Instant Pot Spanish Rice
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Instant Pot Spanish Rice, otherwise known as Mexican Rice, tastes just like the rice from an authentic Mexican restaurant. It is full of flavor, perfectly cooked, and incredibly delicious. It is the perfect side dish to serve with my Chicken Enchiladas!
For even more delicious pressure cooker recipes, check out the Instant Pot Recipes page.
I already had all of the ingredients to make my Mexican Rice to go along with the enchiladas, but then I got a brilliant idea…why not make Instant Pot Spanish Rice instead! I figured that I would give them completely different names as well.
Once you try this Instant Pot Spanish Rice, you will never make it on the stove again! It turned out perfectly and not a single grain of rice was stuck to the bottom of the pan!!
How to make Instant Pot Spanish Rice:
Plug in your Instant Pot and push the Saute button. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Swirl it around the bottom of the liner and add the diced onions.
Saute the onions, stirring frequently, until softened, about 4 minutes.
Add the rice and saute until they begin to turn a golden color, about 2 minutes.
Continue stirring to make sure they do not burn. Add the garlic, stir and cook for one minute.
Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder.
Stir together, scraping the bottom to make sure nothing is sticking. Press the Cancel button.
Place the lid on your Instant Pot and twist to lock. Check to make sure the “knob” is in the Sealing position. Press the Manual button and adjust the time to 8 minutes.
When the Instant Pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Carefully twist the knob to release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.
Stir/fluff the rice.
Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and pepper if needed, and serve with your favorite main dish.
I wasn’t kidding, this Instant Pot Spanish Rice turned out perfectly. It is not mushy, or sticky. The grains are separated and nothing burned to the bottom of the pan!
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- I used extra-long grain Mahatma Rice.
- When I first opened the Instant Pot, there was a layer of liquid on top and I almost panicked. As you can see, it all came together once it was stirred together…so don’t panic!
- The chili powder is optional, I just added it to add a little something extra to the flavor.
- When you sauté using your Instant Pot, it comes up to pressure much more quickly since it is already hot!
- I have this Instant Pot and absolutely love it, in case you couldn’t tell. {affiliate link}
Mexican recipes for you to serve with rice:
- Shredded Beef Enchiladas
- Shredded Beef Chimichangas
- Creamy Seafood Enchiladas
- Instant Pot Red Chile Pork Tamales
- Grilled Steak Fajitas
Additional rice recipes:
Enjoy!!
Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 cups long grain rice (or extra long)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- .75 cup crushed tomatoes
- 2.5 cups chicken stock
- .5 teaspoon cumin
- .5 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
- .13 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Plug in your Instant Pot and push the Saute button. Once the pan is hot, add the oil. Swirl it around the bottom of the liner and add the diced onions.
- Saute the onions, stirring frequently, until softened, about 4 minutes.
- Add the rice and saute until they begin to turn a golden color, about 2 minutes. Continue stirring to make sure they do not burn. Add the garlic, stir and cook for one minute.
- Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, cumin, and chili powder. Stir together, scraping the bottom to make sure nothing is sticking. Press the Cancel button.
- Place the lid on your Instant Pot and twist to lock. Check to make sure the “knob” is in the Sealing position. Press the Manual button and adjust the time to 8 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. Carefully twist the knob to release the remaining pressure and remove the lid.
- Stir/fluff the rice. Stir in the cilantro, season with salt and pepper if needed, and serve with your favorite main dish
Notes
- I used extra-long grain Mahatma Rice.
- When I first opened the Instant Pot, there was a layer of liquid on top and I almost panicked. As you can see, it all came together once it was stirred together…so don’t panic!
- The chili powder is optional, I just added it to add a little something extra to the flavor.
- When you saute using your Instant Pot, it comes up to pressure much more quickly since it is already hot!
- I have this Instant Pot and absolutely love it, in case you couldn’t tell. {affiliate link}
Yum, spanish rice! I haven’t had that in i don’t know how long. I think it’s time to change that. Yum, the enchilada looks pretty tasty too.
I made this a while back and after making it, I told myself that I was going to come back to this blog and comment on it. It’s AMAZING! I made a couple changes and the whole family loved it. I didn’t have any crushed tomatoes, so I use 3/4 cup salsa. And then once the rice was done and I opened the pot, I added about 3/4 cup frozen corn to the mix and it was delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe! I’m going to make it tonight with some bean enchiladas.
Oooh, I like those changes Kara. Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know you like it!!! 🙂
We made this tonight and it was great. We used brown rice so increased the cook time to 22 minutes and also added spicy black beans! Yummy!
Have you ever done a double batch of this in the IP. I did this last night and my IP would never come to pressure. I checked my IP afterward and did a water test and it worked fine which leads me to think it was something with the recipe. Any David=se you could give would be appreciated. Thank you. The flavors of this are awesome by the way.
No Cheryl, I have not tried to double any recipe in my Instant Pot. I can’t think of any reason why it wouldn’t come to pressure unless it was too full? I’m so glad you like the flavors, I just wish I had some suggestions for you.
My instant pot has a “rice” setting. Is there a reason why I can’t just use that setting?
You can use whatever setting you like, Kara. I was just trying to keep it simple and make the recipe accessible to anyone that doesn’t have a rice button. 🙂