Homemade Mexican Rice: Simple, Inexpensive and Fresh
Rice is a great side dish; it’s easy to cook, filling, and inexpensive. There’s a reason that Mexican restaurants pile it on plates, after all. Not to mention, it’s delicious. As I make a decent amount of Tex-Mex at my house (living in Florida leaves me pining a bit for my home Tex-Mex restaurants in Texas, so I had to learn to do it myself), I wanted to bring this flavor home as well. I also didn’t want to use one of those prepackaged kits since they generally have a high amount of sodium and are kinda pricey for what you get. I don’t know how “authentic” it is, but it tastes pretty close to me!
The garlic and chicken broth give the rice a nice, earthy, savory flavor, while the tomato sauce gives it just a bit of an acidic kick to brighten things up a bit.
Okay, let’s get to it. For rice, you’ll want to use a large, nonstick skillet with a lid. Rice can stick a bit, and the larger the pan, the more surface area for the rice to spread out, so it’ll cook more evenly. I personally use this Ballarini 10″ nonstick skillet. I love this pan. It’s pricey but definitely worth it, especially with how easy it is to clean. (Note, I may earn a very small commission if you buy through this link).
Preheat the pan over medium heat. While that’s warming up, you’ll want to get your mise en place together:
- Mince garlic.
- Measure out rice.
- Measure out tomato sauce and chicken broth.
- Spoon or spatula to stir.
If you’re not comfortable trying to do all of that at once, then preheat your pan after you get your mise handled.
Once the pan is preheated, add the garlic with a pinch of salt and saute for 1 minute. The salt will help bring out a bit of the water from the garlic, helping protect it from burning. After a minute or so, add the rice and saute, stirring occasionally, until it’s puffy an translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
Once the garlic and rice look about like the picture above, add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, and pepper (freshly ground!). Cover and crank the heat to high until it starts to boil. Set a timer for 15 minutes and turn the heat down to medium-low to keep the liquid barely simmering.
The next step is important: do not open the lid! Unless something is burning, sticking, or you happened to forget something, opening the lid will let out some water vapor that the rice needs to absorb. If you happen to run out of water during the 15 minutes, it’s okay to open the lid and add a tablespoon or two.
Once your timer goes off, kill the heat, open the lid and fluff with a spoon, then cover and let sit for 5 minutes or so. If there’s still a bit of liquid left, you can simmer it for a bit longer as needed. Once it’s rested, taste, add salt and pepper as needed, and serve hot!
Riffs
- Adding additional vegetables like onions and jalapenos while sauteing the garlic adds some nice flavor. Be sure to remove the seeds and membrane from the jalapeno if you don’t want it hot.
- Funny story: I once added 4 whole chipotle peppers w/ the seeds to the rice. I do not recommend that!
- Adding some chili powder, cumin, and/or cayenne pepper when you add the liquid can add some nice flavors as well. Basically, if there’s a seasoning you’d add to taco meat (maybe I should do a recipe on that soon…), then you can add it to the rice. It won’t take much, maybe a teaspoon or so, else you’ll overpower the flavor of the rice.
- Add a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro to the rice while it rests. I love doing this, but my kids say “yucky” if anything green is in there. The sacrifices parents make…
- Are you in a hurry and/or don’t want to chop veggies? Salsa to the rescue! Just warm the canola oil, saute the rice, then add a third cup or so of your favorite jarred salsa in lieu of the garlic and tomato sauce with the chicken broth. I’d recommend not adding any salt until the very end since salsa has a bit already.
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pinch kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1 c long grain white rice
- ¼ c tomato sauce
- 1½ c low sodium chicken broth
- pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat a large, nonstick skillet with a lid over medium heat.
- Add canola oil, garlic, and a pinch of salt, saute for 1 minute.
- Add the rice and saute until puffed, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off heat, fluff with a fork, cover, rest for 5 minutes. Taste, season with additional salt and pepper as needed.