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+ servings
a plate of instant pot mexican rice.

Easy Instant Pot Mexican rice- Arroz Rojo

Ajoke
This super easy instant pot Mexican rice recipe is about to be your favourite Mexican food of all time. Make this pressure cooker Mexican rice in half the fraction of time it would take on the stovetop. It is bursting with tomato flavour, delicious and made with a handful of pantry staple ingredients. Add this instant pot Spanish rice to the list of side dishes your family would love!
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Natural Pressure Release 5 minutes
Total Time 23 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 6
Calories 286 kcal

Equipment

  • Instant pot pressure cooker

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups easy cook long-grain rice see note for other substitutes
  • 2 medium fresh Roma tomatoes chopped substitute with passata (tomato sauce) or canned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ½ cup chopped onions
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic granules
  • 1 jalapeno

Instructions
 

  • Rinse rice under cool water until no longer cloudy and water runs clear. Drain in a sieve and set aside. Chop the onions and tomatoes and prep the rest of the ingredients
  • Turn on the saute function of your instant pot, add vegetable oil and heat until hot. Add the chopped onions and saute until soft, translucent and fragrant. Next, add the rinsed rice and stir continuously for another 3 minutes ensuring it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan until the rice is slightly browned.
  • Add chopped jalapeno and tomatoes and stir to combine, followed by the chicken stock, stir to combine and deglaze the pan at the same time. Don’t omit this step to avoid getting a BURN notice during the pressure cooking process.
  • Add tomato paste then cumin, garlic granules and chilli powder on top of the rice do not stir.
  • Lock the IP securely and turn the valve to the sealing position. Select the manual or pressure cook button and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
  • When the cooking cycle has completed, leave to naturally pressure release for 5 minutes and carefully quick release to depressurise the pressure cooker. Remove the lid
  • Fluff rice with a fork or stir to combine. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

Important Note for This Recipe:
The sautéing process makes the recipe prone to burning when cooking, to avoid this, make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.
Other ways to circumvent this is by taking this extra step, after sautéing the rice, transfer it to another bowl and wash the instant pot and return the cooking process. Depending on your confidence level when using an electric pressure cooker, BURN notice doesn’t mean the end for the food you are cooking, there is always a way around it.
Also, the newer version of the instant pot like mine, instant pot DUO V2 6Qt is known for this issue. You shouldn’t have this problem with pressure king pro.
Rice cooking time variations
Brown rice: cook on high pressure for 20 minutes, 10 minutes natural pressure release, reduce water/stock ratio to 1:1¼
Pure Basmati rice: Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes, 5 minutes natural pressure release, water/ stock ratio is 1:1¼. No soaking required
Golden Sella Basmati rice: high pressure for 6 minutes, 5 minutes natural pressure release, water/ stock ratio is 1:1½
Stove Top Method
Following the same method as the instant pot, sauté the rice in a large skillet until rice becomes slightly brown.
Add the chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, tomato paste, cumin, chilli powder then cover with the chicken stock. Stir to combine and bring rice to boil over medium heat. When rice is done, fluff with a fork and serve.
Note: Double the amount of liquid for this method.
Tips
Add vegetables like chopped carrots, green beans or frozen peas to the recipe to bulk it up

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcalCarbohydrates: 57gProtein: 8gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 225mgPotassium: 338mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 377IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 31mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.

Keyword arroz rojo, easy Mexican rice recipe, instant pot mexican rice, instant pot spanish rice
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