Mexican Rice – baked and stovetop tender and amazingly delicious rice recipe that’s perfect for entertaining or for regular days. It tastes even better than those you pay at restaurants. Minimal prep time with optimal results – comes in 2 methods for your convenience!
Before Cinco de Mayo celebration comes rolling in, I want to make sure that I’ve updated this blog post for your convenience. 🙂 The month of May tends to be a busier one for me in preparation for Cinco de Mayo Celebration (usually at my son’s school), Mother’s Day and my birth month (ssshh).
Mexican Rice happens to be one my favorite rice recipes. It is so flavorful even without the add-ins. Whenever I have people coming over unannounced, I usually serve them with this Mexican Rice as the ingredients are all pantry staples, and it comes together sooo easily. You can leave it there unattended as it cooks (no stirring required) as you prepare the main dish or the other sides.
Is There A Difference Between Spanish Rice and Mexican Rice?
Mexican Rice is a common side dish in Northern Mexico and is also popular in some parts of the world, especially in the Southwestern U.S. It also goes by other names such as Red Rice or Arroz Rojo. And then you add Spanish Rice to the list. Yes, Mexican rice and Spanish rice are basically the same dish, although this recipe here is technically not part of Spanish cuisine. In fact, Spain’s popular rice dish is known as Paella, which uses saffron as its base, giving that distinct yellow color.
The reason probably why Mexican rice is also called Spanish rice is because it was the Spaniards who introduced rice to Mexico. Another theory is that the Mexican speaks the Spanish language, which is why it’s easily tied into this dish.
Recipe Ingredients
Although this dish looks like a fiesta of complex flavors, it’s actually super easy to make. you only need a handful of ingredients that you might already have in your pantry or fridge. Here’s everything you need for this amazing Mexican Rice:
- Cooking oil – is flavorless, but you can also opt to use flavored oils like olive oil
- Long grain rice – I used basmati for this recipe which is totally delicious, especially when you know how to cook it.
- Onion – This veggie is great served fresh with its tangy flavor. I personally love it slightly caramelized for a bit of sweetness. Here’s a quick how to cut onions guide to make the job easier
- Garlic – Whether you use it fresh, dried, or powdered, this gives your whole dish a mouthwatering aroma. Check this how to mince garlic guide to help out
- Paprika – has a pungent taste because of its pepper origins, also with a hint of sweetness from bell peppers.
- Cumin – has an earthy, pungent, and mildly bitter taste but makes any dish flavorful
- Chicken Bullion – A concentrate of flavor you can find in most supermarkets. get your preferred flavor for a richer and more flavorful broth.
- Salt – A basic ingredient that intensifies all other flavors. it’s also used for preserving, brining, or simply as a light garnish.
- Chili – Give your dish a kick of heat with these peppers. I always like the tingling sensation it leaves in my mouth. You can also use minced jalapenos for a hotter flavor.
- Tomato Sauce – Sweet and fresh flavors of tomato in a thick mixture perfect for many starchy dishes.
- Chicken Broth – Basically the water where the chicken was boiled and simmered. It has a lot of flavor and it’s also filled with oils and collagen.
- Parsley – This distinct herb is the perfect garnish and tastes great.
How To Make Mexican Rice
Ever since I discovered how to make rice in the oven, my life could not be any better. I can whip up rice for 100 people in a heartbeat without any worries. The perfect entertainment food!
But Mexican Rice works perfectly either baked or on the stovetop. But if you are one of those few who prefer it the traditional way and letting the natural break down all those wonderful flavors, then that’s fine, too.
Baked Method
You can go the easiest route by throwing everything in the baking pan and baking for about 55-60 minutes.
