Table of Contents
This plant-based, instant pot recipe of Dump & Bake Spinach Rice and Chickpeas makes for an incredibly easy and flavorful weeknight dinner.
Guess what I got my hands on? Vegan Richa‘s newest project, Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Cookbook! I’m so excited because I’m always looking for low-key meals, and more ways to use my IP/multi-cooker. I’ve featured one of Richa’s books in the past, like for these baked pakoras from her second book.
Book Chapters
To give you an idea of how this book is broken up, here’s a list of the chapters it includes! Which by the way, this book is a basically a tome, and will be a great resource in any kitchen.
- Basics – including sauces, spice mixes, and proteins.
- Indian Comfort Food
- Dals, Lentils, Beans & Peas
- Vegetables & Grains
- Soups & Chilis
- Curries & Stews
- Pasta & Casseroles
- Tacos, Burgers & Wraps
- Pot-in-Pot Meals
- Breakfast
- Desserts
As you can see, you get all kinds of goodies throughout this book!
Notable Spinach Rice Ingredients
- White basmati rice – dried, and can be found at most markets.
- Fresh ginger and garlic – in a pinch you could likely replace these with dried, ground spices, if need be.
- Hot green chile – if you aren’t a huge fan of spice, use a little minced jalapeño or poblano pepper instead of Serrano.
- Chickpeas – I know some people have trouble digesting chickpeas, so white beans or even a block of crumble tempeh would be delicious in this!
- Garam masala – this is an Indian spice blend that is a bit easier to find in grocery stores now, but if you can’t, head to an international or Indian market!
Dump & Done Spinach Rice and Chickpea Recipe
I picked this recipe because y’all know I love a SUPER easy dump-and-cook-style recipe. As seen by my recipes like the Mediterranean-Inspired Rice Bake, and Chipotle Brown Rice Bake. So, now I have one of Richa’s to add to the rotation!
Dump & Done Spinach Rice and Chickpeas
"This simple one-pot meal is a dump-and-done, recipe. Rinse the rice, add vegetables, spices, and any beans you want. Mix it all up and pressure cook, and you get a flavorful rice-and-bean dinner." Recipe copyright Richa Hingle 2022 - shared with permission from Hachette Books
Ingredients
- 1 cup (185 g) uncooked white basmati rice
- 1 teaspoon safflower or sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
- 1 hot green chile, such as serrano, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 cups (230 g) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed
- 1/2 cup (90 g) chopped tomato
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 (15-ounce [425 g]) can chickpeas, drained, or 1 1/4 cups (213 g) cooked chickpeas
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
GARNISHES
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Red pepper flakes
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Rinse the rice, then soak in warm water to cover for at least 15 minutes while you begin the recipe.
- Put the oil in the Instant Pot and tilt the pot to coat the bottom. Add the ginger, garlic, green chile, spinach, tomato, garam masala, chickpeas, bay leaves, salt, and water. Drain the rice, add it to the pot, and give it a good stir.
- Lock the lid into place, set the Pressure Release Knob to Sealing, select the Pressure Cook/Manual setting at high pressure, and set the cook time to 5 minutes.
- Once the cooking cycle is done, let the pressure release naturally for 8 minutes, then carefully set the Pressure Release Knob from Sealing to Venting to release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and fluff the rice.
- Remove the inner pot (to keep the rice from continuing to cook) or transfer the rice to a serving bowl.
- Garnish with lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and cilantro.
Notes
Once the cooking cycle is done, you want to wait 7 to 8 minutes, then fluff up the rice really well and remove the inner pot, so that the rice does not get overcooked as the heating element is still hot.
VARIATION
• Substitute another cooked bean, such as black- eyed peas, mung beans, kidney beans, or white beans for the chickpeas.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 280Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 472mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 5gSugar: 3gProtein: 8g
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Stacy
Monday 31st of October 2022
This was soooo good! I skipped the spices did a little less water and left the spinach frozen. It was perfect! Thank you!!
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Wednesday 2nd of November 2022
Glad you enjoyed it!
anon
Tuesday 25th of October 2022
Recipes cannot be copyrighted because they are ideas, not expressions. Just FYI
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Wednesday 26th of October 2022
@anon, Actually, recipes can be copyrighted when they are part of a published book. You're welcome to look further into that, if you'd like.
Sue
Friday 23rd of September 2022
This is a favorite in my house. Love the entire cookby. Thanks for sharing
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Saturday 24th of September 2022
I'm so happy to hear that! I can't wait to make more from it!
Lynn
Tuesday 2nd of August 2022
I tried this last night. Unfortunately I found it to be terribly bland. I thought it was strange that everything was supposed to be added together and the spices etc weren't cooked first. I'll try it again but first will sauté it in the instant pot and will add onions and more spices.
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Monday 8th of August 2022
I'm so sorry that was your experience! I think Richa went this route for the sake of brevity, so of course you're welcome to modify how you see fit! It may also depend on how fresh your garam masala is; mine is new and pretty potent!
Peggy
Sunday 31st of July 2022
I'd like to make this in a crockpot. Do I need to change the amount of water? I've never used an instapot, so I'm not sure of the difference.
Jackie @ Vegan Yack Attack!
Sunday 31st of July 2022
In this case you're using the pressure cooker function of the Instant pot, so you'd need to double the liquid for the slow cooker. No idea what cooking times would be needed to cook the rice through.