Mexican Rice
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<Restaurant-style Mexican rice made right at home! The best side dish for tacos, burritos, enchiladas + so much more. So good!
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This Mexican rice has been our go-to side dish again and again in our house. It’s been tested, perfected, and made at least a hundred times since 2014 when this recipe was first posted. HUNDREDS, I tell you.
why i love this recipe
- One pot meal. A true one pot meal, the rice soaks up all the flavors of the tomato-infused broth with cumin and chili powder for that extra kick of flavor. Not to mention, one pot means less dishes, less clean up!
- Clean out the fridge meal. This is a great recipe to throw in any lingering veggies that need to be used up ASAP.
- Pairs well with many dishes. Mexican rice can be served alongside so many dishes, pairing well with chicken, seafood, carne asada, enchiladas, tacos and burritos to name a few.
- Freezer-friendly. This recipe is very freezer-friendly and can be kept for 3 months, making it great for meal prep.
You can serve as is or alongside some tacos or enchiladas. Personally, I love it as a main dish, digging my way in with my favorite tortilla chips.
tips and tricks for success
- Rinse the rice prior to using. Using a fine mesh strainer, rinse the rice under cold water to remove any excess starch.
- Toast the rice. Toasting the rice beforehand will add a nutty richness to the rice. Watch out for burnt grains.
- Make it vegetarian. Vegetable broth can be used for the chicken broth.
- Gently fluff. Fluff the rice using a fork to gently separate the grains without breaking them, never stirring. Stirring will lead to mushy rice.
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Mexican Rice: Frequently Asked Questions
Tomato sauce, in the US, is tomato puree typically cooked down for a thick, smooth consistency with a relatively sweet flavor. Passata is simply uncooked tomato purée. You can use passata in place of tomato sauce, but it is not a completely equal substitute.
You can substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.
You can omit the cilantro altogether or substitute parsley.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop or microwave, adding a splash of broth or water as needed.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 ½ cups basmati rice
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup corn kernels
- ½ cup diced carrots
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in rice until toasted, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce and vegetable broth, and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in corn, carrots, peas, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes.
- Stir in tomatoes until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
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What brand of basmati rice are you using? I had the same problem as other commenters where the amount of liquid and cooking time were no where near enough. I had to add at least another cup of water and cook it an addition 15 minutes. Came out fine. Just curious if there is a brand difference in the rice. I used Mahatma brand basmati rice. Thanks!
My mum used to make rice very similar to this called “red rice” when we were kids. I’m making it this evening for friends. It’s lovely with grated cheese on top.
I prefer long grain rice to basmati for this recipe, and it’s a whole lot less expensive too, I save the basmati for curries 🙂
Can you make this the day before for company and heat in the oven the next day.
Yes, you can reheat as needed.
I used brown basmati rice. I cooked it for over an hour, having to add more broth and tomato sauce of course and the rice NEVER cooked. It was awful and very frustrating.
Ann, brown rice can be substituted but cooking time will have to be adjusted accordingly.
Would adding hot Italian sausage change the flavor too much in your opinion? looking to add some meat to this delicious sounding recipe.
Regards,
Hi Chungah, my husband is craving Mexican rice so I thought I’d give your recipe a try. I’m more of a lover of Asian food, myself. I’m hoping yours if the best of both worlds.
Cheers!
Hi, I want to try and make this tomorrow… i want to know if i can use sweet corn or not for this? maybe this is a dumb question but i am a real beginner at cooking and i dont know how to use anything with anything haha.
thanks!
Brikena
Yes, sweet corn kernels should work just fine.
I found this recipe probably three months ago and I have probably made it once a week since then! I love it! I use all frozen vegetables and decrease the rice and increase the broth because my rice always takes a long time. It’s seriously the best Mexican rice I have ever had!
Made it tonight and it was very good.i added more vegetable broth,an other cup because the rice was not cooked.i used fresh carrots instead of a can and the carrots were not totally cooked, next time I will use a can or cook the carrots before .i will do it again.
Stumbled upon your site a while back, but this was the first recipe I had tried. Finally, a mexican rice that wasn’t mushy!! I doubled the cumin and chili powder and added a half-cup of a leftover flat mexican beer – great flavor to go with our homemade refried beans and turkey enchiladas.
Thanks and I look forward to trying more of your recipes!
Hi Chungah, I recently discovered your site & I have made your One Pan Mexican Quinoa (twice!) which even my one year old loves as well as your Baked Brown Sugar Chicken Wings (YUM!!). I would like to make the Mexican Rice tonight although I only have the pouches of the Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice on hand. Do you think I can use that by taking it out of the pouch still frozen and cook it according to your instructions? I believe one pouch equals two cups so I’d have to adjust the seasonings a little. Thank you!!
Jocelyn, that sounds like a great idea but I can’t really say for sure how or if these will turn out as I have never tried this product myself. Please use your best judgement.
I was very excited to try this recipe in lieu of the boxed variety at the grocery store. I followed the recipe to the letter and it just didn’t turn out very well. Not sure what I could or should have done differently since I didn’t deviate from the recipe at all. The main issue as another person mentioned was, 1 1/2 cups of the vegetable broth to 1 1/2 cups of the basmati rice just wasn’t enough liquid. I added another cup and it helped but still doesn’t seem to be enough. And then to compensate for the added liquid, more spices had to be added because it became way too bland after adding additional broth.
By adding more liquid, it’s not surprising that the spice flavors were off. If more liquid needs to be added to taste, it is best to increase the spices accordingly.
This was excellent- I added a Tbsp of sriracha and it was just the right amount of spice!
I love your site
This has become my go to mexican rice recipe. I add diced poblano peppers – black beans- cilantro- green onions- and whatever else I have on hand.
A squirt of siracha also kicks it up a notch!
This recipe is so good!!!
YUM! Can’t wait to make this! Your recipe calls for vegetable broth but then in the directions states to add chicken broth. Which do you use?
Thanks for pointing that out! You can actually use either or – it depends if you want to keep this strictly vegetarian or not.
Just made this tonight and it was a great base for me to experiment with. I did not have basmati rice and try to use brown grains when possible so I used brown rice. When using brown rice it will need at least twice the cooking time (40-45 minutes) and twice the liquid. I continued adding chicken broth as it was cooking and used about 3 cups. Because of the increased liquid, the seasonings became dull. Next time I make it, I will use two cans of tomato sauce and at least twice the chili powder and cumin with a little extra chicken broth. I used frozen mixed veggies because it’s what I had on hand but would love to try it with bell peppers and corn. This went wonderfully beside Mexican style shredded chicken stuffed crescent rolls. YUM! Thank you for giving me a base for expanding my cooking skills 🙂 LOVE your site!
I noticed you marked this under “vegetarian” but then added Chicken broth. I would assume vegetarian broth would work the same and taste the same for this recipe?
Yes, that’s exactly right!
Is it fine if i leave out the chicken broth? Are there any substitutes? I want to make a vegetarian version
You can use vegetable broth/stock to fit your dietary restrictions.
This looks so good! Can I use 5 minute brown rice or will it be too mushy? I can’t wait to try it!
You can certainly try substituting 5 minute brown rice but without further recipe testing, I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish. It is always best to use the ingredients listed in the recipe to obtain the best results possible.
Very nice recipe! Thank you.