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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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Instant pot gave instant burn, I preheated pot, preheated oil, gave extra oil just in case, the rice was shiny, still BURN, BURN, BURN. My instant pot burned with any tomato recipes from day 1 of owning it. Ruined meal.
This recipe is wonderful!
I have made this numerous times and it’s always delicious! Could I use brown rice and just adjust the IP time for what I normally pressure cook brown rice at?
Followed the recipe and the rice was delicious. I doubled the recipe in my 6 qt IP. The only thing I had to change was the amount of granulated tomato bouillon. You need 4 tsp, but the recipe doesn’t automatically change that part.
Loved the flavor and texture! Cooked on stovetop instead of IP.
This recipe is perfect! I make it for our youth group at church, and they all ask me what taco shop I go to to buy the rice!
I’ve read several other recipes for Mexican rice, and everyone complains about the burn. While you do have to rinse the rice quite well, it’s not about the rice ,it’s not about the age of your pot, and it’s not about the amount of liquid. It’s about how hot the oil is! When you add the rice you have to be sure your oil is shimmering before you put any rice in or the rice will leave a residue that causes the burn. I stir the rice with a rubber spatula, and before I add any liquid, I make very sure that the bottom of my pot is shiny…and I get perfect rice every time and I make it all the time! Always a double batch at once too! If the bottom of the pot is not shining, clean by adding a tiny bit of water and work it with your spatula until it is shining.
And by the way, for people who wanted their rice fluffy… I have never had rice at a taco shop that was fluffy…. Do not overcook it! One last bit of advice, don’t flavor it up or spice it up more. The point of the rice is to calm down the spiciness of the rest of your menu. The spice is perfect. If it seems too salty, check the size of your bullion cube, they come in two sizes so be sure to use the size of cube recommended for one cup of bouillon.. I do prefer the crystals, though. Love this recipe exactly as written!
This worked beautifully. Can’t skimp on the oil or the rice will stick/burn to the pot. We excluded the salt altogether. Instead of tomato bouillon cubes, we used chicken bouillon paste from a jar (2 Tsp). We left out the peas because we didn’t have any. And I used 3 Tsp of garlic instead of 2! Can’t get over how fast the rice cooked!
Not a good recipe.Rice burned immediately. Two cubes of bouillon was too salty. Failed recipe.
Good recipe but did not quite work for me without some tweaking. It burned rather than pressure cooked every time I followed the proportions as listed. Two tomato cubes were too much, so l dropped to one. But I’m in Mexico and the cubes may be larger than the brands in the USA. Added an additional quarter cup of water and cooked 5-7 minutes. It’s been turning out perfectly and I make this a lot. I use roasted carrots and roasted corn rather than the peas. I also like to use a food processor for the onions, garlic, and tomatoes and add a bit of cilantro. Dissolving the tomato cube in the water also seemed to work better.
I did the entire 4 min for soft rice and 10 min natural release. The rice was still chewy. 🙁 The dish itself lacked flavor. I would try again and perhaps add more tomato sauce and some other spices? to add flavor. I would also add another minute or two to the cook time, too.
I tried it again tonight but added 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp oregano, and an additional tsp of minced garlic. I omitted the peas and at the very end just before serving I mixed in about 1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro. I cooked for 5 min then 10 min NR. It was a hit with the whole family! Flavor was there and the texture of the rice was spot on and fluffy! Will make this over and over with these few additions!