How to make Homemade Spanish Rice/Mexican Rice. whatever you call it, we’ve got the best and Easiest Spanish Rice Recipe you can find. It tastes like it came straight from the restaurant!
It’s our go-to side dish when serving Mexican food! Not only is it simple and takes under 10 minutes to prep, but it’s perfect served with our tacos and enchiladas!
Easy Mexican Rice
I LOVE Spanish Rice (aka MexicanRice)! As previously mentioned, I’m ½ Mexican. I love this family heritage so much, and am especially grateful that my family has taught me to make delicious Mexican food.
My mom has been making today’s Spanish Rice recipe for as long as I can remember and first showed me how to make it several years ago (along with empanadas, enchiladas and tacos). Now, we make it on a weekly basis because my kids are obsessed and it’s just so easy.
This recipe is actually the Spanish Rice recipe of a popular Mexican Restaurant in Mesa called Mango’s (down on Main). If you’ve ever been down there and liked their rice, then you’ll love this recipe. It really is simple, delicious and the perfect side to any Mexican dish!
How to Make spanish Rice
One of the main reasons we love this recipe (other than the fact that it’s simple), is because we always have the ingredients on hand. Here are the Spanish rice ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious side dish:
- long grain rice
- oil
- tomato sauce
- minced garlic
- chicken broth
- cumin
- garlic pepper + salt
Begin by browning the rice in the oil (we use about ⅛ but it depends on how much you like). Add the minced garlic and sauté for a minute before adding the tomato sauce, chicken broth (or water and bouillon cube) and spices.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Fluff up before serving.
FAQ + TIPS
How much rice per person? Plan on ¼ cup uncooked rice per person. Once the rice is cooked it will end up being about ¾ – 1 cup per person. If a recipe calls for 3 cups uncooked rice plan on it feeding about 12 people.
Which rice is best for Spanish Rice? We love to use long-grain white rice. It gets fluffy and does not get sticky like some of the short-grained rices.
Can Spanish rice be made with brown rice? Brown rice can definitely be used in place of white rice. Just add ⅓ c more water per cup of brown rice and let simmer longer- until the brown rice reaches your desired texture.
Can you use salsa instead of tomato sauce? Sure thing! Salsa can add more flavor and even a bit more spice to this mild rice recipe. It’s all about preference.
Which topping ingredients are best for this rice? You can add what you love most, but we often add chopped peppers, chopped cilantro, onions or even green onions.
Once all your spices and tomato sauce are added, stir and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
REHEATING, FREEZING + MORE RECIPES
How to reheat Spanish Rice/mexican rice? Be sure to store it properly in an air-tight container. It can last in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. To reheat, just microwave or reheat on the stove for a few minutes.
Can spanish rice be frozen? Yes, it can be frozen to be used at a future time. Simply place about 3 cups of cooked rice into ziplock freezer bags, label and place in the freezer for 4-6 months.
When you’re ready to use you can thaw the rice in the fridge or cook straight from the freezer. Using a microwave safe bowl microwave the rice on high stirring every 2 minutes until rice reaches your desired temperature.
Recipes that use Spanish Rice
Yes, we use it as a side for any Mexican dish, but we also like to use it recipes too, including:
- Burritos
- Rice bowls/Burrito Bowls
- Chimichangas
- Taco Salad
And best of all, is that it’s the best side for any Mexican meal!! Below are video and printable instructions to make the Mexican rice. We hope you can enjoy it with any Mexican dish you try.
For more Mexican rice recipes, check out:
what to serve with Spanish Rice?
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Red Cheese Enchiladas
- Beef Empanadas
- Green Chile Burros
- Baked Chicken Chimichanga
- Steak Fajitas
Spanish Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 1/8 cup vegetable oil
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 6 stems cilantro (optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 4 cups water (or 4 cups chicken lower sodium chicken broth - and no bouillon)
- 1 cube chicken flavored bouillon
- dash cumin
- dash garlic pepper
Instructions
- Heat oil in large frying pan on medium heat.
- Add rice and cook until golden brown.
- Add 1 chicken flavored bouillon cube to 4 cups water and microwave for 3 minutes.
- When rice is brown, add water, tomato sauce, salt, garlic, cumin and garlic pepper to pan.
- Stir and cover pan. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes or until all is cooked and there is no liquid left. Fluff before serving and ENJOY.
Is the minced garlic supposed to be the dehydrated kind from the spice aisle or the wet stuff from a glass jar?
I like to use the fresh stuff… you can either use the pre-minced garlic in the jar (that’s what I use) or you can mince yourself too.
I will be making your recipe for a community lunch tomorrow. I figure I will brown the rice tonight. I am trying to figure out how much rice I need to brown for about 100 people. I’m looking forward to this monthly event… many of the guests are Hispanic and I will be seeing the younger guests on my school bus every day. I want to do this right.
Hi Liz! I sure hope the rice turned out well for the lunch! We’d love to hear how it went. 🙂
So good 🙂 easy and perfect, thank you ❤️
John 3:5 + Acts 2:38 = Titus 3:5 (KJV) 😊
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
What do you do with the cilantro? I see it in the ingredients but don’t see it in the instructions.
You can use it as a garnish on the top!
It tastes Mexican. My Fam loved it.
THIS IS THE BEST RICE IN THE WORLD!!!
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Looks awesome..curious as to what kind of pan you used to make the rice in?
I used a Lagostina pan, but any large/deep frying pan should work just fine!
Everyone loves this rice! Thank you for sharing!!!
You’re welcome! So glad you all enjoy the rice!
Simple and easy to follow ! My rice turned out great! Thank you🙏🏾
You’re welcome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I love the taste of this recipe but can we use cooked rice to save time? I have a rice cooker and thought about doing this. Has this ever been done? If so, do you have any recommendations? I tried this recipe when brown uncooked rice and the flavor was wonderful but the rice took forever to cook and was still hard even when extra water added to it. I plan on making this with white rice that’s uncooked tonight but wanted to see if one day I can do it with cooked rice.
I have never tried it with cooked rice… I always use uncooked white rice. It should go a little faster than the brown rice did.
Hi Irene, I would recommend soaking your brown rice the night before and then letting it drain well for a few hours. That will cut down the cook time significantly. It’s important to let the rice fully drain though so that it doesn’t react with the hot oil and burn you! Unfortunately, I don’t think this would work well with precooked rice. The rice won’t soak up the flavors right like it does when simmering.
What other oil could we use? We have allergies in the family and unfortunately I can’t use vegetable oil. Thanks!
You could use canola oil or probably even coconut or avocado oil.
Thus recipe us always a favorite in our house. So good and so easy to make.
Oh I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing!
Mine tastes like spaghetti. My family really enjoyed it
just wondering if I did something wrong.
Hmmm… I haven’t had it taste like spaghetti before. Perhaps the spices weren’t measured correctly or too much tomato sauce was used? I’m not sure!
could not read the recipe thru the many pop up ads and videos. I’ll find another site…
Easy and delicious. I only had 1 cup long grain rice on hand so I used jasmine rice for the other cup. It likely added more flavor if anything. Will make again.