The next time you're preparing a Latin-inspired entree and need the perfect side dish, look no further than this Easy Instant Pot Mexican Rice recipe. Preparing Mexican Red Rice (Arroz Rojo) in an Instant pot or Ninja Foodi yields tender, fluffy, and absolutely delicious rice that makes a great side to Carne Asada, Chili Verde, Blackened Fish Taco, or Chile Relleno.
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🧐Why This Recipe Works
As you probably know, making rice can be tricky. If it doesn't have enough liquid, the rice will be undercooked and crunchy. If too much liquid is added, the rice ends up mushy.
Preparing Mexican Rice in an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi can be tricky, but once you follow my easy instructions and keep in mind the important tips, you'll avoid the dreaded "burn" error on your Instant Pot or the "water" error on your Ninja Foodi. Yes, I've experienced both, but you don't have to!
Cooking long-grain rice in an Instant Pot only takes 4 minutes. You heard me right, 4 minutes, but you have to account for the time it takes to sauté the vegetables and rice, and the time it takes to build up pressure. My rice took 23 minutes start to finish.
Don't like carrots or corn? Leave them out! Like peas instead? Add them! Either way, your Instant Pot Mexican Rice will have a beautiful orange color and will taste absolutely delicious!
🛒 What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients and Substitutions
- Rice: Not all long-grain rice is equal. Some cook up better than others. My favorite rice is jasmine rice, which is long-grain white rice. It has a wonderful, fluffy texture and cooks up beautifully. I have not tried this recipe with brown rice.
- Sauce: Sauce gives Mexican and Spanish rice its beautiful orange or red color. The sauce can be made with a combination of ingredients including chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and tomato paste. In this recipe, we'll use tomato paste and a diced tomato.
- Oil: If you don't have avocado oil, use olive oil, vegetable oil, or butter instead.
- Aromatics: Besides yellow onion and garlic, I like to add diced carrots and corn. If you don't have fresh garlic, you can substitute ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.
- Seasoning: To season the Mexican rice, I like to add sea salt, chili powder, and Tajin spice. You can also add cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper, and cumin powder, but just a touch. A little goes a long way!
🔪Tools Required
You can either use an Instant pot or a Ninja Foodi to make this Mexican Spanish Rice recipe. I have both, but prefer my Ninja Foodi.
🥣 How to Make Instant Pot Spanish Rice
STEP 1: Before you begin, chop/mince your vegetables and rinse the rice in a fine strainer until the water runs clear. You want to remove all the starch so the rice doesn't stick.
STEP 2: Select the sauté function on your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker (I used my Ninja Foodi). When hot, add butter and oil, onion, and carrot. Saute for 2 minutes.
STEP 3: Add rice, garlic, and corn. Saute for an additional minute. Turn the pressure cooker OFF.
STEP 4: Stir the salt into 1½ cups of chicken broth and pour over the rice. Deglaze the bottom of the pot, if necessary.
STEP 5: Stir enough water into the remaining broth to equal one cup. Whisk in tomato paste, chili powder, and Tajin until the tomato paste dissolves. Pour the sauce over the rice but do not mix in. Top with the chopped tomatoes, then lock the lid and set the vent to seal. Select high pressure (pressure cook) and set the timer to 4 minutes.
STEP 6: When the time is up, do a natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 minutes. Release pressure by turning the valve to vent. Mix rice, then fluff with a fork before serving.
🥄 Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy Instant Pot Mexican Rice! Serve it as a side with Pressure Cooker Carnitas, Inside Fish Burritos, or as a base in Mexican Rice Bowls. You can also cook the rice with vegetable broth and eat it as a quick and satisfying vegetarian meal.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
It only takes 4 minutes to cook rice in an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker. However, it does take approximately 5 minutes to come to pressure and 10 minutes of NPR (natural pressure release), for a total of 20 minutes.
Spanish rice gets its color from the tomato-based sauce it cooks in. The broth used to cook the rice is usually mixed with tomato paste, tomato sauce, Rotel diced tomatoes, salsa, or freshly chopped tomatoes.
It is always a good idea to rinse rice before cooking it. This helps to remove the starch and gives you perfectly fluffy rice. To rinse the rice, add the rice to a fine-mesh strainer and run under cold running water until the water runs clear. You can also swish the rice around in a bowl of cold water and strain through a strainer and repeat until the water is not longer cloudy.
