Instant Pot Spanish Rice, otherwise known as Mexican Rice, tastes like the rice from an Authentic Mexican restaurant. Full of flavor and perfectly cooked, this recipe is made with pantry staples, extremely easy to make, affordable, and incredibly delicious.
Spanish Rice is my go-to side dish for meals like tacos, bean burritos, chicken enchiladas. This Mexican Style Rice is also great as abase for delicious burrito bowls.
Spanish rice, otherwise known as Mexican Rice or arroz rojo is a classic side dish made with garlic, onions, tomato sauce, and of course rice.
It is a staple side dish, along with refried beans, at most Mexican restaurants, and while so simple, it is downright delicious!
The Instant Pot is my preferred way to prepare this Spanish style rice. It works a lot like a rice cooker, in that every grain of rice cooks evenly and rice turns out fluffy and tender.
And while plain Instant Pot Rice is a staple in my kitchen, Instant Pot Mexican Rice is a favorite! It is perfectly seasoned and is delicious served as a side dish to any Mexican meal.
Key Ingredients
- Rice: Long grain brown or white rice can be used. The cook time is different for the brown and white, so be sure to follow the appropriate cook time for the time of rice you use.
- Onions and Garlic: Help to build delicious flavor to this simple recipe.
- Jalapeno: The jalapeno adds flavor, not just heat. If you don't care for spicy foods, be sure to remove the seeds and ribs from inside the jalapeno and use half a small jalapeno instead of a full jalapeno. If you love spicy foods, keep half the seeds--but be warned, it will be spicy if you happen to get a spicy jalapeno. And of course, you can omit the jalapeno altogether, but I do find that when left out, the rice is nowhere near as flavorful.
- Seasonings: I use the same blend of spices that I use in my homemade taco seasoning. Cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and salt all combine to give the rice just the right flavor.
- Stock: Use either chicken stock or vegetable broth. I do not recommend water, as it will not be as flavorful.
How to Make Instant Pot Spanish Rice
- Measure rice into a colander and rinse well. Rinsing the rice helps to remove starch and will improve the flavor and texture of this Mexican rice.
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute and allow to heat up.
- Once heated, add in oil, onion, jalapeno and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Turn Instant Pot OFF.
- Add in stock and scrape up any browned bits on bottom of inner pot. This is a really important step to prevent a burn warning.
- Add in seasonings and stir well.
- Add in rinsed rice and gently push the rice down to submerge in stock.
- Top with tomato sauce, but DO NOT stir in the tomato sauce.
- Place lid on pressure cooker and set to cook on high pressure for 3 minutes for white rice and 22 minutes for brown rice.
- Once cook time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally all the way. This is so important when cooking rice. Natural pressure release will allow the rice to absorb the excess liquid and finish cooking perfectly. It also will prevent a starchy mess if you do a quick release.
- Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork, while stirring in the tomato sauce.
How to Store Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Mexican rice is best served immediately. To store any leftovers, let rice cool for 20 minutes and then place in a sealed container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat the rice, add in a splash of water or stock to loosen up rice and heat in 1-minute intervals in the microwave until warmed through.
Serve Instant Pot Spanish Rice with
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Black Bean Tacos
- Copycat Chipotle Sofritas
- Vegetarian Fajitas
- Honey Lime Chicken Fajitas
Pick your favorite Mexican entree to make and then don't forget to make this Instant Pot Mexican Rice and Instant Pot Refried Beans for a meal that is reminiscent of your favorite Mexican restaurant.
Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup small onion diced
- 1 jalapeno seeded and minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups long-grain rice see notes
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ⅔ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter optional
Instructions
- Place rice in a colander and rinse really well.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute and let heat up.
- Once heated, add in oil, onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Turn Instant Pot OFF.
- Add in stock and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot.
- Add in seasonings and stir well. Add in rice and gently push down with a spoon to submerge in stock. Top with tomato sauce.
- Place lid on the Instant Pot and be sure vent knob is pointed to sealed.
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 3 minutes for long-grain white rice, and 22 minutes for long-grain brown rice.
