The most amazing Instant Pot Mexican Rice side dish made in 15 minutes! It’s so easy and effortless, you’ll never want to revert back to the old-fashioned way of making it on the stove top!
Instant. Pot. Love.
If you’re a follower of my recipes here at Recipes Worth Repeating, you know how much I love my Instant Pot! Want to know how much? Check out a post I put together featuring 14 Recipes That Will Convince You to Buy An Instant Pot. And what’s funny is I almost didn’t buy one.
I read a lot of reviews/experiences from people who tried to use their Instant Pot and just didn’t like it at all. But, I have a friend who swore by her Instant Pot so I jumped on the bandwagon and bought one. And I’m SO glad I did! Ya’ll, this fast and easy Instant Pot Mexican Rice dish is delicious!
Ingredients
I’m talking fresh garlic, chopped onion, crushed tomatoes, cilantro, cumin, garlic powder, smoked paprika, long grained white rice, avocado oil and chicken stock. Pretty SIMPLE ingredients!
Video: How How to Make Mexican Rice In An Instant Pot
Now, I’m going to walk you through this process step-by-step because let’s be honest…a lot of Instant Pot recipes are too vague and I get confused! Not this one..nope! I’ve got you covered on this recipe! Here we go!
Step 1
On your Instant Pot, click the Saute button. The display screen should reflect “On”.
Step 2
Once your Instant Pot heats up and is hot (about 3 minutes from putting it on Saute mode), you’ll pour in the avocado oil.
Step 3
Next, you’ll add in your chopped fresh garlic and onion and saute. I saute for about 3 minutes or until my garlic and onion start to slightly brown.
Step 4
From there, you’ll add in your uncooked long grain white rice. You’ll want to stir the rice around until it’s well coated with the oil, garlic and onion.
Step 5
Next, you’ll add in the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, chopped cilantro, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt.
Step 6
You’ll now want to turn off your Instant Pot by clicking on the Keep Warm/Cancel button. You’re now ready to pressure cook your Mexican Rice! Place the lid on your Instant Pot and twist it so it locks in place. Make sure your knob is set to the sealing position. Now, click on the Manual button. Notice your display screen reflects “On”.
Step 7
Using the + button, click until your display screen displays 8 minutes. Note that I’m cooking on High Pressure.
Step 8
During the 8 minute cooking time, your Instant Pot is going to start steaming and whistling a bit. This is normal.
Step 9
You’ll also notice that your display has started counting down from 8. Once the Instant Pot counts down to 0, it will beep. From there, your Instant Pot will need to count down for 5 minutes. During this step, the Instant Pot is slowly releasing pressure.
Step 10
Once you hit 5 minutes, you’re going to twist the pressure knob to release the pressure. Steam will shoot out once you move the valve to venting mode so be careful!
Step 11
After the steam has fully released, you can remove the Instant Pot lid. Take a fork and lightly fluff through your rice. From there, you are ready to serve! Super easy right?!?
Tips & Trick For Making and Serving Instant Pot Mexican Rice
- To Rinse Or Not To Rinse? – When making this recipe, I don’t always rinse my rice before I start cooking it. You can if you want. Some rice recipes, like my How To Make The Best Instant Pot Rice, I do because I can actually taste the starch. Not so much with this recipe.
- Instant Pot Versions – Did you know there are different Instant Pot versions/generations? I’ve been told that cook times differ based on the version of Instant Pot you own. I have the Instant Pot IP-DUO80 7-in-1 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker, 8 Qt.
- Best Oil To Use – I chose to use avocado oil in this Mexican Rice recipe because it’s a good quality oil, it’s considered a healthy fat and it does REALLY well with high heat!
- Toppings – I top my Mexican Rice with fresh chopped cilantro and sun-dried tomatoes!
- Fresh – This recipe is best when made fresh!
What Other Instant Pot Recipes Can I Make?
I’m glad you asked…because you have a lot of options! Check out these favorites:
- Instant Pot Garlic Chicken with White Wine & Dijon Mustard Cream Sauce
- 14 Recipes That Will Convince You To Buy An Instant Pot
- How To Make The Best Instant Pot Rice
Full of traditional Mexican flavors, this Instant Pot Mexican Rice dish pairs perfectly with so many main dishes! By using your Instant Pot, you’ll create your Mexican Rice in a matter of minutes and you’ll never want to revert back to the old-fashioned way of making it on the stove top! Enjoy this one guys…it’s fast, easy and DELISH! And if you don’t have an Instant Pot yet and want to jump on the bandwagon with the rest of us, you can buy it on Amazon here: Instant Pot. Enjoy!
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The most amazing Instant Pot Mexican Rice side dish made in 15 minutes! It's so easy and effortless, you'll never want to revert back to the old-fashioned way of making it on the stove top!
