). Let sit for 5 minutes so the spinach wilts. Salt, pepper and chili flakes to taste.
Lisa says
I don’t drink wine so what can I use as a substitute?
Bronwyn Fraser | Crumbs & Caramel says
Hi Lisa! You can use apple cider (not apple cider vinegar), or additional broth (or even water in a pinch - the taste from the wine is subtitle so not essential but the liquid is necessary.) Hope you love the Greek rice bake! ~ Bronwyn
Katie says
Hi there! Any ideas on how to make this without a cast iron pan? I also don’t have a Dutch oven due (since I have a small kitchen) 😕
Bronwyn Fraser | Crumbs & Caramel says
Hi Katie! You could use a ~12-inch (30 cm) stainless steel oven-safe skillet or braiser instead. If it doesn't have a lid, you can use aluminum foil on top, crimping the edges against the skillet so the steam doesn't escape once it goes into the oven. If your skillet is not oven-safe, you can start in the skillet on the stovetop (for frying the onions etc) and once you're onto the part of the recipe where you're prepping for the oven, you could bake in any other similar sized bakeware you have and use foil on top. Note that glass bakeware tends to cook things more slowly, so you may need bake this a bit longer than what the recipe states to ensure that the rice is cooked through. Hope you love this recipe! ~ Bronwyn
Shannon says
The sun dried tomatoes should be diced, right? Mine are the size of silver dollars. I don’t see any instruction about that
Bronwyn Fraser | Crumbs & Caramel says
Hi Shannon, I liked them sliced but you can definitely dice them if that's what you prefer! Hope you enjoy it! ~ Bronwyn
Kathy says
I fixed this for my daughter’s birthday dinner this evening. It was delicious! The only changes I made were adding quartered artichoke hearts (at same time as olives) and serving with crumbled feta cheese. I highly recommend this recipe!!!
Crumbs & Caramel says
Hi Kathy! I'm so tickled you chose this for your daughter's birthday and that you enjoyed it! I just got my hands on some vegan feta cheese and can't wait to try it in this dish, too! Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know 🙂 ~ Bronwyn
Kristin says
Yummy- everyone loved it. May try adding green olives too next time. Wondering how it would freeze?
Crumbs & Caramel says
So good to hear, Kristin! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 Love the idea of green olive in there too! I haven't frozen this dish, but I don't see why it wouldn't be okay to freeze. Like any frozen meal, it may be a little softer once reheated but just as tasty! ~ Bronwyn
Chris says
Oh la la. Delizioso What a great combination of flavors. And pleasing to the eyes. Since I live alone, I treated myself to a couple of meals.Thanks.
Crumbs & Caramel says
Hi Chris! I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe and made it work for some easy leftovers! Thanks for taking the time to let me know! ~ Bronwyn
Karen says
This was incredible! My husband and I couldn't stop eating it. The mix of flavors is both refreshing and satisfying. This will become a regular dish in our home.
Sophie says
Thank you so much for this recipe, I loved it!
Crumbs & Caramel says
So happy you enjoyed it, Sophie! Thank you for taking the time leave your nice comment! ~ Bronwyn
Maggie Little says
Fantastic recipe! Easy, healthy and delicious, I ate mine too fast to take a picture!
Crumbs & Caramel says
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback, Maggie! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! 🙂 ~Bronwyn
forloveandoysters says
Easy and delicious. The flavor is amazing for a recipe that is easy to throw together.
Crumbs & Caramel says
Thank you! So happy you enjoyed it! ~Bronwyn