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Learn the secret to making restaurant-style Mexican Rice at home. It’s always perfect: tender, delicious, never sticky. Whether you are making dinner for the family or feeding 100, this recipe works every time and it tastes exactly the way you want it to!
Meggan’s notes
If you’re craving restaurant-style Mexican Rice at home, this is the perfect tutorial for you. As a classically-trained chef (and the wife of a life-long line cook who was born and raised in Mexico), I’ve made Mexican rice all the possible ways it can be made. I’ve settled on this method for perfect Mexican rice that is easy to make and easy to freeze.
The secret to perfect Mexican rice is to puree fresh tomatoes and onions. Then, follow a standard pilaf-style method where you toast dry rice in oil (this is exactly how they make it in Mexico). Finally, my personal secret is to bake the rice in the oven. You can make it on the stove, too, but I love how easy it is to pop a huge casserole dish full of rice in the oven until it’s fluffy, tender, and oh-so flavorful.
Make a large batch so you have plenty to freeze for future meals. Be sure to cool the rice quickly (I like to spread it out on a rimmed baking sheet), then pack into freeze-safe bags and freeze for a few months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or defrost in your microwave. I follow this routine religiously so I can easily pull out a tasty, flavorful side dish any night of the week.
Table of Contents
Mexican Rice Recipe Ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Tomatoes and onions: So many readers love using their favorite salsa instead of the tomato/onion mixture. You can even use canned tomatoes, Rotel, or a couple cans of El Pato tomato sauce, a zesty tomato and chili purée found at Mexican grocery stores. As long as you have two cups of liquid, you’re good to go.
- Rice: Any long-grain white rice (including Basmati and Jasmine) work well here. To substitute brown rice, add 10 minutes to the baking time.
- Tomato paste: If you don’t want to open a small can of tomato paste, look for a tube at the grocery store. In Mexico cooks use one cube of Consomate brand tomato bouillon instead of tomato paste.
- Cilantro: Or substitute parsley. In truth, no one in Mexico ever does this (but let’s be honest: they would never make rice in the oven, either).
How to Make Easy Mexican Rice
This method starts the rice on the stove, but finishes it off in the oven. You need a heavy Dutch oven or stock pot with a lid that’s oven safe.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor or blender, puree the tomatoes and onions until smooth. Measure 2 cups of puree, pouring off and discarding any excess.
- In a large Dutch oven or a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil until shimmering. Add the long-grain rice and sauté, stirring frequently, until light golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato mixture, broth or water, tomato paste, and salt to taste (I like 1 ½ teaspoons). Simmer and bring to a boil.
- Cover (or transfer to a baking dish and cover) and bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Stir halfway through baking time.
- Fluff rice with a fork. Fold in cilantro or parsley (if using) and season to taste with salt. Serve with lime wedges.
Mexican Rice Recipe Variations
- Yield: This Mexican Rice recipe makes about 6 cups rice, enough for 12 (1/2-cup) servings.
- Jalapeños: If you want, stir in 1-2 minced jalapeños peppers with the fresh garlic. They don’t do this in Mexico, but it adds a great flavor.
- Peas and carrots: Sometimes in Mexico, they add ¼ cup frozen peas and carrots midway through cooking. You can use storebought veggies or homemade peas and carrots.
- Stove-top: You can also make Mexican rice on the stove (that’s what they do in Mexico). After the rice comes to a boil, reduce the heat to the lowest possible temperature on your stove, cover, and cook for another 15 minutes.
- Rice cooker: Follow the steps in the recipe below exactly as written through Step 4. Once you bring the rice to a boil, transfer it to your rice cooker (coated with nonstick spray). Close and seal the rice cooker and cook according to the manufacturer’s instructions. For white rice, it took 33 minutes in mine (nearly the same as the oven) and there was no stirring needed. For brown rice, it takes about 50 to 55 minutes. Find my best Rice Cooker picks here.
- Big batch rice: For enough Mexican Rice to feed 25 people, use an 8-quart stock pot, triple the ingredients, and add 10 minutes to the baking time (40 minutes total).
- Baked white rice: If you love cooking rice in the oven as much as I do, check out my Baked Rice recipe which is even easier than this one. I make batches just to keep in the freezer. It’s great for quick fried rice or side dishes any night of the week.
- Cinco de Mayo: Planning your own Fiesta? Add this to another Mexican Dish! Discover my full menu of Cinco de Mayo recipes including Chicken Fajitas, Carne Asada, Birria, Tacos al Pastor, Chicken Tinga, Strawberry Margaritas, or Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowls.
How to Store Homemade Mexican Rice
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Can you freeze Mexican Rice?
Spread the cooked rice out on a rimmed baking sheet to have the rice cool it quickly. Then, scoop it into a freezer bag. Then, when you need a quick side dish, just pull a bag of rice out of the freezer, defrost, and reheat. It works like a dream!