However, there is a slight difference in taste between the two. Most people don’t notice it at all because the negligible difference is overshadowed by the ease and convenience of the latter. Minimal prep work is always appreciated, especially for weekdays in my neck of the woods. 😉
Stovetop Method
- Brown the rice: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and brown, stirring occasionally, for about 2-3 minutes. (Photos 1 and 2)
- Add the flavorful ingredients: Next, Add the onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Season with paprika, cumin, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Add in the jalapenos or chili powder. (Photo 3)
- Cook stirring until fragrant for about 3o seconds. (Photo 4)
- Mix in the sauce: Pour the tomato sauce and chicken broth into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat to low. Cover saucepan and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. about 15-18 minutes (Photos 5 and 6)
- Cool it down: Remove pan from heat, Let it sit covered for about 5 minutes. Then, Fluff rice with a fork or serving spoon.
- Serve it up: Garnish with parsley and serve.
Now don’t wait ’til May before you try either one of these methods in preparing Mexican Rice. Trust me, it’ll be your new favorite rice recipe to make. And it makes a wonderful and easy dish to feed a crowd!
Enjoy!
Can I Use Brown Rice?
Yes, you can. If you want a healthier alternative to this dish, using brown rice is certainly the way to go. Just a heads up, though, that brown rice cooks longer than white rice. Since I haven’t made it myself, you can start adding extra 10 minutes in the cooking time, do a quick check and just go from there. One of our readers here also suggested adjusting the broth amount. For the oven-baked rice, add about another 1/2 cup of broth.
Tips and Tricks
Remember these few important rules when making Mexican Rice on a stovetop.
- First, please do not skip browning or toasting the rice in fat or cooking oil, as it adds that nutty toasted flavor.
- Second, bring the rice to boiling point before lowering the heat to simmer. If you reduce the heat right after you add the tomato sauce and broth, you will have underdone rice.
- And lastly, avoid opening the lid during cooking as it will allow the steam to escape resulting in unevenly cooked rice.
What To Pair With Mexican Rice
Did I not tell you how versatile this rice dish is? You can pair it with almost anything (I like it with grilled meat the most). Pairing Mexican Rice with classic Mexican recipes like Burritos, Enchiladas, Quesadillas, Taquitos, and Chicken Fajitas are the obvious favorite options. Or you can eat it straight up! It makes a wonderful meal on its own.
This post was first published on May 2014 and has been updated with new photos and additional cooking methods.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
Oven Baked Mexican Rice
- 3 cups or 600 g rice , (I used Basmati)
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 14 oz can tomatoes sauce
- ½ cup or 8 fl oz cooking oil
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon
- 2 tsp or 11.8 g salt
- 1 tbsp or 6.90 g paprika
- 1 tbsp or 9.84 g garlic powder
- 4 cups or 946 ml chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp or 2.33 g white or black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp or 3.05 cumin spice
- 3/4 tsp or 2.03 chili spice or 1 minced jalapeño pepper , optional, omit if cooking for kids
Stovetop Mexican Rice
- ¼ cup or 2 fl oz cooking oil
- 2 cups or 400 g long grain rice , (I used Basmati)
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 2 tsp or 5.60 g minced garlic
- 1 tsp or 6.90 g paprika
- 1 ½ tsp or 3.05 g cumin
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon (replace with salt about ½ teaspoon)
- 1 tsp or 5.90 g salt
- ½ tsp or 1.16 g freshly ground black pepper
- ¾ tsp chili or minced jalapenos (optional)
- 8 oz tomatoes sauce
- 4 cups or 946 ml chicken broth or water
- 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley , for garnishing
Instructions
Baked Mexican Rice
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/177℃. Rinse rice thoroughly in water.
- In a baking pan or oven-proof skillet, combine all ingredients and stir so that everything is fully combined.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil paper.
- Gently place it in the oven and let it bake for about an hour.
- Remove carefully from the oven and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Then carefully remove the aluminum foil. Fluff rice with a fork and mix evenly. Serve warm
Stovetop Mexican Rice
- Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and toast the rice, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
- Next, add onions and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent. Season with paprika, cumin, bouillon, salt, and pepper. Add the jalapenos or chili powder if using. Stir for about 30 seconds.
