Mexican (Spanish) Rice

A Mexican inspired dinner is not complete without a heaping side of Mexican Rice. Although sometimes referred to as “Spanish Rice”, don’t expect to find this preparation of sauteed golden brown rice simmered in broth in Spain. The term simply stems from the fact that the Spanish language is spoken in Mexico. Oh by the way…in Mexico, this delicious rice recipe is called just rice or “arroz”.

Ingredients:

Oil – 1 Tbsp
Long Grain Rice – 2 cups
Onion – 1/2 large, chopped
Kidney Beans – 1 can, washed and drained
Bell Pepper – 1 medium, chopped
Garlic Powder – 1/2 tsp
Oregano – 1/2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Tomato Sauce – 8oz can
Broth – 3 cups
Cilantro or Green Onions for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat Oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat.
2. Add Rice and saute until the rice turns a light golden brown.
3. Add Onion and saute for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add Kidney Beans, Bell Pepper, Garlic Powder, Oregano, Salt, Tomato Sauce and Broth. Mix well.
5. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, stir gently, turn the stove down to a simmer, cover the pan and cook for 15 minutes.
6. Turn off stove and fluff up rice gently with a fork.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro or green onions.

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0 thoughts on “Mexican (Spanish) Rice

  1. I did not have tomato sauce, so I used a can of enchilada sauce. It turned out very tasty! Thanks for this great recipe!

    1. I have question.I made it but did not cook properley . I follwed exactly. Test was really good. I wants to try again. I used exactly 3 cups broath and 1 cup tomato sauce. As you said simmer for 15 min. What temp you use. I have gas stove and I have temp Lo (temp) to 1 to 8 and Hi.
      I used Lo for 15 min and it did not cook properly.

      1. We put it on the lowest flame before it shuts off. We do not have numbers on our stove…sorry. Hope you did not open the lid while the rice was cooking.

        1. Thank u for replying back.
          No I did not open lid at all as u mentioned .i don’t know where it went wrong. But , I will try again.

  2. for the recipe I leaved earlier, instead use water you can use chicken soup or broth… it will be a diff taste to the rice…

  3. Hello!

    Im from Mexico nd I would like to share some recipes with you… White rice!!!

    IS very easy…
    1 cup rice
    3 cups water
    half large onion
    2 or 3 garlic cloves
    half cup pees (coudl be forzen)
    half cup choped carrots(coudl be forzen)
    half cup corn (could be frozen)
    salt to taste
    pinch paper
    3 green chilies (jalapeno, serrano, cuaresmeño)

    Mix the garlic nd onion with 1 cup of water (mixer)

    Fry the onion nd the rice, once rice became a bit golden add the water, 2 cups pure water nd the cup of water with the onion nd garlic mixed, add the chilies, carrots, pees and corn, salt nd paper to taste. Leave the rice boil nd cover it,until water get dry, be careful that it does not get stick, is better if you switch off the stove with few water nd let it dry….

      1. Wow is awsome!!!

        yes is very similar the food nd the way to cook!!!

        my best best best friend is from India nd he has teached me some recipes… indian cusine is just amazing!!!

        but Im a big fan of you girls, I really enjoy to watch your videos nd Ive tried some of your recipes, you explain everything in a fantastic way that you really help nd encorauge us to cook…

        Thank you!!!

        I’d like to share with you guys mole verde recipe.. but is long, is fine if I post it here?

    1. Hi Pia,

      Arborio rice is a short grain starchy rice. The outcome is a creamy rice so it is not good for pulaos or rice dishes that need separate grains.

    1. Hi Binita,

      Long grain is preferred, but if you can’t get long grain rice, then basmati will work. Overly soft rice (Jasmine, Ponni, etc) will not work.

  4. Hi,

    Your all recipes are amazing.
    But however my spanish rice are always not cooked properly.

    The rice is fully not cooked.

    What i should do ?

