Improved Mexican Rice Recipe

This new improved Mexican Rice recipe is so much better than the old recipe I used to make. 

I told you last week, about how I made homemade Mango Salsa and shared with you how I used it last summer making a Mango Salsa Chicken. Those two recipes remain the same. However, I changed the way I make Mexican rice.

This improved Mexican rice is a little quicker to make and there is less clean up because I did not use the food processor to blend up the fresh tomatoes. Best of all, by using canned tomatoes some of the raw tomato taste I didn’t like is gone!

The secret to really good and flavorful Mexican rice is to first rinse the rice, this helps remove the grains from starches on the surface of the rice, which in turn helps prevent clumping. Secondly, cooking the rice in oil until it is nicely golden offers. Toasting the rice adds more flavor.

Restaurant-style Mexican rice can easily be made at home. This improved Mexican rice is a flavorful accompaniment to any of your homemade Mexican dishes. 

How To Make Mexican Rice

Place your oven rack into the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Chop the onions, jalapenos, and garlic, set aside.

Pour the rice into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear; about 1 ½ minutes. Shake rice to remove excess water.

This step removes the starch from the rice so it will not stick. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP YOUR RICE WILL NOT BE DRY AND FLUFFY.

Heat oil in a 10-inch Dutch oven or oven-safe dish with a lid over low-medium heat; about 2 minutes.

Add the rice and stir-fry in the oil, until the rice is light golden and translucent; about 6 to 8 minutes. 

Reduce the heat a little, if the rice starts to spatter too much.

Reduce heat to medium, add onions, garlic, and jalapenos to the rice. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Then stir in tomato paste and let it brown for a couple of minutes.

Once the paste has browned, add broth, tomatoes and season with salt. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a boil.

Place a lid on the pot and transfer the pot to the oven.

Bake the rice for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. After about 15 minutes of baking, gently stir the rice and check moisture. Your cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on how dry it is.

Leftover Rice

This recipe makes a lot of rice, so if you have leftovers, you can freeze the rice inside a freezer zip-top back for up to 6 months.

When ready to use, thaw enough to remove from the bag in the microwave on high heat in one-minute intervals. Remove from bag, place in a bowl with a plate over the bowl. Heat on high again in one-minute intervals until warmed through. Fluff with a fork and serve.

The leftover rice is great for quick and easy weeknight meals!

Oh great, now I am hungry just looking at this!!