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This Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice is the perfect side dish for any Mexican meal. The rice has the rich flavor and slightly dry texture as the rice served in most Mexican restaurants.
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If you’ve ever had that perfectly fluffy, slightly dry, and flavorful Mexican rice at a restaurant and wondered how to make it at home, I’ve got you covered! This recipe comes straight from a dear family friend from Mexico. She’s one of those incredible cooks who just knows how much of everything to add without measuring. So, after a bit of trial and error, I finally nailed down the perfect balance of flavors and textures—no guesswork needed!
The secret to getting that perfect texture at home? Frying the rice in oil before cooking it. Trust me, it makes all the difference! Now, anytime we make tacos, enchiladas, or burritos, this Mexican rice is a must-have on the side. It’s become a family favorite, and I can’t wait for you to try it too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Fresh cilantro – Stirred in at the end for a pop of color and freshness.
- Long grain white rice – The best choice for achieving that dry, separate texture.
- Vegetable oil – Helps toast the rice for better flavor and texture.
- Minced garlic – Adds a rich, aromatic base.
- Kosher salt & cumin – Essential for that authentic taste.
- Chicken broth & tomato sauce – Infuses the rice with delicious flavor.
How to Make Mexican Rice
- Brown the rice. Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rice to the pan and stir constantly. Once the rice begins to lightly brown, add the minced garlic, kosher salt, and cumin. Continue to stir the rice until it looks golden brown.
- Add liquids. Pour the chicken broth and tomato sauce into the pan with the rice. Turn the heat up to medium high and bring the mixture to a full boil.
- Cover and simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice.
- Remove from heat and fluff the rice. Remove the pan from the stove then remove the lid from the pan. Using a fork, fluff the rice to separate the grains. Gently stir in the fresh chopped cilantro. This adds color to the rice as well as flavor.
Tips and Tricks
Stick to the stovetop method. A rice cooker just won’t give you the same texture.
To rinse or not to rinse? I don’t rinse my rice, and it turns out perfectly every time.
Fry the rice first! This step locks in flavor and ensures the grains stay separate.
Don’t add the cilantro too soon. Stir it in at the end so it stays bright and fresh.
Want some heat? Swap the tomato sauce for your favorite salsa.
For more information on how to make the perfect Mexican rice, see our post on Mastering Mexican Rice: Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips.
(See Below for Frequently Asked Questions, Reviews, and More Recipes Like This)
Mexican Rice Recipe
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 until 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.
- Stir in chopped cilantro.
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Nutrition Information
Questions
Mexican rice is the perfect side to any Mexican dish like tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. We also like to pair it with our recipe for Cheater Refried Beans.
This rice is great as-is. We like to keep it simple and add as few ingredients as possible, but many people like to add more veggies to the mix. Some popular add ins are onions, red or green peppers, green peas, corn, diced carrots, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and lime juice. When adding in these vegetables, add them to the rice at the same time you add the liquids. They will cook along with the rice.
According to Mahatma rice, there are two distinct differences. The first is the main seasoning in each of the rice dishes. Spanish rice is seasoned with saffron which gives it a bright yellow color, as well as a sweeter flavor. On the other hand, Mexican rice is seasoned with cumin giving it a more reddish orange color, and a spicier flavor. The second noticeable difference is in the texture of the each rice. The texture of Spanish rice is more moist and clumps together. Mexican rice is more dry and fluffy.
5-Star Reviews
My husband is very picky about his Mexican rice, and his love for this dish makes it a staple on the family menu plan. In addition to his five-star review, we’ve received many rave reviews from people who have made and loved this rice recipe.
“I’ve made this about five times now and I love it! The last two times I was out of tomato sauce so I substituted half a cup of Chipotle Lime Salsa (Aldi brand). Wow! This made it even better. I love how easy it is to make and how beautiful it looks and smells when the time is up and you lift the lid.” – Ed
“This is EXACTLY the rice I have been spending YEARS trying to figure out. Everything was absolutely perfect. Flavor, texture, color, all completely spot on! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! You really just upped my taco game!” – Elizabeth
“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.” – Patty
We are so happy to see this has become a family favorite for so many!
Pair It With a Mexican-Inspired Entree
Oh, the delicious possibilities are endless! This Mexican Rice tastes so good with any burrito, taco, chimichanga, enchilada, quesadilla, taquito, or flauta you can think of. Here are a few of our favorite Mexican recipes to get the wheels turning. Try one of these or add it to your own favorite Mexican dish.
I hope this Mexican Rice recipe becomes a staple in your home like it has in mine. It’s easy to make, full of flavor, and the perfect side dish for all your favorite Mexican meals. Give it a try and let me know in the comments how it turns out!
Made this as part of our dinner tonight, it was very yummy and so easy to make! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m planning a family reunion for 100 people. We’ve got an award-winning Texas smoked beef brisket, and I would love to experiment with this recipe to complement that.
