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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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I made this tonight to go with a casserole I’m making and it turned out fantastic! I made the following minor changes: I used butter and olive oil to toast the rice. Then I used 1/2 cup canned chopped tomatoes (with southwest spices), 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup chicken broth, plus a dash of cumin. I rinsed my rice (prior to toasting it as recommended) and then cooked on high pressure for 5 minutes. Let manually release after 10 minutes. Added frozen peas and carrots, replaced lid for 15 minutes to finish cooking. Was awesome and authentic. Great recipe!
After reading the comments about the “burn” notice, I took another poster’s advice, and browned my rice, garlic, and onions on the stove. I increased the rice to 2 cups, and broth to 2 cups, as I have an 8 qt. Instant Pot which requires more liquid. I brushed my instant pot liner with canola oil. I mixed my spices and liquids together, then put the browned rice mixture and liquid in the pot, stirred it, added a bit of cumin and cayenne, stirred it, put the lid on, and set it for 5 minutes. After the 10 minute natural release, I released the remaining steam, opened the lid. The rice was perfect! I added the peas, and fluffed it up. Delicious!
I didn’t do fresh vegetables. I used saffron, Better than Bouillon, garlic and onion powder, frozen peas and frozen corn, and small can of tomato sauce. It came out GREAT!!
Awesome recipe, kids all loved it! Subbed vegetable better then bouillon For tomato bouillon.
Delicious
Easy and delicious. I made a much more complicated recipe in the past and it didn’t taste this good. Still make this again!
Followed recipe exactly, and got my first ever burn notice. I managed to save the rice by moving it to another pot, adding 1/2 c. Water, pressure cooking on high for zero minutes. Any idea what caused the burn notice?
Usually you get this when the tomato sauce burns. It’s very high in sugar. Add the tomato on top of the rest of the ingredients and DO NOT STIR. You could also cook this PIP (Pot In Pot).
The first time I made this recipe as written and had no problems. It reminded me of my childhood and is the closest recipe I’ve found to my aunts lost recipe. I tried to double the recipe and got a burn notice. Once I released the pressure, there was a couple of small spots that were scorched but overall the rice was mostly cooked. I added some more water and tomato sauce, warmed it to an almost boil and turned it off, then set the lid on to let it steam. Came out perfect!
Like every other person said on here, I kept getting burn notice until I gave up. The rice was cooked after second burn notice but very bland. Followed recipe exactly.
I tried this recipe and it was great. I don’t have an insta-pot so I used my elite platinum pressure cooker. I shared this recipe with my daughter and sister.