Thank you to Marcella Valladolid from Food Network for teaching me to finally make a decent tasting Mexican Rice with a great texture! This is truly a Restaurant Style Mexican Rice worthy of the name and best of all, it’s so easy to make!

Restaurant Style Mexican Rice

I’ve never been able to make a great homemade version of Mexican rice that had all the great texture of rice you’d find in a Mexican restaurant (hopefully until I tried Marcella Valadolid’s technique.

About Restaurant Style Mexican Rice:

Most of the home versions I’ve tried to make seemed to be just too tomato-y, too soft and mushy, just too mediocre. This Restaurant Style Mexican Rice, though, is outstanding. Soft but al dente, the grains perfectly cooked and the whole dish is fluffy.

I have to admit that in the past I either didn’t make Mexican Rice when I was cooking at home, or I bought a microwave packet, and before they were available, a box. Restaurant Style Mexican Rice was my nemesis!

I am a little ashamed because I’m writing a site to show how people can save when cooking at home and those options are soooo expensive compared to starting from scratch. We all learn and grow, though! Even me, lol! I’m always keeping my ears open.

Making Restaurant Style Mexican Rice:

This recipe is so simple, but it’s the ratio of the rice to the liquid along with a lighter tomato broth that doesn’t get gummy as the rice simmers, that really makes this rice perfect.

As long as you’re using that 2 to 1 ratio in any rice recipe (as long as the recipe doesn’t thoroughly rinse the rice to remove excess starches) you’re golden. And there ya go, that’s the secret. Twice as much water as rice.

Almost every rice recipe I make benefits from a good rinsing of the rice – but not in this case. So Bonus for easy, right?

Options for Restaurant Style Mexican Rice:

As far as easy, If you don’t want to mess with the tomato, try a cup of tomato juice and make up the rest of the liquid with chicken broth. If you’re in a hurry, feel free to sub in some onion powder instead of the onion.

If you like your rice more tomatoey, feel free to add more juice and/or tomato. You’ll need to be aware that if you go overboard it could cause the rice to scorch. For a richer color, stir a tablespoon or two of tomato paste when adding the salt, bay leaf and chili.

I love that this recipe has a few veggies: onions as an aromatic, finely chopped carrots for heft, and for color the tomatoes. Don’t forget the peas at the end or the jalapeno I like to include for a little heat. At our house, peeps fight over the last! Feel free to vary these veggies or leave them out.

Other Mexican Rice Recipes:

I do have a few other recipes you might like to see. There’s my Instant Pot Mexican Rice, Instant Pot Mexican Red Rice, Arroz Verde Mexican Green Rice, and Cilantro Lime Rice for the Instant Pot or Stovetop. Photos for all are just below.

Storing and Reheating:

There can be some concern about eating leftover rice. All varieties of uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause gastrointestinal illness like vomiting or diarrhea. The spores are heat-resistant and don’t die when cooked. Although bacillus cereus is rare, if the rice you have cooked happens to contain the bacteria, the spores can multiply in what we call the danger zone, or temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees, and can multiply enough to make you sick.

To avoid any possible issues, be especially careful when storing cooked rice. Use the rice promptly when cooked and refrigerate promptly when finished with it. Ideally, make sure the cooked rice is not at room temperature (which is in the danger zone) for over an hour. Be especially careful if using rice as leftovers or food prep and keep items refrigerated until ready to heat and eat.

To reheat your Mexican rice, the microwave is really your best bet. Cover, leaving an area to vent, and reheat in minute intervals, depending on how much rice is being reheated, and serve promptly. Rice can be frozen and reheated. In either case, if the rice is dry, add a little water.

Saving Money on Restaurant Style Mexican Rice:

All items used in this recipe are most likely to be more inexpensive at your Buyers Club or at Aldi or Lidl.

• Tomatoes: Watch for sales on tomatoes and when the price is great, try to pick up some that are ripe for immediate use along with others not so ripe. Place those in a sunny window and they’ll be ready in a few days. Canned whole tomatoes are fine in this recipe. Those are a better value when bought in larger cans. What isn’t used can be frozen.
• Chicken Broth: As you’ll hear me say many times, I save my bones and vegetable scraps and make my own. I generally throw in a few black peppercorns, too. Cost: Free. If you use storebought, a cube or spoonful of bullion is fine. Watch for canned and boxed broth on sale, especially around the winter holidays.
  •Onions: Always less expensive by the bag, store in a dark cool place away from potatoes. If that option is difficult, put them in a paper bag, loosely folded.
• Garlic: Runs around 59 to 99 cents a head in my area; it can be a little tricky to
  discern the best prices because it can also be bought by the pound, and generally, you’ll pay less this way. Cheat and buy a jar or squeeze bottle off-season if you are not too particular about it.
• Carrots: Rarely go on sale, but when they do, stock up. Refrigerate in the drawers but first make sure there are holes in the bag for ventilation. Store them perpendicular to and indentations in the drawer and turn them over now and then.
• Rice: Check several places in the store and keep to the lower shelves where you’ll find bags in various sizes for great prices. Rice may be by the staples as well as in the Mexican, Asian, or Indian sections of the store if your store has them.

Restaurant Style Mexican Rice

Restaurant Style Mexican Rice

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Light & fluffy restaurant style Mexican Rice.

• Author: adapted from Marcella Valadolid
• Yield: 8 servings 1x

Ingredients

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• 3 tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken broth, you’ll need a little less
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large chopped onion
• 1 large finely diced carrot
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups rice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 whole Serrano chile
• 1/2 to 1 cup of frozen peas

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Instructions

Cut the tomatoes in half, and remove the seeds and roughly chop. Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of broth to a blender and puree. Pour into a measuring cup and add enough broth to make 4 cups of liquid.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and saute for 4 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the rice and cook until slightly toasted, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomato broth mixture, stir and bring to boil. Add the salt, bay leaf, and the Serrano chile. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. Scatter the peas over the top of the rice, cover, and let the rice stand 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, transfer to a serving bowl and serve.

Notes

Shortcut this by using about a cup of tomato juice instead of the fresh tomatoes.

For a deeper colored rice, stir in 2 tablespoons of tomato paste when adding the salt, bay leaf, and Serrano chile.

Nutrition

• Calories: 214
• Sodium: 734mg
• Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrates: 42g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 5g
• Cholesterol: 0

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