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The BEST, truly authentic Mexican rice is so easy to make, and a necessary side dish for all of your favorite Mexican recipes.
Having learned how to make this Mexican rice from locals in Puebla, Mexico, I can promise this recipe is the real deal! Don't miss my other popular Mexican recipes including Carne Asada Tacos, Esquites, and Chiles Relleño.
We never enjoy “Taco Tuesdays” without a side of this easy Mexican Rice that I learned to make while living in Puebla, Mexico during a college internship.
I was there with my husband, and we taught workshops to locals in the area that were interested in starting a small business. We met many amazing people while living there, including a chef who attended one of our workshops. I asked him if he'd teach me the right way to make a few authentic dishes, and he invited is into his home for a day.
We cooked up a storm, and I took detailed notes as we cooked this rice together, along with mole poblano, red and green salsas, and pozole.
Ingredients Needed:
- Long Grain White Rice: Washing the rice is crucial to remove the outer starch, allowing the rice to cook fluffy. If you'd like to use Brown Rice, increase liquid by ½ cup and cook for 40 minutes, following the same resting instructions.
- Oil: Canola or vegetable oil, for toasting the rice.
- Onion: a small piece, finely chopped.
- Garlic: one or two small cloves, minced.
- Tomato Sauce: I used this because it's fast and easy, but for a more authentic version, add 1-2 fresh tomatoes to a blender with the onion and garlic, and blend before adding to the rice.
- Tomato Bouillon: granules or cubes, found in the Mexican aisle or online. This adds color and flavor to the rice. If you can't find it, substitute chicken Bouillon.
- Water: Or use chicken broth, if you omit the Tomato Bouillon.
- Salt.
- Peas and Carrots: optional.
- Serrano peppers: It's optional to add 1-2 on top of the rice while it cooks, to add extra flavor (it wont make the rice “spicy”.
How to make Mexican Rice:
1. Wash and Toast the rice: Add rice to a fine mesh strainer and rinse it until the water runs clear. Sauté the rice in hot oil in a saucepan until golden brown.
2. Add remaining ingredients: Add tomato sauce, garlic, and diced onion to the pan. Stir in tomato bullion, salt, carrots, peas, and water.
3. Simmer: Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
Pro Tips:
- Rinse the 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.
- Toast the rice. When you add the rice to the oil, toast it really well! This extra step takes a few minutes, but it adds really great flavor to the rice.
- The trick to get that great color and flavor: Tomato bullion cubes add great flavor, and they're what makes the rice turn that perfect orange color that you're looking for. It should be easy to find at your local grocery store. I buy mine at Walmart, in the Mexican food aisle. You could also buy them from Amazon. They look like this. If you can't find them, substitute chicken broth for the water in this recipe.
- Rest and Fluff. It's crucial to give the rice time to rest after cooking, before serving, and to only gently fluff it with a work (don't “stir” it). This will make the difference between wet, clumpy and mush rice, and fluffy rice.
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice: If you own an instant pot, I've adapted this recipe for Instant pot Mexican rice.
Serve Mexican Rice with:
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Authentic Mexican Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice, *
- 1/4 cup oil, (vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 teaspoon garlic, , minced
- 1/4 medium onion, , finely diced
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce, , or 2 pureed tomatoes*
- 2 teaspoons tomato bouillon , granulated, or cubes*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 carrot, , diced
- 1/2 cup peas, (frozen or fresh)
- 3 cups water
- 1-3 whole serrano peppers, , optional
Instructions
- Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer until the water runs clear. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Once hot, add the rice and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rice is lightly golden brown all over (about 10 minutes).
- Add tomato sauce, garlic, and diced onion to the pan. Stir. Add tomato bullion, salt, carrots, peas, and water (and serrano peppers, if using. They add a little flavor, but not spice.).
- Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for about 20 minutes or until the water is completely absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe September 2011. Last updated May 2021.
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Process photos by Nikole of The Travel Palate.
