Mexican rice is a delicious and easy side dish to accompany tacos, fill burritos, or otherwise enhance your Mexican style meal. This dish is a great way to cook rice, perfect for a quick and easy dinner!
Serve it alongside Chicken Street Tacos and Instant Pot Refried Beans for a super tasty dinner.
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At a Mexican restaurant, the side of rice and beans is pretty standard, right?
And when you’re there, it might not seem like such a big deal, what with the frosty margarita, the sizzling fajitas, and the salsa picante.
But when you get home…?
When you get home and want to make Mexican food yourself, well, the rice matters. It matters big time.
How many times have you wondered how they make that rice? Or rather how you can make that rice yourself at home? Mexican Rice is just the ticket.
Why Make This
This Mexican Rice is very versatile; it’s great as a side dish, but can also make a frugal, meatless main dish, like beans and rice.
It’s easy. This is an easy rice pilaf that will astonish you at its simplicity. Promise.
Ingredients
This Mexican rice recipe is the simplest version you can make, using only a handful of ingredients.
oil – You’ll need just a bit of oil to fry the dry, uncooked rice. This helps it create that pilaf-style texture.
rice – Use long-grain, white rice for the best results, though read the notes if you’d like to use brown rice.
tomato sauce – Tomato sauce is what makes red rice red.
liquid – You can use chicken stock or broth, vegetable broth, or water. The recipe’s pretty forgiving.
seasonings – Salt and pepper are sufficient, but you can also use Taco Seasoning Mix for a spicier kick. You can also add ground cumin, dried oregano, or ground coriander if you like. Feel free to embellish it by adding chopped onion, garlic, or lemon pepper.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Heat the oil in a pan with a lid. Once it is shimmering, add the rice, and cook, stirring until the rice has turned white and even a bit brown in spots. (If you wanted to add chopped onion, now would be the time to do so.)
- Once the rice is whitish-brown, add the tomato sauce. It may splatter a bit when you pour it in, so be careful. Stir the tomato sauce around in the rice quickly and then add the chicken broth or stock. If you wanted to add cumin, now would be the time to do so. You don’t want to release too much starch in the rice, so don’t stir too much, just enough to combine the rice, tomato sauce, and chicken broth well.
- Allow this mixture to come to a regular simmer. Once it is bubbling well, cover it with the lid, and reduce the heat to low. Set the timer for 15 minutes and allow the rice to cook. While it’s simmering, the rice will absorb all or most of the liquid. You may need to cook it as long as 20 minutes to get to this point.
- When the rice appears “dry”, it’s done. Fun fact: Mexican rice is called sopa seca in Spanish: dry soup. Fluff the rice with a fork and mix in any tomato sauce that may have risen to the top. Season the rice to taste with salt and pepper.
The rice is ready to serve. It is good in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, making it a great meal prep base for packing lunches.
FAQs
Traditional Spanish rice is more along the lines of what you’d find in paella. It’s a pilaf cooked with similar basics like rice and tomatoes, but Spanish rice will contain saffron, whereas Mexican rice does not.
Mexican rice is great as a side dish alongside grilled meats, tacos, and fajitas. It also serves as a great burrito filling or a base for burrito bowls.
You can prepare this recipe with brown rice but the final product will have a much softer, mushier, texture. If you want to use the whole grain, be sure to increase your cooking time to 40 to 45 minutes instead of the recommended 15 to 20.
Yes! Using the pressure cooker to prepare this rice is a nice way to free up more room on the stove. See the recipe notes below for full instructions.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- oil – $0.20
- rice – $0.35
- tomato sauce – $0.88
- broth – $1.99
- seasonings – $0.05
While your prices may vary depending on where you shop, you can expect to pay somewhere around $3.47/batch.
How to Save More
Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe more economical:
- Buy in bulk. I know that Costco is the best place to buy ingredients in bulk, like brown rice or chicken stock, when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where. If you don’t think you’ll eat through a ten pound bag of rice too quickly, split the purchase with a friend or store the extra in the freezer to extend its shelf life. Yes shopping at Costco can save you money, if done right.
- Make my own stock. Homemade chicken stock and Vegetable Broth are so easy to make and practically free if you’re already trimming vegetables, roasting a chicken, or buying a rotisserie chicken. Extract all the flavor from the bones and vegetable waste before you toss them.
More Great Mexican Foods
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Mexican Rice
Equipment
- large skillet
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 4 cup chicken stock
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
To prepare the rice in a pan on the stove top:
- In a large sauté pan with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring, until rice turns white and very lightly brown. Remove from heat and stir in tomato sauce. Be careful of splatters. Stir well. Stir in chicken broth and return to heat. Bring to bubbling.
- Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed. Remove lid and fluff with a fork.
- Continue to cook on low for about five minutes to remove any extra liquid. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.
To prepare this recipe in the electric pressure cooker:
- Heat the oil in the pot on sauté. Add the rice and continue cooking, stirring, until the rice turns white and very lightly brown.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and only 1 ½ cups chicken broth. Stir gently to combine.
- Cover and secure the lid. Turn the pressure valve on. Hit the manual button and cook for 4 minutes.
- When the timer beeps, allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure valve. Once all the pressure has escaped, remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on May 30, 2014. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Claire
I made this months ago and let the race burn in the oil. Ruined it! I gave up trying to make it until yesterday. I made it correctly & watched it so I wouldn’t burn it. It turned our fabulous! We all loved it! Hubby & all 5 boys! My daughter is 3 & picky. LOL. I will be making this simple dish many times to come.