- Let pressure release naturally all the way.
- Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork, while stirring in the tomato sauce.
- Stir in butter if desired and serve.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- This recipe works with both long-grain brown and white rice. The measurements remain the same regardless of which variety of rice you use, but the cook time will vary. White rice needs 3 minutes to cook, brown rice needs 22 minutes.
- If you don't care for spicy foods, be sure to remove the seeds and ribs from inside the jalapeno and use half a small jalapeno instead of a full jalapeno. If you love spicy foods, keep half the seeds--but be warned, it will be spicy if you happen to get a spicy jalapeno. And of course, you can omit the jalapeno altogether, but I do find that when left out, the rice is nowhere near as flavorful.
Mary
Wow! I love Spanish Rice and this recipe did not disappoint! Made it verbatim with one exception. I didn't have any jalapeños on hand, so I added a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle pepper powder. Soooo good! This is a recipe that I'm keeping and will add a lot to like chicken, shredded beef, just about anything!
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful! So happy you enjoyed this recipe so much, Mary!
Tom
Hi Kristen I have not tried this recipe yet but I will be cooking it tonight. I cooked your instant pot potato soup and I used about a pound and a half of fresh baby creamer potatoes cutting the larger ones in half, and grilled a 1 inch ribeye for 3 minutes on each side and added it to the pot. Wow is all I can say about that. If this is anything like that recipe I will be checking out more of your recipes for all of my future meals
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing your additions to the potato soup! Sounds delish! I hope you enjoy this Spanish Rice as well!
Becky
This turned out perfectly! Thanks!! I made two separate double batches in my 8 qt instant pot using long grain white rice. Each double recipe filled a half-size foil pan.The 4 batches (8 cups of dry rice) served 60 adults/teens as a side to chicken fajitas (with leftovers!) The instructions were so easy to follow and it was delicious! I added less salt because tomato sauce and broth are salty. I opted to use 1 jalapeno and I drizzled the whole 15 oz can of tomato sauce over each double recipe. It was a hit at the event! Thanks again!
Kristen Chidsey
Thank you for sharing, Becky! And sounds like quite a party!
Lizzy
I doubled the recipe for a large gathering, and it was a hit! I love how easy and delicious it is. I usually find that I have to add extra salt and spice to recipes, but this is perfect. 👌🏽
Kristen Chidsey
Thrilled to hear you enjoy it!
Krista
This is the absolute best Spanish rice I've ever had - and that includes in restaurants! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful, easy recipe that is rich and full of flavor. It's a hit with my whole family!
Kristen Chidsey
I absolutely love hearing this, Krista! Thank you for taking the time to share.
Aubree K
This was a hit!! I was expecting it to be mushy like all other attempts I've done with Spanish rice, but it was nice and perfectly fluffy! The flavor was great. Even my insanely picky son liked it. The only thing we increased was the salt...cause we do that 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing, Aubree! I have worked hard to perfect this recipe, and so happy you found it to be spot on 🙂
Anna
This recipe is the best Instant Pot recipe for Spanish/Mexican Rice I've ever made. Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
You are quite welcome, Anna! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this rice so much!
Harlem
I substituted canned diced tomatoes , and it turned out lovely!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing your modification and taking the time to leave a review 🙂
Rachelle
Can I substitute green chilis for the jalapeno?
Kristen Chidsey
Absolutely!
Shannon
I was going to ask the same question!
Kristen Chidsey
And sorry I missed the question earlier! Yes! Feel free to use diced green chiles if desired.
Nikki
Love your recipes!!! Can I add chicken to this?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Nikki! Thank you! You can opt to saute cubed chicken breast(1-inch pieces) with the onion and jalapeno and they will cook in the 3 minutes cooking time with natural pressure release. Enjoy!
Doug
This recipe's flavor is great and the rice cooked beautifully. But it definitely needs more tomato sauce than just 2/3 cup. Once its cooked, not only can you barely see the tomato sauce, but you can't taste it either.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Doug! The tomato sauce was not meant to be a dominant flavor, just a slight back note.