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Mexican Rice

Restaurant-style Mexican rice with separate, fluffy grains: long-grain rice rinsed, toasted golden in oil, then simmered in a blended tomato, onion and garlic broth and left covered to steam.

Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
10 min
Makes
Serves 6
Jump to the recipe
A bowl of tomato-red rice with small bowls of salsa and cream beside it
Photo: Milton Das / Pexels

Mexican rice, arroz rojo, should be fluffy, with every grain separate and tinted orange-red by tomato. The usual problem at home is the opposite: soft, sticky, unevenly colored rice, sometimes crunchy on top and mushy on the bottom. Two steps fix it, and they both happen before any liquid touches the pan.

First, rinse the rice. Long-grain white rice is coated in loose surface starch from milling. In the pot, that starch dissolves into the liquid and glues the grains together. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water, swirling it with your hand, until the water runs almost clear. Then let it drain well; wet rice will not toast.

Second, toast it. The drained rice goes into a pan with a few tablespoons of oil and cooks, stirring often, until the grains turn opaque and then golden in places. This takes five to seven minutes over medium heat. Toasting firms the surface starch of each grain so it absorbs liquid more slowly and evenly, and it adds a nutty flavor that is the backbone of restaurant Mexican rice. The grains should smell like popcorn and some should be lightly browned. Pale rice gives a softer, stickier result.

The liquid is a blended tomato base: fresh tomatoes or a can of tomato sauce, onion and garlic puréed smooth, then thinned with chicken broth. Blending means the flavor spreads evenly through the pot instead of collecting in chunks, and the color is uniform. A little tomato bouillon, the powdered kind sold in Mexican grocery aisles, is what many restaurants use for that deep savory flavor and color. A teaspoon is enough, and it replaces some of the salt.

When the tomato mixture hits the hot rice it will sizzle hard. That is good. Let it fry for a minute before adding the rest of the broth. Then bring everything to a simmer, cover tightly, and turn the heat to the lowest setting.

Now the rule that matters most: do not stir it, and do not lift the lid. Stirring breaks the grains and releases starch, the very starch you rinsed away. Lifting the lid lets out the steam the rice needs to cook the top layer. Twenty minutes on low, then off the heat for ten more minutes, still covered, so the grains finish steaming and firm up. Only then fluff with a fork.

Peas, diced carrots or a whole jalapeño can go in with the broth; the jalapeño gives fragrance without much heat if you leave it whole.

Serve with chicken tortilla soup, baked chicken chimichangas or beef tacos. Spoon red enchilada sauce over leftovers for a quick lunch.

Uncooked long-grain rice with a wooden spoon
Photo: pictavio / Pixabay

Mexican rice, ready to print

Restaurant-style Mexican rice with separate, fluffy grains: long-grain rice rinsed, toasted golden in oil, then simmered in a blended tomato, onion and garlic broth and left covered to steam.

Rinsed rice and a blended tomato broth

For the tomato base

  • 1 can (8 oz / 225 g) tomato sauce, or 2 ripe Roma tomatoes plus ½ cup (120 ml) extra broth
  • ½ medium white onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1¾ cups (415 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 tsp tomato bouillon powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp fine salt, or ½ tsp if using bouillon
  • ½ tsp ground cumin

For the rice

  • 1½ cups (285 g) long-grain white rice
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • ½ cup (70 g) frozen peas and diced carrots (optional)
  • 1 whole jalapeño (optional)
  • 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges

Rinse, toast golden, simmer, leave it alone

  1. 1 Rinse the rice in a fine sieve under cold running water, swirling it with your hand, until the water runs almost clear. Shake well and let it drain for 10 minutes.
  2. 2 Blend the tomato sauce, onion, garlic and ½ cup (120 ml) of the broth until completely smooth.
  3. 3 Heat the oil in a medium saucepan or deep skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring often, until the grains are opaque and golden in spots, 5–7 minutes.
  4. 4 Pour the tomato mixture over the rice; it will sizzle. Stir and cook 1–2 minutes, until slightly reduced.
  5. 5 Add the remaining broth, the bouillon, salt and cumin, and the peas and carrots and jalapeño, if using. Stir once and bring to a boil.
  6. 6 Cover tightly, lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook 20 minutes without lifting the lid or stirring.
  7. 7 Take the pan off the heat and leave it covered for 10 minutes. Remove the jalapeño, fluff the rice with a fork, and serve with cilantro and lime wedges.

Brown rice, rice cookers and leftovers

  • Brown rice: use long-grain brown rice, increase the broth to 2½ cups (590 ml), and cook 40–45 minutes.
  • Vegetarian: use vegetable broth and skip the bouillon, or use a vegetarian tomato bouillon.
  • Rice cooker: toast the rice and fry the tomato base in a skillet, then transfer everything to a rice cooker and use the white rice setting.
  • Leftovers: refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat with a sprinkle of water, covered, so the rice steams back to fluffy.
  • Freezing: freeze cooked rice flat in a bag for up to 3 months and reheat from frozen in the microwave.

Mushy rice, crunchy tops and Spanish rice

The rice was not rinsed, there was too much liquid, or it was stirred while cooking. Rinse, measure the liquid, and leave the lid on.

Steam escaped. Use a tight-fitting lid, keep the heat very low, and let the rice rest covered for 10 minutes before opening.

In the United States the names are used for the same tomato rice. In Spain, rice dishes like paella are seasoned differently, often with saffron, and are a different thing entirely.

Toasting is what keeps the grains separate and gives the nutty flavor. Without it the rice is softer and stickier.