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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.
This Mexican rice recipe came from a close family friend from Mexico, and I have used it for years. She gave me the list of ingredients she uses and her cooking method. Unfortunately, she is one of those amazing cooks that naturally knows how much of each ingredient to use, but doesn’t use actual measurements and her Mexican rice was always made in bulk. I got to work with what I had and tested it until it was the perfect flavor and texture. This recipe is now measured in amounts perfect for the size of one family. If we are making any kind of Mexican food, this rice is a must as a side dish. It has become a favorite of everyone that tries it.
Restaurant Style Mexican Rice
Imagine your first bite of rice at your favorite Mexican restaurant. What is it that makes it taste so good? The rice is fluffy and a little dry. You taste the tang of tomato combined with the spicy, earthy flavors of cumin. The lightness of the rice perfectly complements the creamy refried beans next to it on the plate.
This Mexican Rice recipe delivers the same slightly dry texture, just like the rice served in Mexican restaurants. It’s not wet, clumpy, or sticky, which can often be the case with some homemade versions. The key to achieving the perfect texture and rich flavor is to fry the rice in oil before cooking it. Don’t skip this step!
Mexican Rice Ingredients
This authentic Mexican rice recipe uses long grain rice. Long grain rice is ideal for this recipe because it is a firmer, drier rice. The rice grains stay separate when cooked and don’t clump together. After the rice is browned in a little oil, the rice cooks in a combination of chicken broth and tomato sauce giving the rice a delicious flavor. The additional ingredients I use to season the rice are garlic, kosher salt, cumin, and cilantro.
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.
Mexican Rice vs Spanish Rice
Have you wondered what the difference is between Mexican rice and Spanish rice? The terms are used interchangeably by most people and on many recipes. Most Spanish rice and Mexican rice recipes have the same basic ingredients – rice, a tomato based sauce, garlic, and chicken broth.
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.
Mexican Rice Tips
The secret to a delicious Mexican rice is all in the way you cook it. Here are a few tips and tricks to get it right every time:
- 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, tender consistency.
- 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 bright and fresh.
- Use this stove top method. I have tried different methods in my rice cooker, but it just doesn’t turn out the same.
- For a spicier taste, your favorite medium or hot salsa can replace the tomato sauce.
- Long grain white rice is the best rice to use for this dish. The jury is out on whether the rice should be rinsed prior to cooking. You will get a wide range of opinions on this topic. I do not rinse the rice. My dear friend from Mexico did not rinse the rice when she made it. It turns out beautifully for me every time I make it.
- For more information on how to make the perfect Mexican rice, see our post on Mastering Mexican Rice: Common Mistakes and Helpful Tips.
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 easy to make Cheater Refried Beans. These beans are easy to make and taste just like the creamy, chip-dippable beans served in Mexican restaurants.
Popular Additions
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.
What to pair with Mexican Rice
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.
Mexican Rice Recipe 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. You can read them all in the comments below, however here are few of our favorites:
“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!
Restaurant Style Mexican Rice
Video
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, then stir in chopped cilantro.
I love Mexican food and rice! Thanks for this – I love it!!
Just wanted to tell you that I have gone 47 years without being able to master the Spanish rice……and in one day, you fixed that! The best part is it was so SIMPLE! I made this rice for a graduation party, and cooked it in a double batch (multiple times). Turned out PERFECTLY. Thank you so much!
Melaney- that is awesome!!! We are so honored to be the ones who helped you create the perfect Spanish rice! Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
I’ve been cooking this for a couple of years now, and I just can’t say how thankful I am for this fabulous recipe!
I go light on the cumin and omit the cilantro due to personal taste/allergies.
I’ve used tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomato’s blended smooth- anything as long as my ounces of liquid are the same. It’s always turned out great.
I save time by measuring out the liquid for two batches at the same time. One batch I go ahead and cook, the other batch I freeze in silicone ice cube trays, then pop in a baggie for next time.
Sooooo glad I found this recipe! It’s fab!
Thank you so much for this nice comment! I love all your suggestions! Thanks for sharing how you make this recipe unique to you. I am sure our readers with similar allergies will appreciate some of the adjustments you made!
Has anyone tried this in the instant pot?
Not yet, but definitely want to try it! Love that idea!
Can I double this as it’s written or will the rice not turn out?
You can double it as written – it will work great. Thanks for asking!
I almost never comment on online recipes, but this rice was perfect! I’ve tried many other Mexican rice recipes and none come even close to this one. Taste and texture is exactly like what you’d order in a hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant. The only change I made was replacing tomato sauce with El Pato in the yellow can.
Hi Greg– THANK YOU!!! That is so nice of you. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂 Glad you liked the rice!
This is my go-to Mexican rice recipe. Always a hit with my family and guests alike. It’s easy to make with ingredients on hand.
