Save $100+ a year in FREE coupons.

take a seat at the
healthified table

already a
member?
sign in

Better health. Better taste. Better you.

A thinner waist and a fatter wallet with coupons and recipes delivered right to your inbox!

Smile! It's as good for you as it tastes.

Yummy new
recipes delivered
to your inbox when
you register—FREE!

In Eat Better America’s new video series, BAAAD HABITS!, we document a real family’s eating habits with a hidden camera and hold a healthy eating intervention to help the family healthify their food choices.

Watch
print the recipe, share it with friends, or sign up and log in to save it.

already a member? log in

join now!

rant, rave, & review this recipe

Confirm Delete

Are you sure you want to delete your recipe review?
Yes   |   No

already a member? log in

join now!

rant, rave, & review this recipe

Thanks for letting us poll your palate!

Your recipe rating, out of 5 stars, has been saved. Rate more recipes and help your fellow foodies find new favorites.

Healthified Spinach and Rice Casserole

Healthified Spinach and Rice Casserole
Recipe Tip
What is "Healthified"?
We've replaced ingredients with great-tasting alternatives to create better-for-you recipes that are just as yummy as the originals.
Time-Saver
Look for prepackaged diced cooked ham near the cooked meats in the grocery store.
Success
For this recipe, be sure to use instant brown rice. Regular brown rice requires a different amount of liquid and takes longer to cook.

22

reviews

click stars to rate

Based on 53 ratings

72% less sat fat • 43% fewer calories • 61% less fat than the original recipe—see the comparison. A favorite casserole gets a star makeover. Substituting brown rice for white provides whole-grain benefits while reduced fat ingredients trim the fat but keep the flavor. From eatbetteramerica.
Prep Time:20 min
Start to Finish:1 hr
makes:8 servings (1 cup each)
2teaspoons olive oil
3medium carrots, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
2/3cup chopped celery
1medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1clove garlic, finely chopped
1 3/4cups water
1can (10 3/4 oz) condensed 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup
2boxes (9 oz each) Green Giant® frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained
1 1/2cups uncooked instant brown rice
1teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2teaspoon pepper
1cup diced cooked ham
3/4cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (3 oz)
1/4cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2.In 3-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water and soup; heat to boiling. Add spinach, rice, Italian seasoning and pepper; return to boiling. Remove from heat; stir in ham, 1/4 cup of the Cheddar cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Spread in baking dish. Cover with foil.
3.Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. Let stand uncovered 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Nutritional Information
1 Serving: Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 780mg; Total Carbohydrate 26g (Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 3g); Protein 12Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 180%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 25%; Iron 10Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 1 Vegetable; 1 Medium-Fat Meat; 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
 
