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Mexican Rice

[heart_this] · Apr 25, 2018 · 46 Comments

Mexican Rice

A quick and easy Mexican style red rice that is the perfect side!

Mexican cuisine is one of my favourites and with Cinco de Mayo coming up I have been thinking about Mexican recipes for my menu. Mexican style rice is a staple side for any Mexican themed meal and it was about time that I updated my goto recipe for Mexican rice that I originally posted back in 2009. This rice is so easy to make! It’s basically rice that is cooked the tomatoes, to give it the red colour, along with some extras, like onions, garlic and cumin for flavour and jalapeno peppers (or chili powder) for some heat. You simply saute the veggies, add the rice, tomatoes, and broth, and cook it like you would normally cook rice. Once the rice is ready I like to add some cilantro and a hit of lime juice to brighten it up a bit. You can optionally add more veggies like peas, carrots, and/or corn, and no matter how you make this Mexican style rice it is sure to disappear quickly from plates, so make lots!

Mexican Rice
Mexican Rice
Mexican Rice
Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice
Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 35 minutes Servings: 4

A quick and easy Mexican style red rice that is the perfect side!

ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin, toasted and ground (optional)
  • 1 cup long grained rice
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth or water)
  • 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice (optional)
directions
  1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the onio and cook until tender, about 3-5 miutes before adding the jalpen, garlic, and cumin and cooking until fragrant, about a minute.
  2. Add the rice, mix in the broth, tomatoes, salt and pepper, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 17-20 minutes.
  3. Mix in the cilantro and lime juice and enjoy!
Option: Replace the oil with bacon grease or lard.
Option: Omit the jalapeno pepper or replace it with, or add 1/2 teaspoon chili powder or cayenne to taste. (I like chipotle chili powder for the extra smokiness.)
Option: Replace the canned tomatoes with 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes!
Option: Add frozen peas, and/or diced carrots, corn, etc!
Nutrition Facts: Calories 268, Fat 5g (Saturated 0.5g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 2mg, Sodium 140mg, Carbs 48g (Fiber 2g, Sugars 5g), Protein 6g

Nutrition by: Nutritional facts powered by Edamam
Use in:
Pork Adobo Burritos

Similar Recipes:
Cilantro and Lime Rice
Mexican Quinoa
Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice
Jamaican Red Beans and Rice
Cheesy Broccoli Rice

Food, Gluten-free, Mexican, Recipe, Rice, Side Dish

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy says

    January 10, 2009 at 2:13 am

    I love mexican rice but have never made it before. I think I will have to give this a try.

    Reply
  2. Bunny says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:13 am

    I would love this Kevin! It looks so good! Just think what you could do with this recipe!

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:30 am

    Wow,thats my fav rice too kevin..

    Reply
  4. Hayley says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:33 am

    I love cooking rice like this, it’s so creamy. I usually add some finely diced carrot, red bell pepper, and Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, sooo good.

    Reply
  5. Elra says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:47 am

    delicios, Kevin. I can eat it just like that.
    Cheers,
    Elra

    Reply
  6. mikky says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:50 am

    this is so nice… a perfect side dish with your grilled meat… thanks kevin… 🙂

    Reply
  7. Beachlover says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:54 am

    Kevin,this rice look similiar like tomato rice the Malay cook..but tomato rice have cinnanmon and star anise in it!oh yes brown rice is much healthier,love it!

    Reply
  8. Manger La Ville says

    January 10, 2009 at 4:04 am

    I cook Mexican food often, but I never cook rice. I never knew how, until I saw your recipe. Now I can make it. So no one has to ask me, where is the rice?

    Reply
  9. Leticia says

    January 10, 2009 at 4:47 am

    You should definitely let the rice brown first in the oil before adding the chicken stock (to make it more authentic).

    I love making mexican rice with Jasmine rice. It adds a nice subtle flavor. (ooh, with cilantro too).