How to Serve Mexican Rice
Serve Mexican rice on the side of all of your favorite Mexican foods like Carne Asada, Tacos al Pastor, Shrimp Fajitas, and Chicken Tinga. Or, pack it into soft flour tortillas with scrambled eggs, cheese, and hot sauce for an epic breakfast burrito. I also love to eat it by the bowl topped with sour cream. It’s also delicious in your next burrito bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
To omit the oil completely, follow the recipe as written, making this change for Step 3: Instead of heating oil in a pot, toast the dry rice (un-rinsed) on high, stirring CONSTANTLY, until about half the rice is lightly browned. Keep your eye on it; you need to keep it moving so it doesn’t scorch. Continue the recipe as written, stirring in the garlic. The rice will bake up perfectly, separated and fluffy, as if you had used oil.
Follow the recipe as directed, swapping the chicken broth for water or vegetable broth.
I find that rice cookers help make the fluffiest rice and when we rounded up the best rice cookers, our top pick was my personal favorite: The Aroma Housewares Rice Cooker. It’s compact, super simple, and does exactly what it’s supposed to do without fail. My sisters, Erin and Meredith, each have the same one, and we all love it. Not to mention, it has over 58,000 reviews. That’s a whole lot of rice!
You can check out the rice cooker variation for Mexican Rice below. Also, Rice cookers can cook polenta beautifully without stirring it for a million hours. It’s not just a one-job appliance, so I hope you find many uses for one of my favorite cooking gadgets.
More authentic Mexican recipes
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Easy Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 4 Roma tomatoes cored and quartered (see note 1)
- 1 onion peeled and quartered
- 1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 2 cups long-grain white rice (see note 2)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste or one cube Consomate tomato bouillon (see note 3)
- Salt
- minced fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish (see note 4)
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor or blender, puree the tomatoes and onions until smooth. Measure 2 cups of puree, pouring off and discarding any excess.
- In a large Dutch oven or a 3-quart saucepan, heat oil until shimmering. Add the rice and sauté, stirring frequently, until light golden in color, about 10 to 15 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato mixture, broth or water, tomato paste, and salt to taste (I like 1 ½ teaspoons). Bring to a boil.
- Cover (or transfer to a baking dish and cover) and bake until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Stir halfway through baking time.
- Fluff rice with a fork. Fold in cilantro or parsley (if using) and season to taste with salt. Serve with lime wedges.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Tomatoes and onions: So many readers love using their favorite salsa instead of the tomato/onion mixture. You can even use canned tomatoes, Rotel, or a couple cans of El Pato tomato sauce, a zesty tomato and chili purée found at Mexican grocery stores. As long as you have two cups of liquid, you’re good to go.
- Rice: Any long-grain white rice (including Basmati and Jasmine) work well here. To substitute brown rice, add 10 minutes to the baking time.
- Tomato paste: If you don’t want to open a small can of tomato paste, look for a tube at the grocery store. In Mexico cooks use one cube of Consomate brand tomato bouillon instead of tomato paste.
- Cilantro: Or substitute parsley. In truth, no one in Mexico ever does this (but let’s be honest: they would never make rice in the oven, either).
- Yield: This Mexican Rice recipe makes about 6 c. rice, enough for 12 (1/2-c.) servings.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Yep, you’ve nailed it! You managed to keep the similarity to restaurant style mexican rice while improving its flavor. Lightly frying the rice for 10-15 mins is the key to maintaining its texture without it becoming mushy. This is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
This recipe is fantastic!
Thanks Meggan! I just didn’t want to miss something and I’m very much a follow the recipe to a “T” kinda person –especially the first time. I thought for sure I was missing a step. I’ve never attempted Mexican rice so I’m excited to try it! 😉
I am baffled. How does this recipe take 1 hour and 15 minutes cook time? I so want to try this, but I’m not seeing it mentioned in any reviews either. I’m seeing 10-15 minutes to brown the rice, then add mixture and bring to a boil (that should happen quickly I presume) and 30 minutes in the oven (she mentioned to add 10 minutes cook time for brown rice, but in the comments it said 40-50 minutes for brown rice). I don’t want to try this and undercook it!
I have to agree with you, the cooking time is off. If I read the recipe now, here’s how I would calculate the cooking time:
5 minutes to puree the tomatoes and onions and heat the oil in the saucepan
10 minutes to brown the rice
5 minutes to stir in jalapenos, tomato mixture, and bring to boil
30 minutes to bake.
I would say 50 minutes is an accurate cooking time. Could be slightly longer depending on your stove (if the rice takes longer to brown or to come to boil). Thanks for pointing this out, I’ll fix the recipe immediately!