- Pour tomato sauce and chicken broth into the saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat to low, cover saucepan, and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, for 15-18 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, let it sit covered for 5 minutes, then fluff rice with a fork or serving spoon.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- There are two ways of baking Mexican Rice. (1) You can start by sautéing the onion, garlic, rice, and jalapenos on the stove before placing them in the baking pan. Or (2), you can go the easiest route by throwing everything in the pan and bake for about 55-60 minutes.
- Make sure you use a tight-fitting lid to cover the rice. Based on my experience of using aluminum paper with the lid. The best one is the one that comes with the pan (a matching set) or just use strong aluminum paper. You may have to double it to ensure it is perfectly cooked.
- At no point while the rice is cooking should you uncover the pan and or stir the rice.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Wendy says
The second ingredient…14-oz can tomatoes sauce….Does this mean a can of tomatoes with the sauce/liquid not drained off or does it mean a can of tomato sauce??? I first thought you meant tomato sauce, but then when looking at the picture of your recipe, it looks like there are actual chunks of tomatoes, which would not be the case with tomato sauce only. Please clarify.
ImmaculateBites says
You can use either 14ounce can tomato sauce or the diced tomatoes with sauce. Don’t throw away the sauce.
Justine says
This was delicious! I am going to try your oven cooked jerk chicken and rice bake next..or the African meatballs…or…the coconut prawns….or…
Lovely website and photos!
ImmaculateBites says
Yay!!! let me know which ones you try out! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Harriet says
My new favourite rice!!! The family loves it!!! So easy to make too. Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Chris says
So, I wasn’t kidding when I said I wanted to make this again. I made it again today. As soon as I saw your reply I went out and bought the basmati long grain rice. What a Difference it made!!!!!!! OMG it came out perfectly and the taste is even better. Thanks so much for replying!
ImmaculateBites says
AWESOME!!!!!! Happy Dance.
Chris says
Hi! I followed this recipe to the T, and although it is VERY tasty and delicious my dish still came out sticky. I did rinse my rice several times. I’m using Goya medium grain rice do you think that is the problem? What is your method for rinsing your rice? Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated because I would like to make it again.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Chris, I think the problem is with the rice. Try using basmatic rice(long grain) available in most super markets. IT works best with this rice.
Cathy says
Yes, it was the rice. Short grain rice is sticky rice. The longer the grain, the less sticky.
chuckk says
OK. For the doubters out there. I am a new cook (male/ divorced) and have tried and failed on several Spanish rice recipes. Rice in my opinion is not easy to cook. Last night I was at the store, and an African American Lady was buying many rice kits. I asked her how she cooks hers. She told me the oven. She said just go 350 and throw everything together.
Today I tried a rice Kit “McCormick Black Beans and Rice”. I used the box as is and added 1 tbs. of cumin.
I put the ingredients in a metal bread loaf pan because that’s all I had. I then covered the top with aluminum foil per your directions. Put it Into the oven for 1 hour at 350. Never looked at it while cooking, left the foil sealed.
Pulled it out after 1 hour. The results were PERFECT. Awesome flavor with very nice fluffy rice. Restaurant quality.
For those of you who want to make Mexican/Spanish rice; in my opinion the most important spice is Cumin,
even more important than Chili Powder. Also, I found that the bread loaf pan covered in aluminum foil is just about the perfect size for using a rice kit (box with 4 servings).
Thank you for your great instruction!
Chuck
ImmaculateBites says
My Pleasure!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and tips with us. We Greatly appreciate it !!
Michelle says
Hi~
This sounds like a wonderful, easy recipe. I just have ONE question~ Is it okay if I use a medium grain rice such as Niko Niko brand Calrose Rice instead of a Basmati?
Thank you so much for your time and HAPPY SUNDAY SUPER BOWL! GO PANTHERS!!!
ImmaculateBites says
Yes, you can. Looking forward to the half time game! Happy Sunday.
Dillon says
Worst recipe ever. Doubled it as suggested by poster. Never cooked all the way through. I had this cooking in the oven at 405 for 1 hour and 40 mins and the middle of the tray was still uncooked. Just all around disappointing.
