The BEST Authentic Mexican Rice that is so good and so easy, it will become THE side dish to make with all of your Mexican dishes.
By far, this is one of my favorite and most requested recipe to cook. We make it for any Mexican dish from taquitos, to tacos to burritos. It’s truly an authentic Mexican Rice recipe. You want to know why? Because it comes from an authentic Mexican kitchen…that just so happens to belong to my cousin’s mother-in-law!
My cousin shared this recipe with me years ago. She was taught by her mother-in-law, who is from Mexico. The ingredients are pretty simple – white rice, tomato sauce, garlic, chili powder and Caldo de Tomate (affiliate link). I realized a few months ago when I was looking for this recipe on my site to share it with someone, that I’d never shared it!
How to make Mexican Rice
The first step is to brown the rice by cooking it with some vegetable oil over a fairly high heat. When the rice starts to turn white and then golden, you’re ready for next step, which is basically just adding the rest of the ingredients.
Once it all comes to a boil, cover it up and turn down the heat. A clear lid is helpful here so you can see when the rice is done, but really 20 minutes is about all it takes. If after 20 minutes there’s still some liquid in the pan, just let it continue to cook until all of the water is absorbed and you can no longer see it bubbling to the top. Let it rest for several minutes, then fluff it up in the pan using a fork or wooden spoon, and you’re ready to serve. Sometimes I’ll add some frozen vegetables, like peas and carrots, or even chicken like in my One Pot Mexican Chicken & Rice.
Your questions about my easy Mexican Rice recipe answered:
- Use a good quality nonstick saute pan for cooking your Mexican Rice. The rice never sticks, and it has higher sides so there’s no chance or and of the rice going overboard while stirring! Do not use stainless steel pans for cooking rice.
- What can I use as a substitute for the Caldo de Tomat? I have been asked this many times so I thought it was important to share that you don’t have to use this ingredient. Chicken bouillon would be a fine substitution, although it wouldn’t have the same tomato taste. You could also simply use chicken stock instead of water and leave the bouillon out completely. BUT, I definitely recommend it since it will give the best, most authentic flavor to your Mexican Rice.
- My rice didn’t cook all the way through in the 20 minutes. Since each kitchen and stove is different, it’s hard to say what could have gone wrong. However, typically it’s just that the heat wasn’t high enough and the rice didn’t come to a full boil. Let it cook a little longer to absorb more of the liquid. Or, remove the lid, turn up the heat to medium and let any remaining liquid boil off. One of these solutions should work for most problems.
- This isn’t a traditional Mexican rice recipe! How dare you! Ok, so this isn’t a question, but I do hear this from time to time. My response to this is that each kitchen, family, and family tradition is different. Just like in the US there are about 18 different types of barbecue sauce depending on what part of the country you live in, the same goes for Mexico and authentic Mexican Rice recipes. Just because it isn’t the same as what your family cooks, doesn’t make it wrong or bad. Please be respectful of this recipe as being authentic to my family.
For more Mexican recipes, try these:
Watch this video to see how to make my Easy Mexican Rice recipe!

Authentic Mexican Rice
Print Pin RateIngredients
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable or Canola Oil
- 1 cup dry long-grain white rice
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 16 ounces warm water
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons Calde de Tomate tomato bouillon
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic about 2 cloves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a 5 quart saute pan over medium-high heat. Add rice. Cook rice, stirring constantly, for several minutes, until rice begins to turn a golden color.
- Reduce heat to low to avoid spattering. Gently pour in warm water, then tomato sauce and stir. Stir in chili powder, Calde de Tomate and minced garlic. Turn heat back up to medium-high, bring to a boil, then reduce to low and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes, or until all water has been absorbed.
- Turn off heat, fluff rice then let sit, covered, for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Made this rice and it turned out perfect! Everyone loved it. Thank you.
My rice scorched and came out sticky. I followed the recipe exactly? What should I do differently next time? I wonder if it has to do with our 100% humidity in south Texas today. Maybe I should reduce the liquid? Anyone have other ideas?
