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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 beyond delicious. I’m very judgmental on Mexican rice and this rice was gooooood. The tomato boullion makes the rice so much better. I added a can of fire-roasted tomatoes and green Chile’s. Que delicioso! Thanks for the recipe. Definitely pinning this.
No cumin?
No, I don’t put cumin. You can if you want to 🙂
No wonder the high ratings. The tomato bouillon cubes you link to contain monosodium glutamate. Yikes! MSG makes everything tastes good, but it’s a neuro toxin, among other things. Diana did good by using tomato paste instead. I would have hoped that you would shy away from suggesting the use of MSG in any recipe Lauren.
I wanted to leave a quick note about subbing powdered bouillon. I believe a cube of the tomato is good for 2c water? A teaspoon is powdered is good for only 1c so definitely double it to 4tsp powdered, if you’re going that route. I just made this and used only 2tsp of Knorr powdered bouillon and it was way understated. I added a bunch right after it finished cooking and added a little water to help it soak up. I also decreased the oil by a TB and it worked just fine. Looking forward to making it again with more bouillon powder!
JOE–Do just the tiniest bit of research about MSG and you’ll see it’s completely safe to eat. US News and World Reports has a nice article about why Americans think it’s harmful and why that incorrect information has been so pervasive. MSG is no more than glutamate, an organic compound naturally occurring in foods with lots of umami (tomato, parmesan cheese) plus sodium. Many many studies have shown MSG is completely safe, no more harmful than table salt, and definitely NOT a neuro toxin.
*was under salted not understated. Sorry for typos!
I used organic Better Than Bouillon seasoned vegetable base containing carrots, celery, onions and tomatoes. No MSG and the rice turns out perfectly.
Luv this recipe. I didnt have tomato cubes so I substituted with 2 tbs tomato paste. It gave the nice color to the rice. I also added a little chili powder to spice it up!
This was delicious, easy and quick! It was perfect with my enchiladas. I will definitely be making this recipe from now on.
I noticed you don’t say whether to turn off the IP during the natural release and then wait 10 min. When making white rice I do turn it off because it sticks and burns if I don’t but with additional wet ingredients I’m not sure if it still needs to be on during the release?
Hi! Do you have any recommendations making a larger batch of this for a party? Do I just double all the ingredients or would I still use the same amount or just a bit more for certain ingredients, like the oil?
I would double everything.
Super quick and tasty. I added onion powder since my wife doesn’t like onion pieces and added about a tablespoon of adobo sauce.
By far the best mexican rice recipe on the interwebs! I hv tried many and this one is the best! We have made this many times and love it. Perfect for fajita night, taco night, enchilada night or all the nights!
This is a wonderful basic recipe! I also could not find tomato bouillon so I used “Better Than Boullion” vegetable flavor, it at least had tomato in it. I also did not add the peas and carrots as I’ve never had rice in a Mexican restaurant that had them in it. It turned out excellent but we thought it lacked in flavor. Next time I will experiment with some seasoning.
The tomato boullion will be near the Mexican food. It has a chicken flavor so it adds a lot. I made this exactly as written and it was the best we’ve ever had. Don’t skip adding the veggies.