Mexican rice with salsa is the easiest way to make rice for enchiladas. No cutting tomatoes, buying tomato paste, tomato bouillon, none of that! This simple Mexican rice recipe came about by happenstance. Usually I use special rice seasoning, but I ran out. I tried making Spanish rice with picante sauce instead and have not gone back to seasoning mix since. This vegetarian Mexican rice with salsa recipe is about 6 servings. You can make this rice for tacos, enchiladas, burritos, you name it! It tases good with all Mexican food.
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Favorite ingredients to use for this easy Spanish rice recipe:
- rice-I usually use long grain rice, but white rice works too.
- picante sauce-store bought. I have not tried this recipe with homemade picante sauce yet. If you chose to do so, let me know how it goes in the comments section below! If you need a picante sauce recipe, click here.
That is all you need besides water to make this Mexican rice without tomato paste. People ask why is Mexican rice orange/red? Well in this case, it is from the salsa! No chicken broth here either which makes it vegetarian rice.
If you want to make a variation of this easy mexican rice recipe with salsa, you can fry the rice first before cooking it. This would make it resemble traditional rice. You could also add chicken buillon cubes to the water.
How to make Mexican rice without tomato sauce:
Making spanish rice with salsa is only 2 steps! No extra chopping vegetables or anything.
- boil water-bringing water to a rolling boil is a necessity to make sure the water is a hot enough temperature to cook the rice evenly. A typical water to rice ratio is usually 1:2 but because the picante sauce adds liquid, we cut down on the water amount.
- add rice to water-this will allow the rice to cook. When the rice is almost done cooking, add the picante sauce. This will provide the rice with extra moisture it needs to finish cooking.
FAQs
Is this simple Mexican rice with salsa spicy?
I would not say it is too spicy. It has a little kick to it, but is not water-guzzling hot by any means. It is perfect for everyone no matter their spice tolerance. As long as they can handle picante sauce, they can handle this Mexican rice.
Why is my rice sticky?
Rice sticks together because of statch that comes off the rice while it is boiling. You can always rinse the rice with cold water in a strainer to allow some of the statch to rinse off before pouring the rice into the boiling water.
Why is my rice mushy?
Overcooked rice can turn mushy fast. Try to keep an eye on the rice. As soon as there is no water left in the pot and holes in the rice, your rice is done.
Mexican main dish recipes to serve this Spanish style rice with:
- Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
- Chile Rellenos
- Birria Tacos
- Chicken Flautas
- Pork Chile Verde
- Steak and Shrimp Fajitas
How to store Mexican rice with salsa:
- fridge-How long will homemade spanish rice with salsa last in the fridge? Store this rice recipe in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week
- freezer-I have not tried freezing this recipe. If you would like to try it, go for it! Let me know how it goes.
Simple Mexican Rice with Salsa
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Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ cups long grain rice
- 8 oz picante sauce
Instructions
- Bring water to boil in a large sauce pan. Add in rice. Turn down to medium heat and cook for 8 minutes.
- After the 8 minutes, stir in the picante sauce. Cook for 10 minutes continuing on medium heat. Serve your Simple Mexican Rice with your favorite Mexican dish!
Nutrition
All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. Nutritional facts listed are a rough estimate and should only be followed as a general idea.
Super easy and simple recipe but delicious! I can't believe it only has 3 ingredients. We eat rice all the time at my house, and this recipe is perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!