Mediterranean Fried Rice

4.88 from 8 votes

This vegetarian rice dish has an unbelievable amount of flavor!

mediterranean style fried rice

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Mediterranean diet is one of the most popular plans out there! It’s an excellent diet for heart health since it focuses on eating mostly plant-based ingredients, along with omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish, lean proteins, and healthy fats. It characterizes the eating style of the countries located along the Mediterranean Sea. Our vegetarian Mediterranean Style Fried Rice is the perfect way to dip your foot into this new popular diet!

Eating Mediterranean fried rice can be beneficial for health as it is rich in nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It can also help in weight management as it is low in calories and contains healthy fats. Additionally, it can help to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

How does Mediterranean fried rice tie into the Mediterranean diet? Mediterranean fried rice is a delicious and healthy dish made with fresh vegetables, rice, and spices. It is a flavorful and healthy alternative to regular fried rice, and it contains many of the same ingredients as traditional Mediterranean diet dishes. Additionally, it is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

We use heart-healthy ingredients like olive oil, brown rice, tomatoes filled with the antioxidant lycopene, and iron-rich spinach. Put it all together and fold in some salty fat-free feta and you have a meal fit for a queen! And since each serving of this delicious rice clocks in at only 200 calories, you can serve it up with a Mediterranean diet-approved protein like fish or poultry. Or, keep things vegetarian and add some roasted tofu to the dish to amp up the plant-based protein!

I Thought Fried Rice Had to Have Eggs?

This vegetarian Mediterranean Style Fried Rice is stock full of heart-healthy ingredients like olive oil, brown rice, tomatoes filled with the antioxidant lycopene, and iron-rich spinach.

You might notice that we don’t have any eggs in our Mediterranean Style Fried Rice recipe. But wait, doesn’t all fried rice have to have eggs? They’re definitely a popular ingredient, but we don’t find them strictly necessary for this recipe.

In Asian-style fried rice recipes (like our Restaurant Style Chicken Fried Rice recipe), the eggs work as a binder that brings the rice and vegetables together. These recipes usually contain soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari, as well. Our Mediterranean Style Fried Rice is going for a different texture: a vegetable-forward, saucy rice dish.

We start by cooking the onions until they’re soft and translucent. This makes them melt-in-your-mouth tender and gives them a touch of sweetness. Contrast those sweet onions with pungent garlic, and you immediately have the start of something super flavorful. Then, once we’ve warmed the rice through, we add the chopped tomatoes and spinach.

The savory tomatoes release their juices as they cook, creating an unbelievably rich “sauce” for our rice. The spinach contributes its unique, earthy green flavor as it wilts into the sauce. By the time you fold in the feta (which doesn’t necessarily melt, but it will soften with the heat), you have a completely different take on fried rice that you’ll fall in love with!

A Quick Note about Brown Rice

Fold in some salty fat-free feta into this Mediterranean Style Fried Rice dish and you have a meal fit for a queen!

You might have noticed that we’re using brown rice instead of white rice for this recipe. This ingredient is not only more in keeping with the Mediterranean diet, but it will add valuable nutrients to your everyday life, too. In addition to complex carbohydrates (which will keep you feeling full for hours), you’ll also get energy and a boost to your immune system from the vitamin B6, zinc, iron, calcium, manganese, and magnesium in brown rice.

Anytime you can swap in brown rice for white rice, we’d recommend taking the challenge! It takes a bit longer to cook, but it’s absolutely worth it. You could also use quinoa, but we think the texture of brown rice works perfectly for this Mediterranean-style fried Rice. Whip up a batch and let us know what you think in the comments!

4.88 from 8 votes

Mediterranean Style Fried Rice

Create a delicous Mediterranean side dish in just two steps!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Yield 4 people
Serving Size 1 cup
Course Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish
Cuisine Mediterranean

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red onion minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 cups brown rice cooked
  • 2 roma tomatoes diced small
  • 2 cups baby spinach fresh
  • 1/2 cup fat-free feta cheese crumbled

Instructions

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent. Increase the heat to medium high and add the rice.
  • Cook the rice for about 5 minutes, or until hot. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and continue to cook, stirring often, until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat and gently fold in the feta cheese. Serve hot.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 205kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 266mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1744IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 1mg |
SmartPoints (Freestyle): 6
Keywords Vegetarian

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Chef Nichole

Nichole has a culinary degree from Great Lakes Culinary Institute and has worked in the culinary industry for 10 years. She also has the knowledge to write recipes using the most nutritious, fresh, and balanced ingredients. Nichole enjoys creating healthy and tasty recipes anyone can prepare, no matter their cooking skill level.

More by Chef Nichole

3 Comments

  1. Wondering about the carb content. Your nutrition info says there are 76g carbs per serving. This recipe uses 2 cups brown rice & makes 4 servings. Half cup of brown rice is about 23g of carbs. Where do the other 53g per serving come from?

  2. hey there, please double check the calorie count on a 1 cup serving of this delicious side.
    I looked these up and rounded most of them up
    2 cups cooked brown rice 360 calories (I used Ben’s Original)
    1tbs olive oil 130 calories
    2 cups raw spinach 25 calories
    1/2 c red onion 20 calories
    2 cloves garlic 10 calories
    1/4 c. Fat Free Feta ( I used wegmans) 50 calories
    2 Roma tomatoes 40 calories

    Total Calories for the entire recipe 635

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