    Reply
  10. Debbie says

    January 10, 2009 at 6:50 am

    Mmm…I haven’t had Mexican rice in a long time, I had always made it with a can of corn, I love the way corn taste with the broth plus it is a smaller vegetable that works out really nice with the small grain rice.

    Reply
  11. Sharon says

    January 10, 2009 at 8:04 am

    Great dish Kevin! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  12. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    January 10, 2009 at 9:24 am

    I love that kind of fragrant rice! Yummy!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  13. pigpigscorner says

    January 10, 2009 at 11:26 am

    Looks delicious! I love flavoured rice esp with tomatoes!

    Reply
  14. HoneyB says

    January 10, 2009 at 12:11 pm

    My mom used to make this and would add ground beef to it. We would eat it with homemade bread and butter. Yummy. Thanks for the flashback!

    Reply
  15. maggieapril says

    January 10, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    My first visit here. Wow!! You put out some amazingly beautiful plates of food!!

    Reply
  16. VeggieGirl says

    January 10, 2009 at 2:01 pm

    ¡Olé! Muy delicioso.

    Reply
  17. Jesse says

    January 10, 2009 at 3:16 pm

    I’ve never made a Spanish rice that I liked – maybe I’m just pickier being from Texas? Who knows – I’ll definitely have to give your recipe a go because it certainly does look good!

    Reply
  18. Indonesia-Eats says

    January 10, 2009 at 4:05 pm

    Hmm My husband does like brown rice more thatn white rice.

    Never made this before. Thanks!

    Reply
  19. katiez says

    January 10, 2009 at 4:16 pm

    I love flavored rices! And you remind me to dig out my cumin… I knew there’s been something missing, lately!

    Reply
  20. Jan says

    January 10, 2009 at 4:36 pm

    Now that’s my kind of rice – I could live on it! Sounds and looks lovely.

    Reply
  21. Bridgett says

    January 10, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Looks delicious and definitely right up my alley. I think I would take it a bit spicy.

    Reply
  22. Grace says

    January 10, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    the rice at mexican restaurants is the one thing i can do without, but i like your spin on it.

    Reply
  23. Sharon says

    January 10, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    This looks 100x’s better than the out of the box variety!

    Reply
  24. Marysol says

    January 10, 2009 at 8:02 pm

    Qué delicioso se ve todo, Kevin.

    I love Mexican rice and often serve it with Chicken Enchiladas, but I’ll have to try your Turkey Pipian.

    Reply
  25. Anonymous says

    January 10, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    Thanks for recipe, it looks go good!

    Reply
  26. Patsyk says

    January 10, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    That looks like my kind of Mexican rice. I love flexibility on dishes like these so that I can adjust the heat for the kids and my husband can add hot sauce at the table.

    Reply
  27. Melissa says

    January 10, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    Ooooh! I love Mexican rice. This sounds super flavorful!

    Reply
  28. Cheryl says

    January 10, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    That looks good, I have tried to make it once and it turned out badly!

    Reply
  29. Pam says

    January 11, 2009 at 2:22 am

    I’m going to have to give this a try, I am not at all happy with my attempts at Mexican rice!

    Reply
  30. Kristy - Where's My Damn Answer says

    January 11, 2009 at 5:25 pm

    Ok too funny. I was just telling my husband I needed to find a recipe for Mexican rice a few days ago. I’ll definitely try this.

    Reply
  31. Mila says

    January 11, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    Mexican rice is by far one of my favorite comfort foods! This looks beautiful!

    Reply
  32. Colleen says

    January 12, 2009 at 3:53 pm

    This looks like it’s going to be my go-to recipe for Mexican rice!

    Reply
  33. amorcitos says

    January 15, 2009 at 4:53 am

    Love following your blog! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

    As a bona fide Mexican American who grew up w/aunts and grandmas and a mom who make awesome rice, I wanted to share w/you their secret for enhancing what you just posted (w/the exception of cooking it in a rice cooker–never!).

    The secret is to brown the rice (till golden) in the hot oil w/all the sauteed veggies–and *then* add the broth and other liquids.

