This rice cooker Mexican rice is the simplest way to make this delicious and flavourful side dish. With basically no prep work and just 5 ingredients, you simply let your rice cooker do the cooking. The result is the easiest vegetarian accompaniment to your Mexican-inspired weeknight dinner.
Whenever I don’t know what to have for dinner I can guarantee that Mexican food is the answer. I love that I can either make something quick and simple or more elaborate depending on how much time I want to spend cooking.
This recipe for Mexican-style rice is definitely not an authentic one but it is one that is still full of all the flavours you would expect from this staple side dish, but with so much less hands-on cooking time. It’s the perfect addition to a quick and easy weeknight dinner that doesn’t compromise on flavour.
Mexican rice, also sometimes called Spanish rice or red rice, is a rice dish that is flavoured with onions, tomato and spices that is served as a side. You’ve probably had some version of it at a Mexican restaurant.
I am using a couple of shortcuts to make this recipe super accessible for those really busy nights or when you’re feeling exhausted but still want to make a home cooked meal. Instead of toasting the rice in the pan before the liquid is added, we’re adding everything to a rice cooker and letting it just do its thing so we don’t have to think about it.
While there are a few recipes for Mexican-style rice made in a rice cooker online, I found a lot of them still require you to cook onions in a pan before adding them to your rice cooker. I really wanted this to be as minimal an effort as possible and have everything cooked in the rice cooker, but also I didn’t want raw onion. So instead, I am getting the base onion/tomato/chilli flavours by adding a store bought salsa to my rice.
It works so well and gives the rice so much flavour, all without any chopping or pre-cooking!
So while it’s not authentic, this is a very simple rice recipe filled with Mexican flavours and is the perfect side dish to your favourite at home Mexican-style dishes like black bean tacos or these dairy free chicken enchiladas.
Key Ingredients
We are keeping things on the very easy side and therefore only need 5 simple ingredients to make this Mexican-style rice.
Note all ingredients and their quantities are laid out in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- White rice – just regular long grain white rice is all we need for this dish.
- Vegetable stock – I am making this Mexican-style rice suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets but if you don’t need it to be you can also use chicken stock.
- Salsa – use your favourite brand and select your spice level preference.
- Taco seasoning – another shortcut is to use store bought taco seasoning. Just make sure you check the ingredients to make sure no unwanted sugars or additives are present (aka gluten or dairy because some brands may contain them). You can also substitute with a homemade taco seasoning.
- Olive oil – helps prevent the rice from becoming too sticky and adds an extra richness to the flavour.
Step-By-Step Instructions
The process of making this Mexican-style rice in the rice cooker is exactly the same as my rice cooker turmeric rice. All you really need is a rice cooker!
Despite being a professional food blogger and a huge rice eater, my rice cooker is not a fancy one. In fact I bought it for $12 over 10 years ago and while it’s a little worn, it still works perfectly and I use it several times a week. It is a simple function one with just warm and cook settings and works based on weight to determine the cook time. Any rice cooker should work for this recipe however.
To make this rice cooker Mexican rice, you’ll need to start by washing your rice to remove any excess starch. Skipping this step may result in sticky and gummy rice which is not what we’re looking for.
Once your rice is washed, add it to your rice cooker with the rest of the ingredients and give it a stir to combine. Set the rice cooker to cook and let it do its thing!
When the rice is done, you’ll notice the chunky pieces from the salsa sitting on the top of the rice which is normal. Just give the rice a really good stir to break up the grains and ensure everything is well combined.
If you’ve used salt-reduced stock and taco seasoning, you may need to season with salt and pepper but otherwise it should be salty enough.
You can finish off the rice with a squeeze of lime and some coriander (cilantro) if you like.
Serving suggestions and variations
- Add beans – sometimes I like to rinse and drain a can of black beans and then add it to the rice cooker once it’s finished cooking. I spread them over the top of the rice and pop the lid back on for about 5-10 minutes on the warm function to heat the beans and then mix them through the rice.
- Make a bowl – my favourite way to eat this rice is to use it as the base of a bowl. Add the rice, some grilled chicken, avocado and lettuce and top with a spicy jalapeno sauce. My favourite is the Byron Bay Chilli Co. Green Jalapeno Chilli Sauce. It’s so good!
- Add it as a flavourful filling to homemade burritos.
- Create a vegan Mexican-style feast and serve it alongside dishes such as vegan crispy black bean tacos or vegan sweet potato enchiladas.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with @eightforestlane as I would love to see.
More easy rice dishes:
Turmeric Fried Rice
Easy Chicken Fried Rice
Easy Rice Cooker Turmeric Rice
Teriyaki Salmon and Avocado Rice Bowls
How to Make Cauliflower Rice
Rice Cooker Mexican Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- ⅓ cup salsa
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Add the rice with the rest of the ingredients to the rice cooker and mix to combine. Turn the rice cooker onto cook.
- Once the rice cooker is finished, mix well to combine everything. Serve with lime and coriander (cilantro) if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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