Easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice Recipe

by Texas Homesteader ~ 

This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice (or Mexican Rice) recipe ever. Just long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. Perfect for my Tex-Mex flavored dishes.

This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

Rice A Cheap Yet Delicious Staple

Rice is a pantry staple for us. And there are lots of ways I enjoy serving it.

Spanish rice (or some call it Mexican rice) is a super-simple dish. And it’s a good thing too. With the price of food lately I’m trying hard to keep us fed using what’s in our pantry & freezers. And there’s lots of rice in our pantry.

I use long-grain white rice to make my Texas Style Spanish rice. It's a simple yet delicious recipe. #TexasHomesteader

Everyone Else’s Basic Rice-Cooking Directions

First let’s talk about cooking the rice itself. Conventional wisdom for cooking rice is simple: Measure & rinse rice until water runs clear. Add 1 part rice, 2 parts water or broth to a pot. Cover & simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and serve.

Sounds simple enough, right?

But DANG if I follow those directions my rice is always over-cooked and mushy. I’m really not sure what the difference is. Maybe minerals in our water? Maybe the heat of the burners on my gas stove? Swamp gas from Venus? I’m not sure.

I’ve included the standard rice-cooking directions in my recipe below.

But if you have problems with mushy, over-cooked rice – try my different rice-cooking method.

My Different Rice-Cooking Method

Because cooking rice the standard way always results in over-cooked rice for me, my rice-cooking procedure typically looks more like this:

      • Measure & rinse rice until water runs clear.

      • To pot add 1 part rice,

      • 2 parts Homemade Broth.

      • Cover & simmer for 10 minutes,

      • Turn off heat, leaving pan covered for 10 more minutes.

      • Fluff with fork and serve.

This always results in tender rice that still has all its ricey structure. Not a mushy, overcooked pile of goop.

So whether you use the traditional method of cooking rice, or my what-the-heck’s-going-on version, rice is a delicious staple that’s easy to cook and pairs nicely with many different kinds of food.

Texas Style Spanish Rice

For my Texas Style Spanish Rice recipe I use:

1 part rice

1 part chunky picante salsa

2 parts broth

Spanish Rice - Mexican Rice Recipe. This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

Salsa Substitutes For Spanish Rice

If I don’t have a jar of commercial salsa there are some simple substitutes I use:

Quick Salsa Substitute Recipe Using Diced Tomatoes

Garden Salsa blended from fresh garden veggies.

A cup of homemade Pico de Gallo

Garden Fresh Pico de Gallo uses fresh chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice. #TexasHomesteader

So don’t fret if you don’t have any salsa, you can still make this Spanish rice with one of those easy substitutes.

Rinse Rice First To Remove Extra Starch

First rinse the rice in a strainer until the water runs clear. This removes any excess starch which could make your rice turn out sticky.

Rinse rice to remove starches. This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

Before I begin cooking my rice I like to sauté aromatics like about 1/2 cup chopped onion & a minced clove of garlic before adding the rice, broth & picante. But if you don’t have these available don’t worry about it – the salsa usually has both of those in its ingredients anyway.

When the onions are halfway to the translucent stage, I like to toss in my raw rice.

This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

I’ll stir it as the rice turns a light tan. I just prefer the extra flavor this seems to impart to my rice dishes.

When it’s all ready to cook I’ll add 2 cups of broth, bring it to a simmer and cover the pot, setting the timer for 10 minutes. It’ll gently simmer during that time.

Add broth to rice. This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

And when the timer goes off I’ll turn off the heat on the stove. But I’ll leave the rice covered and allow it to steam and finish soaking up the liquid for another 10-15 minutes.

After the resting time I’ll take a peek and give it a stir. If the liquid is fully absorbed we’re ready to go. If not I’ll give it a few more minutes to soak up all the broth.

I Go Easy On The Salt

Since salsa is typically salty on its own, I usually wait until my Spanish Rice is cooked & ready to serve before adding any salt & pepper.

It’s true you can add salt to any dish, but once it’s in the dish you can’t take it away!

So it’s easiest to allow everyone just season to their own tastes when it hits their plates.

Faster & Easier Spanish Rice Recipe

Now Spanish rice recipes abound and there are any number of ways people like to cook and serve it.

Some may have cherished recipes passed down for generations. It takes longer in the kitchen but it’s a source of pride for those cooks.

I myself am a rather lazy… I mean efficient cook. Less time in the kitchen is my wheelhouse, y’all!

This is the easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice recipe ever. Long-grain rice, chunky picante salsa, onions, garlic & broth. #TexasHomesteader

RancherMan always raves when I make this Spanish rice. 

Other Favorite Rice Recipes

We love rice, whether plain or flavored. Here’s a few of our other faves:

Buttered Garlic/Sage Rice

Fresh Rosemary Rice

Cilantro/Lime Rice

If it’s past season for cilantro in my garden, Spanish Rice is my go-to for our many Tex-Mex meals like Carnitas Tacos, our homemade Tamales or even Pulled Pork Enchiladas.

A list of our favorite Tex-Mex recipes. #TexasHomesteader

So whether you call it Spanish rice, Mexican rice or something else, this is a super-simple and fast way to put a flavorful rice dish on your family’s table. Ole!

Did you make this Spanish Rice? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!

Easiest Texas-Style Spanish Rice Recipe

This simple Texas-styled spanish rice recipe is as simple as it gets. It goes great with all our TexMex meals - enchiladas, tamales, enchiladas and more. #TexasHomestead

Course Side Dish
Cuisine TexMex
Keyword mexican, rice, salsa, Spanish, TexMex
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dry long-grain rice
  • 1 cup chunky salsa, I use Pace's
  • 2 cups unsalted broth
  • 1 small onion chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • Salt & Pepper to taste I typically wait until it's served to add

Instructions

Instructions:

  1. Rinse rice in a sieve until water runs clear to wash away extra starches.
  2. Sauté onion & garlic in a little oil or bacon grease until translucent - about 3 minutes.
  3. Add rinsed rice and stir & cook with onions until rice is lightly tan.
  4. Add 1 cup salsa and 2 cups unsalted broth and stir to combine.

  5. Bring to a simmer and then cover pot
  6. Simmer until broth is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes

  7. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Recipe Notes

My gas burners must burn hotter, so when I cook rice:  

Simmer 10 minutes, turn off heat & leave covered to soak up broth for final 10 minutes. When all broth is gone, fluff with a fork & serve.

~TxH~

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Tagged in       All our favorite posts about rice. #TexasHomesteader         

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Vegetables

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…and MANY MORE!

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