They say that rice is one of the most important foods in the world. And that sure was the case in my house growing up.
Rice was essential. A part of every meal and a crucial addition to every family party. And my mom, well, she’s the master at making Mexican rice.
I get it. You’ve probably tasted the best Mexican rice ever at a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant or on a beach in Mexico. Regardless, there’s no harm in making this recipe.
You won’t be disappointed.
It’s the perfect addition to your next taco Tuesday, fajita Friday or really any day!
There is a slight catch. You see, this recipe is cooked more like pasta than rice. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you’re used to making rice a different way, it might take a couple of tries making it to catch the drift of it.
Another thing to keep in mind is the pot you’re using – I’ve only used stainless steel, so if you have pots made of other materials, I’ve included instructions for you below as well.
Enjoy! And, as always, let me know if you have any questions.
PrintMexican style rice
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 people 1x
Description
Another family favorite with all the Mexican flavors to go with your next meal on Margarita Monday or Taco Tuesday.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Jasmine rice
- 2 tbsp avocado oil (start with 1, then add more if needed)
- 1/2 onion (minced)
- 2/3 red bell pepper (minced)
- 1/4 green bell pepper (minced)
- 1/2 can tomato sauce (half of a 7 oz can)
- 5 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/4 cup cilantro (minced)
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups filtered water (has to be solid cups, not fluid oz cups)
- 1 tsp achiote (paprika works too)
Instructions
- Add avocado oil to large pot. Then, add onion and fry on high heat while stirring for about 5 minutes.
- Add peppers and cilantro, then stir fry for 2 min.
- Add garlic and stir fry for another 2 min.
- Then add tomato sauce and lower heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add water and spices. Raise heat to medium – high. Let boil. This should take about 5 minutes if covered.
- Taste test time! Taste the water mix to see if you’d like to add more of any spice. Make it your own!
- Add rice. Stir for a minute. Then let boil again. Stir again to ensure that rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Keep alternating between stirring and letting the rice boil until rice doesn’t stick anymore.
- You’ll notice the rice start to expand. This is good. It should look like there’s more rice than water in the mix. It should look like this before proceeding to the next step.
- **VERY IMPORTANT ** if you’re using a stainless steel pot that has multiple layers (if you don’t know if you have one, you probably don’t) then cover the pot with lid. Be sure to put a little piece of napkin in between the cover and the pot.
- Carefully touch the top of the lid and once it gets hot, turn off the stove (stainless steel only). If you’re using any other kind of pot, then just cover and put heat on low.
- *For stainless steel: After 25 minutes (either with no heat applied or on low) the rice should cook fully. *For all other kinds of pots: cook for 35 minutes on low.
- Once it’s done cooking, you can uncover the pot and make sure it’s fully cooked. All the veggies probably came up to the top, so you want to be sure that everything is mixed in. Plus stirring the rice prevents it from clumping.
Notes
Use organic ingredients whenever possible.
- Category: Appetizer, Side Dish
- Cuisine: Mexican