A quick and healthy side dish using instant brown rice, frozen chopped kale, and fresh parmesan; reheat the next day for a great work lunch!

This is one of those quick and easy side dishes that can in fact be a complete and wholesome meal at the same time. We love rice dishes, but very rarely do we eat just plain steamed rice.
There’s nothing plain about this dish! The nuttiness of the brown rice, along with the butter and the seasonings, transform an instant rice into something really delicious. If you’re serving this rice as a main, I would highly suggest a fried egg on top – so good!

Can I use another type of rice?
Oh, yes, of course you can! I love to use instant rice whenever I’m cooking with rice. And, it’s for good reason! I’ve confessed this before, but you see, Dear Reader, I cannot cook rice very well at all.

In fact, whenever we have “real” rice, John.e will cook it. If I know I’m going to be making any dishes with rice throughout the week, I’ll ask him to prepare rice on Sunday night. That way I don’t have to cook it and end up preparing a mushy mess.

If you can cook rice, then you certainly don’t have to use instant. In addition, instead of using brown rice, you can use white rice, jasmine rice, or even basmati rice. Please keep in mind that some rices will change the flavour.

I’d rather use fresh kale!
Frozen kale was used in order to keep this dish quick and easy. I will often use fresh kale in dishes, but I find the frozen kale to work extremely well in this dish.

Using fresh kale will just mean that you’ll have to chop it and wash it really well. Taking that route will only add about five to ten minutes to your total cooking time, so it’s not the end of the world.
Coming home from work and wanting to get a good dinner on the table without piling up the dishes is another reason I opted for frozen kale. At the end of the day, the choice is yours.

Conclusion:
If you want, you can use real onion and real garlic too. Just chop them super fine and add them to the skillet with the butter. Cook them until the onion is cooked though and then continue to finish the dish.

I like to serve it with extra parmesan cheese on the side so if anyone wants more cheese they can add it themselves. Like I mentioned before, Brown Rice with Kale and Parmesan makes a great lunch the next day. And it’s so easy to reheat. You can reheat it in a skillet over low heat or just pop it into the microwave for a minute or two.


Brown Rice with Kale and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 4 cups instant brown rice, cooked according to package instructions
- 500 grams frozen chopped kale
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Start by cooking the rice according to the instructions on the box. Use instant rice to reduce the overall cooking time for entire recipe.
- While the rice cooks, add the butter to a large skillet and over medium heat, melt the butter until it bubbles.
- Add the kale, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Cook the kale until heated thoroughly.
- Add the cooked rice to the kale and stir to combine. Remove from heat. Stir in the parmesan.
- Plate, garnish with more parmesan, and serve immediately.
Nutrition


D says
I really enjoyed the freshness of this recipe for Brown Rice and Kale. Nice job! Since I’m such a purist, the preparation was made from scratch. Rather than just adding pepper, I added cracked pepper. Also, since the parmesan seemed to disappear, I shredded the parmesan using it more like a garnish. The second time around I embellished the dish by adding lemon juice to the sauteed kale before adding the cooked rice. Just before serving, the plates were topped with match-stick sweet apple and locally grown and toasted almonds. Thanks. The only issue was everyone was looking for more. This will be a favorite.
Denice Schulz says
How much is 500 grams? I would love to make it, but don’t understand this figure! Thank you!!
Nicole J Lesley says
500 grams of kale is equivalent to 17 ounces. (Since the frozen kale I have is 12 oz. bags, I’ll just use 1 bag)
Denice Schulz says
My comment is above!!!!!
Carolyn Boland says
This is definitely a keeper! Served it with BBQ pork chops.
We sautéed 2 garlic cloves & diced onions, & added sliced mushrooms before adding the frozen kale.