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No need to dive into a confusing culinary labyrinth or summon mystical kitchen spirits with a wand for this one – this delicious, reliable Vegan Mexican Rice Recipe is so dang easy, you'll wonder what the heck your taco nights have been doing without it for all of these years.
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It sorta broke my heart to find out how many Mexican restaurants make their rice using chicken stock (or maybe worse, processed chicken stock powder), and how many make their beans with lard. So I was like, “I’m sick of this.” And after a brief period of sobbing into the soft comforting side of my tender border collie rescue, Mildred, I got a hold of myself, put on one of my wife’s fruity aprons and got right to work veganizing Mexican rice once and for all!
When I first started cooking, I just couldn’t unlock the secrets to perfectly cooked rice. Mine either came out clumped up and overcooked, or I’d cook the rice for ages, and it would still magically be sorta uncooked and awful. But with constant tweaking, testing and learning, I somehow got the feel for cooking rice perfectly. Now my blog is somewhat of a heavenly grove of super-good rice recipes (uh, I mean I have other stuff here too I guess). I’ve got everything here, from simple preps like Indonesian coconut rice and nasi kunyit, to fancier fried rice dishes like khao pad, tom yum fried rice and vegan kimchi fried rice. Heck, I even have Vietnamese rice pudding here.
Here’s what perfect Mexican rice needs to look like: tender, fluffy grains of rice with just the right subtle spices that don’t overpower, a hint of smokiness, and just the right dirty yellow color that pops when you want to smash a bowl with some avocado and vegan refried beans.
Grab your apron, because this one-pot rice dish comes together quickly, and puts you at the top of the leader board in the galactic rice supremacy Olympics.
Jump to:
- 🥰Why you'll adore this vegan Mexican rice recipe
- 🌶️Ingredients for vegan Mexican rice
- 🤯 A couple of other vegan one pot rice recipes
- 📖 How to make vegan Mexican rice
- 💡Serving Ideas
- 👉Top tips for gorgeous vegan Mexican rice
- 🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
- ✌️vegan Mexican recipes to serve with this rice:
- Easy One Pot Vegan Mexican Rice
🥰Why you'll adore this vegan Mexican rice recipe
🌱 Vegan AF, SF, & GF: Like all of my vegan Mexican recipes, this one is made completely without animal products of any kind. WHOT!?! It’s also one of my soy-free, vegan gluten-free recipes too? Well, golly then, I guess you are gonna be going back for seconds, m’deary. No chicken broth, lard or other such nonsense to be found here!
🍚 Foolproof Rice: I am 100% committed to making sure this comes out as gloriously fluffy rice when you make it. That’s why I have written clear step-by-step instructions with photos. I am showing you the crucial details to never make horrible rice again. Steps such asrinsing the rice until the water runs clear, changing the temperature as the rice cooks, and steaming it over a very low simmer until it reaches the upper echelons of the rice kingdom of yumminess.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: After tweaking and perfecting it, I shared this recipe with a massive team of testers (350 strong and growing) who replicated it successfully all around the world. Rest assured, like all of my vegan recipes, this Vegan Mexican Rice is tried, tested, and loved by folks everywhere.
👩🍳 Learn the secrets to cooking perfect rice
This guide to my most popular rice recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🌶️Ingredients for vegan Mexican rice
Rice
Long grain rice, the heart and soul of our this Mexican rice recipe, originates from Asia but has found a second home in Mexican cuisine. Its slender shape and fluffy texture soak up flavors like a sponge, creating a comforting base for this. I have made this with aged basmati rice (like you would use to make veg. Biryani) and white jasmine rice, (a hallmark of southeast Asian dishes like Filipino suman, and Indonesian lontong), and it’s actually pretty darned delicious made with those more aromatic varieties.
If you want to make this recipe with red rice, or just regular brown rice (ideally still opt for a long-grain rice variety, though), simply add an additional ¼ cup of water and steam it for an additional 10 minutes over low heat.
Cumin
Ah, cumin – the earthy, kinda musky spice that's the backbone of everything from Indian daliya and tamarind chutney, to Mexican recipes like roasted habanero salsa. It’s warm, comforting flavor brings depth and character to the table, making each bite a flavor explosion. No cumin in the spice rack? No problem! Ground coriander or mild chili powder can step in to save the day.
Get my fave cumin seeds for free!
Using this link, add the wild mountain cumin to your cart, spend at least $15 on some of the other absurdly good spices from Burlap & Barrel (they all seriously slap) and the bottle of this bangin' wild mountain cumin becomes FREE, and you will love it so much.
Chipotle Powder
Chipotle powder is the smoky, spicy secret weapon in our flavor arsenal. Made from smoked and dried jalapeño peppers, it adds a fiery kick and a hint of sweetness to our Vegan Mexican Rice. If you have some leftover from making this rice, I recommend using it in my tofu chorizo and vegan elotes. No chipotle powder on hand? Reach for smoked paprika or chili powder to achieve a sorta similar effect.
