Homemade Spanish Rice

This Spanish Rice recipe is the best! Beautifully colored and full of flavor, like it came from a Mexican restaurant. Savory sautéed rice simmering in rich tomato flavor and seasonings, creating a tasty side dish. Perfect with refried beans for a classic Taco Tuesday.

I’ll let you in on a little secret – Taco Tuesday is game changer. As much as I love to research, plan, and prepare exciting new meals for my family, sometimes it’s nice to hit cruise control and serve a dinner that I KNOW will be an absolute home run. That’s why I love Taco Tuesday. And if I’m making tacos, then I’m also making a side of homemade Spanish Rice. 

What makes this recipe so good is that the rice is made pilaf-style, which means it cooks in a broth to soak up flavor and color. That orangey-red color comes from the tomatoes and seasonings, and lets everyone know this is no ordinary meal.

Spanish rice gets its slightly toasted flavor from sautéing the dry rice before simmering. The two-part cooking technique is just like cooking Rice-a-Roni – but with WAY fewer ingredients. 

This restaurant style Spanish rice recipe is tailor-made for Mexican food. Plus, we always find great uses for the leftovers (if there are any). Mix Spanish Rice with scrambled eggs and cheese to roll into a world-class breakfast burrito. Or make a batch of zesty stuffed bell peppers.

INGREDIENTS

This recipe is made with olive oil, long grain white rice, an onion, a carrot, a tomato, tomato sauce, and caldo de tomate seasoning. 

HOW TO MAKE SPANISH RICE

In a high-powered blender, combine onion, carrot and tomato. Puree on high until smooth. Set aside.

Add onion, carrot and fresh tomato to the blender, and puree. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine hot water and caldo de tomate seasoning: stir and set aside.

In a fine-mesh sieve/strainer, rinse rice under cold water until the water runs clear. Drain.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and rice. Cook and stir constantly for 3 to 4 minutes until rice begins turning golden brown. Careful not to burn it!

Add onion-tomato puree mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring, for one minute until heated through. Add can of tomato sauce and cook for one minute.

Add caldo de tomate seasoning to rice and stir through. Allow rice to come to a boil then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer with the lid on the pot for 20 minutes. 

Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes, then fluff with fork. Enjoy!

CAN YOU FREEZE SPANISH RICE?

Yes! Run water over a large rimmed baking sheet, then pour off excess but don’t dry. Evenly spread cooked rice on a baking sheet (do not press down). Place in the refrigerator until completely cooled. Transfer rice to a labeled gallon size (4L) freezer bag. Seal, removing as much air as possible, and freeze.

Reheating

Place bag of frozen rice in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours to thaw. Empty contents into a large, microwave-safe bowl. Cover loosely with a wet cloth or paper towel. Microwave in 1-minute increments on medium, stirring after each, until rice is hot. (You can also reheat it on the stove. Transfer rice to a large saucepan, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon(5mL) water, cover and heat over medium heat, occasionally stirring gently, until hot.)

Some other great Mexican dishes include Homemade Chicken Taquitos with Cilantro and Pepper-Jack Cheese  and Chicken Enchiladas.

IS SPANISH RICE THE SAME AS MEXICAN RICE?

Spanish rice means to Spain what French fries mean to France: Nothing. Although rice was introduced to Mexico by the Spanish, this recipe’s origins are rooted more in Mexican culture than that of Spain.

WHAT KIND OF RICE SHOULD I USE?

Long grain white rice is optimal for this recipe. It’s nice and fluffy and doesn’t get sticky or clumpy.

CAN I MAKE THIS WITH BROWN RICE?

You can use brown rice, but you’ll need to increase the water to 2 cups. And cooking time might exceed 20 minutes before the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

IS SPANISH RICE VEGAN?

The caldo de tomate seasoning is technically a bouillon made with beef and chicken. The amounts are small, but it’s definitely not vegetarian or vegan. A good vegan hack, however, is to forego the caldo de tomate and use 3 tablespoons organic tomato powder and 3 tablespoons salt. Or try 3 tablespoons Goya Sofrito Soup Base. You can even sub-in your favorite salsa. Just make sure you’re adding some form of tomato flavor and salt.

IS THIS RECIPE SPICY?

This recipe is mild, but flavorful. Spice levels can be cranked up using cayenne pepper or hot sauce in the tomato-onion puree. Just remember: you can always add more spice but you can’t remove it. To accommodate everyone’s favorite spice levels, serve the rice with a bottle of hot sauce on the table.

PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES

• To avoid burning your rice while it’s simmering, cook in a heavy-bottom pan like a cast iron skillet or a Dutch oven. And keep the heat low. You may even want to use a smaller burner on your stove.
• If your liquid evaporates before the rice is ready, stir in 1/3 cup warm water and try reducing the heat a little.
• You can store the leftover rice in your fridge in an airtight Tupperware container for up to 5 days.
• A few sprinkles of chopped, grated, or shredded cotija cheese before serving adds some interesting color to the dish, plus a nice, salty snap to the flavor of the rice.
• This recipe calls for a can of tomato sauce. This refers to the ingredient found in the store next to tomato paste, not Ragu or Prego pasta sauce.
• Have fun customizing this side dish with diced green and red bell peppers. Sprinkle them on before serving for a crispy garnish, or cook them with the rice for more muted colors and a softer texture.

WHAT OTHER RICE DISHES CAN YOU MAKE?

• Serve this delicious Fried Rice
• Add this rice to these Chicken Burrito Bowls
• Prepare this easy-to-make Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup
• Make this Pressure Cooker Cajun Sausage and Rice
• Bake this incredible Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

The next time you make this recipe I would love to see it! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!