Fluffy, beautifully seasoned Mexican Red Rice! With a whisper of coriander / cilantro fragrance and delicate tomato flavour, this Mexican rice staple is so tasty you can eat it plain.
Never be disappointed by gluggy, mushy, bland Mexican Rice again!
Red Mexican Rice – an essential Mexican side!
2 years ago today, I was in Oaxaca, arguably the food capital of Mexico and an ideal place to watch the festivities of Day of the Dead, an annual multi-day holiday during which family and friends gather to pray and celebrate the life of those who have passed. It’s colourful, it’s joyous, there’s a seemingly endless stream of parades that weave through the streets.
It’s a bustle of energy, cemeteries come alive with parties once the sun sets, the town squares are packed with stalls and restaurants serve special festive foods.
.
So today, in honour of this annual Mexican holiday, I’m sharing an essential Mexican staple – Arroz Rojo. Mexican Red Rice. 🙂
Fluffy, perfectly seasoned Mexican Red Rice
A good Mexican red rice should be fluffy and tasty enough to eat plain. Honestly, try some straight out of the pot and tell me if you agree.
But to be sensible and round out a meal, I like to use it on a loaded Mexican plate of goodness, just like what you get at Mexican restaurants (particularly in the States). Like piling on to the plate Pork Carnitas or Beef Barbacoa, steamed corn, and a Pico de Gallo. Few wedges of lime, sprinkle of fresh coriander / cilantro and dig in.
Or use it to stuff into Burritos. Now, I must confess in the burritos pictured below, I just used plain rice! The beef in these burritos stained the rice red. 🙂 (PS These are freezer friendly, they are brilliant standby meals).
If you’ve ever been disappointed by a Mexican Red Rice recipe before, chances are that the liquid to rice ratio was off (anything more than 2 cups = soggy, mushy rice), it lacked seasoning because it wasn’t cooked in broth or it used too much tomato paste / puree which makes the liquid too thick so the rice doesn’t cook evenly = soggy gluggy mess.
It’s not hard. It’s just about getting the ratios right.
Real deal Arroz Rojo is made with pureed fresh tomatoes, sometimes with tomato bouillon cube (I haven’t seen that here). One day I’ll share that with you, but it does require more effort, and super ripe, intensely tomatoey tomatoes to have the same effect as using a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste.
Truly great tomatoes are hard to come by in ordinary grocery stores. Tomato paste is far easier – and it does the job great. 🙂
Serve this Mexican Red Rice with all things Mexican!! – Nagi x
FAVOURITE MEXICAN RECIPES
-
Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
-
Mexican Fiesta Menu and recipes
Mexican Rice recipe
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Mexican Red Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 small white onion , finely chopped
- 1 cup long grain white rice , uncooked (Note 1)
- 1 3/4 cups (435 ml) chicken or vegetable broth (Note 2)
- 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 serrano or jalapeno pepper , whole (optional)
- 1 sprig coriander / cilantro
Optional garnish:
- Finely chopped coriander / cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, stir briefly, then add onion. Cook for 4 - 5 minutes until translucent (not browned / golden).
- Add rice, broth, salt and tomato paste. Stir until tomato paste is dissolved.
- Plonk in jalapeno and coriander. Cover, bring to simmer, then lower heat to low so the water is simmering gently.
- Cook for 15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (tilt pot to check).
- Remove from heat, leave lid on and rest for 10 minutes (KEY STEP). The residual liquid on the surface of the rice will get absorbed and rice will go from sticky to fluffy.
- Fluff with fork then serve! (Optional: garnish with extra coriander)
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
This is Geoff, the homeless man who I take hot meals to who you’ve been hearing about for years. His car is his home, and he has special permission from the Council to stay at the dog park. He tells the worst jokes (😂), he seems to know everyone – and their dogs – by name and we always joke that he has the best backyard in the northern beaches: barrel gun views over the beautiful Pittwater waterway.
He’s a valuable member of our community, and looks after the dog park so well for us. Bayview would not be the same without him and his little companion, Cleo.
And there’s Dozer, begging for some of the hot meal I just gave Geoff. Shame on you. Shame on you!
I make this every time we have Mexican meal. LOVE it. The only change is that I saute the rice before adding the broth. I think it makes rice tastier.
