If you're looking for a fluffy, flavorful Mexican red rice to serve on your next Taco Tuesday, look no further! This Arroz Rojo recipe has been tested and perfected and will give you a memorable side dish to serve with all your favorite tacos, tostadas and burritos.
Today's recipe is a stovetop warrior and one of my favorites in the world of Mexican food - deeply flavorful red rice.
The texture is just what you love from your favorite Mexican restaurant, and it's 100% vegetarian - perfect for your next taco extravaganza.
Ingredients you'll need for this recipe:
Before we get to the step by step directions, a few notes about the ingredients:
Rice: basic long grain rice is the best option, but jasmine or basmati works, too.
Tomato paste: double or triple concentrated tomato paste is ideal, giving the rice beautiful color and deep tomato flavor.
Stock: use vegetable stock, tomato stock or chicken stock (if cooking for meat-eaters!)
Spices: cumin and a pinch of cayenne add smoky flavor to our rice recipe. Omit the cayenne for a fully mild experience.
Full ingredient list and measurements included in printable recipe card below.
Step by step instructions:
1. Prep rice
Rinse rice thoroughly to remove starch. Set aside.
2. Cook aromatics
Sauté diced onion and garlic in butter for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add tomato paste, cumin, cayenne and salt, cooking for 2 minutes. Add rice, tossing in the tomato-ey butter for another 2-3 minutes.
3. Add liquids
Add stock, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste into the stock. Taste the broth - it should be a little too salty. If it's a bit under-seasoned, add a pinch of salt.
Once the stock comes up to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, cooking for 15 minutes, until all of the stock has been absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat, but leave it covered for an additional 10 minutes.
4. Garnish and serve
Once the rice has finished the last 10 minutes of steaming off the heat, add the diced cilantro and toss. Serve warm.
Looking for more delicious Mexican-inspired recipes?
- Authentic Mexican Beans
- Baked Fish Tacos (Tacos de Pescado)
- Baja Fish Tacos
- Creamy Baja Fish Taco Sauce
- Chuy's Jalapeno Ranch Sauce
- Taco Truck Green Sauce
- Octopus Ceviche Recipe
FAQ's and Serving Suggestions:
I like this rice dish best with a basic, long grain white rice. Basmati rice is my every-day rice to cook at home, but when I've tested it in this recipe, the texture was missing that sticky-fluffy combo we love so much in good Mexican rice. Brown rice has a heartier texture, and takes longer to cook, but it would also work in this Mexican arroz recipe. The beautiful red color of the rice will be a little muted on brown rice, but it will still have a delicious flavor.
For this recipe, de-starching the rice is a key step in creating the final texture. So I do recommend rinsing the rice well before adding it to your pan of tomato-ey butter.
All of your favorite dishes in Mexican cuisine! A main dish like fish tacos or shrimp tostadas is always a winner. The red rice is the perfect side dish to serve with Mexican Street Corn Casserole, pickled red onions, Mexican caesar salad, authentic refried beans, black beans, mango habanero salsa and crispy tortilla chips.
If you're cooking for people who all love spice, add a diced, seeded jalapeño to the the pan with the diced onion and garlic to help infuse the entire dish. If you're short on fresh chili peppers, add extra cayenne pepper and serve the rice with a bottle of your favorite hot sauce.
In addition to the diced onion and garlic cloves, adding diced bell peppers when sautéing the garlic and onion would add nice flavors to the rice. Some Mexican restaurants add a handful of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans) to the rice, lending flavor, texture and bulk.
I've had great success making this red rice and my authentic Mexican Refried Beans the day before a party, and storing them in the refrigerator to heat quickly before service. It clears valuable time in my schedule the day of an event when two main side dishes are already finished!
To store, transfer the rice to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator up to 2 days. I don't recommend freezing this rice recipe.
Mexican Red Rice (Homemade Arroz Rojo)
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, diced
3 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
1 cup long grain rice, rinsed well
1 ½ cups broth (vegetable, chicken or tomato)
¾ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
¼ cup cilantro, diced, for serving
Instructions
-
Rinse rice thoroughly to remove starch. Set aside.
-
Saute diced onion and garlic in butter for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste, cumin, cayenne and salt, cooking for 2 minutes. Add rice, tossing in the tomato-ey butter for another 2-3 minutes.
-
Add stock, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste into the stock. Taste the broth - it should be a little too salty. Once the stock comes up to a boil, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low, cooking for 15 minutes, until all of the stock has been absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat, but leave it covered for an additional 10 minutes.
-
Once finished steaming, add in diced cilantro and toss. Serve warm.
Notes
Regular long grain white rice is the best option for this rice recipe. Substitute jasmine or basmati, if needed.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Easy Recipes, Side Dishes
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mexican
[…] Arroz rojo, or Mexican red rice, is the perfect side dish for your fish taco dinner. The rice turns red thanks to homemade tomato sauce, made even tastier by fresh onion, cilantro and garlic. It’s fluffy and super flavorful and worth every minute of cook time. […]