Our Easy Restaurant-style Mexican Rice rivals anything you can get in a restaurant. It has the perfect consistency and just the right amount of seasoning.
This is delicious and simple Mexican rice recipe rivals anything you can get in a restaurant. It is far better than anything you can make from a box. I have tried different methods in my rice cooker, but cooking it over the stove is so much better.
Mexican Rice Recipe Tips
This Mexican rice is slightly on the dry side, like in restaurants which is exactly how I like it. It doesn’t turn out wet, clumpy and sticky like some homemade Mexican rice recipes can be. The secret is all in the way that you cook it. Mexican rice needs to be fried in oil and browned BEFORE you add the chicken broth and tomato sauce. As a result, the rice really absorbs the flavors yet has the perfect consistency. My other tip is to mix in the chopped cilantro after cooking. If you add it before, the cilantro gets brown in color and wilted. When you toss it in after, it stays green and fresh looking.
Authentic and Easy Mexican Rice Reviews
My husband is very picky about his Mexican rice. He had a family friend growing up that made the most amazing and authentic Mexican food. I could see he was skeptical that this rice would not be as good as his friend’s Mexican rice, but to his pleasant surprise this was just as good if not better! This is his new favorite way to make it. We have made it several times since.
We have had so many rave reviews from people who have made and loved this rice recipe. You can read them all in the comments below. This is one of my favorites from a fan named Patty, “I am a Puerto Rican woman married to a hard core Mexican man. I’ve tried just about every recipe available for this rice and it never quite worked. I made this today and IT’S PERFECT!! This is the way my MIL makes it. It is as authentic as it can get! Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the recipe I will make my family from now on.”
I mean, you can’t get a much higher compliment than that!
Is Mexican Rice Gluten Free?
Yes! Mexican Rice can easily be made gluten free. Use a gluten free chicken broth, like Swanson’s Chicken Broth, for gluten free Mexican Rice.
Mexican Rice and Beans
What about the beans? Mexican Rice and Beans are a match made in heaven! This recipe goes hand in hand with our Restaurant Style Refried Beans. Also, be sure to include our Best Guacamole EVER, and our fresh Homemade Salsa. With all of these recipes combined, you will have your sides covered for your next big fiesta! Your friends will think you had it all catered in from your favorite Mexican joint. We have tons of great Mexican recipes here on Favorite Family Recipes. Our Mom is what you would call a Mexican food addict, she would eat it for every meal if she had the choice. Because of this, we learned at an early age how to make all different kinds of Mexican dishes. Consequently, as we got older and more adventurous, our Mexican food recipe collection grew even more. Browse through ALL of our Mexican recipes, click HERE!
More Easy Rice Recipes
If you are looking for some other good rice side dish recipes to go along with some of your other meals, I highly recommend our Easy Yellow Rice and Lemon Pesto Rice. Both make a great side dish to just about any meal, especially grilled meat and veggies! If you are cooking Asian food, definitely give our Restaurant Style Ham Fried Rice a try!
How to Make Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup long grain rice uncooked
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 14 ounces chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown.
- Add the garlic, salt, and cumin and stir the rice til it looks golden.
- Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth and turn the heat up to medium high.
- Bring the mix to a boil then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid.
- Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Remove from heat and fluff with a fork, then stir in chopped cilantro.
Equipment
- Stove Top
- Large Sauce Pan
Benita Esparza says
If we don’t have chicken broth can we use water in replace of the chicken broth and how much of the chicken broth did you use so we can use the same amount of water?
Erica Walker says
the cans are 14.5 oz, you can use water but it won’t have as much flavor. Be sure to season it up with a little salt if you need to. Hope this helps!
Mattie-Mo says
This recipe is awesome! I doubled the recipe and added 1 tsp of taco seasoning for the perfect dish for our family gathering. This is the first Mexican rice recipe I’ve made that didn’t turn out sticky or clumpy, even though I made it about an hour ahead of dinner and put it on warm in the crockpot. I had leftovers (a small bowl) the next day and it was STILL PERFECT. This recipe is a definite KEEPER
Meagan says
We LOVE this rice! I’ve been making this recipe probably 2 years or so now and it is a hit every time. Not long ago I made it for a large group and tripled the recipe. Everyone loved it and I had to send the link to 4 other moms!!!
Erica Walker says
Hi Meagan- So happy to hear you have enjoyed this recipe for so long! Thank you for spreading the word for us! We love it when others share our recipes with their friends. Thanks for the 5-stars!
Kristie Partain says
Can this be made the night before? I need to bring it for a lunch the next day, would have to heat it up in a crockpot. How long and at what temp should I use, Thanks for your help.
Erica Walker says
Yes, absolutely! You can make it and put it in a airtight container until the next day. We haven’t reheated it in the Crock Pot before. Usually just microwaving it works great. If you did do the Crock pot, I would just do it on low and heat it for 2 hours maybe and then once it is heated, keep on on “warm”. Just be sure to stir it every once in a while to get even heating. Hope this helps!
Bonnie says
It’s delicious