I toasted the rice (Jasmine, because that’s what I had) right in the IP using the sauté function, cutting back on the oil probably by half. One can of diced tomatoes blended with a medium onion made just enough slurry for 3 scoops* of rice. I used 1.5 scoops of water instead of broth to make it vegan. I had some jalapeños in the freezer leftover from last season’s canning endeavors, so I chopped some up and tossed them in with the rice etc. I cooked the rice on high for 8 minutes (manual), same as I always do for white rice. Worked like a charm! Stirred in some fresh cilantro and lime juice (I think, it has been a minute) and BOOM, deliciousness.
*that little cup that comes with the IP (and rice cookers)
I adjusted the liquid amounts to the appropriate ratio for pressure cooking to make this in my Instant Pot—delicious! Seriously, this is the best version I’ve made at home and is tastier than we usually get in restaurants.
I would love to know you adjusted this for the instant pot!
Hi there! This looks so yum! I was wondering if it was possible to make this without the oil? Could you just skip the toasting of the rice and put the mixture straight in the oven? I love mexican rice and we have an event coming up where I need to feed about 80 people. I’m thinking mexican bowls with rice and black beans with cashew cream would be great but we try to avoid oil!
Hi Chelsea! I can test it and let you know. How soon is your event? I’d hate to say yes if it’s not going to work out for you. The thing with the oil is, it ensures the grains are all separated and fluffy. Do you use anything like nonstick cooking spray, or just nothing at all? I will definitely try it without oil and see what happens. Just let me know how soon you need to know. Thank you!
Hi Chelsea, I realize your event has LONG past by now and I’m sorry it took me so long to reply. It took me a few tries to get the recipe right without oil. Basically, in step 3, you just dry-toast the rice in a hot pot, stirring it constantly. Normally you’d saute it in oil, but it actually works perfectly if you toast it in a dry skillet. Stir it constantly so it doesn’t scorch, about about half the rice is lightly browned. Then proceed with the recipe as normal! It works like a charm. I’ve updated the post with this information. Thank you so much for the question and I apologize again for the delay. -Meggan
i have a grad party im cooking for 125 people plus. My nemesis has always been Mexican rice. sometimes is good some times not. i havent done it in a while. im not worried about the 5-6 or 10 timing the recipe. i went to le cordon bleu in austin. im pretty good all around. So im going to do a test batch this weekend. smaller batch. my main question is. You never mentioned if the tomato mixture would be included in the liquid measurement. i know its 1 3/4 cups per cup of rice. So is the 2 cups of tomato mixture included or a separate item.
It haunts me through the years. my wife makes fun of me for not being able to do it right. it is funny. having this much education and not mastering mexican rice.. I make every other rice perfect. sushi, fried rice, saffron, paella. its my nemesis. looking forward to practicing this weekend.
thanks
ryan
i went back and reviewed the ingredient list and answered my own question. i’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Cobra Commander, I am interested to hear how it turned out cooking for a crowd. I, too was going to try this recipe for an upcoming grad party. Would love to read your reviews and lessons learned! Good Luck!
Ok. So I tried it Sunday for a double batch and it got me again. Flavor was better then any restaurant. But I had rice that wasn’t cooked all the way on the top part. Bottom was good. It was covered. Proper temp.
I had so much going on. We didn’t bring the rice to a boil before putting it in the oven. I’m doing it again tonight. Because it so many. I found a rice cooker that doesn’t involve toasting the rice. I’m trying that tomorrow. But I doubt it will be the taste of this one.
This recipe was great!! I tripled it because we had about 25-30 people coming and I actually just ended up cooking it on the stove instead of baking it. Our friend from Mexico was here and she said it was REALLY GOOD! She even called it authentic! Since she approved it I felt I should share on here that it was a hit. Two thumbs up!
Hi – Thank you for posting this recipe. I have been searching high and low for a good Mexican rice recipe and tried several with no luck. I have two questions – 1) If I make the rice for a crowd, how to I brown the rice in a large stock pan? I have tried this before and no matter how long I cooked it, it just did not saute in that big of a pan. 2) I want to have the chunkier pieces of tomato in the rice. If I use a can of Rotel, how do I compensate for liquid?
thank you!
Hi Vicky! Thanks for your question, I hope you like this recipe. Just make sure your oil is reasonably hot when you brown the rice (and you don’t even need to BROWN IT, you just need to break down the outside of the rice grain, the color doesn’t matter so much. You want the rice to look at least translucent. Please let me know if this makes sense). If you want to use Rotel, that’s fine. You need 2 cups total of whatever kind of puree you want, so you can puree some onion and add rotel (unblended, drained) and just have two cups of that mixture. The liquid comes from the chicken broth, so don’t worry about that. Does this all make sense? Hit me back if not! Thank you! Good luck!