Turmeric
Turmeric, the golden goddess of the spice world, brings its warm, earthy flavor and vibrant color to our this rice recipe. Its anti-inflammatory properties and bold hue make it a welcome addition to any dish, from red lentil dahl and chana dal, to jackfruit sabji. If turmeric is MIA, a tiny pinch of saffron threads is a fantastic alternative. They are kinda costly though, so I like to reserve them for projects like vegan creme brûlée, where their flavor and color are less obscured by other flavors.
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
Crushed red pepper flakes ain't just for vegan Italian recipes like vegan pepperoni, vegan bolognese, plant-based Italian sausage, and vegan marinara. No siree! They are the tiny but mighty flavor bombs that add heat and excitement to our Vegan Mexican Rice. No red pepper flakes? A smaller amount of cayenne pepper or Kashmiri red chili powder can save the day.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯 A couple of other vegan one pot rice recipes
Arroz Verde
Want your rice to be deliciously green instead? Blend together one washed, richly chopped bunch of cilantro, a few generous spoonfuls of salsa verde, a small handful of spinach (ideally, use the mature spinach you would use to make dishes like saag aloo and urap sayur with), and green chilies to taste with the water that is used in this recipe. Hold off on the turmeric and you have just made yourself a slammin’ versatile rice that goes great with Mexican and even vegan Indian recipes! Serve it with chilaquiles verdes, why don'tcha?
Arroz con Frijoles:
I know you might already be planning to serve rice AND beans (heck they even slap with Turkish-style borlotti beans), because you aren’t a washed-up old fool who hates vegan taco bowls… But, you can totally just add a can of rinsed canned black beans or pinto beans, and cook them right in the rice (kinda like how they do in Costa Rica, actually). Serve your mixed rice and beans topped with sliced avocado and a drizzle of habanero salsa, my smokey and spicy salsa macha recipe, or classic salsa roja.
📖 How to make vegan Mexican rice
Nail this golden god stuff on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
Rice Spa Time:
Put your rice into a wire mesh strainer, and rinse it under cold water for a couple of minutes to get rid of extra starch, then let it drain dry.
✅ This is a kinda crucial step for perfectly fluffy grains that don’t stick together and suck. No for real, otherwise this rice might suck, and you will cry.
Step Two
Sizzle my Nizzle:
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or small Dutch oven over medium heat. After a couple of minutes, when the oil is hot, toss in the onion and minced garlic cloves, and sauté until they're golden and fragrant.
Step Three
Blooming onion™? Nah. How about bloomin’ some spices:
Sprinkle in the cumin, coriander, chipotle powder, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes. Stir them into the mix and let the hot oil activate their fragrances.
✅ Add any other extra spices you want, such as garlic powder, or small pieces of cinnamon sticks here too.
Step Four
Trick people into eating more veggies:
Toss in the shredded carrot and sauté for another couple of minutes until the carrots soften.
Step Five
At last, let’s make this become rice already:
Add in the rinsed and drained rice, along with the tomato paste (or you can use tomato sauce), vegan bullion paste, salt and water. Mix everything together until the rice is coated in a flavorful blanket of goodness.
✅ Make sure to break up the tomato paste and bullion with a fork or mixing spoon, so there’s not a lump of the stuff hanging out, all not-mixed-in when you open the pot later. You want that tomato flavor and color to be evenly absorbed into the rice as it cooks.
Step Six
Sim Simmer, who’s got the Kays to my beamer:
Cover the skillet and crank up the heat just until you start to see steam escaping from the edges of the lid. Then, lower the heat to a gentle simmer and let the rice steam and cook for about 20 minutes until it's tender and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Step Seven
Fluff and Garnish:
Remove the pan from the heat and give the rice a gentle fluffing with a fork to separate the grains and let them breathe.
Step Eight
Serving:
Transfer the rice to an attractive serving dish and garnish with minced red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro leaves.
💡Serving Ideas
Vegetarian Mexican recipes that go great with this rice:
This rice is the gosh darned real deal to make you vegan burrito bowls with, or to serve alongside vegan elote, sopa de lentejas, vegan taquitos stuffed with tofu chorizo, and buñuelos.
But this rice isn’t just an amazing thing to serve with vegan Mexican recipes, ohhhhhh no, my dear mommy.
It’s a super dynamic chameleon of a recipe that is as happy to be served as a bed to rest your vegan buffalo wings or vegan fried chicken upon, as it is as a nice yellow rice to top with chana masala or vegan butter chicken. Have fun. Life is short. Stop eating rice with nothing on it by yourself in the cold November rain, or whatever.
