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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Recipe
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
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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I make it with fresh tomato instead of sauce, and I leave out peas and carrots. We love it. My tomato boullion cubes are huge, so I just use one.
Definitely had trouble with this recipe, got burn notice. Salvaged by throwing another cup of water in and then started again. Got another burn, but somewhat edible
Great flavor! My 1st time cooking with long grain white rice and tomato boullion; I did get burn notice, but not until the start of the natural release, so I ended up quick releasing after a few minutes cause I was afraid of what I’d find in pot. It wasn’t burned, but definitely looked like it could‘ve used more water (and I might’ve sautéed too long?) so next time I’ll up the water a little. Over all very tasty & will definitely try again!
I tripled the recipe but had to keep adding cooking time until it cooked. Would you happen to know how much time I should let it cook if the recipe is doubled or tripled? After it was done, it was super tasty.
I love this rice! Everyone who has tried it says it’s the best! I’m going on vacation and taking freezer meals. Can this be frozen? If so, what is the best method to freezer it?
I’m happy you liked it! Yes, once the rice as cooled, add it to a freezer-safe bag and seal the air out. To reheat, break the frozen rice apart into small pieces and add to a microwave safe bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and rewarm for 2 minutes or so. Enjoy!
Thank you!
This recipe is fantastic and now my go-to for Mexican rice. Can this recipe be doubled? And if so, should I make any changes?
Thank you!
Yes you can double it without any other changes!
Amazing, layered in flavors! Everyone in my family loves it and asks for it frequently. Tweaks I make: we all love onion and garlic, so I always add extra of both, squeeze of lime and a few chunks of avocado just before serving. Highly recommend this recipe.
The rice didn’t come out cooked at all.
Burn notice after burn notice. Adding more liquid and scraping was absolutely no help. Next time I’m just going to make my Mexican rice the old fashioned way – on the stove.
Same issue burn notice after a minute. Still looking for the perfect recipe to make spanish rice.
I’ve had this problem, the solution is to just cook it on the “rice” setting! And make sure you’re scraping down the sides so there isn’t any rice stuck. Happy cooking! I love this recipe!
I make a very similar recipe so I’m sure this is delicious. Just wanted to mention that the Knorr Tomato Bouillon cubes actually make 2 cups of broth, so you would need 2 teaspoons to equal ONE cube (4 teaspoons in this recipe). I LOVE the tomato bouillon flavor so always use the 4 teaspoons. Hope that helps someone!
I’m from San Antonio, so I’m VERY picky with my tex-mex dishes. And this recipe is a winner! I followed the exact recipe and it came out great!!! So tasty. Note: I did get a “burn” message on my instapot, but I simply pressed the “cancel” button (it was practically done anyways). Then I let it sit for 10 minutes–just like the recipe says to. So yummy! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Wow this was amazing! So easy to follow and it cooked perfectly. I’ve never had much success with rice in the instant pot but this was great- nice and fluffy. I was a little worried there would be too little water but it really was just right. Delicious flavour from the oil and tomato. This is going to go on my favourite recipe list. Thank you for sharing! *I didn’t have tomato bouillon so I used 1 vegetable stock cube and crumbled it in and 1 tbsp of tomato puree*