Humidity can play a part in that I’m sure. However it is most likely the heat. Are you using a gas or electric stove? Do you have one burner that gets hotter than another? (I do, so I can’t use that one for rice).
How many calories per serving do you think this is?
Would brown rice work ok?
Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice. I suppose if you followed the cooking time for brown it could work, but I haven’t personally tried it.
This is great! This recipe is similar to what I do in my rice but I like to add some onions. Thank you for sharing!
What can i use as substitute for tomato Buillon since cant find one in my place?
You could use chicken bouillon, or just use chicken broth instead of water. It won’t have quite as strong of a tomato taste, and you may need to add a little salt (but check that at the end).
Knorr makes a great tomato chicken bullion.
Hi! Was wondering how many servings are in this recipe?
Depends on the size of the servings, but it should feed at least 6 people.
This recipe rocks!!! It was absolutely perfect! I made 5 times the amount ( we had a big group) and I was nervous about trying a new dish with such a crowd!!! The only thing I did differently was I put in only two cans of tomatoe sauce ( all I had)? It was delicious!!! The caldo tomato ingredient is fantastic—it has the salt the recipe needs… after I made it, I thought “ I forgot salt”! But the tomato bouillon saved me! Thank you for sharing this worry-proof recipe. One other thing…. because you sauté the rice first, it speeds up the cooking process… I let mine cook about 10 minutes, covered… then I turned off the heat. Before we got ready to eat, I brought it to a boil again (only for a few minutes) and it was done!!!! Definitely a 5 Star recipe!
Wow, this recipe was a huge hit! I tripled the recipe to go with our family Christmas meal for 15 of Mexican food. The rice was well seasoned, fluffy and looked just like that from a restaurant. I added sauteed onions and bell peppers. I impressed myself, since I never made it before. The family kept raving about it. I come from a highly critical family of good cooks so thanks to this recipe I won’t be teased for a cooking fail.
Can u use chicken broth instead of the water
Yes, you can.
What.do i use if i dont have garlic cloves
You could add some garlic powder in place of the cloves. About a teaspoon should be enough.
We are having Mexican food for our Christmas lunch this year and I am bringing rice. Do you think I could double this recipe and it would cook ok or should I make 2 separate batches? Thanks.
I find it difficult to make a double batch of this rice because of the cooking time. I would make two separate batches.
Trying this recipe for first time will let you know how it turns out.Taking it for a Mexican lunch side dish.
Excellent!! great taste, I’ll be making this a lot. Thank you
Thank you Adam!
Awesome and so easy! Thanks for sharing your family recipe, now I have a new family favorite at my house!!! ?
Thank you Nicole!
This looks amazing! If I want to add frozen veggies, what is the best place to add them? Toward the end of the rice cooking?
I would heat them separately then stir them in at the end. Or add them at the beginning, but not fully defrosted.
This the very same recipe friend of mine gave me. She is from Mexico. I love it and have shared with a few friends from Mexico and they all loved it
Thank you Idahogal! glad you and your friends loved it.
Hi there,
When you say a can of tomatoe sauce?
Do you mean like canned tomatoes?
So excited to try this!
No, it’s a can of tomato sauce. You can find it in the same aisle as the canned tomatoes, but it’s a smaller, 8-ounce can.
So yummy! Made last minute, substituted Rao’s Aarabiata tomato sauce to add a little spicy kick and used chicken buillion instead of tomato because it was what I had on hand. The side dish stood out as the best part of the meal!
What a great idea Kelsey! Thanks for sharing your experience!
After eating my Mexican mom’s rice since I was a child, I figured I’d try this out to see if I can find a different flavor because I like to try new things. My mom is an excellent cook and everything she makes is delicious. This rice is better than her rice. Don’t tell her I said that or I might get the chancla!!
No not the chancla!! LOL! Thanks for your review Rico, so glad you enjoyed it!