Make restaurant style Mexican rice with this quick and easy recipe! Everyone's favorite dinner that's healthy, vegan, and gluten free! Choose the oven-baked method *OR* the Instant Pot method below.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees or follow instant pot directions in notes below.
Thoroughly rinse your rice in a colander under cold running water for several minutes. Let rice drain and shake to remove excess water.
Add the rice to large oven-safe pot or skillet. Sauté rice over medium heat with the olive oil until grains become an opaque white. Be sure to stir frequently to prevent burning – usually takes 7-8 minutes.
In a blender add no chicken or vegetable broth, onion, garlic cloves, canned diced tomatoes with chilies and salt. Blend until smooth and add to the rice. Stir to combine.
Bring rice mixture to a boil over medium heat without the pot lid on. Once the rice is beginning to boil, put the pot lid on and place the pot into the preheated oven to bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove pot from oven and stir to make sure all the rice is well coated. Return the pan to bake for the remainder of the time.
Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Thoroughly rinse your rice in a colander under cold running water for several minutes. Let rice drain and shake to remove excess water.
In a blender add no chicken or vegetable broth, onion, garlic cloves, canned diced tomatoes with chilies and salt. Blend until smooth and add to the rice. Stir to combine.
Turn your instant pot onto Saute mode and add the 4 Tbsp. Olive Oil. Add rice and cook for around 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour blended mixture over the rice after the 5 minutes is up. Stir a little to combine everything. Cancel the saute mode.
Close the Instant Pot, set the valve to "sealing," and set to Manual-Low Pressure mode and cook for 12 minutes. Allow natural release for about 10 minutes after it’s done, then manually release the pressure. Leave the lid off of the instant pot for several minutes to allow the excess moisture to dissipate, then fluff the rice and serve!
Notes
The Instant Pot method makes a wetter rice, but this can be easily fixed by removing the lid and letting the excess moisture evaporate. Then fluff with a fork and enjoy!