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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 1/2 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 1/8 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 1/4 cup uncooked rice per person. Once the rice is cooked it will end up being about 3/4 – 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a FANTASTIC Spanish rice recipe… So tasty…
Why does my rice always come out sticky? It’s not dry like restaurants. Any suggestions?
I decided to use vegetable broth and vegetable bouillon cubes in place of chicken. I also added a jalapeño pepper during cooking because I didn’t have a Serrano pepper. That added a lot of heat! I also chose to add my cilantro stems and all to the dish during the simmering process. This recipe has an amazing aroma. The flavor and texture of this dish worked for me and my family! Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome!! Thanks for sharing what you did!
Honestly not that flavourful which really disappointed me. The texture was great and it is a fast and easy way to make rice but I just wish there was more…oomph? The spanish rice I’ve had from restaurants were so flavourful with lots of spices.
It’s still a good recipe and yummy though. I also added some lime juice and extra cumin like someone suggested which helped flavour.
Thanks for the feedback and for giving the recipe a try!
Hello!! When doubling and tripling the recipie do you also double and triple how much chicken stock you put in as well? Also do you just keep the rice on medium the whole time???
Thank you!
You’d need to double or triple the amount of liquid.
Yes, you’d double/triple all of the ingredients. I’d say cook at the same temp, but the cook time will increase for that amount of rice.
Does anyone know at what point the cilantro gets added? And is it the leaves or the actual stems?
I typically add it as a garnish after the rice is cooked, but you can add the cilantro before cooking if you’d like. You can add it when you add the other spices. I chop up the leaves and leave most of the stems out.
Made this twice now just to give it a second try and both times its crunchy and soggy at the same time, even after browning the rice in the oil. Thanks for sharing, it was worth a try!
This was very good! I tweeked I just a bit by adding extra fresh garlic, bacon bits and also hatch green chili. I also used better than Bullion for the chicken broth. Excellent and I’ll make it again.
Omigosh, I couldn’t stop eating this! Good thing I only made 1/2 of the recipe! After I got everything put together in the frying pan, I dumped it in my rice cooker and let it cook. Every grain was perfectly fluffy and coated with deliciousness. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed the rice recipe!
I made 2 of your recipes last night. The Spanish rice and the sour cream enchiladas. I thought we would have leftovers for dinner tonight but my family devoured all of it. Thank you very much for all of your great recipes!