A simple and delicious side dish, this stewed tomato, spinach, onion and garlic is perfect served over rice. Ready in under 20 minutes, this vegan, plant-based, oil-free recipe is great for a weeknight meal.
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🔪 Instructions
👨👩👦👦 Serving suggestions
Since this dish of stewed tomatoes, spinach, garlic and onion is inspired by Green spanakorizo, brown rice or white rice is the perfect starch to go with it.
But, since it's so versatile, you'll certainly enjoy it with other starches, too. It would be delicious with:
- couscous
- pita bread
- potatoes
- quinoa
- pasta
For added protein, try combining this spinach dish with:
- chickpeas
- cannellini beans
- baked tofu squares
- lentils
🔄 Variations
Make this with other greens instead of the spinach.
Try curly kale, dinosaur/lacinato kale, swiss chard or a combination of all of them!
You can also use frozen spinach! Ideally, you'll want to thaw the spinach first by placing it in the refrigerator overnight. Be sure to put the bag or block of frozen spinach in a bowl or plate, in case it leaks while thawing.
You can also thaw it in your microwave, using your "thaw" button and entering the weight of the spinach you're thawing. Again, place the spinach on a plate or in a bowl inside the microwave.
❓ FAQ
Stewed tomatoes are peeled, sliced tomatoes that have been cooked with seasonings like onion, bell pepper, garlic, salt and/or sugar.
Sometimes herbs like oregano, basil or thyme have been added. They are in large pieces and often have a slightly sweet taste.
The canned stewed tomatoes from Aldi have the following ingredients: cut tomatoes, tomato juice, sugar, sea salt, dehydrated onions, dehydrated celery, dehydrated peppers, spices, calcium chloride, citric acid.
This easy side dish of spinach, stewed tomatoes, onion and garlic is a delicious way to used canned stewed tomatoes! Scroll down for the full recipe.
You can also used stewed tomatoes to make tomato vegetable soup, spanish rice and chili!
First, sauté onion and garlic. Then, add a can of tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes).
Then, add fresh spinach and cook until wilted.
Season with salt and pepper. Scroll down for full recipe.
🗺 Cultural influences
This dish was created one day when I was making Greek spanakorizo, which is a Greek rice dish with lots of spinach, tomato, onion, garlic, dill and lemon.
I was hungry while I was cooking it and starting "sampling" the sauteéd vegetables before adding the rice. It was amazing. Hence, this dish.
So, if you like this vegetable side, you might want to experiment with cooking Greek spanakorizo!
That being said, the ingredients are common in many food cultures. So, you could adjust the flavor by adding different spices and serving it with different starches. For example:
- Mexican: Add ground cumin, cilantro and jalapeño.
- Italian: Add oregano and basil. Serve with pasta.
- Indian: Add curry powder and garam masala. Serve with roti.
- Middle Eastern: Add chickpeas. Serve with pita or couscous.
💜 More recipes you'll love
Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄
📖 Recipe
Stewed Tomato, Garlic and Onion Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 8 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 15 ounces stewed tomatoes canned
- 1 pound fresh baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
- pinch dill fresh or dried (optional)
- fresh lemon juice optional
Instructions
- Saute onions over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add some of the liquid only from the tomatoes to the pan, to prevent sticking.
- Add spinach to pan by the handful, stirring after each handful, until all the spinach has been added. Cook for 2 minutes or until all spinach is wilted.
- Add rest of tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve as a side or over brown or white rice.
Beverley Cooney says
Abi.......I adore your blogs! The whole way you show your food, recipes, and explain it all!!! I am new to plant based.... But find following you makes it easy to transition from meat! 👌😘 Been a long time coming, but I won't give up !
Bevie 🙋 from Ontario Canada
Abi Cowell says
Awww, Beverley, thank you so much for taking the time to write in and tell me that! Made my day!!
- Abi 🙂