Mexican Rice
This Mexican rice recipe is easy to make and so much better than rice from a store-bought box mix. This delicious recipe uses simple, everyday ingredients that you probably keep on hand in your kitchen.
Once you see how easy it is to make Mexican rice from scratch, you won’t be tempted to grab a box mix at the store. This recipe tastes so much better and is better for you, too!
This Mexican rice recipe, along with Instant Pot Mexican Rice, is my favorite way to make Mexican rice at home. I won’t claim this recipe to be 100% authentic, but I will say that it’s delicious and perfect for serving with your favorite Mexican foods. It’s also easy for any home cook to make and it doesn’t call for any specialty ingredients. Which is a big win in my book!
This Mexican rice is made with long grain white rice, tomato sauce, garlic, onion and spices. It’s meant to be flavorful but not overly spicy. Enjoy it as a side dish with enchiladas, tacos and more!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Long Grain White Rice: For the best fluffy texture, be sure to use long grain white rice, not medium or short grain.
- Olive Oil: For sautéing the onion and toasting the rice.
- Onion: You can use either white or yellow onion.
- Garlic: For flavor.
- Chicken Broth: I prefer the flavor that chicken broth adds to the rice, but you can use vegetable broth to keep the rice vegetarian.
- Tomato Sauce: Adds flavor and color to the rice.
- Seasonings: Chili powder, ground cumin, dried oregano and salt are the perfect mix of spices for Mexican rice.
Find the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.
How to Make Mexican Rice
Rinse the rice under cold running water, then drain.
Sauté the onion in olive oil.
Toast the rice. Add the rice and minced garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until the rice is toasted and fragrant.
Add the remaining ingredients: chicken broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano and salt. Stir everything together.
Simmer. Bring the pot to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to very low and cover the pot. Cook the rice for 15-20 minutes, stirring just once after the first 5 minutes of cook time. The rice is done when the liquid has been absorbed.
Rest and fluff. Let the rice rest for 10 minutes with the lid on the pot. Then use a fork to fluff the rice. Serve, with chopped fresh cilantro if desired.
Mexican Rice Recipe Tips
- Rinse the rice. Before cooking, place the dry rice in a fine mesh sieve and rinse it under cold running water until the water runs clear to remove excess starch.
- Toast the rice. This develops flavor and is important for making the best Mexican rice.
- Watch the heat. When simmering the rice, the heat should be very low so that the rice on the bottom of the pot doesn’t burn.
- Stir it once. When I was testing this recipe, I found that a quick stir after the initial 5 minutes of simmer time helped the rice to cook evenly and not stick to the bottom of the pot. After that, don’t lift the lid off of the pot again. The tomato sauce in this recipe makes it a bit more finicky than my regular white rice recipe.
- For fluffy rice: When the rice finishes cooking, first let it rest for 10 minutes without lifting the lid. Then use a fork to fluff the rice.
- Traditionally, Mexican rice isn’t spicy. If you want to add some heat you can add a jalapeño or serrano pepper. Most of the heat is in the seeds, so remove the seeds and only add a few seeds back in if you want it extra spicy. Add the finely chopped pepper when you toast the rice.
- Add peas. My family prefers our rice without peas, but you can stir some into the rice after cooking, if desired.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this Mexican rice as a side dish with Chicken Enchiladas, Beef Enchiladas or Carnitas. It also goes great with Chicken Fajitas and Ground Beef Tacos, or add it to a burrito or Burrito Bowl.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long grain white rice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped white onion, or yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- chopped fresh cilantro, optional, for serving
Instructions
- In a fine mesh strainer, rinse the rice well and drain. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until softened, 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rinsed rice and minced garlic. Cook, stirring, until rice is toasted and fragrant, 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, dried oregano and salt. Stir.
- Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to very low (you want the heat to be as low as it can go) and cover the pot. Cook the rice, covered, for 15-20 minutes, stirring just once after the first 5 minutes of cook time. The rice is done when the liquid has been absorbed. (This usually takes 15 minutes total cook time for me.)
- Remove the pot from the heat and let the rice rest for 10 minutes without lifting the lid off of the pot.
- Fluff rice and serve with chopped fresh cilantro, if desired.
Notes
- Traditionally, Mexican rice isn’t very spicy. If you want to add some heat you can add a chopped jalapeño or serrano pepper. Most of the heat is in the seeds, so remove the seeds and only add a few seeds back in if you want it extra spicy. Add the finely chopped pepper when you toast the rice.
- You can stir frozen peas into the rice after cooking, if desired.
can i make this recipe in an instant pot? thank you
Yes, use my Instant Pot Mexican Rice recipe. Enjoy!
cut the recipe in half but followed precisely and it was great!! Felt like I was at a restaurant! 🙂 Thank you!
Great recipe
Could you add a pound of cooked ground beef to this?
Sure, if you’d like to that would work fine. Enjoy!