Simple Mexican Rice

This Easy Mexican Rice recipe is a homemade alternative to packaged mixes like Knorr. It doesn’t require tomato bouillon, and we have a special technique to add 1000% more flavor in just 1 extra minute.

This Recipe Is An Alternative To Knorr Mexican Rice

If you’ve ever relied on the convenience of a package of Knorr Mexican rice (I know we have, often!), but would prefer something homemade, with simple ingredients and no added preservatives, this recipe is for you (in the same way that our Seasoned Rice is an alternative to Rice-A-Roni).

It has all of the comforting flavor and soft, fluffy texture of the package, but gives you total control over the ingredients. And we’re using all rice and none of the weird pasta that is mixed in for reasons we’ve never understood.

Many homemade Mexican seasoned rice recipes call for tomato bouillon, but that’s not an ingredient we keep on hand, so we’re using tomato paste here instead (we keep a tube of that in the fridge, always).

And our method for toasting the tomato paste and the spices takes only ONE extra minute (seriously, 1 minute exactly), but improves the flavor 1000% compared to recipes that don’t have this step. Read on for all the details!

Mexican Seasoned Rice Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• rice – our top choice for this recipe is long grain white rice, because it cooks up nice and fluffy and doesn’t clump, but basmati rice or jasmine rice works great here, too.
• chicken broth – the cooking liquid for the rice. If you use water instead of broth, your rice won’t have nearly as much flavor.
• butter – adds a touch of richness. Olive oil or canola oil works too!
• tomato paste – adds deep umami and gives the rice its signature reddish-orangish hue.
• ground cumin – brings warm, earthy flavor typical of many Mexican dishes.
• chili powder – adds mild heat and smoky flavor to this restaurant style Mexican rice.
• garlic powder – for a savory flavor that will evenly disperse throughout the rice (as opposed to fresh garlic).
• kosher salt – enhances all of the other flavors.

A Note On Cayenne

We’ve seen some Mexican style rice recipes call for cayenne. We tested it this way, and even a small amount of cayenne made the finished dish very spicy. We think it’s because rice is such a blank canvas to absorb whatever flavor, and there’s nothing creamy or acidic to balance out any of the heat. So we skip the cayenne, but add a pinch if you WANT your rice to be spicy!

How To Cook Mexican Rice

1. PREP. Cook the rice in a bit of butter in a pan until it is translucent, stirring it constantly. Add the tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and salt and cook 1 minute, then add the broth and stir everything together.

2. SIMMER AND SERVE. Heat to a boil, then cover the pot and reduce the heat. Cook until the rice has absorbed all of the liquid (the rice should be studded with craters at the end of cooking time). Then, remove from heat and let it sit 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving.

What To Serve With This Easy Mexican Rice Recipe

Choose one item from each column below to create a tasty weeknight meal. Or, use the rice as the base for a Chicken Burrito Bowls or carnitas situation.

How To Store Easy Mexican Rice

If you have leftovers after making our Knorr Mexican rice copycat, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave.