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Mushroom Bulgur Pilaf

A hearty side dish with whole grains, veggies and flavored with a savory broth. Add a protein to make it a satisfying main dish.
A wooden bowl with bulgur, mushrooms and spinach.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 to 40 minutes
Makes: 4 Cups
Nutrition Facts: View label

Ingredients

1 ½ teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup onion, chopped (1 medium onion)
3 cups sliced or chopped mushrooms (about 12 medium button mushrooms)
¾ cup bulgur
1 ½ cups low-sodium broth (any type)
½ teaspoon garlic powder 
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Directions

  1. Wash hands with soap and water.
  2. Rinse or scrub fresh vegetables under running water before preparing.
  3. Heat oil on a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
  4. Add mushrooms. Cook and stir often until they begin to brown.
  5. Add bulgur and stir until lightly browned.
  6. Add broth, garlic powder and pepper. Cover pan with a lid or plate and reduce heat to low.
  7. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until bulgur is tender and liquid is absorbed.
  8. Remove from heat, stir in spinach and serve.
  9. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours.

Notes

  • Try adding other seasonings such as thyme or oregano.
  • No fresh spinach? Use frozen and thawed chopped spinach or other greens such as kale or chard. Add with broth during step 4 of directions.

Comments

This is so yummy! I love the flavor and the texture. I used low-sodium vegetable broth, black pepper, and garlic powder and did not add any additional seasonings and thought they complimented the dish well. I made a few changes, I did not have bulgur on hand so I used quinoa, and it worked well. I also did not have just spinach but had a blend with chard, spinach and kale, so I used that. Both of these changes still resulted in a tasty dish, but I definitely want to try it with bulgur next time!

This looked like a good side dish, and it was.  My husband really liked it and he's usually not a fan of cooked spinach.  The flavor and texture were really good.  It will be served again at our house.

This recipe was a lasting favorite with middle school students. One 8th grader said, "That was the best mushroom dish ever!" We were learning about herbs and I added a 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme to this recipe - thyme and lemon are great flavor boosters for mushrooms!!

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