A big batch of Mexican Rice flavored with onion, garlic, and spices is the perfect side for tacos, fajitas, or enchiladas. Making your own Mexican Rice is far healthier , albeit a little more work, than making a packaged rice. But a homemade Mexican Rice won’t have any preservatives and you can keep the sodium level down. Totally worth the few extra minutes of prep time required.
This recipe makes a big batch. Mexican Rice, contrary to plain rice, actually reheats pretty well. Either make this when you have company over or plan to work it into two meals.
You start by sauteing onion and garlic in some vegetable oil. Next you add the rice and toast it until it turns golden brown. This gives a wonderful nutty flavor to the rice. Chicken broth and tomato sauce are the liquids the rice cooks in. Peas, carrots, and some cumin and chili powder finish off the rice.
Mexican Rice is an economical and delicious way to round out any type of Mexican or Southwestern meal. It goes great with BBQ Pork and Mango Quesadillas, Grilled Skirt Steak Fajitas, and Chipotle Maple BBQ Brisket Tacos with Sweet Potato Salsa, and smotherd burritos
For even more Mexican-style Recipes follow my Cinco de Mayo Pinterest Board.
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Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion,, diced
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic,, about 6 cloves
- 4 cups long grain rice
- 3 medium carrots,, diced
- 1 (14-ounce) can plain tomato sauce
- 7 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Saute onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until light brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add carrots, tomato sauce, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, decrease heat to medium-low and add peas, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder
- Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Remove rice from heat and let sit 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Mexican Rice Goes Great With These Recipes
Mexican Chicken Cornbread Casserole
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It was good but makes a Lot! I cut the recipe in half and it was still way too much for 2 people.
This is my “go to” rice dish. Everybody likes it! I follow the directions to a “T” and NEVER had any issues with it being soggy. Pretty quick and easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Looks delish. Also very nervous to try it out, because of the one bad review. Hopefully it’ll come out the way I want it, posting my comment later on tonight on how it came out. 💓
So soggy! Had to add more stock powder and cumin as it was so bland (didnt make much of a difference though). Its taken 50 mins already and its still soggy, and thats on medium heat. I hope people are actually making this before leaving reviews, because I dont really see how its at all possible for 7 cups of water to evaporate and be absorbed on low-med heat in only 15-20 mins. Gosh, such a dissapointment. Looks great, but just has not worked out. The rice is also half-dry, half-soggy. Sigh. Probably ok for people who have dietary needs, e.g. for bland food.
Should the rice be cooked or uncooked when mixed in?
It should be uncooked James.