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This Instant Pot Mexican Rice recipe is my favorite side-dish for any Mexican food we eat! I perfected this recipe while living in Mexico– it's completely authentic– and I've adapted it to cook perfectly in the Instant Pot! The end result is Mexican rice that is so perfect, easy and delicious I may never go back to the stove-top version!
If you're a follower of TBFS you may already know that I'm a crazy huge fan of Mexican food. I have soooo many delicious Mexican recipes on my site–probably more than any other type of cuisine–because I LOVE it!
My husband and I lived in Puebla, Mexico for a few months when we were first married. I learned to make several authentic recipes while we lived there, but this Authentic Mexican rice is the one I use the very most. (You can check out some photos from our time there, and the story, here).
I've adapted my recipe to make Instant Pot Mexican Rice, and it turns out PERFECT. I love the way the instant pot cooks rice. You don't have to worry about mushy or gloopy rice. It's fluffy and tender, and exactly how rice should be!
Mexican rice is made of long-grain white rice, tomato, onion and garlic. In Mexico it is also often cooked with diced peas and carrots.
The chef who taught me to make Mexican rice used Tomato bullion cubes for extra great flavor, and to get that perfect orange color that you’re looking for. They should be easy to find at your local grocery store, in the Mexican food aisle.
You could even buy the granules instead of cubes (use 2 teaspoons). I buy tomato boullion at Walmart, in the Mexican food aisle or you can find them on Amazon.
How to make Mexican Rice in the Instant Pot:
Rinse the rice under water until the water runs clear. Drain well.
Turn instant pot to the saute setting. Add oil and rice and stir often, until the rice starts to get slightly golden.
Add tomato sauce, minced garlic, onion, tomato boullion and diced carrots.
Stir well. Add water and stir, making sure the boullion cubes are dissolved.
Turn instant pot off. Secure lid and turn valve to sealed position.
Turn on to Manual or High Pressure, and cook for 3-4 minutes (3 minutes for tender to the bite, or 4 minutes for softer rice).
When timer beeps, allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
Remove lid and add peas. Gently fluff the rice with a fork (don't stir it).
Place IP lid over the bowl and allow rice to rest for a few more minutes before serving.
Can I substitute brown rice?
Yes! To substitute brown rice, add ¼ cup additional water and cook on high pressure for 22-24 minutes (22 for low elevations, 24 for higher). Once the timer beeps allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing with a fork.
Don't own an Instant Pot? No Problem!
If you don’t own an instant pot yet, you can make Authentic Mexican Rice on the stovetop with this recipe.
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Instant Pot 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 tomato bouillon cubes, ,finely chopped*, or 2 teaspoons granulated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 carrot, , diced
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/3 cup frozen peas
Instructions
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Drain well.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute. Once hot, add oil to the bottom of the pot.
- Add rice and saute, stirring often, until lightly golden, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, onion, tomato sauce, salt, tomato bullion and carrots and stir to combine.
- Add water and stir well, making sure the bullion cubes are dissolved.
- Turn instant pot off. Secure lid and turn valve to sealed position.
- Turn on to Manual or High Pressure, and cook for 3-4 minutes (3 minutes for tender to the bite, or 4 minutes for softer rice).
- When timer beeps, allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid and add peas. Gently fluff the rice with a fork (don't stir it).
- Place IP lid over the bowl and allow rice to rest for a few more minutes before serving.
Notes
Don't own an Instant Pot? No Problem!
If you don’t own an instant pot yet, you can make Authentic Mexican Rice on the stovetop with this recipe. Find my tips (and step-by-step photos) for cooking perfect mexican rice, above in the post.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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I don’t usually leave comments but you have to know this is the best rice recipe I have found and loved! I have been making this rice for about a year now, this is my to go to! I have gotten several compliments on this recipe. The only thing I do different is, I don’t add salt. The last few times I have only added one cube instead of 2 and it’s still good!
Base recipe and instructions worked like a champ. I substituted chicken stock for water and tomato sauce and added about a tbsp of tomato paste to stock and a few other mods and it came out great.
I love this recipe and have made several times with both white and brown rice. I was told that Basmati Light Brown Rice is also good to use for Mexican Rice. Can you use this in your recipe and if so what would the cooking time be?
Can I substitute with jasmine rice?
Yes, that’s fine, the flavor will just change slightly.
Can I double the recipe and use the same pressure times?
Yes. Enjoy.
I have made this a few times, and I dont know why but my rice always turns out bright red insead of that orange color. Do you know why?
Did you use tomato stock? I always use chicken stock because that’s what I have on hand it usually turns out an orangey color, if not a bit lighter than hers.
I didn’t realize the tomato bullion has chicken in it also 🙁 Any suggestions to make this vegetarian?? Thank you!
I get a ‘burn’ message on the instant pot about a minute in the pressure cook mode.
Anyone else experienced this?
Next time be sure to deglaze the pan with water and scrape up any bits from when the rice sauteed. You could even more the rice off to the side and spray the bottom of the pot well with cooking spray before adding the water.
Thank you.
I did too. It beeped then burn. Cooking now and not sure what to do. Will try off and wait ten minutes.
Have you made this with brown rice? IF yes, what is the cooking time?
Yes! Add about 1/3 cup extra water and cook for 22 minutes at high pressure with 10 minute natural release.
22 minutes for brown rice?
Yes.
Would it change the overall flavor if I left out carrots and peas? My little ones love Mexican rice but won’t touch it if there are veggies.
Not at all, feel free to leave them out :-).
This was a big hit at my house. The only modification I made was similar to another commenter’s suggestion: homemade vegetable stock and tomato paste instead of water and bullion. The color is quite pleasant. I also took a couple more minutes with the peas at the end since mine were in a pretty solid ice block. Next time I will remove them from the freezer earlier so they may melt a little first.
My Wife is super picky about her Mexican rice. I have been trying to find a recipe I can make her at home for lunches instead of relying on specific restaurants she likes. I tried this one and it was a big hit. She loves it. She shared some with her co-worker too and he loved it as well. I left out the carrots, and used the granulated tomato bullion and it was perfect. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.