I made this tonight and it it really, really good! As you said, it turns out dry and I like it that way too. I only used 2 T oil and it was enough. I rinsed my rice and dried it on paper towels before browning it. Omitted the salt completely and used Del Fuerte brand tomato sauce that is “seasoned with spices”. This is soooo much better than anything from a box or bag:) I’ll be adding it to our regular menu. Thank you for sharing this with us!!
So glad this was a success for you! We agree, way better than a box or bag 😉
This recipe is now a regular for us; goes great with all of our mexican style favorites 🙂
It comes out perfectly. Thanks so much!
So glad you like it! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a nice comment 😀
For some reason this turned out wet and mush just like all the other Spanish rice recipes I’ve tried. I did double the amount of chicken broth and tomato sauce, but that’s because I doubled the amount of rice (I used 2 cups of rice). I simmered it the recommended amount of time ( a little over 20 minutes). I can’t figure out why it keeps ending up like this.
I’m not sure, mine has never turned out that way. Did you cook the rice in the oil until it was nice and golden? Watch the video that is on the post so you can see if yours was looking similar. You have to do this over the stove. People have tried doing it in a rice cooker but it doesn’t work right. And make sure you aren’t mixing up cups and cans with the broth and tomato sauce.
Are you cooking at a high or low altitude? That could be why your rice is ending up mushy. You can look up how to change cooking time for the altitude you are at.
I love your recipe so much I wrote about it on my blog! This recipe is the best!!!
http://www.unlearningdifferent.com/new-blog-1/2017/5/19/the-best-recipe-for-mexican-style-rice
I’ve tried soooooo many rice recipes. They just don’t give me the results that I want. My husband loves this prepackaged rice and that’s what I have been buying because. I would much rather make my food than buy prepackaged and this recipe is it!!!!! I’m so happy I found this. It’s very close to the packaged stuff my husband likes and it doesn’t have all the extra added junk. So thank you for this recipe. It’s saved and I’ve made it about 4 times now since finding this recipe.
Hi Carie– Thank you for taking the time to write such a nice comment! So glad you found a recipe that your husband will eat AND that is homemade!
1/2 c of tomato sauce. Is that 1/2 can or 1/2 cup?
It is 1/2 cup. Thank you for asking! We’ll make it more clear on the recipe.
I have been a Pinterest addict for YEARS and this will my first comment ever. Made this rice exactly as instructed and it was phenomenal! My family absolutely loved it.
Hi Lisa! We are honored to be your first comment ever 😀 Thank you for taking the time to let us know how much your family liked it. We hope you keep returning for more recipes in the future 🙂
I have been searching for a good Mexican rice recipe and this is the one! This recipe is DELISH!!
Thanks Veronica! I’m glad you like it!
I’m making this for a group of about 40-50 people and would love to make it earlier in the day or even the day before. They will be served banquet style in aluminum warming pans over the sterno burners. Do you think I can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until that night? If so, any suggestions on how to re-heat it before we put it in the pans so it doesn’t get dried out or too hard? Do you think 4 or 5 recipes will be enough for 40-50 people? We are doing a taco bar.
You will probably want to make 10 c. of rice if you are feeding that many (10x) the recipe. If you keep it covered, it would re-hear easily in the oven. I can’t recommend an amount of time because we haven’t ever done it that way before. I would say just until it is heated through. Hope this helps!
I wanted to like your website but I don’t like that you did not post my last post a month ago. That tells me you discriminate and you will not be missed. There are much better website better than yours who actually like positive feedback but yours you don’t like a real cook’s opinion who did mention yours is second best to mine. It might as well you are second best, you don’t like anyone who are chefs.
Hi Diane– I apologize that your comment wasn’t published. We usually post everything to our comments unless there is profanity in the comment. I looked through our deleted comment archives and have not found your name as someone who has commented before. The only comment that pulls up, past or present, is this comment here. I know that to publish a comment you may have to go through two steps to submit. We are always open to positive feedback, even negative feedback, and we will post it all in our comment section if it does not have profanity or slander toward another reader.
Wow, the texture of this rice is amazing! Ate a bowl as soon as it was done topped with freshly shredded cheese and minced raw yellow onion, it was to die for. Best Mexican rice recipe ever.
Thank you, Alexia!
Can this be cooked in the rice cooker?
Can this be made without tomatoes since my husband is allergic to tomatoes?
I would have to say no on both. You won’t get the right consistency with the rice cooker and if you leave out the tomato sauce it wouldn’t really be Mexican rice. However we have a really yummy yellow rice and lemon basil rice that you might like!
This recipe is amazing! I’ve always been frustrated with other Mexican rice recipes because they’ve always resulted in a weird rice-tomato-mushy mixture. This is absolutely perfect and is just as good if not better than the Mexican style rice served at my favorite Mexican restaurant. Thank you for this!
We are so glad you like it! Thank you for your comment!