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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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Fantastic! This is the best recipe for Mexican rice ever. I left out the peas and carrots, and it was just like my favorite restaurant’s rice. Thanks!
This was my first time making Mexican rice in the Instant Pot, so, this recipe is didn’t then my stove top recipe. My first though when I opened the lid was it looked so oily. When I ate it I thought yes, it’s to oily, however, otherwise it was very good. My husband also questioned why it was so greasy, but, he thought the flavor was overall great. Better yet he has asked when I make it again. So, tomorrow I’m making it again. I am going to try 2 tbs oil, instead of 1/4 cup. Thank you for the recipe
This is a great recipe. I doubled it, so the rice didn’t really change color much when I sauted it. Too much volume for the Instant Pot I suppose. Regardless, the final product was delicious and nicely colored. I didn’t have any bouillon cubes so I substituted one packet of Sazon Goya. Worked great! Next time I may leave out the peas and carrots and just use a can of Rotel tomatoes instead. I also used my ceramic non-stick instant pot insert for this recipe since I often have issues with rice sticking to bare stainless steel insert. If you don’t have a non-stick insert, put it on your Christmas list. They are life changing!
When you double the recipe do you also need to double the cook time? Thanks!
No, the cook time stays the same (the pot will just take longer to come to pressure).
Let me start off by saying I am a rice lover. I’ve made this rice several times and we love it every time! I don’t rinse my rice is that a starch thing? I have used fresh carrots as well as mixed frozen peas and carrots I think the frozen blend is better the fresh carrots leave no texture that they are in the dish. No other changes made. It’s definitely my go to on taco night or any other night. Lol!!
I’ve made it three times and I keep getting a burn notice.
Flavors are good. We love this rice. The problem is that the rice sticks very quickly to the pot, within 2 minutes of the start of sealed steaming I get a ‘burn’ indicator. This happens every time. I rescue the rice and finish with the microwave or restart the cooker. Should the liquid to rice ratio be higher? Other suggestions?
Love, love love this recipe! I used serrano peppers instead of peas and carrots. My family thinks this is better than any Mexican rice they’ve had at any restaurant. I agree and have made it three times in the last week! Made the refried beans too, they were great too!
I have made this a couple of times now! I followed the directions as is and had no problems. It is delicious and easy to make. My kids love it as well! Highly recommend this recipe!
I’ve made this several time and it turns out great! I cannot find tomato bouillon so I sub tubed tomato paste. Quick easy side for a weekday meal.
I loved it but got a burn notice. Help!!!
Rice cooked fine. I used peeled, real tomatoes. The whole thing came out quite orange. Family comment was – I don’t NOT like it. The husband left it on his plate. No burn notice but I did have tremendous trouble continuously scraping the rice off the bottom during the saute stage. It just needed something! I did notice that my boullion cubes had chicken base in them. I cannot find tomato boullion that does not. Does anyone have advice?
At Wal-Mart in the Mexican isle you should be able to find “Sazon seasoning” they are individual little packets, and they come in a small box. I always use that seasoning in my Spanish rice and it taste delicious.
sazón seasoning should be in everyone’s spice cabinet. I suspect even the most rural cook is near a Walmart (after all they have forced the closure of smaller grocers). The upside is that we now have ready access to a wider variety of seasonings.
It could be you did not let oil get really hot before you added rice. I stirred after a couple months minutes to make sure it wouldn’t stick. Use only 1/4cup of tomato sauce. I skipped the tomato boullion because I did not have it and have no Mexican store close.
I haven’t tried this yet because I found the recipe when summer was over. I think it should work really well for any tomato-based dish. Hope it’s OK to post a link in comments. I apologize if it isn’t allowed. https://www.ruralsprout.com/tomato-powder/