Restaurant-Style Spanish Rice (aka Mexican Rice), that is easy to make and tastes like it came straight from the restaurant, and is the best side dish to any Mexican entree.
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT40M
Total time: PT45M
Rating
4.99 stars (5922 reviews)
Keywords
Spanish Rice
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 cube chicken-flavored bouillon
4 cups water ((or 4 cups chicken lower sodium chicken broth - and no bouillon))
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
dash garlic pepper
chopped fresh cilantro ((optional))
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
Mexican
Steps
Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat.
Add rice and cook, stirring until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Combine bouillon and water in a microwave-safe container and microwave for 3 minutes.
When rice is brown, add bouillon mixture, tomato sauce, salt, garlic, cumin and garlic pepper to the pan.
Stir and cover the pan. Let simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until all is cooked and there is no liquid left. Fluff before serving and top with cilantro if desired.
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 90 kcal
Carbohydrates: 13 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 4 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 447 mg
Sugar: 1 g
Reviews
Linda Tower on 2026-11-13 (5 stars): This is the best Spanish rice, Easy and so tasty
Nat on 2026-11-08 (5 stars): Tastes just like my mom would make it, only I added a couple more seasoning and it tasted amazing!
Rebekah-Anne D. on 2026-11-01 (5 stars): Wow, absolutely delicious! Made this for the first time for a dinner with guests and they tasted it before I did. Everyone raved at how good it was! When we got home, at 9:00 pm, my toddler kept saying “more rice, mommy” and so we ate rice (again, after him eating lots at dinner) because he was so excited to eat more. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
Sherry on 2026-10-30 (5 stars): I made this rice last week. I was so happy!! When I was a young girl, my Hispanic boyfriend’s mother made something called “meat and rice”. That’s it. I have been trying to copycat that recipe for 50 years. I never got the recipe from her and her kids have tried but it’s not the same. This rice is almost identical to that rice. I have some cooking right now with small cubes of pork chop that I browned before adding the rice to brown. It smells like Opal’s kitchen and I cannot wait to dig in! Thank you for this great base!
