Easy Mexican Arroz Rojo (Arroz Mexicano Recipe)

Arroz rojo or authentic Mexican red rice is one of the basic recipes of Mexican cuisine. It’s easy to master and with this failproof recipe with detailed steps you’ll always have fluffy rice and a perfect side dish for all your favorite Mexican foods. 

Arroz Rojo (Mexican Red Rice)

Amigos, today’s recipe is one you must master — and trust me it’s not hard at all.

This is the rice that you’ll often be served at Mexican restaurants. Sometimes it’s also referred to as arroz Mexicano, arroz a la Mexicana. Americans will sometimes refer to is as Spanish rice or Spanish red rice.

But amigos this rice is truly one authentic and most popular Mexican dishes and not at all Spanish.

Growing up my mom would make a big batch for our comidas semanales or our weekly meals. That way all she had to do was reheat the rice and serve it with any main dish that it paired well with.

Interestingly enough, here in Southern Mexico where I currently live, white rice is more common. 

Traditionally it’s made with lightly sautéed rice, a homemade tomato sauce, lightly toasted, chicken stock and some people also add chopped vegetables.

There are many different ways of making arroz rojo and ultimately finding a tried and true recipe that yields perfectly cooked and fluffy rice is the goal. Because no one wants to eat dry rice, overcooked mushy rice or worse uncooked rice. 

Don’t worry friends, I got you! I promise that if you follow the steps you’re going to end up with perfectly fluffy rice every time. 

This authentic Mexican rice recipe is a beautiful vibrant red color that takes really only a couple of minutes of preparation, but with it’s basic ingredients needed you’re going to make the most delicious homemade arroz.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Arroz Rojo

The simple ingredients list for this classic recipe are few and all common and easy to find.

• long grain rice or extra long grain rice  (don’t use instant rice nor brown rice)
• vegetable oil
• roma tomatoes
• white onion
• garlic clove (I’ve never used garlic powder for this)
• water
• salt
• vegetable broth (traditionally chicken stock is used but I’ve always used veggie stock)

Other Ingredient Options

Sometimes I also like to add either a small can of vegetable mix consisting of carrots, peas and corn. Other times I’ll use frozen vegetables, or if I have neither then I’ll just make the rice as is. These options are your choice.

Additionally some people like to add a little bit of cilantro. I never do, but again it’s your choice.

Arroz Rojo with Canned Tomato Sauce 

If you want the authentic flavors of true arroz Mexicano try to use fresh tomatoes whenever they are in season.

But I do understand that for many people the season is very short or they have easier access to canned tomato sauce.

So I’ll give you some tips in the recipe card below on how to make arroz rojo with tomato sauce. But it’s really just as easy as measuring out the amount needed.

One thing though that I would really recommend against is using tomato paste because the traditional flavors will dramatically change.

How to Make Easy Mexican Rice

Step 1: Blend the tomatoes with garlic cloves, onion and a bit of water. Blend for 1-2 minutes or until smooth to make the tomato sauce, then set aside.

Step 2: Place a large pan with a tight-fitting lid on the stove top. Pour in some oil and heat to medium heat. 

Step 3: Now add the rice to the pan and “toast” or sauté until it begins to brown just a tad bit. Careful not to burn it, it will just have a golden brown color not too dark. Stir often to prevent it from burning.

Step 4: Then pour in 1 ¼ cups of the freshly blended tomato sauce — careful as the heat will cause it to splatter. Stir until well combined and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken up.

Step 5: Next pour in the vegetable broth and allow it to come to a gentle boil. Then lower the heat to low, place the lid on your pan and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 6: After 15 minutes carefully uncover and use a fork to push an area of the rice aside. You want to check that the liquid has all been absorbed. If it hasn’t then cover and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Step 7: Once the liquid has all been absorbed then turn off the heat, use the fork to gently mix and fluff the rice. Making sure to reach the bottom of the pot or pan.

Step 8: Cover again, remove from the heat then allow to sit for another 10 minutes undisturbed. After this you’ll have fluffy rice and be ready to serve as desired!

