Easy Red Rice
Red Rice Recipe, this is one of the most popular side dishes in the Mexican Cuisine, either it is red rice, white, green or black (with beans). Consequently, mastering the art of cooking rice is one of those “rites of passage” for any Mexican girl looking to get ready for marriage. Or, at least, that’s how it used to be.
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Authentic Mexican Red Rice Recipe - The Easy Version
Nowadays, everyone has busy lives and need everything done quick and easy. This is reflected in the prevalence of Facebook recipe videos in fast-forward mode. There is not much time for cooking anymore… 
That is why I’m sharing this easy recipe for red rice, which combines traditional techniques with the store-bought conveniences that people enjoy now, both in Mexico and around the world. I’m talking about Knorr Chicken-Tomato bouillon, which I use with surprisingly good results.
I have found that here in the USA this dish is also known with some of the following names: Rice with Tomato sauce, Rice with chicken bouillon, Mexican rice casserole, Spanish Rice,
I hope that you like it, and make sure to also try the Guacamole recipe from Knorr, which renders a creamy guacamole. Somehow, I don’t know why, I didn’t think of adding mayonnaise before, rice and the guacamole make a great pair. 
Easy Red Rice Recipe
DIRECTIONS TO MAKE MEXICAN RED RICE:
- Place rice in a colander and rinse until the water comes out clear. If you don’t rinse it, the rice grains will stick together. Once rinsed, place in a bowl and cover with water. Let it rest for 15 minutes. After this time, drain excess water from rice. This step will render fluffy rice. (Please check the ingredients list below)
- Now, in a nonstick frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the drained rice and fry, stirring from time to time. Besides adding extra flavor, frying the rice also help the grains from sticking together. This step will take about 7 minutes. The rice will get a very light golden color.
- While the rice is frying, dissolve the 2 Knorr Chicken tomato bouillon, garlic, and onion powder in 2 cups of hot water, to form a uniform mix.
Mexican Red Rice
- Add the above water mixture to the rice, and stir. Add one Serrano pepper or a piece of the green pepper, if using. Turn the heat up to high for about one minute or until the rice water starts boiling. Then, reduce heat to low.
- Place the lid or cover with aluminum foil, and cook for about 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice while it’s cooking during this step. In case, and just in case, your rice looks dry after 10 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of hot water around the edges of the frying pan. Once cooked, remove from heat and let it rest another 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Mexican red rice recipe, the easy version
EASY RED RICE RECIPE
Ingredients
- 1 cup white rice
- 1- tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 Knorr Chicken tomato bouillon cubes or 2 Tablespoons of the granular version.
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Optional:
- 1 Serrano pepper or ⅓ of a green bell pepper
Instructions
- Place rice in a colander and rinse until the water comes out clear. If you don’t rinse it, the rice grains will stick together. Once rinsed, place in a bowl and cover with water. Let it rest for 15 minutes. After this time, drain excess water from rice. This step will render fluffy rice.
- Now, in a nonstick frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the drained rice and fry, stirring from time to time. Besides adding extra flavor, frying the rice also help the grains from sticking together. This step will take about 7 minutes. The rice will get a very light golden color.
- While the rice is frying, dissolve the 2 Knorr Chicken tomato bouillon, garlic, and onion powder in 2 cups of hot water, to form a uniform mix.
- Add the above water mixture to the rice, and stir. Add in one Serrano pepper or a piece of the green pepper, if using. Turn the heat up to high for about one minute or until the rice water starts boiling. Then, reduce heat to low.
- Place the lid or cover with aluminum foil, and cook for about 15 minutes. Do not stir the rice while it’s cooking during this step. In case, and just in case, your rice looks dry after 10 minutes, add 2 tablespoons of hot water around the edges of the frying pan. Once cooked, remove from heat and let it rest another 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Serve rice with a side of the Knorr Guacamole, check the recipe on the picture. You will like it, really creamy, thanks to the addition of Hellmann’s Mayonaise. Remember that you can find these products at your local Walmart store.
- For the more traditional way to cook Mexican rice, check the recipe section.
- Almost always, I use a clay pot to cook my rice, but not everyone has one in their kitchen. The next best thing (and better for novices) is a nonstick frying pan.
Nutrition
Easy Red Rice Recipe
Provecho!
Mely Martínez,
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More recipes:
Basic Tomato Sauce for Stew, Soups, Rice, and many other Mexican Dishes
How to Make Mexican Style Rice / Cómo Hacer Arroz a la Mexicana
Natalie
My search is over!..This rice is absolutely delicious! I added both the bell pepper along with hot pepper,also a slice of white onion...My family went bananas for this! Thank You so much for sharing this recipe,it is now part of our family gatherings!😉
Mely Martínez
Hello Natalie,
it is so good to know you like the rice recipe. By the way, we also like to eat it with a few slices of bananas.
Sarita
Love this recipe makes my life so much easier when trying to cook on a time crunch. Instead of two tomato bouillons i did 1 1/2 bouillons since with two it was a bit salty for my taste.