Spanish Rice (aka Mexican Rice) is a fabulous side dish that goes well with almost anything but we especially love to serve it with tacos, Cilantro Lime Chicken, or Carnitas.
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The Easy Way to Make Spanish Rice
Start by chopping the onions and bell peppers into small pieces.
Choose a pan with a tight fitting lid and, then add a little oil to it and saute the vegetables gently for a few minutes.
Once you’ve done that you can add the rice to the pan, stirring frequently, with the onions and peppers for two to three minutes.
In the same pan add your chicken broth, tomato paste, garlic powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, black pepper, and stir it really well.
Bring the rice to a boil then reduce the heat and put the lid on, it must be airtight or the liquid may evaporate before your rice cooks. The exact cook time will be determined by the brand and type of rice you use so for best results follow the cook time on your rice packet.
Once it’s cooked remove the lid and fluff up the rice and garnish with a little chopped cilantro and serve hot.
Spanish Rice FAQ’s and Tips
Can I make it with brown rice? You could, but brown rice on the stove takes a really long time to cook so you’d need to ensure your pan with the lid on is completely airtight and you may need to adjust the amount of liquid.
Cool and refrigerate leftover rice quickly. If you do not plan to eat all of the rice right away try and get it into the fridge within an hour or less so that you can safely avoid any problems with bacteria later on. If large amounts are left over divide them up into smaller containers so it will cool faster in the fridge.
Can I freeze it? Yes! Rice freezes really well and I do it all the time. Once the rice has cooled I like to portion it up into ziplock type bags and then label and freeze.
How Long will it keep in the fridge? It will keep for up to four days in the fridge.
More Side Dish Recipes
Spanish Rice
Make this classic Spanish rice side dish at home with fresh vegetables, tomato, herbs, and seasoning.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion , finely diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper , finely diced
- 2 cups white rice , 400g
- 3 cups low sodium gluten free chicken broth
- 1.5 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Garnish
- 2 tbsp Cilantro , finely chopped
Instructions
Stovetop Spanish Rice
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Prepare the onion and bell pepper by finely dicing them.
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Heat a medium sized pan over a medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil.
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Add diced onion and diced bell pepper and cook over a medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
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Add rice to the same pan and stir continuously for 2-3 minutes. (I used US cup measures for the rice, not the small rice cup that comes with a rice cooker)
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Pour in low sodium gluten free chicken broth, tomato paste, garlic powder, dried oregano, ground cumin, salt, black pepper, and stir well.
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Bring the rice to a boil then reduce the heat on your stove to the lowest setting and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.
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Check the cook time directions on the rice packet you have used and follow those without taking the lid off to check. Most white rice takes between 15 to 20 minutes to fully cook.
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Remove from the heat and fluff rice with a fork, serve hot and garnish with chopped Cilantro.
Instant Pot Spanish Rice
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IMPORTANT! – please note that the amount of chicken broth and tomato paste are less if you are cooking the rice in a pressure cooker, please see amounts listed below.
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Warm up 2 cups of chicken broth and add 1 tbsp tomato paste and stir until it's mostly dissolved, set aside to cool.
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Prepare the onion and bell pepper by finely dicing them.
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Add oil to the pressure cooker and using the saute setting, cook the bell peppers and onions for 3 to 4 minutes.
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Then add 2 cups white rice and stir for 2- 3 more minutes.
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Turn OFF the saute setting to allow the pressure cooker to cool for 5 minutes, this will help prevent the rice from sticking to the base of the pot as it cooks.
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After the 5 minutes are up add the chicken broth mixed with tomato paste, and seasonings, to the pot and stir well with a flat tipped spatula to scrape up any food that may be stuck to the bottom.
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Lock the lid, turn the steam vent to ‘sealing’ and using the ‘manual’ or ‘pressure cook’ button, adjust it to cook for 3 minutes at high pressure.
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When the cook time time is up allow the pressure to drop on its own (NPR – natural pressure release) until the pin has dropped for 10 minutes.
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When you open the lid stir it well to combine all the ingredients.
Recipe Notes
Serving Size – is approximately 66 grams of uncooked rice per person.
Nutrition – is based on the ingredients for the stovetop version, the pressure cooker instant pot version uses less chicken broth and tomato paste.
Storage – Leftover cooked Spanish rice should be cooled and stored in the fridge within an hour of cooking, if there are large amounts left you should separate it into smaller containers so it will cool faster. It will keep for up to four days in the fridge.
Freeze – You can freeze fully cooled rice in ziplock type bags, will keep for a couple of months.
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