What Does Arroz Rojo Taste Like

Mexican rice is flavorful with tones of savory tomato sauce. It’s light and fluffy and simple, yet packed with incredible taste.

It’s so delicious that you could eat it just by itself.

You could even just enjoy a small bowl with a little bit of pico de gallo salsa for a small snack. 

How to Serve Mexican Arroz Rojo

This rice makes a delicious side dish, you can use it as a stuffing for tacos or burritos, or you can even make a Mexican themed fried rice.

A favorite way of mine when I used to eat eggs was to take leftover rice and put a fried egg on top for breakfast. 

Another of my favorite ways to eat it is drizzled with homemade vegan crema, refried beans and a nopal fried liked a steak — so yummy!

Below are some great dishes to serve your arroz with.

• Rice and beans with Homemade Black Beans
• Enchiladas Verdes
• Enmoladas (mole enchiladas)
• Mole Ranchero
• Vegan Chicharron in Salsa Verde
• Bistec a la Mexicana
• Verdolagas
• Calabacitas con Maiz or Mexican Zucchini with Corn
• Vegetarian Chiles Rellenos

How to Store & Reheat Arroz Mexicano

Allow rice to come just to room temperature and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 to 5 days.

Rice freezes extremely well so you can also freeze this Mexican rice. Put in a freezer safe container and freeze up to 3 months.

To defrost place it in the refrigerator overnight or defrost it in the microwave.

To reheat on the stovetop add a few tablespoons of water to a non-stick pan then add the rice and combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until it’s fully heated through. 

You can also reheat rice in the microwave. To the get best results add a few tablespoons of water or broth to the rice and microwave for 2 minutes.

Stir then check the rice to make sure it’s heated throughout. If not heat another 30 seconds or longer until heated through.

FAQ

• What does arroz mean in Spanish? It simply means rice. And rojo means the color red.
• What is arroz rojo? Arroz rojo is what we call Mexican rice in Mexico. This is the red colored rice. 
• What is arroz rojo made of? It’s long grain rice cooked in a flavorful tomato sauce made with cloves of garlic, white onion and fresh tomatoes. Additionally traditionally chicken stock is used but it can be replaced with vegetable.
• What is the best type of rice to use for Mexican rice? Long grain rice. In Spanish it’s called arroz de grano largo. Though there are other varieties of long grain rice, I wouldn’t suggest  basmati rice or jasmine rice. These two varieties have aromatic flavors and smells that will throw off the authentic Mexican flavor you’re looking for. 
• Why is Mexican rice a reddish orange color? It comes from the tomato sauce. Some cooks use Goya seasoning packages and they tend to have turmeric which can give the rice an orange tint. 
• Is Mexican red rice healthy? Rice is a great source of plant fiber, minerals and vitamins. The tomatoes add antioxidants as well as vitamins and minerals. Garlic and onion are also quite healthy ingredients. For healthier Mexican arroz rojo use a small amount of olive oil and use low-sodium or homemade stock. 
• Why is my Mexican rice mushy? Too much liquid. If too much liquid is added to rice it will result in mushy rice, so try to follow my easy recipe as precisely as possible. 

Vegan Mexican Rice

Ok amigos, you may be confused and think that Mexican rice is naturally vegan — but it’s not!

Mexican cooks often use chicken broth or chicken bouillon powder to flavor all sorts of Mexican food. One of them being rice. So next time you go out to eat or at someone’s house always ask if they’ve used chicken broth or caldo de pollo.

This recipe is of course vegan because instead of the chicken broth or bouillon we’re going to be using vegetable or a vegan swap like Better Than Bouillon or your favorite vegetable stock. 

Instant Pot Mexican Rice

If you want to you could totally make this arroz in your Instant Pot or any brand of electric pressure cooker.

You would still blend the sauce just like in the regular recipe. Then you’d set your pressure cooker to the Sauté function and heat the oil then add the rice and toast until slightly golden.

Then you’d pour in the blended tomato sauce, veggies if using, and vegetable broth.

The select cooking function Pressure Cook and set it to Low Pressure then set the timer to 11 minutes. You could do a quick release, fluff the rice and let it sit until ready to serve.

More Mexican Rice Recipes