👉Top tips for gorgeous vegan Mexican rice
- Don't Skip the Rinse: Take the time to rinse your rice thoroughly before cooking. This crucial shower time helps remove excess starch, preventing the grains from becoming gummy or clumpy.
- Mind Your Water Ratio: Pay close attention to the ratio of rice to water. Too much water and you'll end up with mushy rice; too little and it'll be dry and undercooked. Stick to the recommended measurements, but if you are going to use a brown rice variety, increase the water in this recipe by ¼ cup and steam it for an additional 10 minutes over low heat
- HR Fluffy Stuff: When it's time to fluff the rice, don’t go craaaazy. Use a fork to separate the grains without mashing them together. This helps maintain the fluffy texture and prevents the rice from becoming compacted.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
If you prefer a milder flavor, simply reduce or omit the crushed red pepper flakes and adjust the amount of chipotle powder to your taste preferences. Honestly, this recipe is not fiery hot.
Don’t be scared, OK? You can also serve the rice with vegan sour cream, or vegan nacho cheese to help balance the heat.
🌿 Refrigeration:
To store Vegan Mexican Rice, transfer it to an airtight container once it has cooled completely. Place the container in the refrigerator, where it will keep well for up to four days.
❄️ Freezing:
Don’t do it. This is rice. Freezing it will cause old man winter and father time elope and have a pretty unhappy marriage because of what you did in the freezer with your rice. Please don’t upset them!
🔥 Stovetop Reheating:
To reheat on the stovetop, place the desired amount of the leftover rice in a saucepan with a splash of water or vegetable broth to prevent sticking. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice is heated through. If you like your rice a little crispy in spots, instead of adding liquid, stir-fry the rice over high heat with a little extra olive oil.
⚡️ Microwave Reheating:
For a quicker option, reheat Vegan Mexican Rice in the microwave. Place the rice in a microwave-safe dish and cover with a microwave-safe plate to prevent it from drying out. Heat on medium power in one-minute intervals, stirring between each interval, until the rice is heated through. Adjust the time as needed based on your microwave's wattage.
First, sauté your spices, onions, and any additional ingredients in a pan on the stove to unlock their flavors and create a rich base. Once fragrant and lightly browned, transfer them to your rice cooker along with your rinsed rice and the correct amount of water. Set your rice cooker to the standard cooking setting and let it work its magic, ensuring perfectly cooked rice every time.
✌️vegan Mexican recipes to serve with this rice:
Easy One Pot Vegan Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup onion minced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
- ⅓ cup carrot
shredded finely diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon vegan no-chicken bouillon paste
(or 1 bullion cube)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- 2 ¾ cups water (used an additional ¼ cup if using brown rice)
To Garnish:
- Minced Jalapeno
- Cilantro Leaves
- Minced red onion
Instructions
- Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold water until the water runs clear, then drain well. This helps remove excess starch and improves the texture of the cooked rice.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. After 90 seconds, when the oil is hot, stir in the minced onion and garlic, and sauté for 3-4 minutes until the onion becomes translucent and the garlic is fragrant, but not dark in color.
- Stir in the cumin, coriander, chipotle powder, turmeric, crushed red pepper flakes, if using, and the carrot. Cook for another few minutes until the carrot has softened.
- Add the rinsed and drained rice to the skillet, along with the tomato paste, vegan bullion, salt, and water. Put a cover on the pot and turn the heat up to high.
- Once the contents have come to a boil, you will see steam escaping from the pot. Reduce the heat to low and let the rice steam and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains. Place the rice into an attractive serving dish and optionally garnish with jalapeño, a squeeze of lime juice, cilantro leaves, and minced red onion before serving.
Notes
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Kimbi Walton says
We eat a lot of mexican food and this rice is our new favorite. The spices are just perfect!
Michelle K says
We loved this rice! Nice flavor & a little spicy too. A keeper. Don't hesitate, make this!
Eric says
This will be one of my go to recipes for taco Tuesday.
hg says
Mexican Rice is an important component of Mexican meals, which makes having a great recipe necessary. This is the recipe. Loved it!
Marna says
I made this with Jasmine rice and it was delicious!
Dosa Princess says
I made this recipe for a dinner party. It came out great and everyone was very asking for seconds- the best test of all, and empty plates all round. I will definitely be adding this to my list of favorite recipes, and making it again. The only change would be to double the tomato puree, I prefer my mexican rice with a bit more tomato, Thank you Adam- great recipe.
Adam Sobel says
So happy that you and everyone else liked it! I literally just had some for lunch myself with some chana palak on it, with a little tamarind and mango pickle
Brenda says
I made this recipe with brown rice and it was delicious. I had most of the ingredients in my pantry. Thank you for this recipe to make a unique, delicious rice.
Adam Sobel says
So happy to hear ya' loved it Brenda!