Mexican style rice is a favorite in our house and is a recipe that I have been making for years. In fact, we have it so often as a side dish to Mexican or Tex-Mex type meals, that my family has grown a little tired of it.
So, I recently decided to change it up a bit by adding cheese. Cheese makes everything better right?! It is one of those things that is like bacon and chocolate, everything is better with cheese. 🙂
I know adding the cheese to this makes it a little less healthy, but by adding the cheese it changed it up just enough that my family thought they were eating something different. They had no idea all I did was add cheese to the same recipe I always make.
What I love about this rice is that it is so versatile. You can serve it with some refried beans and a salad for a simple dinner. You can serve it with chips and beans for another simple meal idea. Serve it for lunch with a few tortilla chips and fruit. Or add it to a meal of tacos or enchiladas to make the main dish serve a few more people.
This is such a simple and inexpensive dish and is perfect for almost any meal.
Cheesy Mexican Rice
Cheesy Mexican Rice goes with just about an Mexican or Tex-Mex meal.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar, colby jack, or a Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until puffed and golden.
- While rice is cooking, sprinkle with salt and cumin. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
- Stir in shredded cheese until melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If you are gluten-free be sure to read labels to make sure that your ingredients are gluten-free.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 162Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 528mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 6g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
Lynn,
Have you ever made this with brown rice? Does that change anything in the basic recipe?
Thanks!
I have never tried it with brown rice, because my husband does not like brown rice. But I think it would work fine if you adjusted the cooking time and liquid for what brown rice needs. I would love to hear how you like it if you try it with brown rice.
I have never tried it with brown rice, because my husband does not like brown rice. But I think it would work fine if you adjusted the cooking time and liquid for what brown rice needs. I would love to hear how how it works with brown rice if you try it.
I am cooking now. I didn’t have tomato sauce on hand so I whizzed some Rotel tomatoes in the blender and used that instead. Also added some canned black beans and corn (both drained) and will probably stir in sour cream at the end. It smells pretty great!
Oh that sounds good!
This was very similar(after my mods) to a dish we make all the time in the rice cooker, appropriately dubbed Rice Cooker Casserole, which is brown rice cooked with some medium Pace Picante and the other additions I made here. I got mixed reviews from the family. They all ate it and like it, some more than others. DH and a couple of the older kids actually preferred it to the original. My baby girl, age 5, still likes the original as do 9yo son and I.
Thanks for the inspiration. I needed something to fix for lunch and this worked well.
I made this with sauteed mushrooms and peppers and it turned out so good! I served it with some breaded and baked chicken breasts and meal prepped it 🙂
I am so glad that you enjoyed the rice. I sometimes add mushrooms and peppers too and I agree it is so good.
Had no real plan for dinner tonight and knew I had some Tamales and Tacquitos but needed a side- and well we always seem to have rice and cheese- and found this recipe- I changed it a bit as I did not have the broth , etc- but I simply used Water and some Picante sauce for the liquid- it was easy- and a great side for the meal- so simple! Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
I am glad you enjoyed the rice. It is a favorite side dish for mexican in our house and I love hearing others enjoy it too!
I make Mexican Rice – but I like to cook some minced garlic and onion in the oil before adding in the rice. Also, five minutes before serving, I stir in about a cup of frozen peas to rice mixture.
Absolutely wonderful my kids and hubby havent stopped eating ….A quiet dinner is a good diner
I am so glad that you enjoyed it!
This sounds good but my family isn’t huge on cumin. Is the cumin flavor very subtle? If not, do you have any recommendations as to a good substitute? How do you think a bit of chili powder would do?
If you don’t like the cumin I would leave it out and add a little extra chili powder or just leave it out. I hope you enjoy it.
How many servings does this recipe yield?
About 6. It served my family of 5 with usually a little bit left over.