22 Reviews

full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
print review with recipe
Pretty good, lots of veggies
I made this last night, and used turkey smoked sausage instead of ham. I used a little less italian seasoning. It came out great! Very tasty and healthy.
Posted at 5:45 PM on December 9 2011 by trooworld
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Pleasant mistake
I was making this recipe for the first time tonight while chatting with a friend. My husband had purchased a can of southwestern vegetable soup for another recipe I want to try. Enjoying the conversation and not thinking, I had my friend pour the vegetable soup instead of the recipe’s cream of mushroom soup into the pan of sautéed vegetables. I soon realized my mistake and decided to roll with it, so we also added the cream of mushroom soup and a little more rice to soak up the extra liquid. The result was wonderfully delicious! I’m curious to try the recipe without the added flavors, but I wonder if it will be as good as my “mistake!”
Posted at 2:01 PM on September 1 2011 by natkas
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
print review with recipe
Yum
We substituted rice for rice pasta and added mushrooms. It was delish!
Posted at 5:06 PM on August 12 2011 by ses1007
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Healthified spinah and rice casserole
I have made this recipe countless times over because my family loves it so much. I always make it without the meat, and I add a bit more cheese but it is absolutely a favorite in my family and I get requests for it all the time. Another thing that my family started doing was putting crushed ritz crackers on top, so I just started adding it to the recipe with a little bit of cheese on top. Absolutely divine.
Posted at 3:31 PM on July 27 2011 by Plavsic07
full starfull starfull starempty starempty star
print review with recipe
My family enjoyed this casserole, but when I make it again I will make some changes. Next time I'll make it with pasta instead of rice, and leave out the parmesan cheese to decrease the saltiness of the dish. We left out the onion because we don't like them. This recipe might be enhanced by using horseradish cheddar.
Posted at 4:20 PM on March 2 2011 by drakistino
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Review
This was very easy and good. To much for 2 people,but a very tasty dish
Posted at 3:17 PM on January 21 2011 by
full starempty starempty starempty starempty star
print review with recipe
flavors were off
Not one of my five member family liked this dish. The way it is something is off with the recipe, I definitely did not think the Italian Seasoning fit well, and had to add salt to the dish just to get it down.
Posted at 3:04 PM on January 20 2011 by
full starempty starempty starempty starempty star
print review with recipe
fresh spinach ??
when using fresh spinach , should I cook it first?
Posted at 3:04 PM on January 20 2011 by
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Fabulous Casserole!
I made this today for a healthy and hearty meal for a birthday party. Everyone LOVED it! Even the picky eaters in the family. Everything is delicious together. We substituted chicken for ham.
Posted at 3:23 PM on January 17 2011 by
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
fresh spinach
I also opted to chop up fresh spinach, this is a new favorite of ours!
Posted at 3:23 PM on January 12 2011 by HAMBMR01
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
A Little Twist
This is a wonderful, filling meal. My husband and I just love it. It requires quite a bit of chopping, but it is totally worth it. I make one change to because my husband hates celery, so I replace it with chopped red bell peppers and add a little celery seed. We actually prefer it this way because the bell pepper is softer and smoother than the celery, but you still get the celery flavor from the celery seed.
Posted at 9:43 AM on October 13 2010 by Namaste23
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Spinach and Rice Casserole
I jsut made this for my husband and I and it was amazing. I added fresh muchrooms to the mix but even without them we will be having it again and it made for great leftovers!!!!
Posted at 7:44 AM on September 3 2010 by
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Don't judge a book by its cover
This meal was absolutely delicious! When I pulled it out of the oven, it didn't look great. My husband was a little skeptical to eat it, but I told him to just try it because it had gotten great reviews. We loved it and it is only 220 calories. The problem is I had a hard time not going back for seconds...so I did! I have it for lunch today too.
Posted at 3:53 PM on February 24 2010 by Jguzzy09
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
GREAT
This is a great tasting recipe. I appreciate the lighter version of cooking and this is comfort food as good as it comes....Use fresh spinach if possible, it is worthy of a great presentation. I had some left over chicken, and just dice it up and toss it in. You will not regret it, and the army of kids in my house ranging from 1-13 left not a left over in sight.
Posted at 3:26 PM on September 18 2009 by
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
yum! yum!
My husband and I just had this for dinner...with lots of leftovers for the week. I added chicken instead of ham, and other spices instead of the Italian seasoning. I also added mushrooms to the veggies. This turned out to be a great meal! Will definitely make this again!
Posted at 3:26 PM on September 18 2009 by
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
print review with recipe
I thought this was really pretty good, and my kids ate it all up! I used fresh spinach instead of frozen--which to me makes all the difference.
Posted at 3:23 PM on May 5 2009 by Rica+5
full starempty starempty starempty starempty star
print review with recipe
Revolting
After viewing this recipe and reading all of the ratings and comments I had high hopes for this dish. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement. It was repulsive! I'm not sure if it was the Italian seasoning, or what, but I definitely would not recommend this recipe to anyone that I actually liked.
Posted at 11:46 AM on February 9 2009 by MelFL
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
print review with recipe
I don't eat pork so I tried this recipe with ground turkey. It was wonderful and very easy to make. I think I will try a different meat next time for a little more flavor!
Posted at 9:40 AM on November 14 2008 by Shannon
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
This dish was great. Very tasty. The recipe is a keeper.
Posted at 4:16 PM on October 9 2008 by leslie790
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Soooo good!! Delicious, will definately make again and again!
Posted at 9:26 AM on October 2 2008 by Brandy
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Spinach and Rice Casserole
I made it for my grandchildren. They loved it, even after I told them that it had spinach in it.
Posted at 9:46 AM on September 29 2008 by Fran, Wisconsin
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
print review with recipe
Awsome!!
This was a easy recipe and was outstanding. My whole family loved it.
Posted at 2:11 PM on September 25 2008 by mrsmac63