This Mexican Green Rice recipe is perfect for tacos, burritos, bowls and more! It’s incredibly easy to make, flavorful and can easily be made vegan.
You probably know this by now if you’re a regular around here, but I looooove Mexican food. The flavors are always amazing and most recipes are actually fairly simple to make with minimal ingredients.
This green rice recipe is no exception. It requires just 10 simple ingredients, including salt, and is ready in under 30 minutes.
I love to serve it in tacos, burritos or as a base for my nourish bowls. There’s so many options and it’s even freezer friendly!
How to make this recipe
Add the chopped onion, cilantro, spinach, garlic, salt, lime juice, diced serrano peppers* and ½ cup worth of broth to a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add in the rice and toast for 2-3 minutes. This helps bring out lots of flavor.
Add the cilantro mixture and the rest of the broth to the rice. Stir well, then bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, to finish cooking for about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle on top extra chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes.
Serving Suggestions
I’m a huge rice fan, so I could very easily polish off a bowl of this green rice with nothing else no problem.
However, I usually want something more substantial, in which case I’ll serve it with chicken, my chili lime salmon, or as the base for my cauliflower burrito bowl.
Storage Tips
This recipe makes a fairly big batch, about 6 cups of cooked rice since we’re starting with 2 cups of uncooked rice.
That may seem like a lot, but it stores well in the freezer for up to 3 months so you don’t have to worry about wasting any.
Tips for fluffy rice
Use the right ratio of rice to liquid. This will vary depending on the rice you use, but I find the best ratio for long grain white rice is about 1 cup of rice to 1 ¾ cup liquid.
For this recipe you need 2 cups of rice, so 3 ½ cups of broth.
Keep the heat on low with the lid on. You want the lid to remain on so the steam is trapped which helps cook the rice without adding too much extra liquid. Keeping the lid on the whole time will also ensure the rice cooks evenly.
Don’t stir too frequently (if at all). Stirring rice is key when making things like risotto because you want it to get creamy, but when making regular rice, you want it fluffy, not creamy!
Stirring too frequently will release more starches into the broth and can cause the rice to get mushy.
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Mexican Green Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups white jasmine rice
- 3 ½ cups chicken or vegetable broth* (see notes)
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cups cilantro
- 1 cup spinach
- 1-2 serrano peppers*
- ½ cup chopped white or yellow onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lime juice
Instructions
- Add the chopped onion, cilantro, spinach, garlic, salt, lime juice, diced serrano peppers* and ½ cup worth of broth to a blender or food processor.
- Process until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Add in the rice and toast for 2-3 minutes. This helps bring out lots of flavor.
- Add the cilantro mixture and the rest of the broth to the rice. Stir well, then bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer on low heat for 15 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
- Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, to finish cooking for about 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and sprinkle on top extra chopped cilantro and red pepper flakes.
Kathy
Can I cut corners and make this recipe with one-minute (microwaved) rice?
Claire Cary
unfortunately, that won’t work. If the rice is already cooked, you won’t be able to cook it in the herbs and spices which is what gives it the color and flavor!