Easy Mexican Rice Recipe (2024)

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By: Becky HardinPosted: 2/5/20Updated: 7/8/22

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This Easy Mexican Rice recipe turns plain old white rice from your pantry, into a delicious side dish packed with Mexican flavors and cheese!

Rice is a staple side, but can be a bit…boring. This Easy Mexican Rice recipe is so quick to make from scratch, it’ll liven up your rice game! Homemade Mexican Rice is so much more flavorful boxed versions and you can add or remove seasonings and spices to suit your tastes.

Table of Contents

How To Make This Easy Mexican Rice Recipe – Step By Step

Cook rice according to package directions, then Add oil, butter and onions to a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until onions have softened and are translucent, then add garlic and cook.
Add can of tomatoes with juice, cumin, paprika and chili powder, cook 1 minute, then remove from heat.
When the rice is cooked, add the onion mixture, cheese, chipotle pepper (if using), cilantro and lime juice.
Stir well and serve.Garnish with additional chopped cilantro.Enjoy!

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What To Serve With This Easy Mexican Rice Recipe

You can serve as is or alongside some tacos or enchiladas, or pork and fish dishes. It’s even great as a main dish, digging your way in with tortilla chips. Either way, you’ll loved the change from our usual plain ol rice!

How To Store Leftover Rice

Cooked rice is very moist, which can be a breeding ground for bacteria growth if it is left at room temperature for more than two hours. Play it safe and cool down any leftover rice quickly—either by spreading it out on a baking sheet, or placing it in the refrigerator.

Transfer the cooled, cooked rice into an airtight storage container or a ziplock plastic bag (remove as much air from the bag as possible before sealing) then store in the refrigerator. It will last about 4 days.

Can I Make This Mexican Rice With Brown Rice?

Yes indeed. Brown rice does need more liquid. For every 1 cup of brown rice used you will need 2 and 1/2 cups of liquid.Also,brown rice does take longer to cook.

Top Tips For This Easy Mexican Rice Recipe

Rinse your rice. Take an extra second to rinse your rice with water to remove the starch film on the surface that can cause the rice to clump together.
Adding peas and carrots. Peas and diced carrots are traditional to add to Mexican rice. You can leave them out if you want to, but they are a great addition.
If liquid evaporates before rice is done, then add just a little liquid, keeping in mind that the rice will continue to steam for 10 minutes once it’s removed from heat, so it doesn’t need to be 100% cooked once liquid is gone.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Delicious Mexican Recipes We Love

Easy Chilaquiles Recipe
Mexican Stuffed Peppers Recipe (Cheesy Enchilada Stuffed Peppers)

Have you tried this Easy Mexican Rice recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Recipe

Mexican Rice Recipe

4.74 from 23 votes

Author: Becky Hardin

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 20 minutes minutes

Serves6 people

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This Easy Mexican Rice recipe turns plain old white rice from your pantry, into a delicious side dish packed with Mexican flavors and cheese!

Email This Recipe

Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe directly to you!

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from The Cookie Rookie.

Ingredients

▢ 1½ cups long-grain white rice
▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
▢ ½ yellow onion diced
▢ 1 clove garlic minced
▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt
▢ ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
▢ 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles with juice
▢ ½ teaspoon ground cumin
▢ ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
▢ ½ teaspoon chili powder
▢ ½ cup Mexican Blend cheese
▢ 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce minced; optional
▢ ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
▢ Juice of ½ lime

Instructions

Cook rice according to package directions.
Add oil, butter and onions to a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until onions have softened and are translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add can of tomatoes with juice, cumin, paprika and chili powder. Stir and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat.
When the rice is cooked, add the onion mixture, cheese, chipotle pepper (if using), cilantro and lime juice. Stir well and serve.
Garnish with additional chopped cilantro.
Enjoy!

Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 270kcal (14%) Carbohydrates: 44g (15%) Protein: 7g (14%) Fat: 7g (11%) Saturated Fat: 3g (19%) Cholesterol: 14mg (5%) Sodium: 385mg (17%) Potassium: 276mg (8%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 4g (4%) Vitamin A: 524IU (10%) Vitamin C: 9mg (11%) Calcium: 99mg (10%) Iron: 1mg (6%)

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Meet Becky Hardin

Becky Hardin is a wife and mother living in Saint Louis Missouri. She founded The Cookie Rookie in 2012 as a creative way to share recipes. Now, she is a trusted resource for easy cooking around the world, being featured in Taste of Home, The Kitchn, ABC’s Home and Family, and more. Here at The Cookie Rookie she is the editor in chief of all recipes and continues to enjoy sharing her passion for cooking for busy families. She has since founded two additional food blogs, Easy Chicken Recipes and Easy Dessert Recipes.