This Instant Pot Mexican Rice tastes just like the restaurant-style rice from your favorite Mexican restaurant - rich, fluffy, and perfectly seasoned every time. Ready in the pressure cooker in just 15 minutes using simple pantry staples.
Why You'll Love This Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice
You know how everyone has those recipes they know by heart because you make it so often? On a cozy night, one of my absolute favorites to whip out is my French Onion Stick of Butter Rice. But when it's Mexican night at our house, this recipe is the reigning champ.
I've worked for years to perfect this Instant Pot Mexican Rice - I wanted it to taste just like the restaurant version without being a total pain to make. And I think I've finally got it!
Try this for your next Taco Tuesday - it's the perfect side dish for just about any Mexican meal at home!
Ingredient Notes
(See recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact ingredient measurements.)
- Long-Grain White Rice: Standard long-grain white rice works the best here. I really recommend taking an extra minute to rinse your rice in a strainer under cold water until it runs clear before cooking. This removes starches, keeping your rice from getting gummy/clumpy!
- Tomato & Chicken Bouillon: This is the #1 most important ingredient in the entire recipe! It is what gives the rice that color and deep flavor. I keep a bottle of this in my pantry just to make this rice. You can easily find it in the Hispanic or international section of your grocery store (look for Knorr Caldo de Tomate).
- Butter: We use this to do a quick sauté and toast the rice before pressure cooking. It adds a great flavor! You can swap it for olive oil or avocado oil if you want to keep the dish dairy-free.
- Garlic & Onion Powder: Using powders instead of fresh garlic & onion gives you really smooth, uniform flavor without any accidental burnt bits on the bottom of your pot.
Ways to Customize Instant Pot Mexican Rice
This rice is really pretty basic - no frills or add-ins. However, there are lots of ways to make it a unique dish for your family.
- Use Brown Rice: You can swap white rice, but brown rice needs adjustments since it absorbs more liquid. Use 2.25 cups water (instead of 2.5) and pressure cook for 15 minutes on high, followed by a full natural release.
- Make it Vegetarian or Vegan: For vegetarian, use tomato bouillon or a vegetable bouillon cube plus 1 tablespoon tomato paste instead of chicken-and-tomato bouillon. For vegan, also swap butter for olive oil or avocado oil.
- Add Veggies (Mexican Café Style): Stir in ½ cup thawed peas and diced carrots or a small can of drained corn right after fluffing. The residual steam warms them without getting mushy.
- Give it a Kick: For heat, add a 4-ounce can of diced green chiles before sealing, or finish with a dash of hot sauce.
How to Make Instant Pot Mexican Rice
- Toast the Rice: Turn your Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add the butter. Once it melts, add your rinsed rice. Sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the rice becomes fragrant and turns a chalky white color. Don't skip this! Toasting the grains keeps them from getting gummy later.
- Deglaze and Season: Turn off Sauté mode and pour in the water. Take a wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of the pot really well. If any little bits of rice stay stuck to the bottom, they will trigger that annoying "Burn" notification later. Once it's scraped clean, stir in the bouillon, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.
- Pressure Cook: Lock on the Instant Pot lid and make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the pot to Manual (or Pressure Cook) on High Pressure for 7 minutes. It will take a few minutes to build up pressure before the timer actually starts counting down.
- The Magic Rest: When the timer goes off, don't touch that valve! Let the pot sit undisturbed for a 10-minute natural pressure release. This lets the steam finish cooking the rice perfectly. After 10 minutes, vent any remaining steam, open the lid, fluff with a fork, and serve warm!
Step-by-Step Recipe Video
How to Serve Instant Pot Mexican Rice
- Make it cheesy. After cooking, add a cup of shredded cheese to the rice. Cheddar, pepper jack, or queso cheese would be yummy.
- Make it a whole meal by adding a protein, like rotisserie chicken or grilled steak. One of my family's favorite meals is to serve something like my salsa chicken over this rice and top with store-bought white queso. Yum!
- Add toppings: You could top this dish with a sprinkle of crushed tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream, or chopped cilantro. A dash of lime juice would give it a fresh kick.
This Mexican Rice goes wonderfully with...
