Mexican fried rice – gosh there are a myriad ways of making this favorite Mexican dish. Here are a couple of recipes for Mexican fried rice – one with spices and one without. Give each of them a try and you may find you like them both. One afternoon I was sharing a menu with my friend Iya for a quiet Friday night dinner with a plan to make Mexican rice and Mexican mashed pinto beans . Iya, who loves to cook was curious about my rice recipe and asked me how I make my Mexican rice. Honestly, I just came up with this recipe years ago and have been making it like this forever – I use taco seasoning in my Mexican fried rice. When Iya heard that I use taco seasoning she was surprised, she had never heard of that before. I shared my recipe and since we were sharing recipes Iya shared her version as well and I decided to give both the recipes a try.
My Recipe for Mexican Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 cup long grain white rice cooked according to package directions
- 1/2 bell pepper finely chopped
- 1 stalk of celery finely chopped
- 1 medium onion finely cut
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 tomato chopped
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- Salt
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions:
- Cook 1 cup long grain rice and set aside.
- In a large pot heat 2 tbsp oil. Sauté onions and garlic until translucent about 5 minutes.
- Add taco seasoning and stir into the onions. Next add the celery, tomatoes and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes until the peppers and celery are tender.
- Add the cooked rice and salt and mix into the vegetables. Cook covered for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Mexican fried rice is done.
- Serve with garnish of fresh cilantro.
Iya’s Recipe for Mexican Fried Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 cup long grain white rice
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1/2 green bell pepper cut into small pieces
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 cup crushed or stewed canned tomatoes with their juices
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 1/2 cups water
- Salt
- Cilantro for garnish
Directions:
- Heat oil in a pot and lightly fry the rice in oil until the color changes to bright white. This will take no more than 1-2 minutes.
- Add the garlic, onions and green bell pepper and fry the veggies along with the rice for an additional 3 minutes until the the aroma of the veggies come through.
- Please be careful in this step as the water can splatter when it hits the hot rice and oil. Add 2 cups water, 1 cup crushed tomatoes in their juices, salt and stir together. Bring the rice mixture to a boil. Lower the heat. Cover the pot and cook rice on low heat for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, turn the stove off. Let the rice rest covered for an additional 15 minutes.
- Next uncover the pot and gently fluff the rice. Mexican fried rice is ready.
- Serve rice with garnish of fresh cilantro.
Hi Kalpana, your Mexican fried recipe looks so good and quite easy to make it. I have made it before but without the celery. Will use the celery next time. Thanks for posting yet another great recipe.
Thanks Devi! I hope you like this version!
I have Taco seasoning. This is a simple recipe too. Will try it.
Thanks
The taco seasoning adds so much flavor to the rice, we love it!
Inviting meal.. I never used taco will try one day 🙂👍
I love taco seasoning, it’s so easy to use (just like our garam masala or rasam powder) and makes any dish taste like Mexican food 😀
Yes will do
Hi Kalpana, this looks great. I notice you used long grain white rice. Is it okay to use basmati rice? Thanks.
Hi Stella, I actually did use Basmati rice. I hope you like it!
Nice recipe
Thanks!