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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.
Are you supposed to drain the extra oil? 3/4 cup is a lot of oil.
When I make this recipe (which is often), almost all the oil cooks out. I recommend using 1/2 cup if you think 3/4 is too much. 🙂
Recipe calls for 1/4 cup of oil,not sure where 3/4 comes from. Am I nuts because I do not see 3/4 anywhere in recipe.
You aren’t crazy. I know when I double I may add more, but 1/4 cup is right 🙂
I make my Mexican rice in my rice cooker .. I do everything like you but just put it in the rice cooker Perfect rice every single time.My mom would put frozen baby peas and corn
If I ever get a rice cooker, I will definitely give it a try. Thanks for the tip!
Hi, wondering how you make this in the rice cooker since you’re supposed to fry the rice first.. I’m borrowing my brothers rice cooker for a bday party and was going to fry the rice and then transfer after for simmering.. is this what you do or please explain ????
I’ve never tried a rice cooker, so honestly I’m not sure how it would get made? If you are familiar with one and think that would work, I’d love to know! But, you need to definitely need to brown it with the oil first, if you can’t in a rice cooker.
Although it looks really good, I feel like the tittle of the recipe is deceiving. I am from Spain and we actually never eat this kind of rice. Nevertheless, good recipe.
You may not eat it, but many do. Don’t use the word ‘we’. It came from Spain and then was brought to places like what is now Mexico. It’s like saying that nobody in the U.S. eats beignets because you are not from New Orleans and have never heard of them.
3/4 cups of oil is a lot of oil..about how many ppl does this recipe make for? Im just cooking for a family of 3
I sometimes so 2/3 cup… it always turns out fine. For 3 people I would definitely half it. This recipe makes for about 8-10 sides. 🙂
This was very simple and delicious. A couple tweaks I made to the recipe were, I used 1/4 cup of oil instead of 3/4 like the recipe calls for. 2 lg garlic cloves, swansons chicken broth instead of the water and only 3 cups of the broth not 4 as it yielded a firmer rice. Also instead of tomato sauce I used 4 tbs of Tom. Paste. Halfway through cooking I added a cup of frozen mixed veggies and spread them on top of rice to steam during the last part of cooking. The rice I used was jasmine, it yields a firmer texture if cooked just right. Thank you for the base of this recipe, wonderful!
Can I use brown rice with this recipe? Also, do you have a refried bean recipe? I love spanish rice and refried beans!
I’ve never tried brown rice but I imagine it would still work… and we have a great family recipe for refried beans but I haven’t posted it yet. Will try to do that soon. 🙂
Can you use a rice cooker ?
I am chinese and i am accustomed to using a rice cooker .
I personally have not tried, but one way to find out 🙂
Hi. Not sure if you’ve tried it yet, but I’ve made this several times now using a rice cooker. I brown it in the pan and then add everything to the rice cooker to cook. It turns out great, but maybe a little stickier than if cooking in a pan. Just be sure to change the settings for non-glutinous rice and fluff well when it’s done! Love this recipe!!
I LOVE this recipe and have made it many times. I was curious though if you’ve ever tried freezing it? We usually have a Mexican dish once and week and I would love an easier way to have this as a side dish each time!
Hi Alyssa – so glad you have made this recipe many times and love it. Unfortunately, we have never tried freezing it. :/ If you decide to let me know how it goes so I can make a note of it on the recipe and can let others know if it does or doesn’t work. 🙂
I have made this recipe several times. And, I freeze it. Reheats wonderfully.
I made this today and it was wonderful! I will definitely make it regularly! However I agree with the commenter who said it was too much oil. I cut it back to 2/3 cup of oil (actually 1 1/3 cup since I doubled the recipe) and it was still very oily. Next time I will try 1/2 cup and see how it turns out. Overall, a great recipe and I was very pleased!
Yay! I’m so glad you like it. Cutting back the oil is a great idea. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
My friend let me in on a secret that may be the reason some think there is too much oil vs not too much. She said buying your rice from the oriental market vs the grocery store means the market rice is at least a year fresher. She says it cooks differently and therefore the fresher the rice the more it may absorb the oil.