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 1/4 cup onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cups long grain white rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cups crushed tomatoes, canned
- 2 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
Plug in the Instant Pot and set to Saute mode. When your Instant Pot is hot (about 3 minutes later), add in the avocado oil.
Next, add in the chopped garlic and onion. Saute for about 3 minutes, or until the garlic and onion start to turn brown.
Then, add in your uncooked long grain white rice. Stir the rice around until it's well coated with the oil, garlic and onion.
Add in the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, chopped cilantro, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt.
You'll now want to turn off your Instant Pot by clicking on the Keep Warm/Cancel button.
Place the lid on your Instant Pot and twist it so it locks in place. Make sure your knob is set to the sealing position.
Click on the Manual button. Notice your display screen reflects "On".
Using the + button, click until your display screen displays 8 minutes. Ensure you are cooking on High Pressure.
During the 8 minute cooking time, your Instant Pot is going to start steaming and whistling a bit. This is normal.
You'll also notice that your display has started counting down from 8. Once the Instant Pot counts down to 0, it will beep.
From there, your Instant Pot will need to count down for 5 minutes. During this step, the Instant Pot is slowly releasing pressure.
Once you hit 5 minutes, you're going to twist the pressure knob to release the pressure. Steam will shoot out once you move the valve to venting mode so be careful!
After the steam has fully released, you can remove the Instant Pot lid. Take a fork and lightly fluff through your rice.
Top with fresh chopped cilantro and sun-dried tomatoes!
Recipe Video
Update Notes: This post was originally published in August of 2017, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions and tips in April of 2018.
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Hi Amanda! Such a great recipe – have repeated several times already! I would love to increase it by 50% for a big party this weekend. I think it would be fine in an 8qt, what do you think? And if so, do I increase all the ingredients by 50% too? I read somewhere to keep liquids the same amount even when increasing the recipe – what do you think?
Hi JL!! I’m so glad you love this recipe so much!! SO – I have not doubled this recipe before. I would think it would be fine in an 8 quart, yes. I would also increase the ingredients by 50% but there should be no need to adjust the cooking time. That should stay the same based on the Instant Pot technology. Let me know how it turns out!! Can’t wait to hear!!
Thanks, Amanda! Really appreciate it. In doubling the recipe, would you double the liquids as well?
Yes, double the liquids. If not – the rice will burn.
If you increase rice by 50%, you want to keep the rice to liquid ratio the same so you want 50% more liquid. I would multiply all ingredients the same. The cooking time won’t increase. I think what you read was the ratio of liquid remains the same. If you double rice, you just double liquid. Same ratio.
Could I use brown rice instead? Or would the cook time be different?
hi Kacie! I’ve not made this with brown rice, so I can’t say for sure but I think it is worth the try. Yes, I would increase the time to 25 minutes. Check out my article here on using different types of rice and their cook time: https://recipesworthrepeating.com/best-instant-pot-rice/
Let me know how it turns out with brown rice!!
We really do love this recipe, much more flavorful than a lot of other Spanish/Mexican rice recipes. The only reason for the 4 stars is that every time I make it according to the recipe, I get the BURN code on my Instant Pot. The rice is barely short of done so leaving it to steam after scraping the bottom finishes the cooking. Just wondering if anyone else has run across this? Since I’m following the recipe with no changes, I’m mystified; am going to try a bit more liquid and rinsing the rice.
Hi Rebecca! I love that you guys love the flavor of this Mexican Rice! It is quite delish! In regard to the burn notice, yes others have reported it and others say they’ve never run into that issue. Personally, I have never run into that issue. I think it has to do with the version of Instant Pot you have. I provided some tips in the blog post under this section: Tips & Trick For Making and Serving Instant Pot Mexican Rice. All I can suggest is to rinse the rice and makybe add a little more liquid. To be honest though, I think it’s the version of instant pot I’m using vs. others. You can also use the rice setting and see if that helps.
Want to try this recipe today! But as I’ve seen in other recipes, all the seasonings and tomatoes are just added on top of the rice and not mixed in before turning on the IP. Is there a reason for that? Should I mix everything before doing the pressure cook or not?
Hi Iris! Honestly – it’s totally up to you. You can mix all the ingredients before you put the lid on or not. I’ve done it both ways and it’s delish! Let me know how it turns out!
Wow! This turned out great and authentic tasting. I made 1/2 of this recipe for our household of two and still had leftovers. I’ll never make it on the stovetop again.
I am so glad you loved this recipe, Sylvia!! It’s one of my all time favorite recipes and it’s so easy!! Thank you for following me here on the food blog! I cant wait to hear about other recipes of mine you try!!