Spanish Rice (Easy, Delicious, The BEST!)
Spanish Rice is a quick, delicious side dish that's as simple as cooking a pot of rice using chicken broth, tomato sauce, and seasonings. This easy Spanish Rice recipe will be your go-to side dish for Mexican entrees!

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If you enjoy Mexican food side dishes, you'll also love Slow Cooker Charro Beans, Instant Pot Refried Beans, and Cilantro Lime Rice!
Any time you're in the mood for Tex-Mex or Mexican food, a quick search of the blog will reveal that you're set when it comes to appetizers, main dishes, beverages, heck, even dessert! But when it comes to Mexican side dishes, the top dog recipe on Five Heart Home has always been my Spanish Rice!
Now, I'm not going to get into a debate about what constitutes an "authentic" Spanish Rice recipe because there are as many variations as there are stars in the sky.
All I can tell you is that in Texas, pretty much every Mexican food restaurant serves reddish-orange, tomato-sauce tinged rice as a side dish along with charro or refried beans. And for some reason, it's commonly referred to as Spanish, rather than Mexican, rice.
While some of the restaurants inexplicably adulterate their rice with frozen mixed veggies (???), I think the best versions are plain, with perhaps a few flecks of tomato, and delicately flavored with similar spices to what might find in taco seasoning.
So that, my friends, is how I'm going to demonstrate cooking homemade Spanish Rice today!
Ingredients

So what ingredients do you need to make the easiest, tastiest, most foolproof Spanish Rice ever?!
- Extra-virgin olive oil + butter. For toasting your rice, which contributes flavor and prevents the rice from sticking together later.
- Long grain white rice. The variety or brand doesn't matter as long as it's long grain. And be sure to keep those package directions handy to determine the optimal liquid ratio and cooking time for your particular brand of rice! More on that below...
- Chicken broth (or stock) + tomato sauce (or puree). These two ingredients constitute the liquid in which your rice will cook. So much more flavorful that plain water!
- Herbs + spices. For even more flavor! Namely, you'll need chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and dried oregano for your Spanish Rice seasoning.
- Diced tomatoes. Optional, but feel free to add them to give a little extra pizzazz to your Spanish rice.
Here's the thing. Years ago, I had rather inconsistent results when cooking Spanish Rice. But the good news is I FIGURED OUT WHY. Drumroll, please...

The Secret to Easy Spanish Rice
You see, I was always cooking my Spanish Rice according to a set recipe, but I never took into account that different varieties/brands of white rice may have cooking directions that call for varying amounts of water and a whole range of cooking times.
So it finally occurred to me that, instead of cooking my rice with a certain amount of liquid for a set amount of time each go-round, it might make more sense to pay attention to the directions on the back of the bag of rice.
That's right, y'all...this Spanish Rice recipe is basically like cooking a regular ol' pot of rice according to the package directions.
But instead of just cooking the rice in water with a bit of salt and possibly butter, you're going to make this Mexican-inspired version by cooking the rice in a combo of chicken broth and tomato sauce.
And instead of just flavoring with salt, you're going to add chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and dried oregano.
But the key is you're going to use the total amount of liquid dictated by the particular brand of white rice that you're using, and you're also going to follow its specified cooking time!

Liquid Ratios and Cooking Time
I like to keep my chicken broth to tomato sauce ratio at about 50/50, leaning towards slightly more chicken broth/slightly less tomato sauce depending on my measurements.
So, for example, if my bag of white rice called for 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water, I would use 1 cup of rice, 1 cup of chicken broth, and 1 cup of tomato sauce.
The brand of rice that I have in my pantry right now calls for 1 cup of rice to 1 ¾ cups of water. So to make today's easy Spanish Rice, I used 1 cup of rice, 1 cup of water, and ¾ cup of tomato sauce. Does that make sense?
The same goes for cooking time. I initially toast my rice in oil for a few minutes, but then I just follow the directions on the bag of rice, which today dictated simmering for 20 minutes or so.
The final result? Perfectly cooked rice every time!

How to Make Spanish Rice
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
So now that we've established that your going to use the directions on your bag of rice as your cooking guideline, let me walk you through what it looks like to make this easy Spanish Rice.
- Set a medium saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. After the butter is melted, add your white rice and stir to coat it with the oil/butter mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the rice is toasted.


- Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, oregano, and diced tomatoes (if using).


- Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir well, reduce heat to low, place lid on pot, and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes...or whatever amount of time is directed on your bag of rice! If your Spanish Rice recipe is not quite tender (or the liquid is not absorbed) after the cooking time is complete, replace the lid and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer.

- Remove the pot from the heat, but leave it covered and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Fluff your easy Spanish Rice with a fork and serve warm.


More Than Just a Side Dish
Oh, and as one final side note, this recipe need not merely serve as a side dish!
On the day that I made it for the blog, I happened to have some leftover Slow Cooker Chicken & Black Bean Taco filling in the fridge, which we'd already enjoyed in tacos earlier in the week.
So when I found myself with this fluffy pot of Spanish Rice, I decided to serve it rice bowl-style, topped with the leftover shredded chicken, as well as big chunks of creamy avocado, generous dollops of salsa, and a shower of fresh chopped cilantro.
It was so darn tasty that my family went crazy over it. And I felt pretty clever at my dinnertime leftovers reinvention. 😉

So are you a fan of red rice/Spanish Rice/Mexican rice/Whatever-You-Prefer-to-Call-It?
Have you ever made it yourself at home?
Whether it's Cinco de Mayo or Taco Tuesday or a regular hectic weeknight, I encourage you to give this easy Spanish Rice recipe a try!
It's simple to make as well as simply tasty...and who's going to argue with that?

