For a cozy dinner that doesn't leave you overstuffed, Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Rice fits the bill perfectly. This is a one-pot dish made with grocery staples like sliced mushrooms, frozen chopped spinach, and white rice. Everything's cooked into a coconut cream sauce; you won't even miss the dairy!
This is one of my favorite one-pot dinners because of how little prep you need to do ahead of time. Everything cooks together in the same pot, and in about 30 minutes you have a protein-packed vegetarian meal that the entire family will love. You can serve as the main entree, or pair with another protein like Easy Salmon Cakes or Baked Chicken Meatballs.
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.85
- Total Cost (6 servings): $5.07
- Those Other Guys: $14.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Long-Grain Rice - Any type of long-grain white rice will do for the base of this recipe. Plus, you don't need to rinse beforehand!
- Frozen Chopped Spinach - I love keeping frozen chopped spinach in the freezer for recipes like this. No need to thaw and squeeze out all of the extra moisture; just toss it into the pot.
- Mushrooms - For our vegetarian protein source, I kept it simple with white mushrooms.
- Minced Shallot - We're going to sauté the mushrooms with minced shallot for a great base of flavor.
- Olive Oil - Just a tad, to brown the mushrooms and minced shallot at the beginning of the recipe.
- Worcestershire Sauce - A little Worcestershire provides extra umami flavor! It's subtle, but necessary.
- Coconut Milk - How do you make creamy rice with no dairy? A can of coconut milk is the magic behind this dish. You can get the full fat or the light kind.
- Spice Blend - A quick blend of spices like salt, black pepper, garlic powder, ground thyme, and vegetable bouillon ensures we have flavor in each bite.
- Water - To fully cook the rice. You can also use broth, but be cautious of the amount of salt you add into the spice blend.
Variations and Substitutions
Grains: Instead of plain long-grain white rice, try basmati or jasmine rice. If you want to use brown rice, increase the amount of water to 2 ½ cups, and cook for 40 minutes. Then, remove the pot from heat and let it sit covered for 8-10 minutes.
Mushrooms: Most mushroom varieties work in this dish. My favorite is baby bella (otherwise known as cremini). You can also do sliced shiitake mushrooms, or chanterelles.
A Cheesy Twist: After the dish is done cooking, remove the pot from heat and stir in some shredded mozzarella or fresh parmesan.
Coconut Milk: If you don't want to use coconut milk, they make non-dairy heavy cream that is a great substitute in this recipe!
How to Make Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Rice with No Dairy
Step 1: First, heat up your olive oil on medium heat in a Dutch oven.
Step 2: Pour in your sliced mushrooms.
Step 3: Once the mushrooms begin to brown, pour in your uncooked rice and frozen chopped spinach.
Step 4: After that, add your spice blend containing salt, vegetable bouillon powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and ground thyme.
Step 5: Pour in all of your liquids: Worcestershire sauce, coconut milk, and water.
Step 6: Finally, stir until everything is combined. Let it come to a boil, then cover the pot and cook for 25 minutes.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Let the cooked dish sit, covered, at the end of cooking. That extra few minutes helps your rice finish steaming and absorb all of the moisture in the pot, to give you that perfectly fluffy texture. Just make sure you move the pot off of the hot burner so it doesn't cook anymore!
- The thickness of your mushroom matters. Don't slice your mushrooms to be paper thin; they can actually disappear in the pot after cooking! I'd say roughly size them to be about ⅛ inch slices.
- Frozen Chopped Spinach. I recommend the frozen chopped spinach so you don't get any spinach stems in your dish. Don't worry about thawing the spinach - it'll sear down to perfection during the cooking process.
Recipe FAQs
Like most rice recipes, you have to keep the lid on while it's cooking! The rice absorbs that steam that's trapped inside, which gives it a fluffy texture when you're finished cooking.
Then, let the rice sit (covered and without any extra heat) for another 5-7 minutes once you're finished cooking. That extra time helps catch any pieces of rice that may have gotten missed.
Most proteins will go with this rice. Try stirring in some lean ground beef to the pot, make some Honey Soy Glazed Salmon, or serve alongside Tuscan Chicken Breasts.
I would use dairy-free heavy cream as a substitute for the coconut milk. If you don't care about non-dairy options, heavy cream is just fine!
Other Mushroom Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Rice Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
One-Pot Creamy Mushroom & Spinach Rice
Equipment
- Dutch Oven with lid
- Wooden Spoon
- Can Opener
- Chef's Knife
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 count shallot minced
- 8 ounces white mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup long-grain rice
- 4 ounces frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground thyme
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven to medium heat. Pour in the olive oil.
- Add the minced shallot and sliced mushrooms. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until mushrooms begin to brown.
- Pour in the rice, frozen spinach, dry seasonings, and the Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.
- Pour in your water and the entire can of coconut milk.
- Stir again, then bring to a boil.
- Once the pot begins to boil, turn the heat to low and cover with a lid.
- Cook for 25 minutes, keeping the lid on the entire time.
- Finally, stir everything together once more, and remove from heat. Cover the pot, and let your rice sit covered for another 5 - 7 minutes.
- Let it shine as a vegetarian meal all on its own, or serve as a side dish paired with Crispy Hot Honey Baked Chicken. Enjoy!
Marsha says
Okay, I wanted something that could satisfy me during a no-meat challenge. This delivers! It doesn't taste like coconut milk at all, which is what I was worried about at first. Thank you for such an easy but genius recipe!
Shani W. says
I really appreciate the feedback, Marsha!