    Frying the rice a bit is the key to the nutty taste of restaurant quality Mexican rice.

    Nice job on the spices, btw–very authentic!

    Reply
  34. Leslie says

    January 23, 2009 at 3:27 pm

    I really want to make this, but I always have very bad luck with brown rice NOT cooked in a steamer~~on the back of my bag of brown rice, it says to cook for 50 minutes~~I just wonder if this will get finished cooking in 20 minutes?~~not doubting your recipe, I just REALLY want to try it, and I want to make sure it turns out right~~help!

    Reply
  35. Kevin says

    January 24, 2009 at 2:00 am

    Leslie: I would go with what your rice package says and start checking on it regularly starting a little before the 20 minute marker to make sure that the liquid has not all disappeared. Do some regular taste tests to test for the doneness of the rice.

    Reply
  36. Anonymous says

    March 18, 2010 at 3:44 pm

    Just got a rice cooker. How would I do this in a rice cooker?

    Reply
  37. Kevin says

    March 19, 2010 at 11:05 am

    Anonymous: To make this in a rice cooker, follow steps 1&2 then mix everything up and place it into the rice cooker on the normal cooking cycle.

    Reply
  38. dsmith says

    December 14, 2010 at 4:50 am

    made this tonight! It turned out great.I browned the rice before adding the greenpeppers and jalapeno. I also added carrots and baby corn. It became a meal on its own =)

    Reply
  39. Alexis AKA MOM says

    March 16, 2011 at 7:35 pm

    Thank you for the recipe, I'm posting on Monday with a link to you.

    Reply
  40. Nikki says

    August 30, 2012 at 5:34 am

    A friend and I made this to serve with cheese enchiladas. Thanks for the recipe, it turned out incredible! I also browned the rice as suggested by others and the texture was perfect. I also added some corn and subbed the chicken broth for vegetable broth to make it vegetarian-friendly.

    It was delicious, I'm looking forward to trying out some of your other recipes. Thanks again!

    Reply
  41. Laura says

    May 2, 2019 at 6:31 pm

    I like adding black beans!

    Reply
  42. IFortuna says

    May 5, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    Sorry, this is neither Spanish Rice or Mexican Rice. Our Mexican family does not use garlic or tomato products for old school traditional Mexican rice. Tomatoes, lime and anything acidic causes the rice not to cook in the proper time, ( 15 to 20 minutes). Mexican rice is meant to accompany other more spicy dishes. If you want a fluffy rice that does not stick together, it needs to be dry (or oil) roasted in the pan until it is an opaque white color, then add the liquid. I use Better Than Bouillon chicken paste (no MSG). Mexican rice gets it red color from the chili powder, not tomatoes. Since Mexico has garlic as big cash crop these days, it is being used often in recipes unlike recipes of old which never used it. Also, Emeril, who is Italian uses garlic in his Mexican recipes just as he does all the Italian food he cooks. That doesn’t make it right. If you like this version, fine but it is not traditional Mexican.

    Reply
  43. WendYYpinazar says

    February 25, 2020 at 11:23 pm

    Thank you for this delicious recipe! I made this today along with spiced chicken thighs – fabulous!

    Reply
  44. Mae says

    April 22, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    I do wonder has anyone made and eaten this rice?

    Reply
  45. Mémé Shebroe says

    July 22, 2021 at 11:15 am

    I used to serve a similar great side dish along my Mexican meals. This is an awesome side dish with grilled, baked or stewed meat. Did not change a thing as it is perfect, fragrant and so Yum, Yum… delicios! Thank you Kevin, I love your cuisine! Mémé

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pork Adobo Burritos – Chow Hub says:
    July 15, 2018 at 3:55 pm

    […] it. The burritos are off to a good start with the scrumptious pulled adobo pork to which we add Mexican rice, beans, guacamole, cheese, cilantro and a creamy tomatillo ranch sauce! Yum! I like to lightly […]

    Reply

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