How would I scale this up for 100 servings? I might need to do several batches in order to fit everything into the pot. Any hints or tips?
You would probably need 12 times this recipe to feed 100. Maybe keep warm in crock pots.
By “Large Saucepan” do you mean the 4-quart size? Does that seem large for a cup of rice or is a smaller size, like a 2 or 3-qt., acceptable? Thanks!
As long as it holds at least 4 cups you should be ok!
Thank You, Emily!
This rice ROCKS the taste buds! It is outstanding! Made a triple batch to go with the cheater restaurant beans on this blog (which are also to die for delicious) . I was hosting a huge family bbq of carne asada, the were no leftovers on the rice, they were THAT good. I like my mexi rice dry too 🙂
Did you just double the recipe? Curious if less or more stock will be needed when doubling the recipe!
This looks delicious, I’m in Australia can you clarify the tomatoe sauce, is it tomatoe purée or is it tomatoe paste sauce?
It is more of a liquid-y puree… it’s not as thick as a tomato paste… hope this helps!
can i say that i use regular short grain rice,i dont like long grain,it has a dif taste and doesnt hold together good,its calrose brand been using it for years,also i add small diced amounts of onion and cumin,just a shake.also i use diced tomatos w/liquid,no cilantro,i do add crumbled bacon up into it oh so good,and black pepper.so this is my version.thank you.
The key is the chicken broth if you can get it. One thing I always add…pick up some chili powder and mix it in with the sauce/broth mixture for a little kick…I also chop up 1/2 green and 1/2 Red Bell pepper, and a can of Vegal. Or sometimes just a can of corn and peas.
I have made this about 4 times and it is so delicious. Twice it was perfect but twice, including tonight, for some reason it was so crunchy. Am I doing something wrong in the beginning steps? Maybe I need to cook it longer at the front end? I never time it until the simmer time, I just go by the color of the rice in the beginning so maybe you can guide me in the right direction. 🙂 because I love this recipe! Thanks.
I would say maybe go on a lower heat for longer to get the rice cooked through when you are first stir-frying the rice. You don’t want it to brown up too fast or the inside of the rice won’t get cooked through all the way. Let me know if this helps!
I have made numerous attempts at restaurant style Mexican rice, plenty of Mexican friend’s have tried explaining how to make it, tried numerous recipes online and those pre-made boxes like rice-a-roni. I finally just drew the conclusion that you cannot be a white girl and make it right, it’s against the laws of nature or something. BUT SUCCESS! With your recipe! My son even told me it’s better than the local restaurants rice, which means I can absolutely die happy now. Thank you.
Thank you so much!! We love those kind of success stories! I’m so happy you all liked it. 🙂
Will this work using yellow rice
I bought that par excellence yellow rice ..can I use it??
I don’t see why not? 🙂
1/2 c. tomato sauce
I am guessing from your posts that c. is can. What size can is it?
It is actually 1/2 cup… so that is 4 oz.
I have basmati rice, would that work with this recipe?
We haven’t tried it with basmati rice before so I’m not sure what to tell you! If you try it let us know how it works out!
Just wanted to say that this mexican rice recipe is the one I have been looking for forever! It complemented black beans perfectly for delicious vegetarian burritos. Thanks so much for putting this out there.
So glad to hear that you liked it!!! We are SO picky about our rice so this is the only recipe we use… you must have great taste 😉
For those wanting to use brown rice, I tried this with Trader Joe’s quick cooking brown basmati and it was perfect. I just shortened up the cooking time to correspond with the package directions.
Made chicken lime taco meat in the crock pot. We ate the shredded chicken over this rice. Was wonderful. Added some black beans and corn to the rice.
GREAT idea!!! Thank you for sharing!
If made ahead, can this be kept warm in a crock pot?
definitely!
Have you cooked it in a crock pot? Not just keep it warm?
I haven’t cooked this in a crock pot. I did try it in a rice cooker, but I prefer the stove top method. It turns out great every time. Thank you for visiting our site!
Who needs a box of Spanish rice with a bunch of ingredients that you can’t pronounce when you can make this recipe from scratch? It was easy and tasted totally authentic. Loved it!
Turned out perfect! Great recipe. I used a big nonstick frying pan with a lid. When it was time to let it steam I put a piece of foil on top of the pan and then put the lid on top. That helps every piece of rice to get done perfectly. <3
Thanks for the tip! I always have trouble getting the rice to cook evenly – never thought of this before!
Can you use instant white rice? If so should I cook it before or cook it like the recipe says? Also I have rice a roni..would the rice from that work? Thank you!!
I don’t think I would use instant rice or rice a toni. Just regular rice.
We made this last night as a side dish, and everyone loved it. We are thinking about trying it with a little bit of salsa for a little extra oomph, but it was just like the rice that I’m used to getting at some of my favorite Mexican restaurants!!
This was the easiest and best Mexican rice I have made to date. Fluffy and spiced perfectly…