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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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This was delicious! didn’t have any tomato sauce so I used salsa and it worked perfectly. Thank you!
Will the rice still be good if I make it the night before and heat it up?
I think it reheats really well. Sprinkle a little bit over water over it, cover it and microwave it (the water will help steam the rice again, so it will taste fresh).
Made this with white rice, it was excellent. Plan to try with brown rice the next time just to see how that tastes. Closest to authentic Mexican Rice that I’ve ever had.
Hi Lauren!
Do you think I could use tomato paste (one tablespoon?) instead of the bouillon cubes? Unfortunately, I can’t find any cubes that are vegetarian.
Thanks!
Sure, that would be fine 🙂
My substitutions: I did not have tomato bouillon, used chicken instead. I used a frozen carrot & pea mixture, doubled the quantity indicated for peas (omitted the fresh carrot). I doubled the recipe, cooked it 4 mins on manual high and natural released 12 minutes. Delicious! Perfect consistency. I made this for an event, but will make it at home soon. Thank you!
Thank you. FINALLY! I can stop looking for a perfect Spanish rice (that’s what it’s called where I live) that actually tastes like an authentic Mexican restaurant. If you don’t know what an authentic Mexican restaurant is, chances are it’s not Chili’s or Chi-Chi’s or a place where your menu is (probably) a handed to you by a gringo. I’m talking about a family-run restaurant where the cook is a husband and the head waiter/hostess is a wife (or some variety of that). A place where the cooks actually learned to cook from their grandmas over a cruddy old range in a 25 year old pan and a wooden spoon that looks as if it’d survived a fire because it had.
Thank you for bringing this recipe to cooks who basically want to live in that Mexican restaurant but are running a household and have the Instant Pot! This makes my Peruvian chicken (and my tacos and enchiladas and tostadas) a lot more of a meal.
Thanks for all your work on this! I’m from South Texas & finding a true South Tex-Mex recipe is hard to come by. Yours is spot on & reminds me of when I used to live there. Delicioso!
Thanks so much Audrey, I’m glad to have your approval!
Hi there! If I make this recipe using brown rice would my cooking times change at all?
Yes, to substitute brown rice, add 1/4 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. Enjoy!
This is great rice! I soaked my rice for about 5 mins. before rinsing,so I think it may help with the issues of burning.
Next time I will add just a touch of chili.
This was delicious! I checked 4 stores locally and couldn’t find the tomato boullion. I just used chicken, but the tomato sauce still gave a red color. Everyone enjoyed it. I’d like to try with brown rice next time just to increase the nutritional value! Any thoughts about the impact using brown rice would have on the taste or the cooking instructions? Thanks for the great and EASY recipe!
It tastes great with brown rice! Add 1/4 cup additional water and cook for about 22 minutes high pressure.