ImmaculateBites says
So sorry to hear about this. It’s really important to tightly cover the baking pan. Makes a huge difference. I make this all the time and it really turns out well. And several other readers have tried it with great results . Maybe give it a try one more time.
Scott Reno says
I had the same problem, however, rather then blaming the recipe I looked at the result. My niece makes perfect rice with this recipe. She lives at sea level and I live at about 5000 feet. Maybe it was the altitude as my niece’s rice came out crunchy when she made here. Tried cooking it for 2 hours; still crunchy. Then I boiled the water before I added it to the other ingredients. Cooked it for 1 hour and it came out perfect. I just had to tweek the recipe a bit.
ImmaculateBites says
Thanks for taking the time to share this tip with us. It’s really good to know. Am sure other readers would benefit from this too.
Amy says
how many cups of rice does this make
ImmaculateBites says
It’s roughly about 9 cups or more
Ella says
Nice recipe! I have a question, what is the difference between this rice and the baked jollof rice? They seem similar
ImmaculateBites says
Not much, the difference is the spice combination, which gives it different flavors. Cumin is not used in making Jollof rice.
Martha says
How much rice for 100 people can I use an aluminum pan covered tightly. How much tomatoe sauce and do you Brown the rice first? How long in oven?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Martha! Please read the readers before you feedback . I think she made this for 100 people. Thanks
Martha B says
Wow, this recipe worked so well! Really tasty. I haven’t baked rice before and was nervous, but the rice turned out perfectly cooked and fluffy. When sautéing the onion, etc, I added some celery, carrot, and capsicum – I’m adding as many veg as I can to things to up my veg intake – and it would be easy to add anything according to what else you’re serving, like corn or zucchini, or different spices. As you noted in the instructions, I made sure I had a good seal on my Pyrex dish (it has a lid but it’s not airtight) by putting an aluminium foil sheet between the dish and the lid, as well as a couple of al-foil sheets wrapped over the top. Thanks for this great recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Martha, thanks for the detailed feedback and your add ins- will definitely be adding some of the mentioned veggies to my next rice.
Sheralynne says
I have 100 people to feed rice to and was wondering how you would suggest I cook this recipe. I would need to multiply it by 14 at least and I know I dont have 1 pan big enough. 🙂 How many pans would you use?
ImmaculateBites says
Sheralynne, it all depends on the guests and what other food is being served. I think 14 trays of rice is more than enough.You should make it in multiple trays. Buy the full sized trays and lids. Then double the recipe for each tray-they do reheat pretty good(just in case you are pressed for time – make it then reheat in oven). Let me know it works out for you.
Sheralynne says
It turned out great! I had to add 15 min to the cook time because I cooked 4 trays at a time. Then placed it in the fridge to reheat the next day. All my guest raved about the rice and we’re impressed that it was done in the oven.
Alycia says
I am getting ready to make this recipe for the first time. I would like to make it the day before. How long did you reheat the trays for the next day?
Raginee says
I need to make rice for 60 people. Have you ever tried this recipe with brown rice? What changes might you make. What exactly are you referring to when you say a “tray?” Is it the large aluminum rectangular tray?
ImmaculateBites says
No I haven’t but some readers have and they recommended cooking it a little longer in the oven with about 1/2 cup more of broth. The specifications of the tray are -half sheet pan (12-13/16″ l. x 10-7/16″ w. x 2-1/2”). For 60 people, I would go with 3-4 trays of these . Depending on what you are serving them with. Happy Cooking!!!
ImmaculateBites says
Brenda , I have never cooked rice without washing -it prevents the rice form clumping and gets rid of any dirt in the rice.
In this recipe, you have to use the recommended water and oil listed above . Nothing more . It produces perfect rice every time! Let me know how you like it.
Michelle says
I’m missing in the recipe how much water to add. I’ve read it several times but I don’t see it. Help!
imma africanbites says
Hi, Michelle. That’s 4 cups of water or chicken broth. Happy cooking!
brenda says
oh my GOD! i love this recipe! but i am wandering. Personally i don’t wash my rice is it compulsory for the rice to be washed? And while cooking don’t you add some water or oil?