Mexican food is a cuisine near and dear to my heart. Growing up in Southern California, my family loved, loved, LOVED to visit Downtown Los Angeles and the historic Olvera Street. The original neighborhood of the City of Angels, Olvera Street features some of the best eating I’ve had in my life. The corner restaurant, La Luz del Dia is my favorite.
Carnitas Tostada, por favor — y dos tacos de carnitas.
And a 7-Up. (I was a French major, remember?)
Such a creature of habit, I order the same. thing. every. time.
But, we can’t go to Olvera Street every week, can we? So, over the years I’ve learned to make many things myself: tortillas, tamales, salsa, and today’s recipe: Mexican Rice. This is very versatile; it’s great as a side dish, but can also make a frugal, meatless main dish, like beans and rice. This is an easy rice pilaf that will astonish you at its simplicity. Promise.
Mexican Rice
1/4 cup oil
2 cups uncooked white rice
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
4 cups chicken broth
In large sauté pan with lid, heat oil over medium heat. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice turns white and very lightly brown. Remove from heat and stir in tomato sauce. Be careful of splatters. Stir well. Stir in chicken broth and return to heat. Bring to bubbling. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes or until almost all liquid is absorbed. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Continue to cook on low for about five minutes to remove any extra liquid.
And if you’re truly a visual person, here’s a video to help you through the steps.
What’s a favorite Mexican dish that your family makes? We’d love to hear about it!
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
For the Mexican Rice, do you use “minute” rice or the longer cooking rice? The minute rice is probably not as frugal, but CAN you use it?
Thanks!
Thanks for hosting! The rice looks great!
~Liz
I make mexican rice very much like this. But I put some seasoning in mine like cumin. I think the trick is frying the rice.
Your rice recipe looks simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing it.
I goofed! I put just my name in the widget above for the recipe swap, and forgot to add the recipe name…I tried to delete it and redo it but don’t know how to. Please delete the Gina Koston link and leave the second one I put in that has the Mexican Breakfast Casserole recipe title in it. Thanks so much and sorry for the goof!
It’s great to have a simple yet delicious side dish like this for all those heavy mexican dishes! Thanks for hosting the exchange.
This is the first time I have read your blog & I LOVE your Ultimate Recipe Swap! Great idea
I didn’t add one this time, but Mexican is a fave here. Can’t wait to check out some of these recipes!
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My Mexican rice (which my husband who normally hates rice absolutely loves) is made like this: Saute 1 cup parboiled rice and some chopped onion (usually 1/2 onion) in some oil till the rice is somewhat browned and the onions are translucent. Then stir in one can of Rotel, one cup water, and half a package of taco seasoning. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid is absorbed. You can have it just like that, but what we usually do is grill a couple chicken breast tenderloins on the George Foreman, chop them into small cubes, and add to the rice mixture as it cooks…then pour a little italian dressing over it right before eating it…YUMMY!!
Whew! That was close. I had been browsing your site so intensely that I didn’t realize that my laptop battery was about to die. I almost lost your site…which I love!
My husband and I have been debt free for 3 years now (oh man, it feels gooooooooood!) and with recent prices at the grocery store going back into an upswing, we’ve had to tighten the budget’s belt a bit. Beans and rice sounds like the perfect answer. You’ve really inspired me with frugal meals, and I’ve started to look into Once A Month cooking too.
Thanks for such a fabulous blog! I will be back often.
Does this anyone know if this recipe works with brown rice?
@Serenity, I’ve done it with brown rice. It takes longer to cook and has a slightly different flavor. But, it’s still good.
@Jessica Fisher, Thanks! I’ll be trying it tonight!
sounds great – I would only make one change. I would use salsa instead of the tomato sauce.
I just made the Mexican Rice last night and it was fabulous! I am so excited b/c making from scratch (using a very easy recipe) is going to save me lots of money over buying the Uncle Ben’s ready to go Spanish Rice…plus, I know exactly what’s in my rice! Thank you so much for sharing – like one poster mentioned, I added chopped onions to mine, and will try it with salsa and corn next time – gotta sneak in those vegetables whenever I can! Thanks again for sharing!
Glad you liked it, Sarah!
I came across this recipe over a year ago, and it has NEVER FAILED ME! For the rehearsal dinner before our wedding, my husband and I cooked a meal for everyone that included this rice, and we got rave reviews! Thank you for sharing this amazingly simple dish!
Wow! Rehearsal dinner? I’m honored. So glad that it has been successful for you!
I have tried this recipe many times. I love this recipe and so does my family, but I continue to get crunchy rice instead of soft, cooked rice. What am I doing wrong?
I’ve had that happen before, usu when I’m not patient enough to cook it the entire time, or if there isn’t enough liquid.
I figured it out! My lid wasn’t sealed tight enough (it’s from another pan)-so I put foil between my lid and pan. And I got that yummy rice you talked about! Yeah! Not a rice-cooker-failure after all.
about to surprise the fam at dinner
Yeah!
made the rice today..had the slow cooker pinto beans cooked from yesterday. what a great make ahead meal! had a good amount of ‘liguid’ with the beans and so i drained that out and plan to use IT for something else. mashed the beans alittle and fried them up before serving with shredded cheese on top and green tabasco sauce. topped the rice with sour cream and green tabasco. very good! anyone have any ideas for what to do with the leftover ‘liguid’ from the beans? has a nice flavor to it..must be good for SOMETHING! thanks!
I would imagine good for soup. Thanks for your feedback! So glad you enjoyed it.
Oh my cow. This was FANTASTIC! I just made it tonight along with your Pintos and tostadas and my whole family raved. This is definitely in our rotation now! Thank you!!
So glad you liked it!
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