Healthy Greek Rice Bean and Olive Skillet! This Whole Food Plant Based recipe celebrates simple, wholesome ingredients without sacrificing flavor, making it an ideal weeknight dinner or meal-prep winner.

This Healthy Greek Rice Bean and Olive Skillet is a cozy, crowd-pleasing entrée that delivers both heartiness and bright, Mediterranean vibes. Bursting with fluffy rice and protein-rich beans, every bite savors the perfect balance of aromatic spices and a briny tang from sun-kissed green olives. Expect a satisfying spoonful of texture from tender beans to chewy rice all wrapped in a vibrant skillet.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We devoured this tasty, briny dish! If you love olives, then you will love this dish! The balanced seasoning—garlic, oregano, and a kiss of lemon—creates a warm, comforting aroma that makes it impossible to stop at one serving.

Perfect for meal-prep or a quick weeknight dinner, this dish delivers on both nutrition and flavor, delivering that crowd-pleasing, olive-bright profile that fans of Mediterranean fare will adore.

Give it a try, and you’ll be hooked on the briny, comforting goodness.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: This Healthy Greek Rice Bean and Olive Skillet is hearty and delicious. Perfectly seasoned, brimming with rice and beans, and full of briny tang from the green olives, this Whole Food Plant Based nod will delight your tastebuds.
• Spanish Pimento Stuffed Green Olives: This dish is all about those briny Spanish Pimento Stuffed Green Olives. This recipe is specifically designed to feature them. There are no substitutions. If you are not a Spanish pimento stuffed green olive lover, then consider skipping this recipe.
• Cannellini Bean Substitutions: Feel free to substitute the cannellini beans with your favorite white bean such as Great Northern, chickpeas, etc.
• Left Over Rice: Left over (refrigerated) rice works best in this skillet dinner as the rice has had a chance to solidify its starches in the refrigerator creating a better rice texture in this stew.
• Baking Soda: Baking soda is often used as a neutralizer for dishes that contain a lot of acidity, typically from tomatoes. We use it in this dish to remove some of the tomato acidity (from the tomato paste and grape/cherry tomatoes) without losing the tomatoey flavor. When you add it, the mixture may bubble up, then settle down as it neutralizes the acidity. If you prefer that tinny taste that is typically associated with canned tomatoes, feel free to leave it out or only add a pinch.
• Amount of Sea Salt: Our family was completely divided over the amount of sea salt needed to properly flavor this dish. For most palates, we felt 1 teaspoon worked well.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

This dish freezes well.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Large skillet with a lid

If you try this flavorful skillet, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Healthy Greek Rice Bean and Olive Skillet

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook Time: 25 Minutes
• Total Time: 35 Minutes
• Yield: 4 Cups 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Greek Inspired
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

This Healthy Greek Rice Bean and Olive Skillet is a cozy, crowd-pleasing entrée that delivers both heartiness and bright, Mediterranean vibes.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1/2x1x2x

Base Ingredients:

• 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 1 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 14 grape/cherry tomatoes, halved
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda * 

Spice/Herb Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-)

Other Ingredients:

• 1 – [ 15.5 oz. can ] cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup Spanish pimento stuffed green olives, chopped
• ¾ cup cooked and refrigerated brown rice (or rice of choice) *
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Optional Toppings:

• Chopped fresh parsley

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Add all the Spice/Herb Ingredients into a small bowl, mix well, set aside.
2. In a large stock pot, sauté the diced onions over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes until they start to become tender. Add a splash of water to prevent sticking/burning if needed.
3. Add the minced garlic and tomato paste to the skillet, continue to sauté over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
4. Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients (except the baking soda), the Spice/Herb Mix, stir well, and bring to a boil. Once boiling add the baking soda, stir well, then immediately lower to a low-percolating boil. Boil with a low-percolating boil for 5 minutes.
5. After 5 minutes, stir in the cooked rice, cannellini beans, chopped olives, and lemon juice. Simmer for an additional 7 to 10 minutes.
6. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for 4 to 5 minutes undisturbed to allow the flavors to marry.
7. Top individual servings with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy with pita, crusty bread, flatbread, and/or with a simple side salad.

---

Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used. 

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Serving:  4 (makes 4 cups)

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.