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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.
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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.
Big mistake 2:1 of water to rice. Please fix it. Someone not so good at cooking will burn their rice. Good otherwise.
Hi Monica, did you actually make the recipe? There is no mistake with the ratio; you are just confused. This is a pilaf-style rice where you sauté the grains in oil first. That step starts to break them down and you use a 1:1 ratio with water when you cook them. This has nothing to do with someone’s experience at cooking. It’s a simple, straight-forward recipe that has been made numerous times by thousands of cooks. Thanks. -Meggan
Hi Meggan,
I just want to correct you on something, in Mexico, Mexican Rice is very commonly made in the oven not just on the stove top. Especially when cooking large batches for a gathering. “They” actually do use the oven for this dish.
I thought it worth noting.
Hi Anna, wow really? I’ve spent a LOT of time in Mexico, in many different places (my husband is Mexican, born and raised there) and he laughed in my face at the idea of making this in the oven. And I’ve seen it there myself; everyone pretty much uses the oven for storage. But, he’s from a rural area and I’m sure it depends on where you go. I’m glad to hear it though. That’s great! Thanks for letting me know. -Meggan
just finished making this! I didn’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, so I used Mexican style canned tomatoes blended with some onion to create the puree. I just let my teenager taste the finished rice and she proclaimed that it tasted just like the rice from our favorite Mexican restaurant! Love how easy this was to finish off in the oven.
I have a go-to Mexican rice recipe I love but I’ve never been able to get the “dry, fluffy, not-stuck-together-grains-of-rice” effect. This will now be my “forever” recipe! I used 1 (maybe 1.5) Tbsp of Knorr’s Caldo de Tomate seasoning (that’s what my other recipe requires) instead of tomato paste or a bouillon cube. Turned out exactly like my favorite restaurant’s rice. So easy & muy delicioso!!
I made this tonight for the first time and it was delicious. I had our last bit of tomatoes from our garden and was excited to use them in this recipe. My whole family loved it. I made it with brown rice and left it in 10 extra minutes, like you said, and it was so good. I did add some extra chicken broth because it was brown rice and it was perfect. Absolutely loved the flavor. This will become a regular rice for us. Thanks for the recipe.
Fantastic recipe. I used a 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. That, along with the onion, produced exactly 2 cups of liquid. I didn’t use cilantro as I am the only one in my family who likes it. I think browning the rice really sets this recipe apart (I used olive oil). I want to pass it on to friends but wonder how they will do the tomato step if they don’t have a food processor. I have baked other types of rice dishes and love how well it turns out in the oven. This will be my go to for Mexican rice. Thank you!
Hi Lisa! I love that you used the fire-roasted tomatoes, I bet that tasted great! Your friends can use just a regular old blender instead of the food processor. I’m glad you love it! 🙂 – Meggan
I was looking for something authentic. You hit all the marks! Thanks!
When putting it in the oven do you leave it covered or uncovered for the Mexican rice
Hi Megan, you cover it. Sorry this wasn’t clear from the recipe, I’ll take a look and make sure it’s obvious for the next person. Thank you! -Meggan
This website really has all of the info I wanted about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Absolutely excellent! I wanted rice and beans so I went looking for an authentic recipe for the rice. All I did was switch out the chicken broth for water and salt since I’m vegetarian, and it turned out exactly like a restaurant would serve! This is excellent, thank you so much.