- Baked Elote Casserole
- Freezer Salsa
- Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad
- Salsa Cream Cheese Dip
- Easy Tres Leches Cake
Leftovers & Storage
This recipe makes a lot of food - you will likely have leftovers. I like to store my leftover rice in an airtight container to prevent outside flavors from seeping in.
This rice can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days after cooking. When you're ready to enjoy leftovers, just pop in the microwave for about 30 seconds per serving.
This Mexican Rice also freezes well! After cooking, pop your rice in a freezer bag or container. Simply thaw, microwave, and serve when you need a quick side dish.
Why is my rice mushy, dry, or uneven?
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Mushy or sticky rice | Too much liquid or slight overcooking | Reduce liquid slightly next time and use full natural release |
| Dry or undercooked rice | Not enough liquid or early pressure release | Add 2-3 tablespoon more liquid and avoid quick release |
| Uneven texture | Poor mixing or uneven seasoning distribution | Rinse rice well and stir thoroughly before sealing |
| Gummy or clumped rice | Excess starch from unrinsed rice | Rinse until water runs clear and don't stir after cooking |
Leslie's Helpful Tips & Tricks
- Turn Off "Keep Warm": Shut off the automatic warm function as soon as the cooking time ends. The bottom plate stays hot and can easily scorch the bottom layer of your rice during the 10-minute rest.
- The Kitchen Towel Trick: If the rice looks a little bit wet when you open the lid, lay a clean, dry kitchen towel over the pot, pop the lid back on loosely, and let it sit for 5 minutes to absorb extra moisture.
- Stovetop Directions: Melt butter in a saucepan, add rice, and sauté 3-4 minutes. Stir in water and spices, bring to a boil, cover, and turn heat to low. Cook undisturbed for 15-20 minutes, then let steam with the lid on for 5 minutes before fluffing.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
So glad you stopped by today! If you loved this recipe, make sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and comment below. And, for more new recipes, make sure to follow along!
Instant Pot Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 2.5 cups water
- 1 tablespoon tomato & chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon salt chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode. Once hot, add 2 tablespoons of butter.
- Once butter is melted, add 2 cups of white rice. Brown rice for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add 2.5 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of tomato & chicken bouillon, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of onion powder. Stir and lock on the Instant Pot lid.
- Set Instant Pot to manual, high pressure, 7 minutes. Once cook cycle is over and pressure is released, stir rice well.
Notes
- Rinse the rice before cooking to remove excess starch and prevent gummy rice.
- Toast the rice in butter for the best fluffy texture and restaurant-style flavor.
- Scrape the bottom of the pot well after adding liquid to avoid a burn notice.
- Turn off the Keep Warm setting after cooking to prevent overcooking.
- Let the rice rest for a 10-minute natural release before venting remaining pressure.
- For brown rice, use 2¼ cups water and cook 15 minutes on High Pressure with full natural release.
- Stir in peas, carrots, corn, or green chiles after cooking for easy variations.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition Facts
Leslie Lambert is a lifestyle writer and content creator specializing in home organization, family recipes, and intentional living. With 17 years of experience in blogging and digital storytelling, she helps busy women create calm, purposeful homes they love.
When do you add the 8 oz canned tomato sauce?
Sorry about that, left it out! You'll add it when you add the Rotel and diced tomatoes. Recipe card is updated.
Your recipe does not call for rotel or diced tomatoes, where is this coming from? Am I missing something?? I am making your rice recipe today and do not want to leave out something if it’s supposed to be in there?
Hi Vanessa, you can disregard that, this was for an old version of the recipe.
What recipe is this? I don't see canned tomato sauce or Rotel in the above ingredient list.
Hi! Those ingredients were for an old version of this post; you can disregard.
Is the 1 tablespoon tomato & chicken bouillon mean one tablespoon of each flavor or are you able to find something that's tomato and chicken flavor in your neighborhood? I have separate tomato flavor and a different chicken flavor bullion. I just want to make sure it's a tablespoon total, not two total tablespoons. Thank you so much!
There's a tomato and chicken bouillon I use in this recipe - if you look at the picture under the Ingredients section, you should see it! It's available at most grocery stores in the Hispanic foods section.
Perfect!!!
This rice was very bland. Not much flavor. I did not enjoy this version.
Is it quick release or natural release?
I recommend quick release with rice.