There are many reasons why rice burns when cooked in an Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi. Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid:
• Rice not properly rinsed: Be sure to remove all the starch from the rice by washing it thoroughly.
• Not enough rice: Do not cook less than 2 cups of rice at a time.
• Not enough water: Although I always use a 1:1 ratio of water to rice, it is helpful to add a little more water when cooking Mexican rice in a pressure cooker. Try using 2.5 cups of water to 2 cups of rice.
• The bottom of the pot getting too hot: Make sure to turn off the pressure cooker once you are done sautéing to allow the bottom of the pot to cool off before pressure cooking.
• Mixing the tomato sauce into the rice: When you mix the sauce in with the rice, it can cause the sauce to stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Instead, pour the tomato sauce over the top without stirring it in until it's done pressure cooking.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- To up the protein, you can also add a can of rinsed canned black beans when adding the tomatoes.
- If you're a vegetarian, you can use vegetable broth instead. It will still have amazing flavor.
- If you prefer stove-top directions, check out my Mexican Spanish Rice recipe.
- Leftover rice can be enjoyed in a Mexican Rice Bowl or in a Breakfast Burrito, or serve with Adobada Tacos.
- If you are interested in other Instant Pot rice recipes, check out my Assyrian Instant Pot Jasmine Rice recipe.
- Store leftover Mexican rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- To reheat rice stored in the refrigerator, you can place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds, or up to one minute, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
- To freeze the rice, place cooled rice in quart-sized or individual-sized freezer bags. Make sure to squeeze out all the air in the bag then label the bag with the date. Stack the bags flat in the freezer and they should be good for 1 to 2 months. After that, the texture begins to deteriorate.
- To reheat frozen rice, break it into chunks while still in the bag and then pour it into a microwave-safe bowl. Add a tablespoon of water and cover with a napkin. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes.
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📖 Recipe
Easy Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Equipment
- pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil (or other oil)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 1 medium carrot (diced)
- 2 cups Jasmine rice
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ cup canned corn (drained)
- 1 14.5 oz can chicken broth (plus water to equal 2½ cups)
- 1½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Tajin
- ¾ cup diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Before you begin, chop/mince your vegetables and rinse the rice in a fine strainer until the water runs clear. You want to remove all the starch so the rice doesn't stick.
- Select the sauté function on your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker (I used my Ninja Foodi). When hot, add butter and oil, onion, and carrot. Saute for 2 minutes.
- Add rice, garlic, and corn. Saute for an additional minute. Turn the pressure cooker OFF.
- Stir the salt into 1½ cups of chicken broth and pour over the rice. Deglaze the bottom of the pot, if necessary.
- Stir enough water into the remaining broth to equal one cup. Whisk in tomato paste, chili powder, and Tajin until the tomato paste dissolves. Pour the sauce over the rice but do not mix in. Top with the chopped tomatoes, then lock the lid and set the vent to seal. Select high pressure (pressure cook) and set the timer to 4 minutes.
- When the time is up, do a natural pressure release (NPR) for 10 minutes. Release pressure by turning the valve to vent. Mix rice, then fluff with a fork before serving.
Notes
- To up the protein, you can also add a can of rinsed canned black beans when adding the tomatoes.
- If you're a vegetarian, you can use vegetable broth instead. It will still have amazing flavor.
- If you prefer stove-top directions, check out my Mexican Spanish Rice recipe.
- Leftover rice can be enjoyed in a Mexican Rice Bowl or in a Breakfast Burrito, topped with shredded cheese.
- If you are interested in other Instant Pot rice recipes, check out my Assyrian Instant Pot Jasmine Rice recipe.
- Store leftover Mexican rice in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
- To reheat rice stored in the refrigerator, you can place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it for 30 seconds, or up to one minute, depending on the wattage of your microwave.
- To freeze the rice, place cooled rice in quart-sized or individual-sized freezer bags. Make sure to squeeze out all the air in the bag then label the bag with the date. Stack the bags flat in the freezer and they should be good for 1 to 2 months. After that, the texture begins to deteriorate.
- To reheat frozen rice, break it into chunks while still in the bag and then pour it into a microwave-safe bowl. Add a tablespoon of water and cover with a napkin. Microwave for approximately 2 minutes.
Kelly Methey says
This rice is so good! I had to fight my husband to even get a few bites, he loved it so much! He ate the whole recipe (less a few of my bites) in two sittings! This is husband tested and very husband approved!!!
Hilda Sterner says
I have more to go with the Carne Asada I saved you. Let me know when you want it!