Looking for the perfect homemade restaurant-style Mexican rice recipe? Well, look no further. Our easy recipe uses ingredients you likely have on hand to make the perfect side dish for all your Mexican recipes.
If you’re looking for some truly awesome enchilada recipes to go with this yummy rice you’ll love our white chicken enchiladas, or beef enchiladas I promise!
This recipe will be one of the best rice side dishes that you’ll make! More, more side dishes!
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What I Love About This Recipe
- Taste rivals the best Mexican restaurants
- Made with easy to find ingredients
- Has just the right amount of spices
How To Make Mexican Rice
To make this rice, the first thing you need to do is heat up the vegetable oil in a skillet. Then toast the rice until its golden. Add the garlic and let it cook just until it becomes fragrant. Then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer. Now you’re ready to devour!
Recipe Notes
Ingredient Notes
Rice: I use long-grained rice. Some of the shorter grained varieties are starchier and can result in stickier rice. That is not what we want for this dish.
Vegetable Oil:Â I use vegetable oil most of the time because it’s always sitting right next to my cooktop. If you happen to have bacon drippings or corn oil, use those instead.
Better Than Bouillon: This is an ingredient I use ALL the time. It fortifies the chicken flavor in a recipe creating more depth of flavor. It’s also much less salty than regular bouillon.
Bouillon Cubes Instead: You can substitute bouillon cubes instead, just make sure that you use low sodium chicken broth and omit the salt.
Also, If you add if you use the bouillon cubes they need to be dissolved in some of the chicken broth before you add it to the rice. I just pour about a cup of the bouillon call for in the recipe (not extra) and microwave it with the cube for about 1 1/2 minutes or until cube dissolves after its stirred.
Salt: The exact amount of salt is difficult for me to give you because every chicken broth contains different amounts. I wrote a 1/4 teaspoon in the recipe, but I find it often needs a bit more depending on the broth I bought. FYI 1/2 of a teaspoon is verging on too much even for me a bonafide salt-a-holic!
Why Do I Need To Toast The Rice Before Cooking
When you toast the rice in oil (or other fat) before adding the broth, it makes the rice grains to cook up separately. It also creates a toasty almost nutty flavor the gives the flavor a lot of depth. This simple step is crucial to making an authentic restaurant Mexican rice so please don’t skip it!
How To Store Mexican Rice
I like to store this in the fridge in a resealable plastic bag. If you don’t have them on hand just cover any container tightly with plastic wrap. I keep my cooked rice in the fridge up to 4 days.
Can You Freeze This Rice
Yes, you can. My favorite way to store this for the freezer is as I would for the fridge. You guessed it! The amazing resealable plastic bag! How did we ever live without these things? It will last up to 6 months in the freezer if properly stored.
How To Reheat Rice
After storing rice, there can be some changes to its texture. It often loses moisture. To reheat, place the rice in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with a splash of water. If there are clumps, break them up with a fork. Cover with a wet paper towel directly on top of the rice and cook on high until heated through.
How Much Rice To Serve Per Person
2 cups of uncooked rice will yield about 6 cups of cooked rice. I generally plan on adults eating 1 cup per person and kids eating 1/4–1/2 cup depending on their age.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 28 ounces chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chicken flavor Better Than Bouillon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until golden. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30-60 seconds.
- Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, Better Than Bouillon, salt and pepper.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stir, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a tightly fitting lid. Simmer until the rice is cooked and all the liquid is absorbed. Adjust seasoning as needed. Fluff with a fork and serve.
Fans Also Made:
More To Serve With Mexican Rice
All the recipes below are wonderful! I really hope you try all of them!! ♥
- My unique Honey Chicken Lime Enchiladas will blow your mind and quickly become a new family favorite. My father requests these ALL the time!
- Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas are loaded with a creamy cheese filling that is really delicious. I make these once a week year-round! Everyone loves them.
- Chile Relleno Casserole – has all the authentic taste of chile rellenos without all the hassle and mess of making them!
- Achiote Roasted Pork Tacos – are the most authentic Mexican food you can get this side of the border. Made with succulent slow-roasted, chile rubbed, pork that is to die for delish!
- My Steak Tacos – Â this recipe is the taco recipe my son asks for when he’s having a posse of his friends over. There meaty, super tasty, filling and bring smiles to 15-20 boys faces all at once.
Conclusion
Turning to plain white rice into flavorful Mexican rice is always a good idea! This side dish will definitely be a regular on your Mexican dishes list.
What dishes would you like to go with this rice? Comment down below!
My family really loved this rice! Makes a large amount and easy to make .
Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome, Karen! 😀
I always add lemon pepper or lemon/lime juice, makes a HUGE difference (also, “Rotel” type tomatoes. this can all be put in a rice cooker, I cook all rice (including Mexican Rice, in the rice cooker.
Thank you, Tami <3