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!
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!
- 1 cup short-grain white rice
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ cup canned diced tomatoes
- 4 oz can diced green chilies
- ½ jalapeno de-seeded and diced
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- fresh cilantro, to garnish
- sliced limes, to garnish
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Spray non-stick cooking spray all around your slow cooker crock.
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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.
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Cook on high for 2½ hours or on low for 5 hours.
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Garnish with fresh cilantro and a lime wedge.
Nutrition estimated is based upon the brands I used. Yours may vary depending on brands.
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!
First time I tried a Mexican rice recipe, dam delicious.I love it
will soon be making this. sounds great. i was wondering if its ok to use calrose rice. only rice i eat.
this was great but i toned down the hotness.
A local Mexican cook offered a variety of tamales for sale. A couple of guests were spontaneously coming to dinner after a show we were attending, so we ordered the tamales for drop off. This recipe came to the rescue - Mexican rice to cook in the slow cooker while we were at the show, ready to eat with the Tamales after! I coated the crock with a bit of sunflower oil (didn't have oil spray), substituted veggie broth, used fresh tomatoes and peppers instead of canned, used short grain brown rice (takes longer to cook). I had a few extra saffron threads I soaked in water and added to the slow cooker while the rice cooked. I didn't have cilantro and forgot to serve it with lime. Fantastic anyway, thank you, everyone loved it!