Try this Instant Pot Spanish rice recipe as a side for tacos, burritos, or enchiladas. This easy Spanish rice is budget friendly and flavorful — the perfect combination!
Wrap it up in a burrito with my family favorite refried beans!
I grew up in California, where Mexican restaurants were prolific. The food that came out of some of those family style restaurants were some of the best meals I’ve had.
Replicating the Spanish rice that was served alongside the enchiladas was a challenge for me, though. Try as I might, my efforts generally resulted in a sticky mess. While the flavor was good, the rice itself was kind of a clumpy and lumpy mess. It was just not appealing.
But! I’m not one to give up. Rice is inexpensive and easy to keep on hand.
We eat a lot of Mexican food and it seemed a shame to miss out on homemade Spanish rice.
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Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Turns out, my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker is the secret to easy Spanish rice that turns out perfectly.
This version gets a thumbs up from my in-house recipe critic who always lets me know when I haven’t quite nailed it. (He’s an incredibly honest aspiring chef. We’ll cut him some slack.)
And it gets my thumbs up because it is so stinking easy.
Super. Easy.
Ingredients
Rice — While I used brown rice, you can alter this Instant Pot Spanish rice recipe by using white rice easily enough.
Salsa — Using salsa in the recipe provides flavor along with tomatoes and other chopped veggies. If you have a pantry full of home canned salsa, use that. Or use your favorite salsa, mild or spicy — your call. If you don’t have salsa on hand, you can use diced tomatoes instead. You’ll need to add some spices to flavor it up, though. I like chili powder and cumin.
Onion — You can use any kind of bulb onion you have on hand — white, yellow, or red.
Garlic — Finely chopped garlic adds that spicy zing we all love so much. Can you use powdered? You could, but…
Bell pepper — Opt for a green pepper here. In a pinch you could use a red pepper, but it will add a little sweetness to the recipe.
Olive oil — Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil for sautéing.
Making this Spanish rice
Because the Instant Pot has a sauté function, you can do this part right in the pot. Easy peasy. Start by sautéing the spices and onion in the pot. Once they’re beginning to turn transparent, add the rice and sauté that. Finally, add the tomatoes and water or broth.
With the ingredients in the Instant Pot, it’s a simple matter of setting it to cook and letting it do its thing.
We serve this Instant Pot Spanish rice with tacos or roll it up in a tortilla with my refried beans for burritos.
★ Did you make this Instant Pot Spanish rice recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Easy Spanish Rice
Totally hands-off rice is yours in the Instant Pot! Serve this Instant Pot Spanish rice alongside tacos, wrapped up in burritos, or with homemade enchiladas.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cups brown rice
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 2/3 cups water (or broth)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
Instructions
- Measure oil, onion, and pepper into the Instant Pot liner. Choose "sauté" and cook until onions are transparent, stirring often for about five minutes. Add remaining ingredients.
- Lock lid in place. Using the "manual" setting, set the Instant Pot to cook for 25 minutes.
- Let rice rest for ten minutes once cooking time expires, then carefully release pressure.
Notes
You can use water or the broth of your choice in this recipe,
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 68Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 245mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g
Recipe nutrition is a rough estimate.
I came to this article as in another post you mentioned that you used your cauliflower rice to make this. Since cauliflower will become mushy easily, how would you sub it for the rice in this recipe?
thanks for this! I am on KETO for type 2 diabetes.
do I need to rinse the rice? is it instant rice that I use?
You can rinse it if you like. (That seems to be a personal preference.) And no, not instant rice.
The easy way is just use a jar of store bought salsa, medium hot…..and cook the rice with the salsa in it…..when the rice is done it is good…..side of pinto beans and buritto bread good eating….or put the salsa rice mixture and the beans inside a buritto, fold and eat….. could add a little hamburger meat that has been scrambled into chunks…..with hot sauce and cheese…..
Or use home canned salsa in your recipe: https://www.attainable-sustainable.net/preserving-tomatoes-as-salsa/
Delicious recipe!
Delicious and easy! The rice was perfect.
How many does this feed? Do I need to double it for about 12 people?
Yes, I’d double it!
This recipe is fantastic!!! So easy and so delish….I’ve made it twice now, i use arborio rice and made no adjustments to the cook time and it was perfect. I am going to try the refried beans recipe next!! Thanks for sharing!
Did you use long, medium or short-grain brown rice? Would it make a difference in the recipe?
It depends what I have on hand. 😉 Shouldn’t make a difference.
If I use white rice, how will the cooking time change?
Here’s a table for various rice/grains: https://instantpot.com/cooking-time/rice-and-grains/
Can I just use canned diced tomatoes instead of the salsa?
Sure! I’d just add some extra spice in that case.
How would I convert this to use Basmati rice?? Would it be the same cook time & amount of liquid??
Should be no problem to use basmati.
Thank you!! Going to try it right now!! 🙂
Oh my goodness… This is so good… Thanks for sharing… 🙂
I love Spanish Rice. My aunt used to add browned ground beef to hers, so the rice and a salad was a whole meal for the family.
I’m going to have to look for and “instant pot” – (for some reason that term sounds weird to me… 😉
It’s an electric pressure cooker, Sonia. –> https://amzn.to/20Aanwj