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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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Didn’t have tomato bullion, so substituted chicken stock for the water & added 1 Tbsp tomato paste for color. Delicious!
I made this recipe tonight and the flavor was AWESOME!! However the rice was a bit on the crunchy side but still tasted amazing! I live in Utah and I was wondering if the high altitude effects the cooking time? I cooked it for 4 minutes. Any recommendations? I WILL be making this again.
I originally made your stovetop version of this and absolutely loved it! I decided to see if there was an Instant Pot version and lo and behold, I’m right back here! This recipe is delicious just like the stovetop version!
My only question is: Is there a way to add there Serrano peppers into this recipe? I miss it! Could I add it in while it cools without something terrible happening?
Yes, you could set it right on top the same way! I’m so happy you found me (again!). Enjoy!
Do NOT put rice in sauté unless it is DRY. SCORCH city. Tried to blanch bottom of pot after “sauté” but the pressure cook phase still burned thick and hard to bottom. Use DRY rice for sauté
Exactly my experience. Sautéing the rice made the rice stick and burn. Rice didn’t cook correctly either. Sauté onions first, add rice and water at the same time.
Yeah so the rice burned on me since I rinsed it well. The rice will need to dry out first because it should be cooked in the oil to let it golden/brown a bit before adding everything else.
While you were sautéing or after it pressure cooked?
I’m trying to feed a crowd of 100. Do you know if I can double, triple or quadruple the recipe for 1 cooking batch?
Yes you can double/triple all you want, as long as it will fit in your IP!
Do you make any adjustments when doubling the recipe? I have tried 3 times and always get the burned message when I double the recipe. When I use the portions in the recipe, though, it comes out beyond perfect! (That’s why I want to make more because it’s soooo delicious)
Delicious! Did not have tomato bouillon cubes , so I used chicken bouillon. Very, very tender rice!! Will make this again!
So easy to make and amazingly yummy! I agree that the tomato bouillon is the key.
Easy and so delicious! I’ve tried other Mexican rice recipes, but this one came the closest to what we get at our favorite restaurant. The tomato bouillon is the secret ingredient!
OMG. I was blown away. I didn’t believe it was going to be done in 4 minutes, well it was and it was very good. I followed my recipe that i use for the stove top and it came out wonderful. Thank you posting the directions for the insta pot.
We are travellers who cannot access tomato bullion cubes. Instead, we replace the tomato sauce and bullion cubes with 1/4 cup of canned or bottled salsa in mild, medium or hot depending on the accompaniment. It tastes wonderful.