Rice Cooker Mexican Rice

You can make the most delicious restaurant style Mexican rice in your rice cooker. I'm going to share a few (very simple) tips that will ensure your Mexican rice comes out flavorful and fluffy, not sticky and gummy.

Jump to:

• Reasons You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• How To Make Rice Cooker Mexican Rice
• Variations
• Recipe

Rice cooker Mexican rice is very easy to make. However, there's a few essential tips you need to know if you want toothsome, chewy rice like you get in a great Mexican restaurant.

I like to serve this rice with vegan enchilada casserole or birria tacos. When made correctly, it makes the perfect side dish for your Mexican meal.

Reasons You'll Love This Recipe

✅Making Mexican rice in your rice cooker means the rice cooker does most of the heavy lifting. No sticky, gelatinous rice here. Just fluffy, flavor packed rice.

✅It's vegan and gluten free.

✅It's kid approved.

✅It's flexible, meaning you can customize it by adding additional ingredients. There's a few creative suggestions below.

Ingredients

• Rice: Choose long grain white rice. Don't use jasmine or basmati rice, as they tend to come out gummier than long grain white rice. You can also use brown rice if you like.
• Chipotle Sauce Or Paste: I like Luchito chipotle paste, but any chipotle sauce or paste will do.
• Tomato Paste: I recommend using tomato paste from a tube. You can also use canned tomato paste, but you'll have some leftover.
• Red Onion: I prefer the milder, sweeter taste of red onions to yellow onions for Mexican rice. But, if yellow onions are what you have on hand, those will work too.
• Olive Oil: You only need a few tablespoons, but it's essential if you want really fluffy Mexican rice, so try not to skip this ingredient.
• Garlic: I like to use fresh garlic, not garlic powder for this recipe. Feel free to reduce the amount of garlic to suit your preference.
• Cumin: Cumin is an essential spice for all Mexican dishes.
• Vegetable Broth: Vegetable broth just adds a bit more flavor. You can also use just plain water if you don't have any vegetable broth on hand.
• Salt: Salt makes all the other flavors pop.
• Lime Juice: We'll be squeezing a bit of lime juice over your rice cooker Mexican rice for a zesty kick of citrus flavor.
• Cilantro: A sprinkling of cilantro brings Mexican rice alive.

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How To Make Rice Cooker Mexican Rice

• In a sieve or colander, wash your rice thoroughly. Drain it and set aside. This is an important step because washing the rice removes the starch, which is what makes rice sticky. So, if you want fluffy, not gloppy rice, be sure to wash your rice thoroughly, moving it around with your hands.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat in a non-stick saute pan.
• Saute the red onion for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir fry for about 3 minutes, or until the rice kernels are golden brown.
• Add the garlic, tomato paste, chipotle paste and cumin and saute for a further 30 seconds.
• Now, scrape your Mexican rice into your rice cooker and add the vegetable broth. Put the lid on your rice cooker, and it set it to white rice.
• When the rice cooker switches to warm, allow the rice to rest for 10 minutes on the warm setting.
• Squeeze the juice of one lime into the rice and stir in the chopped coriander.

Variations

Here's a few suggestions to make rice cooker Mexican rice your own:

• Stir in some fresh or canned corn.
• Add some black beans for a hit of protein.
• Spice it up by sauteing some chopped jalapenos with the onions.
• Add a dash of cinnamon for a warm note.

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