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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.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ve been looking for a Spanish/Mexican rice and this one is perfect. My husband loved it. This will be the only recipe I use when making Mexican at home! ❤️❤️❤️
Yay! I’m so glad you found the recipe. It’s a favorite over here too. I’m happy you and your husband enjoyed the rice!
We have fish tacos once a week. I didn’t know how to make Spanish/Mexican rice so I bought Uncle Ben’s and my wife, being from New Mexico, didn’t even touch it! I guess I didn’t get the message so the following week bought Spanish rice by Knorrs, and again she barely ate it. I looked online for the recipe and fortunately found this one. I made it last week and she LOVED it! Thanks!
That’s such an awesome story! I’m so glad that she loved the rice recipe!! So glad you found it.
FYI, there are 16 tablespoons per cup.
2 tablespoons (2/16) are 1/8 of a cup.
I find it easier to measure tablespoons than fractions of a cup.
Thanks for your feedback!
Isn’t 40 minutes a long cooking time for rice?
You can certainly adjust the time if yours seems to be cooking faster. 🙂
HOLY CRAP!!! I ate it ALL!!! It was SOOOO good and flavorful. I used the chicken broth and a bouillon cube and tweeked the recipe to where I added 1 1/2 tsp. of minced garlic and it tasted SO good, I literally ate it all. LOL, I am FULL of rice. This is my new FAVORITE recipe, and SO very easy to make! I literally looked for YEARS for a good recipe and have finally found it! Thank you SOOOOO much!!!!
You’re welcome!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Hooray for finding it! 😉
This is delicious! I use a spicy tomato sauce, otherwise follow the recipe exactly. SO GOOD. My new go-to, for sure. Thank you!
Yum! I bet that extra spice is tasty. So glad you enjoy the rice recipe!
We loved this, so easy to make! Ours was done in the 20 minutes it normally takes long grain rice to cook. We also froze the leftovers since it was just two of us.
This is a great one to freeze and reheat! I’m so glad you enjoyed the rice.
I’m half Mexican too and this is just like my little Mexican mother makes, except she adds half a stalk of celery to simmer with the browned rice, tomato sauce and broth.
Thanks for cooking!
Made this a few times now. stayed somewhat true the recipe except used home made veggie stock or veggie better than bullion. Oh and upped the garlic to a heaping tablespoon because I love too much garlic. Super good and way better than the box stuff, Thank for this recipe!
You’re welcome! So happy to hear you enjoyed the rice. Thanks for sharing what you did.
Mine burnt to the bottom of the pan before 30 mins…was I supposed to reduce heat?
Yes, you do need to turn it down. To simmer something, as stated in the recipe, I have to turn my ceramic top burner down to “low”. For those not as experienced, it would be helpful if the recipe stated that reducing the heat may be necessary in order to bring the rice and liquids to a simmer.
The rice is really good and so I hope you can try it again. 🙂
You can certainly reduce the heat if you notice that it’s burning!