Quick Mexican Recipes

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Taconight at home is a frequent occurrence and so Mexican rice is a side dish we often have. Back in the day I used to buy the microwavable Spanish rice packets for convenience -- and because I didn't have a good homemade recipe yet. Now I make this perfect fluffy rice all of the time. My easy Mexican rice recipe doesn't include any extra fillings, so your picky kids will also love it!

Mexican food is Ben's favorite. Of course, I love it, too, but Ben could eat tacos and rice every day without getting sick of it. Most date nights I have to challenge him to go somewhere besides a Mexican restaurant because we already dine at our favorite one as a family almost weekly. It's nice to change it up when we don't have the kids!

To kick it up a flair, you can also splash in a little lime juice. I don't do this but only because I always serve lime slices with our Mexican dishes, so if someone wants to squeeze in a little lime into their food they can control it!

Tried this for the 1st time, read the comments, used 1/2 cup of home canned tomato sauce and

Chicken broth instead of water, I browned the rice , added about 1/2 cup diced onions to the rice when browning. Added a jalapeo to give it a little more flavor. Cooked for 25 minutes and tried out really good.

This was a terrific, flavorful recipe. I was out of tomato sauce so I used red enchilada sauce and, yes, it was still nummy! I am going to try verde sauce next!

Rinsing the rice is a key step to a firmer - not mushy dish. Thanks for sharing!

This is a fantastic recipe and even better than I expected! I'm so happy to have a new staple side dish for Mexican meals. We cook Mexican meals often and this is the perfect addition. I followed the recipe exactly other than adding half a can (5 oz.) of diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained. We like tomatoes in Mexican rice and the chilies added just a little bit of heat. I added the tomatoes right along with the other ingredients and the rice still cooked just right in the time stated in the recipe.

I made this tonight and we really liked it. I need to make several batches for a birthday party Saturday. If I double the recipe, do I double all the ingredients but leave the cook time the same? Also what is the best way to reheat it?

Hi! The cooking time is good as listed, but could vary depending on your cookware, or if someone were to open the lid. Just wanted to respond to this so someone doesn't try cooking over the 25 minutes without checking. ? Mine is always done at 25...sometimes 20 when I use a different pan.

Hi Nikki, thanks for this great Mexican Rice recipe, it's our family's favorite! I am planning on making a large amount for our daughter's grad party this weekend and know everyone will love it. I did see your note about freezing the rice. About how many days ahead can I make the rice, do you think? Thank you ?

Hi Katie! If you plan on freezing the rice, you can make it months in advance. Since you're having the party this weekend, I don't think I would bother freezing it. It will keep in the fridge for a few days! I've reheated our leftovers even a week later and they were still great. Have a wonderful party!

This was a good starting point for me - but like several other comments on the site, I found the liquid ratio too great for the rice. Thankfully, I had additional unflavored cooked rice on hand to add to absorb the excess sauce. I also doubled the cumin and also added a 1/2 tsp each of garlic, salt, and onion powder in lieu of garlic salt. With these adaptations it came out perfect. I've never rinsed my rice or cooked it in oil before boiling it and doing that made a HUGE difference! Thank you for the inspiration - it was so delicious and my best batch yet!

This recipe is fire! I made it just as it said other than I used Basmati rice since it has a lower glycemic index as I am diabetic. So simple and delicious. This will accompany every mexican dish from now on! The whole family loved it! Thank you for this stellar recipe!

This was delicious! I thought there might be a fight between my young grandkids over the last tablespoon of it! I used 1/2 tomato sauce and1/2 salsa and lightly browned the rice before cooking. Now my go to recipe. Thanks so much!

Ok, so my son and I made this recipe and it turned out pretty good we thought. We wanted to make a double batch because bothe he and mu husband are big eaters. So I doubled the extra amount of rice, and the normal amount of chicken broth not quite thinking things though. When I realized I needed more broth I only had a cup left and I still needed one more but I just put what I had in the pot. Finished cooking it and it tasted pretty good like I said but then I remembered I didn't double the tomato sauce. We laughed about it and finished eating it. It wasn't until I was rewriting the recipe for the double batch that I realized I didn't double the spices either!!!! I am now banished from the kitchen. On a side note, I don't know if it was the lack of moisture in it or the pan I used but I wouldn't recommend using an enameled cast iron pot, I did burn the very bottom of it. We will be trying this again soon.

