Mexican Brown Rice
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
80 minutes
Rating
4.8 out of 5 stars
(76)
Ingredients
6-8 servings
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, or 1 small can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 small yellow onion, root end trimmed and quartered
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cups long-grain brown rice (do not rinse!)
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped (scale back or omit if sensitive to spice)
- 2 ½ cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
- ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
- Red pepper flakes, optional, for extra heat
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges, for serving
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen.
Equipment notes:
I used a medium Dutch oven for this recipe, which worked great. America’s Test Kitchen suggests that a large, straight-sided sauté pan or 12″ oven-safe pot will work; you’ll need an oven-safe, snug-fitting lid for either one.
Rice substitutions:
I think you could use medium-grain brown rice here without any changes. If you want to use white rice, reduce the oven temperature to 350, reduce the broth to 2 cups, and reduce the baking time to 30 to 35 minutes.
Shortcut:
You can replace the blended tomato/onion/garlic mixture with 2 cups mild red salsa (opt for regular salsa, as opposed to thick and chunky). When I use this trick, I reduce the amount of salt added to the pot by half and then add more to taste at the end, since salsas are already pretty salty.
Protein booster:
After the rice is done cooking, you can stir in one or two cans of rinsed and well-drained black beans (or up to 3 cups drained home-cooked black beans). I also like this rice with chickpeas, but those don’t exactly jive with the Mexican theme.
Slow cooker note:
I tried making this rice in a slow cooker (about 4 hours on high), and it didn’t turn out nearly as well (really mushy).
Freeze the leftovers:
Laurie says she freezes her leftovers in a large freezer bag (be sure to let it cool completely before bagging). When she wants more, she breaks off a piece or two, heats it slowly and it’s good to go.
Recipe update 7/21/17:
There’s nothing worse than sharing a recipe that has worked successfully several times, only to have it start acting up on you! I (and several commenters) encountered rice stayed crunchy/al dente no matter how long we cooked it. I’ve finally figured out that rinsing the rice causes it to stay crunchy no matter how long you cook it. My recipe last suggested 60 to 75 minutes, but I found that the rice requires 75 to 90 minutes to fully cook. I’m so sorry to anyone who ended up with too-firm rice!