More Tex-Mex Favorites
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchiladas
- Mexican Martini {Trudy's Copycat}
- Easy Restaurant Style Salsa
- Easy Homemade Flour Tortillas
- Creamy Jalapeño Dip {Chuy's Copycat}

Spanish Rice (Easy, Delicious, The BEST!)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 cup (APPROXIMATELY) chicken broth or stock, see NOTES below
- 1 cup (APPROXIMATELY) tomato sauce or puree, see NOTES below
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ cup diced fresh tomatoes, seeded & drained (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, melt together olive oil and butter. Add rice and stir to coat with oil/butter. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 to 3 minutes, until rice is toasted.
- Stir in chicken broth, tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, oregano, and diced tomatoes (if using). Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir well, reduce heat to low, place lid on pot, and cook at a gentle simmer for 20 minutes (or whatever amount of time is directed on your bag of rice; see NOTES below). If rice is not quite tender or liquid is not absorbed after 20 minutes, replace lid and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer.
- Remove from heat, leave covered, and allow to rest for a few minutes. Fluff Spanish Rice with a fork and serve.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- The amounts of liquid and the cooking time for this recipe should be considered guidelines. Follow the directions on your bag of rice to determine how much liquid to use (per 1 cup of rice) and how long to cook when you make your Spanish Rice. For example, if your bag of rice calls for 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of rice, substitute 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup tomato sauce for that water. I keep the ratio of chicken broth/tomato sauce at about 50/50, leaning towards more chicken broth and less tomato sauce, if necessary. So if my rice called for 1 ¾ cups of water for cooking, I’d use 1 cup chicken broth and ¾ cup tomato sauce to make this Spanish Rice.
- After you have toasted your rice, stirred in the remaining ingredients, brought it to a boil, and then reduced it to a simmer, finish cooking your rice based on the number of minutes listed in the directions on the bag of rice.
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- Garnish this rice with fresh cilantro and/or salsa, if desired. Serve as a side dish or as a base for a rice bowl.
Nutrition
Post originally published on April 30, 2015 and updated on March 3, 2019, February 4, 2021, and February 7, 2025.
I am AZ born & raised. I have tried several different recipes for Spanish rice & this one is SO easy and always tastes delicious! The kids love it which makes it even better! I chop up half an onion and toast with the rice. I also add a small can of diced green chiles while simmering and sometimes a can of whole kernal corn at the very end. Just long enough to warm it up. Never had any complaints!
Just finished this amazing recipe and it's the very first time for me to make Spanish rice!!! It came out so very well!!! Now we have rice for the whole entire week!!! Thank you!!
This turned out really good. I'm usually not a fan of rice but even my picky 4 year old liked it. I will definitely be making this again!
Pretty good I use more chicken broth and half of the tomato sauce due to a reflux problem I didn’t use the chili or the cumin powder and it turned out great! My family gobbled it up.
Fantastic easy recipe ! I dont like cumin but it works in this dish.
This was delicious and easy to make! Both teen boys loved the rice as did my husband! I will make this again and share it with friends!
I’ve done this recipe twice using brown rice (that’s the only way I’ve been able to get it). Very good. You just need to adjust your liquid ratio for this type of rice (use more broth).
Very easy and delicious. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and let it simmer 12 minutes, then shut off burner and left pan sitting on stove 10 minutes before serving! Family loved it!
My husband said this recipe brings him back home and would request it every now and then. Thank you for sharing this!
Can this be made ahead of time and reheated?
Sure! To reheat a cup of rice, first stir in a tablespoon of water. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes (stirring halfway through) or cook in a pot over low heat for several minutes (stirring regularly).
Great recipe! I added minced onion & a clove of garlic & substituted half of the chili powder with hot Mexican chili powder. I also added half a can of Rotel with the juice for extra liquid as my rice required a little more liquid. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Usually rice is rinsed in sushi recipes. The Japanese don’t like a strong rice flavoring in their sushi.
My directions tel me to rinse my rice the soak it. Do I need to do that if I'm toasting it?
Hi Cora! When making this recipe, I've never used a rice that directed soaking first. So I'm sorry that I can't say for sure if or how the soaking step might affect the final outcome.
You need to use long grain rice which usually doesn’t need to be rinsed.
Having asked a few restauranteurs and experimenting myself, it seems all rice varieties should be washed and toasted prior to preparation, imho.
Was taught by a Mexican girl in Fl. U were right on, when I read , how to fix it u brought my memory back, Thank You for ur help u did a great job
I used this as my base recipee....I changed it a little as to what I had in the house. I used diced onion, celery, and tomato. I also used brown rice. I used half cup of broth and a whole cup of tomato sauce. One spices were garlic powder and Italian seasoning. It was absolutely delicious😋 thank you!
I followed the directions but used brown rice and it did not cook within 20 minutes and even started to burn. I needed to add more broth to cook it through
Hi Audrey! Brown rice typically takes about twice as long to cook as white rice, so you'd definitely have to make adjustments to this recipe (more liquid, longer cooking time) if using brown rice.
Really, really good! I added a small diced onion and a couple cloves of minced garlic because I happened to have them. Aside from that, I followed the instructions to the letter. I'll absolutely be making this again and again (:
Love Love Love it!!!!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️
Great and delicious
Simple recipe with ingredients you have on hand. Excellent taste!
So easy and delicious! I would definitely make this again. No more boxed Spanish rice for me LOL! The measurements were perfect. I did cook the rice for a few more minutes, shut the heat off, fluffed the rice and kept on the stove and that did the trick.