Tried this tonight and we really liked your version. What I did different - first I rinsed, rinsed, rinsed the rice before cooking. Made the larger recipe. Used mild chunky salsa instead of tomato paste. When I took the lid off the rice, I thought ooh boy, it's going to be gooey, but it fluffed up perfectly. Thank you for the recipe! It's going into my favorites

Hi Bonnie,

We have been working on this -- implemented a new pop up for the email sign up and trying to figure out how to take the old one down, so right now it's technical errors on the back end popping up both! I've been trying to fix it. I'm not very techy savvy so it's been hard for me to figure this out. We have been displaced from our home from losing everything in a house fire, which is also my home office, so things have been a bit wonky lately. Thanks for your patience.

You can sautee' the bell peppers before toasting the rice and let it all cook together, but I would wait to add frozen corn until after the rice is cooked and then stir it in (thawed first). The frozen temperature could interfere with the rice cooking and adding corn before cooking could result in mushy corn.

I ended up on the recipe because I watch a YouTube cannel called Mandy in the Making and she featured and linked your recipe. So I came to this page and looked and read and thought, "How do I know the name Nikki Gladd??" Then it hit me, we have a mutual friend and I see your name on Facebook posts of hers. It's a small world!! I'm going to make this rice and use it to make my own version of arroz con pollo.

I made this a couple of months ago and my whole family loved it. I want to make it again for Sunday lunch but will need to make ahead of time and reheat it. How would you suggest reheating? In the microwave? On the stovetop? Should I add some water/broth before reheating?

I made this and it came out DELICIOUS! The entire family loves it. I want to make this as a small Side dish for a party. I have 20 people to feed. How would you suggest making this? What size pot? Or do you suggest making a few batches the night before and reheating the day of? Thanks for the delicious and easy recipe!

Thank you, Jen! I would just double the recipe for 20 people since it will be a small side dish. The timing should be about the same but you will want to use at least a 6 qt. pot. ? Have a great party!

Hi Penny,

I'm sorry it didn't work the second two times! Did you use the organic jasmine rice the first successful try? If not, I'm guessing that is the reason although I couldn't tell you exactly why. Did you use the same pan? Was anything you used different?

Hi Amanda,

Yes, you should be fine using coconut oil to fry the rice. I have not tested this so cannot say for sure, but typically coconut oil can be used in place of veggie oil at 1:1 ratio in most recipes. Thanks for asking!

This was really good! I still wish the rice was a little more crumbly just like in Mexican restaurants. I did add some taco seasoning as another follower reviewed and tried the oven method. They came out the same.

I liked how easy it was to prepare, but when it was close the end of cooking, it came out mushy. Did I over cook it? I set the timer for 25 minutes but I removed it from the stove after 20 minutes. Also, it was a little tart. Can you suggest the name of the rice and the tomato sauce that you used?

Hi Lorna,

I use a long grain rice, Mahatma is the brand name. Make sure you do not use instant rice or minute rice. The tomato sauce I use varies -- sometimes the Kroger store brand and sometimes Hunts. Hope this helps!

Hi Beverly! I believe you can. Although I've never frozen this specific rice, I have frozen my cilantro lime rice in freezer bags and thawed in the bag in the microwave (opened an inch for ventilation) for 90 seconds, turning halfway. It should work similarly with this. Just make sure you cool the rice to room temperature before transferring to freezer bag. Hope this helps!

Thanks, Courtney. My rice never sticks/burns at the bottom and others haven't had this problem - it could be the type of pan you are using or possibly adjust the temperature during the steaming process to a little lower than you used. I say this because I do not recommend to everyone here lifting the lid to let the steam out during the cooking time. If this fixes it for you, then of course do it! ? But, you may require a longer cooking time if so. Thank you!

Hi Melanie,

I have not tested with instant rice, but you wouldn't want to cook instant rice for 25 minutes. Maybe try using the liquid ingredients and spices called for in this recipe, bring to a boil, stir in your rice and cover. Remove from heat for 5 minutes then fluff. (Assuming you mean like a Minute Rice?) Again, haven't tested this for myself but I think this is where I would start! ? Let us know if you try it!

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