Ellen
This was an awesome dinner! I made this rice with your pintos that I’d cooked in the slow cooker yesterday. I added generous amounts of cumin, chili powder, garlic and onion powder, etc. to it because that’s how we like it. Sooooo much better than those Knorr rice packets I was using. This is fine eating, I tell ya! You’re my dinner hero, as usual!
Jessica Fisher
Ha! So glad you like it!
Kristen
Oh my cow. This was FANTASTIC! I just made it tonight along with your Pintos and tostadas and my whole family raved. This is definitely in our rotation now! Thank you!!
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it!
Tonya Pennington
Jessica,
Is that chopped green onions on top of yours
Thanks, Tonya
Jessica Fisher
No, chopped fresh cilantro. But, chopped green onion is a nice addition as well.
chris
made the rice today..had the slow cooker pinto beans cooked from yesterday. what a great make ahead meal! had a good amount of ‘liguid’ with the beans and so i drained that out and plan to use IT for something else. mashed the beans alittle and fried them up before serving with shredded cheese on top and green tabasco sauce. topped the rice with sour cream and green tabasco. very good! anyone have any ideas for what to do with the leftover ‘liguid’ from the beans? has a nice flavor to it..must be good for SOMETHING! thanks!
Jessica Fisher
I would imagine good for soup. Thanks for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it.
Danielle
I have tried this recipe many times. I love this recipe and so does my family, but I continue to get crunchy rice instead of soft, cooked rice. What am I doing wrong?
Jessica Fisher
I’ve had that happen before, usu when I’m not patient enough to cook it the entire time, or if there isn’t enough liquid.
Danielle
I figured it out! My lid wasn’t sealed tight enough (it’s from another pan)-so I put foil between my lid and pan. And I got that yummy rice you talked about! Yeah! Not a rice-cooker-failure after all. 🙂 about to surprise the fam at dinner
Jessica Fisher
Yeah!
Katie
I came across this recipe over a year ago, and it has NEVER FAILED ME! For the rehearsal dinner before our wedding, my husband and I cooked a meal for everyone that included this rice, and we got rave reviews! Thank you for sharing this amazingly simple dish!
Jessica Fisher
Wow! Rehearsal dinner? I’m honored. So glad that it has been successful for you!
Sarah G
I just made the Mexican Rice last night and it was fabulous! I am so excited b/c making from scratch (using a very easy recipe) is going to save me lots of money over buying the Uncle Ben’s ready to go Spanish Rice…plus, I know exactly what’s in my rice! Thank you so much for sharing – like one poster mentioned, I added chopped onions to mine, and will try it with salsa and corn next time – gotta sneak in those vegetables whenever I can! Thanks again for sharing!
Jessica Fisher
Glad you liked it, Sarah!
Gail
sounds great – I would only make one change. I would use salsa instead of the tomato sauce.
Serenity
Does this anyone know if this recipe works with brown rice?
Jessica Fisher
@Serenity, I’ve done it with brown rice. It takes longer to cook and has a slightly different flavor. But, it’s still good.
Serenity
@Jessica Fisher, Thanks! I’ll be trying it tonight! 🙂
lindsey
Whew! That was close. I had been browsing your site so intensely that I didn’t realize that my laptop battery was about to die. I almost lost your site…which I love!
My husband and I have been debt free for 3 years now (oh man, it feels gooooooooood!) and with recent prices at the grocery store going back into an upswing, we’ve had to tighten the budget’s belt a bit. Beans and rice sounds like the perfect answer. You’ve really inspired me with frugal meals, and I’ve started to look into Once A Month cooking too.
Thanks for such a fabulous blog! I will be back often.
JULIE
My Mexican rice (which my husband who normally hates rice absolutely loves) is made like this: Saute 1 cup parboiled rice and some chopped onion (usually 1/2 onion) in some oil till the rice is somewhat browned and the onions are translucent. Then stir in one can of Rotel, one cup water, and half a package of taco seasoning. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. You can have it just like that, but what we usually do is grill a couple chicken breast tenderloins on the George Foreman, chop them into small cubes, and add to the rice mixture as it cooks…then pour a little italian dressing over it right before eating it…YUMMY!!
Marshall
Hi,
We have just added your latest post "Life as Mom: Ultimate Recipe Swap: Mexican Food" to our Food Directory . You can check the inclusion of the post here . We are delighted to invite you to submit all your future posts to the directory for getting a huge base of visitors to your website and gaining a valuable backlink to your site.
Warm Regards
foodnrecipes.info Team
http://www.foodnrecipes.info
Amy @ Finer Things
I didn’t add one this time, but Mexican is a fave here. Can’t wait to check out some of these recipes!
Charissa
This is the first time I have read your blog & I LOVE your Ultimate Recipe Swap! Great idea 🙂
Megan
It’s great to have a simple yet delicious side dish like this for all those heavy mexican dishes! Thanks for hosting the exchange.
Gina K
I goofed! I put just my name in the widget above for the recipe swap, and forgot to add the recipe name…I tried to delete it and redo it but don’t know how to. Please delete the Gina Koston link and leave the second one I put in that has the Mexican Breakfast Casserole recipe title in it. Thanks so much and sorry for the goof!
Karen
Your rice recipe looks simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing it.
Lynn
I make mexican rice very much like this. But I put some seasoning in mine like cumin. I think the trick is frying the rice.
Liz@HoosierHomemade
Thanks for hosting! The rice looks great!
~Liz
Anonymous
For the Mexican Rice, do you use “minute” rice or the longer cooking rice? The minute rice is probably not as frugal, but CAN you use it?
Thanks!
Esther
I have used minute rice in the past when I was pressed for time. But I didn’t cook it in the pan like this recipe calls for. I cooked the instant rice following the instructions on the box and then added some salsa from a jar. That was the fastest Mexican rice I ever made! LOL