I originally shared this recipe for easy Spanish rice seven years ago on different blog, and couldn’t keep it hidden over there any longer.

[Tweet “Looking for a quick and easy side dish? Make this Super Easy Spanish Rice!”]

I’m willing to bet that you have everything on hand to make this super easy Spanish rice at the drop of a hat.

I love adding the sautéed onions to it, but if you’re not a fan, leave them out. Same goes for the heat—we clearly like things spicy in our house, so we add a lot more salsa than the average person. If you want things a bit more mild, start with less and add more later.

This is definitely more of a tomato-saucy rice, but it’s what we like and what I grew up eating. The flavors from the salsa really enhance the entire dish and add an awesome kick of flavor, so pick out a good one (this is our favorite), or make your own.

Serve this with as a side dish to your favorite Mexican meal like green chile chicken enchiladas or taco pie, or incorporate it into a meal of its own by combining some ground beef and stuffing it into a bell pepper…or just eat it right from the pot (no judgement here).

Easy Spanish Rice

Jessica Lynn

Making Spanish rice at home is super simple and only takes a few ingredients.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Ingredients

dash of oil
1/2 small onion diced
14.5 oz can of tomato sauce
14.5 oz instant brown or white rice use the tomato sauce can to measure
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
salt pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes (optional) to taste

Instructions

Heat oil in a medium-sized pot. Once hot, saute onions until soft and fragrant.
Add tomato sauce to onions, and rinse can out with about half a can’s worth of water; add water to pot. Boil sauce; keep an eye on it, because it won’t boil like water (it’s thicker and will splatter).
Once sauce starts boiling, add rice, onions, and salsa (you can add more later if you’re afraid of adding too much). Cover and simmer for five minutes.
After five minutes, turn off heat, stir, and recover for an additional five minutes. Give it a stir, add in cheese; recover until rice is fully cooked or until you’re ready to serve.

What would you eat this Spanish Rice with…or would you just eat it right out of the pot, too?

8 Comments

Hey Jess! I LOVE your blog girl! Also I am so happy I came across this post, because I’m a huge fan of all things Mexican food! This rice recipe looks delicious and super easy. I love tex-mex, and usually opt for lime cilantro rice, but this looks SO SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing girl!!!!

Yum! This sounds delicious! I’ve never thought about adding cheese to my Spanish rice, but this sounds so good. Even my boys might eat it this way. Thanks for the great recipe!

I made this for dinner tonight to go alongside some chicken and corn. It was delicious and nice to have as an alternative to our normal plainer basmati rice. I didn’t use instant rice so I had to change the cooking times, but it still turned out perfect. I will definitely be adding this as a regular side. Thanks for the great recipe 🙂