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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.
Tasty. I like this dish so much. This dish remembers when I was in high school. My mom used to cook this for me to eat on the weekends. I ate so much that I was overweight. Later, I ate my son, he complimented that this dish was great. Yesterday, I made this dish according to your recipe for my whole family at night, everyone ate it all. Thank you for your recipe so simple and effective. I give more pepper than you do, is that okay?
Yes, that is ok 🙂 I am so happy you like it! Thank you for sharing that!
LOVE this rice, but – as it’s only myself and my husband, I adjusted the recipe to 4 servings, just FYI- the program does NOT adjust the the liquid in parentheses where the recipe calls for 2 cups, it still says 4 .. so, it was a LITTLE confusing, but we got through it
Sorry it got confusing 🙂 Glad you got through it! Yes, for future reference..if you were halving it, the liquid amount would be 2 cups.
This is my go to RECIPE now foR mexIcan rice. I add corn and green chilis to it, delish! I’ll never make box rice again.
I love hearing that! Thank you for trying it 🙂
This looks so delicious, I have started to feel hungry after reading your post, the recipe is so easy and I am surely going to try it.
Keep uploading such content, it is very informative and helpful.
best of luck!
LOL..glad it made you hungry!! Thank you!
To be the best spanish rice you have to add a little cumin, it really gives the dish a lot of flavor.
I agree! Thank you!
Excellent and quick..!
Glad you think so 🙂 That’s why I love it! Thank you!
How do i triple rhis Recipe?
You will just need a big pan & you would just triple each ingredient. It might take a little longer than the recipe says. Enjoy!
I needed only 4 servings of rice so I changed the servings amount in your recipe. Your recipe says 4 cups of broth. For the 4 servings. Is that a misprint, because the liquid never boiled off. After over an hour of cooking the rice was still wet
The recipe is for 8 servings, so if you were halving the recipe, you would have only needed 2 cups of liquid & 1 cup rice.
Thank you, Kristyn. I understand that it’s 2 cups of liquid to 1 cup of rice, but when I moved the “gauge” on number of servings, from 8 to 4, it did SHOw 2 cups of water or 4 cups of broth. I went ahead with the 4 cups of broth but thinking, that’s too much!
I have tried many Spanish rice recipes. This one is the BEST!! I used chicken broth and the suggested ingredients. But, before I added the rice I sauteed 1/2 an onion until translucent because that’s how my family makes it. The rice was super flavorful. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
I am glad to share 🙂 Happy you think it’s the best!! Thank you!
Cant wait to try this recipe! About the cilantro stems, Do i just throw it in with the sauce? Thanks in adVance!
I would just sprinkle them on top before serving. Enjoy!
This rice is amazing. I have tried many recipes and this is my family’s favorite.
Yay!! Glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!