This post contains affiliate links.
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.
FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
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.
Text me new recipe ideas!
Simple, tasty ideas sent once a week. No spam.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
This post contains affiliate links. I love sharing my favorite products and cooking tools with you all!
Fantastic recipe. Made the stovetop version at least 50 times in a rice cooker, sometimes as written, sometimes substituting a homemade hot sauce for the tomato sauce. Always had a slight browning on the bottom that added amazing flavour to the dish. First time making this today in a 6 qt IP. Doubled it, but only used 1/4 cup oil as per the manufacturers recommendation not to use more. Browned the rice in a separate pan out of habit, and used boiling water to ensure the bouillon was dissolved and evenly incorporated (cannot get tomato so usually use whatever I have plus a few drops of food colour). After 4 min on high, there was barely any sticking–definitely no burning–not even the browning I enjoyed when using the rice cooker. Would maybe cook for 5 min next time as some of the rice at the top was a bit underdone after the natural release. But that may be specific to my IP. Would suggest forgoing the salt if using bouillon cubes that make 3 cups of broth rather than 2). Surpasses any Mexican rice I have ever eaten in a restaurant. Thank you for sharing!
The only Mexican rice recipe I use for the instant pot! I usually make a batch twice a month because it’s such a great side dish with any Mexican dish. Or even just on its own!
Made this as instructed and it turned out great. Served this chile colorado and fresh avocado. What a meal. Cooked this exactly by recipe on both items and I thought my wife was going to lick her plate. This is a keeper
Does it do well in large batches? I wanted to make a “x3” recipe for my friend’s daughter’s quicenera….
Yes, that’s fine. As long as your instant pot is large enough to hold that amount.
This is a nice adaptation, much like we do it in the restaurant I cook in. The only thing I do differently is use tomato paste instead of the sauce and bouillon. Adding a little cumin and dried clove is a nice touch, as well as a little coriander or fresh cilantro at the end (I wouldn’t do both)
Delicious. Stole the show on our enchilada night. I used chicken bouillon only because I didn’t have tomato bouillon, and it still tasted great!
My family loved this recipe! I had pureed a bunch of fresh tomatoes already, so I used about half a cup of those instead of canned given the difference in consistency. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly.
I did get a burn error on my IP even though I know I scraped everything at the bottom. I just cancelled the time and left it alone until the pin dropped – the rice was perfectly cooked and just the middle had a lovely crust at the bottom.
I’ll definitely be making this one again!
I saved this recipe a long time ago and finally made it today. Amazing! Big hit! Thank you
This is my absolute go to rice recipe when I am cooking a Mexican style dinner. I would love to add a Yukon gold potato diced, would I need to increase the water to 2 cups?
Thank you for all the great recipes!
Hi!
Can you use tomato paste in lieu of the bouillon?
Kristen