    1. Hi Dhara,
      Here is a couple of things you can try doing:
      – saute the rice just a little longer
      – lower the heat a tad bit and cook it another 2-3 min
      – always allow the rice to rest before you dig in 😉

  5. hey.. just wanted to know that if i want to reduce the quantity by half, does the cooking time still remain the same? if not then how long do u think i should cook?

  6. Oh, I have a Q too, what can I substitute broth w/? I know the recipe for it but just do not have enough vegetables to make it right as it’s summertime in India!

  7. hi

    i love ur recipe but for some reason i have stop receiving recipe.. i tried to enroll my self again but its say tht i m already in yr mailing list.. can u look into this soo tht i dont miss out any of ur recipe

    thanks

    1. Hi Priya,

      Yes, you can transfer the mixture to a rice cooker. However, you can just set your timer and leave it in the original pot…one less thing to wash :).

  8. if just wanna make it easy .Simply cook the rice first and drain of then just same way saute the vegetable and add the anchiladaz sauce and mix the rice…

  9. Hello Hetal and Anuja,

    Question,

    I made the rice but slightly changed the measurements for the rice and water. I had 1 cup of rice and 2 and half cup of water. In the end, the rice were not fully cooked. In what step did I messed up? Taste came out good but not the rice as wanted. Do let me know as I want to make this recipe again for my husband as he loves it..

    Thank you so much..

    1. Hi Bani,

      In the original recipe, we have used 2 cups of rice, 3 cups of broth and 1 cup of tomato sauce. The broth and tomato sauce together equals double the amount of rice — basically the usual 2:1 ratio of liquid to rice. In addition to the 2 1/2 cups of water, did you also use tomato sauce? If so, the amount of liquid you have is too much and may have affected the way the rice cooked. For 1 cup of rice, you can use 1 1/2 cups of water (or broth) and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.

      1. Hi Hetal,

        Thank you so much for early reply..

        Yes, I did use tomato sauce. Oh.. now I know where I messed up.. Will make it again and let you know how it turned out this time.. Again, thank you.. All the recipes I have tried so far are really good.. We all love it…

  10. Hi Ladies,

    can i use fresh tomato puree or is tomato ketchup ok to use??
    m planning to make tis for my dinner party on tis saturday.. & i live in india..

    thanks.. 🙂

    1. Hi Deepal,

      Tomato sauce has a more concentrated flavor then fresh pureed tomatoes, but if you can’t find it, you can use the fresh ones. Do not use ketchup, the flavor is very different.

  11. I bought some red pan Masala and I’m trying to find a recipe to use it in or how you use it. If possible coud you help me out please.

    Gord

  12. Hi Hetal and Anuja

    Wonderful recipe … will try it out soon …
    Could you’ll please please please show how to make Tiramisu. I am sure you’ll will have the best and easy recipe. Thanks in advance …

  13. Hi Ladies,

    Thank you for the great recipe. I like some of your ingredients and add them next time I make spanish rice. What I do when I make Spanish Rice is in a food processor, process onions, tomatoes, few cloves of garlic, jalapeno(s), cilantro and salt and pour that into the rice after the rice is sauteed in oil. I add the needed amount of water and for the color add about table spoon of tomato paste to the rice that’s cooking.

    Next time I make it I will also add oregano. One thing I can suggest is adding pigeon peas for those who may not like kidney beans. I had rice with pigeon peas from a co-worker who is from South America and it was absolutely delicious.

    Thanks for another great recipe.

    1. Hi R,

      We used a can of kidney beans so they were already cooked. If you use the dried version, you would have to cook them first…they shouldn’t be too mushy.

    1. broth is actually stock, u can pressure cook any kind of vegetables with lots of water, and then drain out the water. This water is actually vegetable stock or broth.

        1. I am sure that India manufactures some great pressure cookers, get one or two of them, no Aluminum for Aluminum is poisonous, make your own chicken broth and can it yourself of buy some chicken bullion powder or cubes..! get a 6 qt pressure cooker, stainless steel only and secure a 12 qt one as well, enjoy…!!!

        1. hey dont discourage others…why do u think like this….. they r jus helping the questioners. this makes easy even for H&A… If u know any answers to the questions u can answer too…..

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