Spinach corn rice casserole – a twist on the regular palak rice
Imagine warm, cheesy, comforting rice casserole filled with the goodness of spinach and corn. I love the combination of corn and spinach. Top it with cheese and bake it with some aromatic basmati rice. You’ve got yourself a winner 🙂
Most often I, would cook spinach and corn as a curry or a dry vegetable fry to use as sandwich filling. And while palak rice is common in India, I had never thought of a baked casserole rice dish with palak until now. This dish is inspired from a brown rice kale casserole dish I had come across on a Facebook post. I would usually bookmark a recipe I like to try later. It has rarely happened that I saw a recipe and made it immediately but in this case it was almost like that. I knew I had some leftover spinach and corn curry and I thought I can spin the original recipe and try out this simple spinach corn rice casserole.
Since I was home alone and cooking just for one, I had all the room for experimentation! The recipe is very simple, especially when you have leftover spinach and corn curry but the dish is so delicious that it should be made on its own too. In fact when I told my husband about my meal the day he was out, I was asked to make it again pretty soon and then I made it from scratch and again with spinach and corn. I only used cumin and a little garam masala for an earthy spice flavouring to the dish but you can keep it simple with just salt as well.
I loved the way it turned up and now I am inspired to try out more rice casserole combinations. Many of my Rice recipes are one-pot meals and they are great for big gatherings as well as simple dinners for two. If you like this recipe, please do rate it below and/or leave your thoughts after the post. It will really encourage me to continue improving.
Spinach and corn rice Casserole
Ingredients (1cup = 240ml; 1tbsp = 15ml; 1tsp = 5ml)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion thinly sliced
- 1 green chilli chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup spinach washed and finely chopped
- ½ cup corn kernels steamed
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp garam masala powder optional
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- ½ cup cheddar cheese grated
- 4 tbsp milk
- 4-5 tomato slices for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200ºC.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add chillies and garlic. Sauté till the garlic just starts to turn brown. Add onions and cook for 5-6 minutes till the onions are soft.
- Add the steamed corn kernels, spinach, salt, cumin powder and garam masala powder. Mix well and sauté till the spinach has wilted. Remove from heat.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the cooked rice with cheese and milk.
- In the baking dish, layer the rice and spinach and corn mixture alternatively. Top with sliced tomatoes and bake for 20-30 mins.
- Serve hot!
Notes
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Tried the recipe. Turned out great! Thanks!
Thanks, Gia!
I am so happy that you tried this simple Spinach corn Rice Casserole recipe. It is really great for using leftover rice and/or leftover spinach-corn sabzi! Thank you for sharing your feedback. It really encourages me to continue trying and sharing. 🙂
It was delish