Slow Cooker Mexican Rice (Spanish Rice) – Have you ever wanted to know how easy it is to make restaurant-style Spanish rice at home? Now you can! It’s so simple and easy and so much better than Knorr’s packaged Spanish rice. This fool-proof recipe starts with the basic pantry ingredients and ends with fluffy, tender, sweet, and spicy rice!
For a couple of years, I have started an addiction to Mexican food. Whenever we go out for date night on Friday’s, I always suggest a local Mexican restaurant down the street or my favorite brewpub. As I think about it I wouldn’t necessarily call it an addiction, maybe love, but I just crave it every week.
Mexican Skillet Pie
I have fallen head over heels in love with their Mexican rice or Spanish rice, depending on what you call it. It’s tender, moist, but it’s missing something. After I had started to experiment with my homemade Mexican rice, I knew it was missing a little flavor and a little heat. We love spicier things in my family.
If you like Mexican-style dishes, try out favorite Mexican Skillet Pie! So good.
With it being late Winter, I knew I wouldn’t be able to find juicy and flavorful fresh tomatoes, so I stuck to canned diced tomatoes with green chilies included to add a little kick. I was a little disappointed after tasting and then added another can of diced green chilies. Perfect! Just what we were after.
It’s tender, sweet from the tomatoes, and a bit spicy from the jalapeno and green chilies. One bite satisfies all of your taste buds; I know it did mine! I had to taste a little bit even though I am on the keto diet. Hubby LOVES it.
For the slow cooker, I used my favorite 2-quart. If you have a 3-quart, that should be okay, as well. If you do not have one already, I highly recommend investing in one. It’s perfect for slow cooker rice dishes and dips! Mmmmm!
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup canned diced tomatoes
- 4 ounce can diced green chilies
- ½ jalapeno de-seeded and diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- fresh cilantro, to garnish
- sliced limes, to garnish
- Spray non-stick cooking spray all around your slow cooker crock.
- Place the white rice, chicken stock, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with green chilies, diced green chilies, jalapeno, salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano into at least a 2-quart or 3-quart slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2½ hours or on low for 5 hours.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.
HI 🙂 This looks great but I need to triple this recipe, do you have any advice?
Hi, Angela! I would use a much larger slow cooker (5-6 quart) and experimenting with the time. Hope that helps!
Hi there, I would like to know in the ingredient list it calls a half cups of diced tomatoes with green chilis and then it says 1 4 oz can of diced green chilis…So you dice up a fresh tomato and add plain green chilis the same amount 1/2 cup and then also the can of diced green chilis? Sorry I’m confused lol Thank you
Hi Eva! Thank you for pointing this out to me. I purchased a can of diced tomatoes and only used 1/2 cup. The recipe is updated now.
Hello –
Just to clarify – the rice is regular, not instant rice. Correct? Would the recipe change if I used whole grain brown rice instead of white?
Thanks,
Just regular white rice, Amy. I haven’t tried making it with brown rice before. Brown rice tends to take a little longer to cook, so I would cook it for a bit longer until it’s tender. Enjoy!
I have this in the slow cooker now , but had to make adjustments as my son is very allergic to tomatoes, but loves Mexican food ,I left out all the tomatoes, and just added 2 cups of chicken stock, and all the spices listed above , it smells wonderful !
/Delicious, easy, but next time I’m using half the cumin.
Any idea if you can make this the night before and warm up the next day for a potluck?
You sure can, Stephanie! If it gets a little try in the refrigerator, I would add a little more chicken stock, if needed. Enjoy!