Homemade Spanish Rice (How to Make Spanish Rice)

Learn how to make Spanish rice with this Homemade Spanish Rice recipe.  Spanish rice (also referred to as Mexican Rice) is an easy one-pot side dish to serve with your favorite Mexican entrees.  

Learn how to make Spanish rice with this easy Spanish rice recipe.  This Homemade Spanish Rice is simple to make with just 10 minutes of prep work.  

I’ve been making this restaurant style Spanish rice for years.  The recipe was given to me by my ex-mother-in-law who used to serve it at a cafe she owned in Los Angeles.  This Spanish rice recipe is a simple straight forward recipe with few ingredients.  You can add in other spices (like cumin or chili powder) if you want the rice to have more of a seasoned taste.  The one absolute for this recipe is you’ll want to be sure to use long grain white rice.  Otherwise, you’ll end up with sticky rice.  If you don’t do rice, you might like this Spanish Quinoa instead.

Spanish Rice Recipe

I like to keep the ingredients for this Homemade Spanish Rice in my pantry so I can make this recipe on a whim.

• Long-grain white rice 
• Onion
• Garlic
• Tomato sauce
• Chicken broth
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Frozen corn, peas and carrots (optional)

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

Variations

• Use fresh chopped tomatoes instead of tomato sauce
• You can also use canned chopped tomatoes instead of tomato sauce
• Add in some cumin, chili powder or a pinch of celery seed
• Toss in some chopped celery
• Add 2-3 more cloves garlic

How to Make Spanish Rice

This Spanish rice recipe comes together in about 40 minutes start-to-finish.

1. Brown Rice:  Cook the onion and rice in a little oil until rice turns golden brown.
2. Tomato Sauce:  Add the tomato sauce and frozen vegetables. 
3. Chicken Broth:  Pour in the chicken broth.
4. Seasoning:  Stir in seasoning.
5. Cook Rice:  Simmer rice over low heat for about 20 minutes
6. Set Rice:  Let cooked rice set in pot with lid on for about 10 minutes before fluffing.
7. Enjoy:  Fluff rice using a fork and serve.

Cook onion and rice in a little oil until the rice turns golden brown.  Add in the garlic.

Add tomato sauce and frozen vegetables (if your adding veggies)

Stir everything together

Pour in chicken broth and add seasoning.  Bring to a simmer.  Turn the flame down to a low and place lid on pot.  Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

Let your rice sit in the pot for another 10-15 minutes or until all of the liquid has absorbed before fluffing.

Fluff the rice and serve with your favorite Mexican entree!

Serving Suggestions

• Enchilada Style Baked Chicken
• Turkey Taco Skillet
• Green Chicken Enchiladas
• Baked Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
• Easy Chicken Fajita Bake
• Mexican Style Shredded Chicken
• Taco Salad Bowl

Looking for More Easy Side Dish Recipes to Make?

• Mexican Pinto Beans
• Spanish Rice and Beans
• Mexican Cauliflower Rice
• Spanish Quinoa
• How to Cook Black Beans

Still want more ideas? Check out all my healthy side dish recipes.

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Yield: 4 - 6 servings

Spanish Rice

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Learn how to make Spanish rice with this Homemade Spanish Rice recipe.  Spanish rice (also referred to as Mexican Rice) is an easy one-pot side dish to serve with your favorite Mexican entrees.  

Ingredients

• 1 cup long-grain rice (very important for the rice to be long-grain)
• 1 whole yellow or brown onion, finely chopped (just don't use sweet onion)
• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce (I like Hunts the best - low sodium even better)
• 2-1/4 cups chicken broth
• 1-1/2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the chopped onion and the rice.
3. Cook the onion and rice over low heat for about 5 minutes or until it is golden/light brown in color, stirring frequently to prevent it from burning.
4. Stir in the tomato sauce.
5. Pour in the chicken broth and add the onion and garlic powders. Stir to blend.
6. Place a lid on the rice, and turn the heat down to low heat. Stir about 3 times or so for the first 5 minutes, then leave it alone and let it simmer. At this point you can pour the rice mixture into a rice cooker and let the cooker finish the rice. Or continue to cook in the saucepan on low heat for another 15-20 minutes.
7. Remove from heat. Let the rice set for another 10 minutes with the lid on the pot before lifting the lid to fluff.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 137Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 666mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.