I just made this recipe and it is EXCELLENT! We are heading to a Taco Bar-themed party and I made this rice AND the Tres Leches dessert. I look forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts!
Best Mexican rice! Everyone loves this rice. My kids request it more than any other recipe. Make it. 😉
I just tried this today, and it is spot on identical to the rice I had a at a restaurant yesterday. I am so excited and will keep this recipe for sure.
I made this for my daughters work party! I never made Mexican Rice before but it was so delicious and very easy to make. Everyone loved it and I am new to the southwest US so I feel very proud that it was well received. I will keep this recipe forever.
Thank you
Ok, this the only Mexican rice I will ever make. Don’t even think about cooking it without the tomato or tomato/chicken bouillon. Love, love this recipe and I’ve made dozens of Mexican rice dishes before trying this. I did cut one Serrano in half lengthways and added it to pot. Yummmmm!
Agreed! This recipe is killer and I have tried many Mexican rice recipes over the years. It’s nice and flavorful without being “too much”. It tastes almost identical to several restaurants near me. I add just a little pinch of cumin to this recipe, but it’s absolute great on its own without it, too!
I made this recipe and used ketchup instead of tomato sauce; it went well with Mexican refried bean sauce.
I have only made this type of rice a few times, and I never seemed to get it quite right. But this was as close to my mother’s rice as I have ever gotten. I highly recommend it.
What do you recommend for a vegetarian/vegan substitute for the tomato bouillon (it contains chicken)?
For a vegetarian/vegan substitute, you can use vegetable bouillon and add a bit of tomato paste for the tomato flavor. It works well and keeps the dish flavorful.
It’s even tastier if you use the NOT CHICKEN bouillon cubes. More authentic taste and still 100% plant based. I do that a lot
I followed the recipe to the T. It came out fluffy like you said. We thought it was very bland. Looked great but not much flavor…..sorry not impressed.
This is our go-to Mexican rice. I was wondering if I needed this for a large gathering, could I make it the night before?
This rice is easy and super delicious. Living in Canada, it is hard to find the kind of Mexican food I grew up on in California. This rice transports me home to my favourite burrito shop! I sometimes use salsa instead of tomato sauce, and I often use low sodium chicken broth instead of water. So yummy, and it makes a BIG portion. Thank you!
I’m making this recipe today with your substitutions since I have those on hand! Thank you! Will comment again soon!
I’ve been trying to find a recipe for Mexican rice for a couple of years now. Trying this recipe and that recipe, trying to get it to taste just like the restaurants around my area and this recipe hits it right on the head! I was just about ready to give up finding one and I was like ok just one more time, let’s try this one. I’m so glad I did!
Very bland! Not a Mexican rice for West Coast. I tried to dry the rice after rinsing and it wouldn’t brown. Peas are hard rocks. Never make this recipe again. I have a great recipe, though I would try this. Sorry I did. I had to put rice on a sheet pan to dry it out and fluff it up plus add spices and chiles to give it some flavor.
This recipe is so amazing. I pureed fresh tomatoes with the onion and garlic. The results were lovely. My son and I really enjoyed this recipe. Next time, I will add more serrano as I like heat. Thank you for this recipe. Btw, I thought it was better cooled!
I used hot tomato sauce in the mexican food aisle for a spicier version.
The rice tasted delicious, but my rice didn’t seem to have cooked all the way. Some of the rice grains were a little hard. I followed the recipe to the tee. Could it be because while toasting it? Which brand of rice did you use in this recipe? Thank you for sharing your recipes.
So glad to hear you found the flavor delicious! If some grains were a bit hard, it might be due to the variety or age of the rice used. I typically use a long-grain white rice, which cooks up nicely for this recipe. The toasting process shouldn’t affect the rice’s tenderness as long as it’s fully submerged in the liquid and cooked long enough. Double-checking the water ratio and cooking time might help in future attempts.
I made this in my rice cooker, it came out OK but I didn’t mix it up enough before cooking, so it came out with some pockets of flavor and some pockets of bland rice. Still 5 stars!