Spanish Rice
Updated
Updated
This easy Spanish Rice recipe is made with garlic, onions, tomatoes and green chiles, and steams in chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor. It’s the perfect accompaniment to all Mexican recipes, chicken, steak, in burritos, or all by itself!
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I absolutely love rice. Most grains, really. I grew up on them. My mom was always making stir fry, pilaf, or this simple Spanish rice. In fact, if a bowl of rice and a bowl of pasta were sitting in front of me and I could only choose one, I’d go for the rice.
For this recipe, veggies are sautéed in rich olive oil and butter, then added to rice that steams in chicken broth instead of water for great extra flavor. I could easily make a meal out it without anything else!
What is in this Simple Spanish Rice Recipe?
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make spanish rice. Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.
- Olive oil and Butter – For sautéing the vegetables.
- Vegetables – Onion, red bell pepper, and fresh garlic provide aromatics and more substance to the rice.
- Seasonings – Cumin and coarse salt season the rice.
- Rice – We use long grain white rice.
- Chicken broth – Low sodium chicken broth replaces the water, which contributes extra flavor.
- Canned ROTEL – This is diced tomatoes with green chilies.
- Cilantro – Freshly chopped. You can use parsley, if you prefer.
How to Make Spanish Rice
- Sauté the vegetables. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil and butter until melted and bubbly. Add in the onions and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until softened. Add in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add seasoning and rice. Stir in the cumin, salt, and rice and cook for another minute, stirring constantly so the rice doesn’t burn.
- Add other ingredients and cook. Add the Rotel and chicken stock to the pan with the onion mixture. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about 22 minutes.
- Serve. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Rice should not be sticky. Serve and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
How to Make Spanish Rice in a Rice Cooker
If you have a rice cooker and want to cook this Spanish Rice in it, here’s how: after step 2, above, add the mixture to a rice cooker along with the Rotel and chicken stock; stir to combine. Set the cooker to “quick cooking.” When the timer goes off in about 20 minutes, fluff with a fork, serve, and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Easy!
What to Eat with Spanish Rice
This recipe is great with Grilled Chicken or Baja Steak Tacos, alongside refried beans, or all on its own! To make it more of a meal, stir in some seasoned cooked ground beef or sausage. There are about a bazillion things you can serve with Spanish rice. A few of our favorites include Chile Relleno, Chili Relleno Casserole, Mexican Lasagna, and Homemade Corn Tortillas.
Proper Storage
- Fridge. Allow any leftovers to cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep 4-5 days.
- Freezer. Simply cool to room temp, then store in an airtight freezer-safe container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
More Rice Recipes
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Easy Spanish Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium sweet onion, , diced small
- 1 small red bell pepper, , seeds and ribs removed, diced small
- 3 cloves garlic, , minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 10 ounce can ROTEL (diced tomatoes with green chilies), , undrained
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- fresh chopped cilantro, , for serving, optional
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil and butter until melted and bubbly. Add in the onions and bell pepper; cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, cumin, salt, and rice and cook for another minute, stirring constantly to toast lightly.
- Add the Rotel and chicken stock to the skillet with the onion mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for about 22 minutes.
- Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Rice should not be sticky. Serve and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.(Sometimes I'll brown some seasoned ground beef or sausage on the side and mix that into the cooked rice for a meal – so good!)
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!
This was delicious! I used a green pepper as I didn’t have a red one and served pinto beans with it. We will definitely make this recipe again! Liked it better than our other recipe and had way less spices which we liked.
This dish was great! Simple to make and delicious.
Im adding protein next time to make it a complete dish…perfect
Great! I like it less spicy, so I made it with a can of diced tomatoes and a small can of mild green chiles. Also made it with brown rice, simply adding half a cup of broth. And it was really good…thank you!
This Spanish Rice was delicious. I’d love to try it with brown rice and see if it turns out.
Great recipe I used for my Cinco de Mayo menu! Everyone loved it!
Rice is necessity and I love how this came out! Looks delicious and perfect for any Cinco de Mayo menu!
The recipe is quite different from mine. I just use a combination of tomato sauce, water, salt and a generous amount of black pepper. I also saute the rice in rendered pork fat which gives a different flavor. I’ll try yours and see how it fares!
Looks good
I love how simple this sounds. Love Mexican rice.
Looks awesome!
While not traditional spanish rice, we loved it.
This recipe looks yummy.
Having a rice cooker would be a useful and needed addition to my kitchen. The forever battle between the rice and i have is similar to a carnival game, once in a while you win (the rice actually comes out the right way), but most times you lose (sometimes the rice is partially uncooked or ends up that mass of stuck together starch glop. A person can make the tastiest of concoctions but if the rice isn’t the right consistency the meal is not a winner. I speak from too much experience.