Serve it with avocado, corn, queso fresco or feta, lime, and cilantro for a wholesome and colorful dinner. Leftovers keep for days, and the recipe is excellent for meal prep. Since this blog is about providing you with the best easy dinners, we tweaked the recipe a little to make it a colorful and deeply satisfying main course. We add tender black beans to the rice and let them cook together in the spices and tomato puree. This adds wholesome protein and makes the dish more satisfying. You can serve this next to fish or chicken or top it with other ingredients common in Mexican cooking. We recommend avocado or guacamole, corn or pico de gallo, crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese, fresh cilantro, and a generous squeeze of lime juice.
Storage
For the flavor base, you’ll also need olive oil, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes. Then, tomato puree, black beans, and vegetable broth. For toppings, we recommend avocado, corn, cilantro, lime, and queso fresco or crumbled feta.
2. Make the Mexican flavor base
Heat the olive oil in a skillet, pot, or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and sauté 3 minutes. Add minced or grated garlic, coriander, cumin, red pepper flakes, and smoked paprika, and sauté for one more minute, stirring often.
3. Cook the rice
Rinse the rice in a fine-mesh sift and add it to the skillet. Toast while stirring until the rice is dry and nicely toasted (about 5 minutes). Add vegetable broth, tomato puree, drained black beans, and season with salt and black pepper. Stir well, cover with a lid, and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and has absorbed the broth. Try not to touch the rice as it simmers very gently. Taste and adjust for salt, then fluff the rice with a fork to separate the grains and serve.
Serving suggestions
We recommend serving Mexican rice from the pot or on a platter topped with sliced avocado, corn, queso fresco or crumbled feta, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. You can even add some sour cream or thick yogurt to play with heat, cold, and sour flavors. Olive oil: We use extra virgin olive oil. Substitute another vegetable oil. Tomato puree: substitute crushed tomatoes. You can also use whole canned peeled tomatoes and San Marzano, but blend them first. Spices: At a minimum, we recommend using ground cumin and smoked paprika. Ground coriander is optional, but we recommend it if you already have it in your pantry. You can substitute chipotle powder for smoked paprika. Black beans: You can use canned or dried black beans you previously boiled. You can also substitute pinto beans or kidney beans for black beans. Refrigerator: Let it cool down to room temperature and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days. Freezer: Let it cool down completely before freezing in a freezer-friendly bag or container. It keeps well for 3 to 4 months. Thaw: Thaw slowly in the fridge or with the help of a microwave. Reheat: Sauté the rice in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil or reheat in the microwave. Add fresh lime before eating.
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