Mexican style rice is a favorite in our house and is a recipe that I have been making for years. In fact, we have it so often as a side dish to Mexican or Tex-Mex type meals, that my family has grown a little tired of it.
So, I recently decided to change it up a bit by adding cheese. Cheese makes everything better right?! It is one of those things that is like bacon and chocolate, everything is better with cheese. 
I know adding the cheese to this makes it a little less healthy, but by adding the cheese it changed it up just enough that my family thought they were eating something different. They had no idea all I did was add cheese to the same recipe I always make.
What I love about this rice is that it is so versatile. You can serve it with some refried beans and a salad for a simple dinner. You can serve it with chips and beans for another simple meal idea. Serve it for lunch with a few tortilla chips and fruit. Or add it to a meal of tacos or enchiladas to make the main dish serve a few more people.
This is such a simple and inexpensive dish and is perfect for almost any meal.
Mexican Style Rice
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar, colby jack, or a Mexican blend cheese
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden.
- While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in shredded cheese until melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
I love to cook and bake, and it is a good thing, because my family loves to eat. I live with my husband and three kids on 43 acres in Northeastern Oklahoma. Between homeschooling, helping in my husband’s dental office, working on our property, taking care of three dogs, and raising hogs as a side job/hobby, I am constantly on the go like most of you.
Lynn,
Have you ever made this with brown rice? Does that change anything in the basic recipe?
Thanks!
I have never tried it with brown rice, because my husband does not like brown rice. But I think it would work fine if you adjusted the cooking time and liquid for what brown rice needs. I would love to hear how you like it if you try it with brown rice.
I have never tried it with brown rice, because my husband does not like brown rice. But I think it would work fine if you adjusted the cooking time and liquid for what brown rice needs. I would love to hear how how it works with brown rice if you try it.
I am cooking now. I didn’t have tomato sauce on hand so I whizzed some Rotel tomatoes in the blender and used that instead. Also added some canned black beans and corn (both drained) and will probably stir in sour cream at the end. It smells pretty great!
Oh that sounds good!
This was very similar(after my mods) to a dish we make all the time in the rice cooker, appropriately dubbed Rice Cooker Casserole, which is brown rice cooked with some medium Pace Picante and the other additions I made here. I got mixed reviews from the family. They all ate it and like it, some more than others. DH and a couple of the older kids actually preferred it to the original. My baby girl, age 5, still likes the original as do 9yo son and I.
Thanks for the inspiration. I needed something to fix for lunch and this worked well.
Had no real plan for dinner tonight and knew I had some Tamales and Tacquitos but needed a side- and well we always seem to have rice and cheese- and found this recipe- I changed it a bit as I did not have the broth , etc- but I simply used Water and some Picante sauce for the liquid- it was easy- and a great side for the meal- so simple! Thanks for the inspiration!
I am glad you enjoyed the rice. It is a favorite side dish for mexican in our house and I love hearing others enjoy it too!