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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.
My daughter gave me tons of the long grain minute rice. Anyone know if the recipe can be done successfully using that instead of the regular long grain rice?
I would recommend using long grain rice for this recipe for the best results! 🙂
Best Spanish rice ever!!!
The best
Website is so glitchy on the phone. It makes me scroll up to see ads the whole time. I’m never using this website again.
Sorry to hear you didn’t have a good experience on the site.
Made this recipe exactly as is. It is perfect!
This is my 4th time making this rice and it compliments every dish.
Absolutely love the flavor of this side dish! I want to keep making it, but each time I make it the rice is both mushy and un-cooked. I follow the directions all the way, but the last step is always mixed for me. My first time making it, it burned after just 20 minutes of simmering. Then, I tried again and reduced the heat for a slower simmer, but this causes the rice to be both mushy and undercooked after just 20 minutes. Any longer and it burns. Any tips?
I made this reciepe multiple times trying to perfect it. So this is what worked for me. First count the 8oz tomato sauce as 1 cup and now the rice only need 3 cups of broth. Or what I did is add a 10oz can of diced tomatoes and green chilies with the 8oz tomato sauce. So I only needed 14 floz of water after. After browning the rice I added fresh onion and garlic to the pot. I cooked that until the onion starts becoming translucent and garlic fragrant. Then I added both chicken and tomato bullion to the rice. The seasonings I used were a dash of sazon, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Cooking time was bring that mixture to a boil then set to simmer for 25 minutes. After shut the heat off and leave the rice on the turned off burner for 10 minutes. Take the pot off the burner after 10 minutes and leave the lid on for about 45 minutes to an hour (the longer the better). After take the lid off and fluff the rice and enjoy! This turns out nicely and the rice turns out fluffy!
So basically you didn’t make this recipe you made your own recipe. Why even bother.
Because this comment section is also for tweaks to recipes that may help others at home tying to make the best from what they have.
LOVE this recipe and have made it so many times!!! Two questions… have you ever made a double or triple batch in a large pot? Also can you make ahead, refrigerate and rewarm? I need to make rice for 150 people. 😅
How funny! I’m looking to make this recipe for 100 people. I would love suggestions on the best way to go about doing this. I love the ingredients in this recipe so I am definitely going to use this recipe, but I was wondering if I could adapt this to cooking in an Instant Pot?
You could make this in an instant pot. Use the saute setting to brown the rice and then use the rice setting to cook. We also have a version that cooks in the slow cooker. https://lilluna.com/crockpot-spanish-rice/
Very similar to what I grew up with, except Mom would chop & sauté onion & green bell peppers (any color bell pepper you prefer-green, red, yellow, orange, purple) and add in with the minced garlic. We thought it tasted more special with those.
What is the serving size for the nutrition facts?
A serving size of rice would be about a 1/2 cup of the cooked rice.