Easy Mexican Rice

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Need a simple side dish for taco night? This easy Mexican rice recipe brings restaurant style flavor to your dinner table in just 35 minutes.

Rice is staple in many cultures around the world, and Mexican cuisine is no exception. A tasty helping of this easy Mexican rice can transform your weekly Taco Tuesday into a more authentic Mexican dinner!

Our Mexican rice is a versatile dish that goes well with some of our best recipes, from vegetarian enchiladas to chicken burritos ranchero. We wanted to give you a simple and easy restaurant style Mexican rice that is packed with flavor and goes with any of your favorite Mexican dishes – burritos, tacos, enchiladas, tostadas, you name it. 

What This Recipe Entails

This Mexican style rice comes together in under 35 minutes and 25 to 30 minutes is the rice cooking! With only 5ish minutes of work, you can have flavorful, restaurant-style Mexican rice at home.

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 25 to 30 minutes

By using salsa and adding all of the seasonings to a pot of diluted chicken broth, this rice basically flavors itself with no extra work from you! It’s the perfect recipe for when you’re craving a meal from your favorite Mexican restaurant, but want to stay in. Or when you need a simple yet flavorful side dish to impress your fiesta guests.

Easy Mexican Rice Ingredients

You can make this easy Mexican rice recipe with just a few simple seasonings, chicken broth, and salsa! Here’s the full list of ingredients you’ll need:

• Water
• Chicken broth
• Paprika
• Cumin
• Ground red cayenne pepper
• Ground turmeric
• Salt
• Brown rice
• Picante sauce or salsa
• Fresh lime juice

You’ll steam the rice in a combination of water, chicken broth, and seasonings to give it the deep flavor of authentic restaurant style Mexican rice. Then, a bit of picante sauce or salsa and some fresh lime juice brightens the rice up and easily adds chunks of tomato, onion, and peppers without extra effort.

Likewise, brown rice offers the most authentic flavor and texture for a Mexican style rice. You can substitute this with white rice if you prefer, but note that the texture may be stickier and the color won’t be quite as vibrant.

If you’d like to make this Mexican rice recipe vegetarian, you can substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth.

Tip: You won’t use an entire carton of chicken broth for this recipe. We like to take whatever’s left and freeze it in easy-to-use portions using our Souper Cubes containers. Freeze half cup portions, and you can easily pop out one cube of frozen chicken broth anytime you want to make this rice! Just throw it in the pot with the water and bring it to a boil – no defrosting required.

How To Make Mexican Rice With Salsa And Chicken Broth

Making our easy Mexican rice recipe is as simple as steaming the rice in a seasoned broth, and then stirring in salsa and lime juice before serving. You can do all of this in just about 30 minutes, with very little hands-on effort!

Here’s how to make our stovetop Mexican rice recipe:

1. First, combine the water and chicken broth in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, stir in the paprika, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and salt.
3. Then, stir in the brown rice and lower heat to a simmer. Cover and steam until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is fluffy, about 25 to 30 minutes.
4. Next, remove from heat and uncover the rice. Fluff with a fork and transfer the rice to a large bowl.
5. Finally, stir in the picante sauce (or salsa) and fresh lime juice until well-combined. Serve hot.

Using A Rice Cooker

Yes, you can make this Mexican rice in a rice cooker! Rice cookers are capable of cooking rice in the same way as you would steam rice on the stove. Here’s how to make our easy Mexican rice recipe in a rice cooker:

1. Add the water, chicken broth, paprika, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, salt, and rice to the rice cooker.
2. Close the lid and turn on the rice cooker.
3. Once the rice cooker indicates that it’s done cooking, let the rice rest for about 15 minutes before opening the lid and fluffing.
4. Finally, transfer the rice to a large bowl and stir in the picante sauce and lime juice.

Serving Suggestions

Mexican style rice is the perfect complement to any Mexican dish or Taco Tuesday. It works great as a side, as a burrito filling, or as a base for tacos or burrito bowls! Here are some of our best recipes to enjoy with this Mexican style rice:

• Serve it as a side or in a bowl with crockpot shredded chipotle chicken
• Enjoy rice and beans as a side with authentic carne asada
• Use Mexican rice as an additional filling in these 20-minute sheet pan chicken fajitas
• Add Mexican rice to a plate of enchiladas or burritos ranchero with some refried beans for a restaurant style dining experience at home

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Store leftover Mexican rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat, either:

1. Microwave single servings (about half-cup portions) for 1 minute, stirring halfway through
2. Or, heat in a frying pan over medium-low heat until warm, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. 

Since you can easily store and reheat leftovers (and it tastes just as good as when it’s fresh), this Mexican rice is perfect for meal prepping things like burrito bowls or fajitas for the week!