This was delicious, I added jalapenos to the rice and chorizo. Will definitely make again
Has anyone doubled/tripled this recipe? I am making for a party and will need to serve 12-16. Wondering if I’m safer doing a corn salad instead (easier to multipy).
Hi Rebecca! A triple batch of this worked fine for me, I had to cook it for a little longer. (Maybe 10 minutes?) Hope that helps!
Great recipe! Letting it sit for 15 mins after to reabsorb the fluid is key! Also liked adding 1/2 tsp cumin as suggested by another reviewer.
Hi Nagi, could you do this in a rice cooker for a big crowd?
I’ve only ever cooked this in my rice cooker and it works perfectly
I have made this beautiful rice multiple times and love it. Want to make it tonight but don’t have tomato paste. Can I substitute with tomato puree instead ?
Easiest and best red rice! Thanks so much.
Love this recipe! Comes out perfect every time. Thanks Nagi!
This was way too much liquid for me. The rice was cooked at 15 minutes but there was still 1 cm of water/broth on top at that point. Cooked it a little longer and it didn’t really help. Even after resting for 10 minutes it didn’t get absorbed. Normally I use your white rice recipe and that turns out great every time. I even bought long grain rice instead of my usual pandan rice.
I think if I use the same measurements as the white rice recipe, it would turn out great 🙂
Hi Nagi,
HELP!
I was excited about this recipe, but it didn’t work out for me and I’m not sure what I did wrong? The rice stuck to the pot and was uncooked even though I had the heat on low. Also, I used the same pot as your showing in the video.
On another note, I was wondering if I could use a dry chili, and what the method would be?
Thanks, Monica
Nagi, I thought I’d add my tuppence worth. We cook this with green and red capsicum (about a half of each) sautéed with the onion. Its very much taco Bill style and absolutely delicious. One of our go to Mexican dishes along with a Burrito, Guacamole and sour cream. Such a great mix of flavors and one of our fall backs. We make a dozen or so Burrito’s and freeze most so we always have something on hand. Just Love.
This is so good! I just stand over the pot eating it – it’s so delicious! I’ve also made it in the instant pot using powdered tomato bullion and powdered garlic/onion. Still just as good! Thanks Nagi!
This was delicious. The fragrance when I lifted the lid was wonderful. For my mum’s birthday today, I combined it with your Mexican pulled beef (using brisket) and pico de gallo and served it with flatbread (the Coles ones), grated cheese and sliced avocado (we made burritos). My children ate the rice on its own (so hooray, as that’s another dish I can make for them). Thanks Nagi!
Dear Nagi, thank you for this delicious recipe. I made Mexican rice a couple of weeks ago, but always enjoy those I come across, and yours was made by a blogging friend I know who gave your link in her blog post. I will make it very soon. I also think you are a very special lady taking Geoff a hot meal. Bless you for being a kind and considerate human being. We need more kindness in the world, but reading about yours and others out there, it gives me hope. Thank you!
This is amazing!
This was fabulous in the burritos – both fresh and frozen. I like making my own food rather than store bought/takeaway so I know exactly what’s in it. Now to just buy a bigger freezer for all these awesome frozen burritos!
Great recipe although I confess I used less liquid as we like our rice quite chewy (lower GI lol). As usual I used 1 1/4 cups liquid (Australian measure) to 1 cup rice. Perfect.
And may I say what a great thing to do to take Geoff hot meals. If we want to live in a good community we need to do our bit to make it so. And you do.
Amazing recipe. I made a couple of changes based on the ingredients I had on hand.
I cooked it in my rice cooker for starters. I added ground coriander because I didn’t have fresh. I added three home grown Thai chillies because I didn’t have jalapeños. I slit them and left them whole. I added sliced shallots and fresh parsley. The rice cooker cooked the rice perfectly. Thanks Nagi for another great recipe.
Have made this amazing rice with your equally amazing pulled pork enchiladas many times (with my own refried beans) and EVERYONE loves it. You’re the best! Thanks for all you do. xo
Delicious! I had guests over so for convenience I cooked this in my microwave rice cooker rather than on the stove top. I used the usual proportions of rice:liquid (2 cups of rice to 3 cups of liquid) and I used pickled jalapenos rather than fresh. It turned out perfectly!